NEW DELHI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE* VOL. 13 NO.

194

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2019

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 PROPERTY
NORTH DELHI
SHALIMAR BAGH - Commercial
Property for SALE( 1797 sq.ft.-Carpet
Area/ 2100 Sq.ft.-Super Area),
Brokers Please Excuse, Contact
:8468943390.
ROHINI 1981 Allotment Scheme.
Zeqon Buildtech (P) Ltd. Best Deals
for your Plots/ Expert Liasioning
(Mutation /Possession/ Lease /
F'Hold) 9718888224 / 9891272828
SALE MIG Flats RU-Pitampura
F/F on Ring Road, Prime Corner,
Front Location. Suitable for Lawer's
/ Dr's/ CA's / Institute / Offices.
Contact # 9313131395.
625YDS BUNGALOW Road /
200-2400yd, Kothi & Flat BD Estate/
Civil Lines / Model Town. Family
Settlement Deals & collaboration.
Neelam M.Sc.B.Ed 9873255806
INDUSTRIAL UNIT at S.M.A
Industrial Estate G.T Karnal Road
Delhi-600 Sq yards, Freehold
Building Facing 18 Mtrs Wide
Road for Sale # 9990298298
HIG, DRAWING + 3 Bed + 2 Toilet
+ Parking + Lift, 125 Sq.Yd.,
Freehold, 85Lac, Sector-20, Rohini.
Bisht Properties Pvt. Ltd. #
9650045100, 9999784468
ROHINI : Wanted/ Availb Plots
26,32,60mtr in Sec-27,28,29,30,34,
35,36, 37,38 Clear Title, Spot Pay-
ments & also free advice for DDA's
rules. White Properties 9312216538
250 YD NE Cnr kothi/flr with lift/pkg
Tagore prk,Buy/Sell/160yd Outram/
Hudson/lines/Mukharji Ngr /Gujran-
wala/Derawal/Ashok Vhr/Many Opts
Neelam M.Sc.B.Ed 9873255806
EAST DELHI
PRIYADARSHINI VIHAR (East
Delhi, adjacent to Laxmi Nagar),
278 sq yds corner house in B Block
for Sale, Freehold, Clear Title,
Higher cheque, Owner 9811035400.
WE UNDERTAKE with material
Construction, Collaboration any type
of Interior in North/East Delhi &
Gurgaon Nitin Gupta, Nitico Builders
Pvt Ltd # 9810024112, 9953029149
PLOT FOR sale in prime location in
ghaziabad near metro station main
G.T.Road facing price @30000/yard.
Cont: Niraj 9811645504
IN VISHWAS nagar 100 yd house/
plot with all facilities Clear Title
contact 9868136567
WEST DELHI
GOLDENOPPORTUNITY
TAX FREE AGRICULTURAL INCOME
Be Part of Farming Community
100 % Secure through sale deed.
100%
Secure
• Fertile and Irrigated Farm
Land with REGISTERY &
MuTaTIon.
• Lease option with minimum
guarantee.
• all benefits of agri Land with
Capital appreciation.
• Prime Location. close to city.
• agricultural Land 2500 Sq Yd
@ Rs 5.5 Lac.
aCRELanD ESTaTES PVT. LTD.
9319977123
WEST DELHI
WANTED / AVAIL Resi./Commer.
Pusa Rd, NEA, New/Old Rajinder Ngr
Plots/floors/Collaborations-R block,
Double storey or any block. Vabhav
Hannda 8888802000, 9811931333
OWNER GOING abroad. Bali
Nagar,200sq.yds,bsmnt,gf, FF, & SF,
Excellent Construction on 60 Ft road
& 2 side open. Payment maximum in
white. # 9891295151, 9711106569
READY TO Move Builder Floor
2/4BHK with Parking, Lift, Power
Backup, Vastu Conforming, Park
Facing, Earthquake Resistant Opp to
Vikaspuri 9811015568, 8826815278
for SALE on
MAIN PATEL Rd opp Metro#219
F'hold FF above Dell Sh'room:
2Rooms/att toilets/ Pantry @48L
Display banner Facng metro. Suits
Off/GH/Res-Sale RK-8700086152.
KAROL BAGH, New/ Old Rajinder,
Patel Nagar. Sale/Rent Offices,
Shops, Godowns, Flats. Any Size
Khosla Associate, Gurdwara Road
ND-5. # 9811420026, 9811133781
OLD / NEW Rajendra Nagar, Pusa
Road,N.E.A, Wanted/Available Plots,
Floors & Commercial Prop. Ready/
Booking. Immediate Payment. Cont:
R.C Estates : 9873560300
DWARKA
DWK FOR sale F/H plots 1) sec-17/
A2/ 80 & 150 sq.yd 2) sec-23/B4/250
sq.yd 3) sec-19/250 sq.yd. Also sec-6
3BHK society flat . For price
call 9910172629, 9810848773.
NRI SALE Ultra luxury Flat 3
BHK Puri DG Sec 111, Dwarka -
Exway & Rented Shop Dwarka
Sec 22 Ground Floor Imm Sale :
Call 7217646553/7011882623
CENTRAL DELHI
KAROL BAGH, Prime Location,
Sale Shop, Aprvd Commercial DBG
Mkt, 250 sqft with Basement 250
sqft, fully furnshd, Recently Reno-
vated, Reasnble Price # 9212113023
AVAILABLE COMMERCIAL
Building (Plot Size 280 sq. yards)
for Sale at 8/31, W.E.A., Karol
Bagh, New Delhi. Contact
# 9811033615, 9810124589.
COMMERCIAL SPACE 925/650
sq.ft @ Vardhman Diamond Plaza
DBG Road/ Near C.P./ Corner/
Road Facing / 1 Floor. Contact
(Owner) : 9582543344, 9811157268
SOUTH DELHI
GREATER KAILASH 300
Yds top flr+terr. Gdn. 4Beds D/D
lounge qtr. prkng lift corner park
facing 7Star const. CC ready Pav-
neet 9811036030, 9999926224.
SALE 175 sqyd. building, G+3
in Krishan Nagar adjoining
Safdarjung Enclave Contact -
Vertical-9811056745
E-26 GK-1 250y SF 2.45,500y SF
4.75,300y ff 4.05,GKE-1 450y TF+T 5,
K Col 311y ff(Rear)1.6,533y SF+T 6.6,
LN-3 200y SF 2.3, Vasant Kunj 1600
ft FF 2.6, EOK 125y 2.1 # 9810134752
DDA FLATS Alaknanda Renovated:
Nilgiri/Gangotri FF 3 BRs, Shivalik SF
/TF 5 BRs,4Baths, Aravali GF 3 BRs,
Nehru SF 2 BRs, Lift & more options.
Uppal 9650485053, 9910712365
GREATER KAILASH-I, 500 yds.,
Stilt, Ground, Basement, First,
Second, Third Floor, 4BR, D/D with
terrace full / Floorwise. S. Kumar
98110-31558, Desraj 7011498399
FARM HOUSE: 1 Acre, 2.5, 5 &
above. 1000,2000Yds at Westend
Green,Vasant Kunj,Sultanpur,Ga-
daipur, DLF chattarpur, Dera Ma-
ndi. Ravi Bhatnagar 9810081507
SAFDARJUNG ENCLAVE
300Yds entire flr 4Beds D/D lo-
unge qtr. excl. Parking’s lift 7star
const. Ready poss. wide rd. Pav-
neet 9811036030, 9999926224.
LAJPAT NAGAR-II, Near Ring
Road, Metro Stn. Newly Built Ground
Floor, 100 Yds, 2BHK, Lift, Parking,
Facing Park. Contact # 9810238617.
HAUZ KHAS 260 yards ultra
luxurious 3BHK 2nd floor
with completion certificate.
Ashish Sharma 9811996939
SOUTH DELHI
127 ANUPAM Apartments Saket,
Ground + First Duplex, beautifully
done up 3 BHK 1800 Sq Ft, Open
Terrace Dedicated car parking
Gated community. # 9910310074
SUNDER NAGAR 867 Sq.Yards
House, Liveable Condition,
Freehold, Clear Title. On Sale.
Contact 9810058487, E mail
kkg@mukeshkharbanda.in
GREATER KAILASH-1, B- Block
Main Road 1000 Sq.Yds 3 Side Open,
Vastu Perfect Park Facing Ground
Floor + Half Basement New
Construction. Gopal 7982227986
GREEN PARK 311yd 4 BHK 1st/2nd/
3rd + Terrace Splash Pool 2 Prkgs &
Safdarjung Encl. 300yd Park Facing
Bmt+ GF/ 2nd/ 3rd+Terrace Superb
Location. Sanjay Malik 9810039071
DEFENCE COLONY Corner
400Yd Third Floor with terrace 4
Bedrooms & Study, Drawing Dining,
Lounge, Rich Interiors. S. Kumar
98110-31558, Desraj 7011498399
NEHRU ENCL 300y SF 4BR, SQ, Lift
Stilt 3.50 & 200y Leasehold FF 3BR
l.50; Kalkaji 200y New GF 3BR, Stilt
2 Car Park 3.25 & 100y GF+FF Duplex
3BR 2.50. 9810387009,9810384009
GK-1: 208 yds. Ground Floor
exec location, 208 yds. Ground
Floor park facing, for more
options contact: 9711201301
Dinesh Luthra Smarthomez
ANAND NIKETAN G-2 wide Road
300- Sunken Bsmnt/Ground Duplex
3 large beds huge D/D lounge Modu
llar kitchen front lawn 2 prkngs suits
Prof./Residence. Rajesh 9810209711
GREATER KAILASH I, Bsmt
+Ground Floor+1st floor, 5400 sft,
Partly Leased, Next to M Block
Market, Corner, Mixed Land Use.
Cont: 9871070075, 9861863399
ISHWAR NAGAR 600 sq.yards
available spacious First Floor,
4 Bedrooms D/D with elevator.
Contact Salwan: 9810063891,
9810062871
GK-2, PARK Facing 300yd First &
Third Floor wit terrace best builder
wide road N/E. W-block 400yds
booking all floors high end specs.
Kanwar- 9560085558.
FOR SALE, South Ex-2, 250yds,
TF, 3BR. Also Panchsheel Enc,
Brand New, 265yds, FF/SF, with
Stilt/SQ/Lift @Reasonable Price.
# 9999297098
VASANT VIHAR booking
260 yards 3rd floor with terrace
independent parking.
Ashish Sharma 9811996939
LIVABLE KOTHI in Vasant
Vihar, 400yds, 3 Side Corner,
N/E Facing, Clear Title, Freehold,
Broker Excuse. For more options.
Call - 9999294563
READY NEW Floors: Westend 800y
B+GF Duplex 22.5; 1200y TF+Tr 25cr;
Neeti Bagh 800y P/fac TF+Tr 18.50;
P'shel Park 800y FF 12.5;GK-II 1000y
FF 5BR 14.50. SR 999-999-6796
VASANT VIHAR 400y TF+Terr,
Park,N/E Facing, Wide Rd & 600yds,
TF+Terr,Crnr, 100% Vastu Compliant
A++ Const.. Best Builder of South
Delhi. # Bricks n Yards 9971110380
R-177 , FF,GK-1,208y,1CP,E-84, SF+ T
200y 3.15,208y gf 2.45,sf 1.8,trc 1.15,
300y tf+t 4.25, 450y 5.25, GK-2,250y
2.5, 300y FF 4.5,K Col 200y 2.1, 311y
4,N Encl 200y 2.5 # 9910234752
INDEPENDENT BUILDING
South Delhi, Rent 35 Lacs monthly
For Sale, attractive Return, Best
Investment. Contact: The Arora
Group 9717050553 (Brokers excuse)
ANAND NIKETAN, 385 sq.yds,
3rd Floor 4 Beds D/D + Front
Terrace, Power Backup, Stilt
Parking. Reasonable Price.
Salwan: 9810062871, 9810034566
SAFDARJUNG ENCL. B1-Block,
3rd Flr+Terr (Terrace Porta Cabin +
Bath & Kitchen) corner, (Parking n
Lift) 3 side open, 3 BR D/D, fac park
(NE), gated colony # 9910020747
KOTHI GK-1, 1000y 49,500y 21,Niti DEFENCE COLONY 217 & 325 Yds
Bgh 1000y 41, P. Prk 1200y 60, S Ex
200y 7.5,EOK 450y 20,250y 13.9, Sa-
ket 12.5, H.Khas 500y 20, SJE 200y
10, Def Col 325y 26.5 # 9910763574
SALE / Rent-Commercial / Ind.
on 80-150 wide Rd at Okhla/
Mohan corp. -1200, 2500, 4200,
4800, 10000 sq.yd. Rajeev Bhatia
:- 9810405049, 9810004959
JANGPURA, 200 yds, GF/FF/TF
with Terrace, New Construction,
3BR, Park Facing, 2 Car Parking
with Lift & CC, SQ. Call-7838871110
FOR SALE Panchsheel Encl.,
265 sdy, First and Second Floor,
with lift, SQ, parking. Seema :
9810636317.
GOLF LINKS 375 Yds
Park Facing House @ 47 Cr
Single Owner, Clear Title
Aman Bajaj 98100-81588
SOUTH DELHI
SARVAPRIYA VIHAR 230y, Park
facing First & Second Floor 3 Beds,
D/D each, Specifications as per
buyers choice, Possession by March
2020. Jagdish Nawani 9811114642
ANAND NIKETAN 375 Sq. Yds.
Second Floor, Front / Side Park,
North East Facing, Independent
Parking with Completion Certificate.
Contact: 9811078311
J-BLOCK, SAKET 500 yds
luxurious 4bhk, 2nd & 3rd flr with
terr at best price. also avble. exc-
lusive 125yds floors in EOK. Sagar
Batra 9910103177, 9910003177
NEW FLOOR P'shel 500y B+GF 4BR
10.50; V.Vhr 600y FF 12.5; Gulmohar
500y P/fac TF+Tr 10.5; Shanti Nktn
400y FF 4BR 9cr; Hz Khas Encl 700y
Corner 5BR 13.5. SR 999-999-6796
GREATER KAILASH-1, North
East facing vaastu compliant 500
yds, Third floor with Terrace, Private
Lift, Pvt.Conceirge, Nearing comple-
tion, Peaceful Location. 9811905010
GREEN PARK 325y 4BHK TF+Terr/
FF stilt prkg, P'Sheel Encl 220y GF/
FF, Gulmohar Park 300y 3BHK with-
out lift, SF with Half Terr. Avinash
9582599330, Ajay 9811097555
3 BHK Ready Flat Arjun Nagar Adj
Safdarjung Enclave 140 sq.yard,
3rd Floor with Terrace, Lift, Bank
Loan, Car Parking Times Buildcon
Ltd. # 9810034015, 9810008561
1000YD GK-I nicely built 4 storied
Kothi. 3000ft basement CP. Family
Settlement Deals & collaboration.
GF 850yd Pusa Rd & More options.
Neelam M.Sc.B.Ed 9873255806
CHHATTAR PUR 2BHK/3BHK
/4BHK flats available with regist-
ry & loan facility very lavish loca-
tion of south delhi near chhattar-
pur # 9811110606 , 9899465600
VASANT VIHAR 840yds East Fac-
ing 3rd Floor wd lift & entire Beauti-
ful Terrace Garden about 13yrs old
but maintained & Good Location
@11.75-50. Gurudutt 9810060323.
KAILASH COLONY,
Bungalow, 550 Sqyrds, Wide
Road, Ideal for Self Users.
PropDeals : 9871070075,
9871863399.
SOUTH EXT 2 main road Ground
Floor SHOP for sale. Prime Location.
650 sqft. Freehold, clear title. Only
serious buyers call. Call Mohit Jain :
9873036780, 9205401862
P/F house for sale. 217 & 325 Yds
P/F, N/F floors for sale. 217 Yds SF
@ 2.75 Cr & 325 Yds FF @ 5.75 Cr
We have more options.
SOUTH DELHI
GULMOHAR PARK 500 Yds
Ground & Bsmt Corner Park
Gacing, 5 Beds D/F. Made
as per European Standards.
Capt Sabharwal 9811333425.
MULTIPLEX
FOR SALE
IN DELHI 6 %
& MOHAN NAGAR
GHAZIABAD 10%.......
BARTER ALSO POSSIBLE
ALSO APPROVED
BANQUET HALL
FOR LEASE
COLLOBORATION
& SALE...
BARTER POSSIBLE
9811141503
GULMOHAR ENCLAVE (SFS)
Park facing First Floor, Spacious 2
Bedrooms, Drawing/Dining, 2Baths+
Study,Tastefully Renovated @1.65cr
Prashant 7982146106, 9810073183
VASANT VIHAR 600-syd Corner
Entire Third with Terrace Specious
4 Beds D/D stilt Parking also -400-
Basement Ground & Third Floor
Ready/ Booking. Rajesh 9810209711
D-20 GKE-1 342y SF 4.95,250y ff 4,
272y SF+1/2 Trc 4.15, 450y FF 5,Def
Col 325y GF 7.5, SF 8.5, G Park 600y
B/GF/FF,Kalkaji 200y all flrs 3, 230y
3.15, SJE 200y TF+T 4 # 9910134752
OKHLA I-II-III- 400,600,1200
Sqyd Factory/Bldg/Wrkshop/Off.
Space/Warehouse RCC or Shed
800-1,00,000 sqft avail for Sale/
Rent # 7982306104, 9810058453.
FOR SALE
UDAY PARK (114)
PROPERTY BUILT IN
PLOT SIZE 180 SQMTR.
PIN - 110049
GROUND FLOOR & 2ND FLOOR
WITH TERRACE RIGHTS
EACH FLOOR
WITH 3 BEDROOMS, 3 TOILETS
DRAWING CUM DINING
KITCHEN
CONTACT OWNER
9810031223, 011-41638884
VASANT VHR 400y TF+T Park Fac.
Anand Nktn 400yd FF Two Car Prkg
South Extn - II, 500yd FF 4 BR's, D/D
Panchsheel Park 500yd Bmt+GF crnr
Ambica Properties(Rgd) 9810120612
SAFDARJUNG ENCLAVE,
265 sq yards, Third floor with
terrace, Park facing. Large 3 beds
D/D kitchen, stilt car park.
Anish Malhotra 98112-00272
BRANDED HOTELS
FOR SALE IN
RISHIKESH,
SHIRDI,
GURGAON,
JAIPUR,
HARIDWAR,
AGRA,
JODHPUR
& AJMER
BARTER POSSIBLE
9811141503
CWG VILLAGE 5 BHK @ 7 Cr.
Def.Col 3 BHK Park @ 3.40 Cr.
Jungpura 3 BHK GF @ 2.95 Cr.
Taj Appts (Shanti Nktn) @ 4.5 Cr.
Aman Bajaj 98100-81588
SALE 4 BHK 3rd floor semi-furnished
with Lift & Parking in GK-1, 500 sq.
yards. On the most Prime location.
Well maintained. Attractive price.
All Amenities # 9818237000.
VASANT VIHAR 600/800
yards bungalow for sale, corner,
wide road. Freehold. Immediate
sale. Anish Malhotra 98112-00272
DEFENCE COLONY Basements in
A block C and D block Very Modern
Full of Light Already Lawyer Office
Running Wide Road. Contact
Gagan Kumar # 9971298498.
GREATER KAILASH-1, Shop
for Sale / Rent 275 sq.ft. G'floor
corner. Comml. Near M-Block
Mkt, Attach Toilet, Front Parking.
Cont: 9911070552
SARVAPRIYA VIHAR Park
facing, sunlit lit 1st floor, 3BHK,
SQ, Parking Mark Estates:
9811049918
VASANT VIHAR ground basement
400 yd @10.5 SF @7.2 610 yds
@16 FF @12 .SDA 550 yds new FF
@8.75 . Westend 500/800 yds
ready floors. Tarun 9810008262
SOUTH DELHI
ANAND NIKETAN 385 Yds
Liveable House With Lawn
Single Owner, Clear Title @ 22 Cr
Aman Bajaj 98100-81588
BRAND NEW Floors GK-II: 400 yds.
East fac, 250 yds park/north facing,
Pamposh 450 yds. East/wide Road,
GK-I: 300 yds. Park/East Fac. Vishal
Batra: 7838387765, 9811458673
E.O.K. BRAND New Third Floor+
Terrace, Park Facing, 4 Beds, 4
Baths @ 4.25, D-7 E.O.K. 160 S.Yd
First Floor, Under Const. @ 1.90,
Gagandeep Singh: 9999 801 332.
G.K III (217)y SF 3bhk sq stilt lift 3cr
Okhla-III(670)y frihold/co.trnsfr 14cr
Okhla-I(400)y plot frihold 60'rd4.50
Shop CR Prk GF rented 46000 @1.30
9810017982, 9810364472, Bahlsons
FOR SALE Hauz Khas Enclave F-Blk
620 Yds, First Floor 4 BR, Drawing,
Dining, Park facing, Well Maintained
Flat with Separate Driveway & many
more options. Naresh 9811031115
GROUND FLOOR Kailash Colony
Top of Line Construction. D/D, Two
Bedrooms attached Bath, Modular
Kitchen. Grover & Associates
9810173911, 26961118, 26511118
CHITTARANJAN PARK, 3rd floor
+ exclusive terrace, 233 yds, 3 Beds
DD attach Bath, two car parking,
SQ, fully done up, Freehold. Owner
Rep 9810888826, 9810007100
VASANT VIHAR 400 Bmt+GF /
TF+T. 600 TF+T. 800 FF, Shanti
NIketan 1200 / 1000 TF+T. Anand
Niketan 400 Bmt + GF; TF+T.
Westend 800 Bmt +GF. 9899755500
GK-1, 300YDS, R-Block, on
40ft Wide Road, 4BR, Baths,
2 Car Parking, Lift, Owner in
Town, Very Reasonable Price.
Call - 7838871114
FOR SALE
Sarita Vihar
Ground Floor
3 Bedrooms, D/D,
att. Baths, 4 Side
open, Parking,
Prime Location,
Immediate Sale,
Brokers Excuse.
Call- 9810071102
5 BED 5 BATH D/D For Sale at Mal-
viya Shivalik Rd. 3rd Flr, Excl. Lift,
Balconies, Nr. Parks, 1Min Metro,
5 Min-Saket Malls, N.E. Entrance,
New Interiors. 2.64 Cr. 9891572424
FRIENDS COLONY East,
Liveable Bungalow, 800 Sqyrds,
Corner, Ideal for Self Users,
PropDeals : 9871863399,
9810678184.
VASANT VIHAR 400 yards,
second with terrace, large 4 beds
D/D kitchen lobby etc, corner,
park facing. Reasonable price.
Anish Malhotra 98112-00272
PANSHEEL ENCLAVE SF 200 yds
3.50 cr FF 260 yds corner 3.99 260
FF & SF with stilt 4.05 cr 565 yds GF
with 50% stilt 7:75 cr Panchsheel
specialist Karandeep 9873111167
JOR BAGH 375 yds. Gr. Flr + Bsmnt
3 Beds D/D, pkg, park fac@ 14.75 &
Panchsheel Enclave/Park 515yds SF,
4 Beds D/D, pkg, corner, Park facing
@ 9.75. Deepak Arora 9990305533
SDA BRAND New Ground & Bsmt.
Duplex 400y 4 Beds+ family lounge
D/D Modular kitchen, separate
Gate for parking, Wide Road ample
Parking outside. # 9811273367
GK 2, Luxurious, Ready
To Move, 250 yds, All Floors
& GK 1, S BLK, 250 yds 4 BHK
Booking, All Floors. Sumit
Mohan # 9810086833
KOTHI: ANAND Nktn 600y 34cr;
S.Ex-II, 250y 12cr; Gulmohar Park
300y 23.50cr; G.K- II, 300y @15.50;
Maharani Bgh 200y Prk Fac @14.50;
Def. Col. 325y 25cr. SR 9999996725
SOUTH DELHI
HAUZ KHAS, 275 SQ. Yards Duplex
2nd & 3rd Floor with Terrace
Garden, Brand New 7 star
construction for immediate sale.
# Cosmos: 9810001682
G.K. II : 250y N/East fac F.Flr 3 BHK,
Ample Parking @ 2.85Cr & 250y Park
view S.Flr 3 BHK @ 2.25Cr also 300y
N/E fac G.Flr 3BR,Huge D/D,Car Park
@ 3.60Cr. 9873293169, 9810076037
INDEPENDENT RENTED Ground
Floor Office for Sale Bhikaji Cama
Palace, Area 270 sq ft, Rent
30,000 pm. Fresh Lease @ 7%.
Contact Owner 9899700095
GREATER KAILASH 400/500 yds
luxury floors price 5cr to 9cr bsmt
& GF duplex with stilt 5 Car parking
4beds also 1000yd 5 beds floor 11cr
9811654291 Rajender
NEHRU ENCLAVE, Park
Facing, 200yds, North Facing,
Freehold, 3 Storey, Prime
Location, Only Genuine Buyers.
Call - 7838871114
MOUNT KAILASH Freehold,
1st floor, 3BHK+Study, 4 bath, DD,
Modular Kit., 2 Balcony, Park facing,
Ample Parking, Near DPS & Metro
@ 2.40. Loan avail. # 9313233444
BUNGALOW'S FOR Sale : Malcha
Marg & Jor Bagh 375 sq.yd. fac. park
Vasant Vihar 1000 sq.yd. also Shanti
Niketan 400 sq.yd. Confirmed deal.
Salwan: 9810034566, 9810063891
G.K 1, DUPLEX 5Bed , 208 sq.yds
Top Location Exquisitely Designed
First & Second Floor With Stilt &
Lift, with 4 car prkg. Prime
9871827222, 9811712385
GURUGRAM
S-LOK, C-BLK,, 215 Sq Yrd Designer
House, 3000+ Sq Ft. 4 bed rooms, SQ,
3 floors, roof top Party Lawn, Pantry,
store, lobby. East facing. 9871170000
RENTED TO Axis bank at golf
course rd. 1628 sq ft , rent 2.70 pm ,
fresh lease , rate 4.75 %
98103 27243
SALE KOTHI Sector-21, 244
Sq.Yards. Basement+Ground
Floor+First Floor+Second Floor
Park Facing. Good Rental Income.
Full Cheque. Call: 9999 867 667.
MAPLE HEIGHT, C-Block, Sushant
Lok Phase-1, Gurugram, available
2 Bedrooms attach bath, D/D, 1 Car
Parking space. Immediate Sale.
# 9810034566, 9810062871
BESTECH PARK View City-2
Penthouse 4600 ft + 2100 ft 5 BR +
5 Toilets, Huge Terrace, Spacious &
Multiple Balconies. Attractive Price
# 9818237000.
DLF, SUSHANT Lok & South City -
Plots all sizes. Commercial use
plots/Rented Deals available.
HMP Realtors 9953415161.
GURUGRAM
PRE- RENTED Commercial
Prop in gurgaon@7% ROI. fortune
500 Companies, Avery Dennison
& Fiserv. Rental @ 55000/- Per
Month. Vikas Batra # 9971155712
FOR SALE South City-1 Plot 500 yd
at Mkt. Price, Nr. Signature Tower
Excl. loc & connectivity. Mandate
Deal / commission will be paid
# Indo Scottish 9990009777
RUNNING SPA Outlet (New)
of Renowned Spa Chain Available
for Sale in Gurgaon with 7 Star
Interiors and Facilities. For
Details Call # 9650666431
FOR SALE 3 BHK, 2050 Sq. Ft.
With Parking at Escape on Golf
Course Etxn. Road, Gurgaon.
Ashish: 9810189678
CHHATTAR PUR 2BHK/3BHK
/4BHK flats available with regist-
ry & loan facility very lavish loca-
tion of south delhi near chhattar-
pur # 9811110606 , 9899465600
ALL DESPERATE Sale DLF
Phase-3,502 Sq yrd., DLF Phase-2,
316 Sq. yrd and Appt in
Heritage City MG Road
3200 Sq. Ft. Call: 9910057801.
DLF − SUSHANT LOK
AVAILABLE PLOTS DLF Phase-I,
II, Size: 500 / 300 / 270 / 200 Sq.Yd,
DLF-IV, 500 / 360 / 270 Sq.Yd,
Sushant Lok-I, 418 /300 / 215 Sq.Yd.
Sanjay 9811467000
IREO VICTORY Valley 2677
Sq.ft. Park & Club facing 3BHK
and Dlf Exclusive Flr, 3 Bedroom,
Dlf Phase 5, 3Side open, Gated
Complex Call 9818-979-376
CORNER PARK facing 300 sqyd
well maintained Kothi for Sale in
Sushant lok Ph-1, all ac fitted.
for details contact Mr. Jain
# 9810045895
FOR SALE Vastu Perfect Corner
1000yds Bungalow @9cr & 500yds
Plot @80k., V.I.P. Lane Sector-17A,
Just 800 Meters from Signature
Tower NH-8. Call- 9811155032.
SUSHANT LOK 2 (plot No.
D-253) 500 yd @ 72k & 928 yd
corner (No. E-52) @66k also DLF-1
500 yd on A-28 N/E. Min 1% com-
mission. Owner 9810011187.
GOLF COURSE Road, TDI Ouranias,
Highrise Apartment 4250 sqft, 4 BR,
Att. Bathroom D/Dining, Servants
Room, Pool Facing, Immediate
Sale. Rahul Kaushik 9899215980
GREENWOOD CITY, A-65
3bhk 240yds Ultra Luxury builder
floors with stilt-lift. Ready 2
move. Brokers welcome. Contact
owner 9910047000
3BHK /+, Emerald floors@1.25,
Vipul Greens@1.65, Orchid Petals
@1.75, TDI Ourania@1.90 4bhk+,
Welligton/ Emaar Enclave@1.75,
office 1250'@93L. 9811030554
PLOT FOR SALE 150 Sq.Yds.,
DLF Phase - 1, East Facing, Brokers
welcome. Contact: 8287436693.
DLF − SUSHANT LOK
PRE LEASED property Building
Sas tower Area -10.000sqt Rent
69.5/- per sqt Lokin -5 yr Lease 9
years Security -3 Months Roi -8%
Owner Cont -9958878123
DLF-IV 270Y 360y north/ East @
110k 500y north/west/gated @ 115k
Sabharwal 9810099171,9810303098
LUXURY BUILDER floors for
sale in Sushant Lok-3 ready to mo
ve built on 300yd plot 3+study sti
lt & lift Ideal loc. Next to Golf Crs
Extn Rd.Anil Nagpal 9811155031
DLF − SUSHANT LOK DLF − SUSHANT LOK
DLF- 2. 500Y Old Kothi @plot rate,
DLF-1. 1022y Plot 60Mtr Rd , SL-2
316 SYD DLF Ph-2 L- Block near to
MG Road North facing Clear Title
300y Plot 18mtr. & SL-1 813y pair wide road, gated location@1.40 per
plots Sector Rd . Chawla Estates Sqyds. Call 9811-346454
9899103600, 9560610609
PLOT FOR sale: Ansal Esencia
Sector-67 of 300syd, east facing
& Vipul World, Sohna road 571syd
corner of 12MX18M, North facing.
For details Call: 9811101907
DLF ALAMEDA Plots Avble at Best
Loc-250/538/700 sqyd St.-A1,A5,A8 ,
B2,B3,B4,C2,C3,D2,D4,D1,D8 North/-
East & Park. 57k P.S.yd onwards.
Sabharwal 9811196453/9811196843
TATVAM VILLA Villas Open 360
sq yds, Duplex North/ East Facing,
Sohna Road. Call: Narayan Arya
9810787781.
DLF, SUSHANT Lok, South City,
Sun City, Buy / Sell Plots, Houses,
Builder Floors, Shops & Offices.
Contact Fairdeals (A Real Estate DLF 1 500 yd Amaltas, Ashoka
Consultancy) DLF-I. # 9810014398 Cres,Sukhchain, A-13,A-16 (prk),
A-20,B-4,C-1(Park, Crnr)D-1, D-4B
(12 Mtr. Park, N), G-5, 360yd B-8,
Call # 9810010922, 9818198000
APTTS FOR Sale - Orlov Court
3BR (2583), Silver Oak 2BR (1170),
The Close 4BR (3035). Grace
Consultant 8510033177
BLDR FLRS as per sanction plans
100 %legal flrs Brand New DLF City
200sq yd 3BHK+Sq with100% PBU,2
car prkg,lift with mod lux intr sabha-
rwal Asso 9999234687,9810009174
PLOTS DLF-I 500yds North facing
Peaceful Location@1.25, DLF-IV
360yds North/Park facing, Gated
Green Meadows. Sonu Aggarwal
9810303098.
PRE RENTED DLF duplex flat
270sqyd 1,2 flr+roof rgt,4 mstr BR,
Pwr bckp 18mtr rd 1.7cr.or rental
incm 1.5 lak pm on girl boy pg./Co.
DLF Ph-3, U-Block owner 9216312358
DESPERATE DEALS Park Place NEW FLOORS with lift & Parking
3bhk DLF ALAMEDA 750, 1000yd 320sq.yds K-Block DLF PH-2@2.05cr,
Emaar PLOT 500yd RETAIL 4 units 270sq.yds east DLF PH-4@1.70cr,
1750sqft each, 85% occupied build- 300sq.yds 4BR B-Block SL-1 East fac
ing, G.C.Extn road. 9717877797 @1.99cr M & S Realty 8800784380
UNIQUE 4BHK Penthouse
Flat 2639Sq.ft in Bestech Park
View City-2,with 1422sft terrace
main Sohna Road facing,Gurgaon.
Owner 9990125555, 8101111133
DLF PH2 330sqyd livable house, two
side open rare option@ plot rate,
300yd house DLF Ph-2 E-fac.M-Block
@Plot Rate, 215yds flr wise building
Bmt+3flr M-blk. N-fac. 8800784380
PLOT 300YDS K-10 lane Gated Rd.
DLF Ph-2, 300sqyd plot M-Block DLF
Ph-2@1.55/sqyd 500sq.yd plot DLF
PH-1@1.25/sqyd 270yds DLF P-4
gated lane Rare option. 9717626999
KOTHIS FOR sale 150yds@1.80cr,
215yd@3cr, 300yd@4cr, 500yd@
6.25cr, Sushant Lok-I also options
in DLF City -1/2/4, South City-1
Mahender Kakkar 9811541211
DESPERATE FLOOR 316yds Top
flr 4Br with Roof DLF Ph-2@1.50cr,
400yds flr Brand New K-Block@best
price, 500yd brand new floor J-block
luxury Very high end #9810405585
DLF FLOORS M-400 B+GF 4BHK
@2.40, K-300 GF 3BHK Park @1.55,
K-300 SF+TR @1.30, K-200 FF 3BHK
Park@1.15,N-250 GF @1.35, P-215 B+
GF@1.70. 8800384387, 7042214949
RENTED PROPERTY @ 8.5% in
DESPERATE SALE Plots, 418yds
Gurgaon Rent 70/- Lock-in 5 years
SL-1@95k, 500sq.yd SL-1 Park fac.@ Office space on NH8 Investment 1.97
1lac per sq.yds, 300.yds B-Block SL-1
cr to 9.88 cr Call 9810481000
@1.25, 300sq.yd old built up M-Block
DLF PH-2@Plot Rate #98730 06366
DLF III 4 BHK Duplex kothi with
basement 325 sq yards, north
DLF-III 500 yd Moulsari, Siris facing corner vastu perfect @ 4.5 cr
call satish 9811175732,
Rd, S-1,S-19,V-1,V-37,V-39 400yd
Sanjay 9810744588.
S-15,W-9 (North, Cnnr) 316 yd V-
11,V-32,V-35, 163yd S-9/7(2 side).
9810010922, 9818198000
FOR SALE Penthouse 4850 Sq.Ft
flat ,5 BHK D/D with Servant room in
Legend apartment, Sector-57
Gurgaon. Owner going abroad.
Cont:- Amrish-9267901592
EXOTICA /GOLF course road.
Parasnath. Luxurious 5 bedroom
5000 sq.feet Tower-A. Interior done.
Ready to move. Best view. Maximum
Ch. Deeparul Estates. 9811068621
DLF 500 Yd Kothi 12 Mtr Maintained
@8.50/300 Yd Kothi 12 Mtr @6.50/
251 yd old built up house@4.50/SL-1
300 Yd House @4.25. Lalit Maini
& Asso. 9811089079, 9810889079 AVL : The Aralias (Golf Cr facing
5800'/Tata Raisina(Aravali facing
FOR SALE Beverly Park - 2, 2600 3850'/vatika Iris Row 1375'/DLF
sq.ft. 3 Bed Room + Servant Quarter, Kothis270/300/500/1000yd, best
walking MG Metro Station. Call interior.Moti Ahuja 9810012400
Narayan Arya 9810787781.
More Classifieds
on Page 11
 NEW DELHI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE* VOL. 13 NO. 194

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2019

LIVEMINT.COM

SENSEX NIFTY DOLLAR EURO GOLD OIL

36,958.16 10,925.85 ₹71.40 ₹80.12 ₹37,739.00 $58.17
623.75 183.80 ₹0.61 ₹0.20 ₹469.00 $0.40

mint
QUICK EDIT
primer
Do not
Will a new direct rush it
tax law push up The government seems to be in
rethink mode over its budget
decision to raise the minimum

compliance? public shareholding in listed

BY GIREESH CHANDRA PRASAD
India is rewriting its direct tax law to make it simpler, more
sophisticated and less prone to disputes. A draft of the proposed new
direct tax code (DTC) is expected to be ready by the end of this week.
Mint takes a look at what the new code will strive to achieve.
Tax tangles
An overhaul of the tax law will help widen the tax base in a country where
compliance has been low.
Appeals pending with*
Commissioner of
income tax (appeals)
Number of
appeals
300,000
Amount involved (in ₹ trillion)
Number of Tax
effective base
taxpayers
5.5% of a
74
million
population
of 1.3 billion
*As of FY18
What is DTC?
1 Personal and corporate
income, including capital gains, is
taxed in India as per the principles
laid out in the Income Tax Act,
1961, largely based on a 1922 law by
the same name. Numerous
amendments over five decades, as
well as the influence of case laws,
often made it difficult to interpret
the rules. Given businesses take
into account regulatory risks and
predictability in law enforcement
while making their investment
decisions, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi had said during his
previous term that the income tax
law required to be rewritten in line
with the economic needs of the
country, and to keep pace with
global best practices.
4 Is any pushback likely? 5
DTC will seek to plug legal
loopholes to check abuse of the tax
breaks given to specific classes of
taxpayers, and widen the tax base.
This could entail stronger checks
and balances around politically
sensitive tax breaks such as tax
exemption to farmers and
religious and charitable trusts. The
Modi government may experiment
with an inheritance or estate tax.
People aware of the government’s
plans said this was considered
during budget discussions, but not
taken up as a surcharge hike on
income tax outgo of those earning
over ₹2 crore was agreed upon.
companies from 25% to 35%.
This should relieve equity mar-
kets, worried about the impact
of a sudden burst of supply on
share prices. The number of
companies that would be
affected by this proposal is
quite large. As many as 1,100
listed companies are estimated
to have a promoter stake of
more than 65%, and a reduction
to the new limit could entail ₹1
trillion worth of share sale.
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal,
high courts, Supreme Court Such a massive sell-off within a
short span of time would imply
TOTAL promoters getting to raise
82,643 382,643
rather less money, since stock
5.2 4.43 9.63 prices are mostly in a slump.
For the sake of greater share-
Direct tax Revenue lost Total holder democracy, the era of
to GDP due to tax direct tax
ratio incentives arrears closely-held public firms needs
to end, but it would be advisable
6% 1.7
trillion
 11.1
trillion
to defer the implementation of
Source: Comptroller and Auditor General of India
the proposal to another day,
when the economy is in better
NAVEEN KUMAR SAINI/MINT
shape. Also, instead of short
Why is it important?
2 To keep abreast of
technological disruptions and
deadlines, companies should
be allowed a few years to com-
ply, so that fire sales are averted.
corporate best practices, This way, promoters would get
businesses worldwide have
the best value for their shares.
adopted new service delivery
models. The advent of a digital At the same time, it would
economy has prompted ensure that markets face the
corporations to remotely offer least disruption. New supply
services even in regions where should evenly be spread out.
they are not physically present.
Also, despite being a country of
more than 1.3 billion people, there
are only 74 million effective
taxpayers in India, as per the last
count. An overhaul of the tax law
MINT METRIC
will make it more effective, by Bibek Debroy
simpler, easy to comprehend and,
at the same time, help widen the
tax base in a country where
In hotels very nifty
compliance has been low. Eggs for eight hundred and fifty.
Omelette or boiled,
3 Are there any challenges?
Some experts say upsetting
settled jurisprudence, especially on
Like Bose bananas unspoiled,
Not places for those who are thrifty.
fundamental principles of income and
taxation, could be a challenge, shortly
after a disruptive roll-out of the new
indirect tax system, GST, in 2017. QUOTE OF THE DAY
Take a minute to look at our
What do firms expect?
Businesses are looking
forward to a tax regime that does
city, our home. Can we bear to
not distract them from operations
push it into the abyss and see it
and is easier to follow. They also smashed to pieces?
expect certainty in tax policy. One
key area where businesses expect
reforms is dispute settlement. “Tax
litigation often continues for years.
We hope DTC will have a provision
to address quick settlement of
disputes. One is also hoping for a
lower tax regime,” said Deloitte
India partner Neeru Ahuja. Last CARRIE LAM
week, the Central Board of Direct CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF
Taxes liberalized norms for filing HONG KONG
appeals against lower court
decisions so as to reduce litigation.

m MINT CURATOR

London college bans beef to fight climate change

ISTOCKPHOTO
AFP that our staff and students care passion-
feedback@livemint.com ately about the future of our environ-
LONDON ment and that they are determined to
help,” she added.

S
tudents at London’s Goldsmiths
will no longer be munching on
canteen staples such as burgers
and chilli after the prestigious univer-
sity announced it would ban all beef
products to fight climate change.
Professor Frances Corner, the new
head of Goldsmiths, said that she was
taking the drastic action to pull beef
from campus cafes and shops from next
month because “declaring a climate
Canteen staples such as burgers will no
longer be available at Goldsmiths.
emergency cannot be empty words”.
“Though I have only just arrived at
Goldsmiths, it is immediately obvious
Goldsmiths hopes to become carbon
neutral by 2025, and is not the first uni-
versity to alter menus in a bid to reduce
emissions.
Cambridge University’s catering ser-
vices have not served beef or lamb since
2016.
Students at Goldsmiths will also face
a 10p levy on single-use plastic items
when they return after the summer
break.
 FLIP SIDE AFP

Argentina on the brink of

crisis amid default fears
Sydney Maki & Aline Oyamada chief under former President Nestor Kirchner, while his vice
NEW YORK/SAO PAULO presidential pick, Cristina Kirchner, led the republic for
eight years before Macri came to power. During her time in

A
rgentina is once again on the cusp of a full-blown office, Argentina was marked by currency controls, data
financial crisis. In the wake of President Mauricio manipulation and protectionist policies on trade to protect
Macri’s stunning rout in primary elections over the national industry. And, of course, it was also punctuated by
weekend, investors dumped its stocks, bonds and currency another default that made the country an international
en masse in a sell-off that left much of Wall Street wondering pariah for years.
whether the crisis-prone country was headed for yet another “The hopes of Argentina becoming a sustainable, well-
default. functioning economy have been shattered for now,” said
The upset, widely seen as a preview of October’s presiden- Patrick Wacker, fund manager for emerging-market fixed
tial vote, threw the doors open to the very real possibility a income at UOB Asset Management Ltd. in Singapore. “I do
more protectionist government will take power come not see a silver lining in the results.” The company expects
December and unravel the hard-won gains that Macri made to cut its exposure further on Argentine bonds once prices
to regain the trust of the international markets. It deepened stabilize, he said.
worries his populist opponent, Alberto Fernandez, and run- “It is going to be an extremely tough period for Argentin-
ning mate, former president Cristina Fernandez de Kirch- ian assets,” said Marcin Lipka, a senior analyst at brokerage
ner, will try to renegotiate its debts as well as its agreements Cinkciarz.pl in Zielona Gora, Poland. “Without moderation
with the International Monetary Fund. The country has bil- of the Fernandez duo and regarding increasing expectations
lions in foreign-currency debt due over the coming year. of another fight with the IMF, I would not exclude that peso
“The market is starting to price in default,” said Edwin could hit 100 level to the dollar in the next 12-month period.”
Gutierrez, the London-based head of emerging-market sov- Lipka, whose outlook on Latin America currencies has
ereign debt at Aberdeen Asset Manage- been among the most accurate since the
ment. “The market is unwilling to give Fer- Investors dumped second quarter of 2018, said a rate of 100
nandez the benefit of the doubt.” pesos per dollar wasn’t his base case, but
Credit-default swaps showed that trad- Argentinian that he does expect extreme volatility in
ers were pricing in a 75% chance that stocks, bonds the coming weeks. There’s a risk the cur-
Argentina will suspend debt payments in rency will be doubly hit amid liquidity
the next five years. On Friday, the likeli- and currency issues, capital outflows and string inflation
hood was just 49%. Its dollar-denominated en masse pressure.
government bonds lost roughly 25% on Luiz Ribeiro, the lead money manager
average, pushing down prices to as low as 55 cents on the for Latin American equities at DWS Group in Sao Paulo, said
dollar. Yields on shorter-maturity notes soared past 35%. he will probably cut his exposure to Argentina in half. His
The peso tumbled as much as 25% to a record-low 60 per Latin American equity fund outperformed 92% of rivals in
dollar Monday and the Merval stock index lost the most ever the past year after building up holdings in Argentina amid
in intraday trading. expectations of political continuity.
Expected to trail his opponent by just a few points, Macri “What we are pricing right now is radical change in eco-
was instead pummeled at the polls Sunday, with voters giv- nomic policies,” he said in an interview. Still he’s staying
ing Fernandez a 15-point lead. The sudden shift in voter sen- overweight relative to the benchmark as “Alberto Fernandez
timent shocked foreign investors and Argentines alike, who could come up with more moderate speech, which I think
have suffered through years of high inflation, economic mal- is possible given the kind of turmoil we see in the market
aise and political division. right now.” It’s also possible, though would be difficult, that
Argentina has a long history of fiscal crises and it was only Macri could come back as the 27 October election
in 2016, under Macri, that the country put its most recent approaches, he said.
sovereign default behind it. Argentines still remember the “If Fernandez comes out with some market friendly com-
15-year default saga and deep recessions following a record ments (especially on the IMF front) and/or a credible eco-
default in 2001. nomics team, this would certainly help the sentiment,” said
The government and its subsidiaries currently have $15.9 Esther Law, senior portfolio manager for emerging-market
billion in debt payments denominated in dollars and euros debt at Amundi Asset Management in London.
due in 2019, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In a press conference Monday, Macri said he still has a shot
There are another $18.6 billion in bond principal, loans and to reverse the trend in October and that his economic team
interest payments issued in pesos. is working on measures to address economic concerns.
Investors are fearing the worst. Fernandez was cabinet BLOOMBERG

AFTER-HOURS WITH THE BOSS

WHO Alisha Malik
Vice-president, e-commerce, Metro Brands Ltd.
Alisha Malik, a graduate from the Newcastle Business School in England, started her
journey at Metro Brands Ltd in 2010, overseeing its Bengaluru stores. She was involved in
conceptualizing and initiating Metro’s e-commerce portal, and now spearheads the
brand’s e-commerce business. Malik is working towards the digital transformation of
Metro Brands, ensuring that it provides a seamless customer experience. Here’s how the
33-year-old unwinds outside her Mumbai office.

EAT LOUNGE
I don’t cook per se but enjoy baking—I find it I love reading
scientific and soothing. I try out various cuisines and Sapiens is a
when I travel, but prefer recent
continental and favourite. The
Asian seafood. way the author
In Mumbai, I builds his
love eating out point of view
at Sun & Moon is excellent.
and Qualia. My musical
interests are fairly varied—I switch
PLAY from jazz to 80s retro to pop and
I enjoy kickboxing and hiking. Going scuba select electronic. I also love
diving calms me. I recently tried canyoning and spending time with family and
cliff jumping—the adrenaline rush was great, but going for drives.
I’m not sure if I’d do it as often as diving. —BIDYA SAPAM/MINT

PEANUTS by Charles M. Schulz

 NEW DELHI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE* VOL. 13 NO. 194 Rs 5.00 IN DELHI-NCR; Rs 6.00 OUTSIDE DELHI-NCR. PRICE WITH HINDUSTAN TIMES Rs 9.50 (FOR DELHI & NCR) 22 PAGES

PLAIN
FACTS
LOOKING BEYOND INDIA’S 15 WAYS TO DEFINE
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2019
LIVEMINT.COM
HEADLINE JOB NUMBERS uP2 THE SLOWDOWN uP8

DON’T MISS CHINESE TROOPS GATHER NEAR HONG KONG

CSR relief likely for
businesses as panel
backs easier norms
Gireesh Chandra Prasad The panel also recom-
gireesh.p@livemint.com mended roll-back of a provi-
NEW DELHI sion for imprisonment of offi-
cers, who are in default if a
Amazon in late-stage talks for

A
high-level government company does not transfer
up to 10% stake in Future Retail panel on corporate unspent CSR funds to a desig-
India’s No. 2 retailer by sales, Future Retail, is social responsibility nated government fund within
seeking a valuation of about ₹2,000 crore (CSR) has recommended that a specified time, a controver-
from Amazon for the stake. The US company such spending be made tax-de- sial provision inserted into the
is looking to bolster its brick-and-mortar Default ductible for companies and jail Companies Act through
presence in the country. See Page 3 risks are
rising in
term for executives who failed amendments passed in Parlia-
India, A screen grab from a video released by China’s state media shows armoured personnel carriers moving toward Shenzhen, the to transfer unspent amounts to ment during the budget ses-
putting province that borders Hong Kong, amid mounting protests by pro-democracy activists in the city. The question worrying some is a state fund be scrapped. sion. The imprisonment provi-
Sensex falls 624 points amid focus on whether Chinese President Xi Jinping will send in troops to Hong Kong or wait out the protests, now in its 11th week. See Page 18 The panel, led by corporate sion had attracted criticism
global turmoil; RIL surges 9.72% stimulus
affairs secretary Injeti Srinivas, from the industry.
The Sensex fell 1.7% as turmoil in Hong Kong bit.ly/2H0OfW submitted its report to corpo- The 14-member panel rec-
and Argentina worried investors, already on o
rate affairs minis- ommended that
the edge over the trade war. RIL rose 9.72% ter Nirmala there be only a
on plans to sell a 20% stake in its oils-to-
Sitharaman on monetary penalty,
chemicals business to Aramco. See Page 6

Auto woes pile up, July

Tuesday. Indian which should be
companies spend 2-3 times the
around ₹15,000 default amount
Top court refuses to interfere in crore a year on Make CSR spend with a cap of ₹1
govt’s decision on curbs in J&K CSR, according tax-deductible, crore.
The top court, which was hearing a plea by
political activist Tehseen Poonawalla, said
the government needed to be given time to
lift curbs in the region as the situation there
was “very sensitive”. See Page 18
sales worst in 19 years to the govern- scrap jail term for
ment.
Allowing CSR unspent sum: Panel companies be
spending as a
deduction while
The panel rec-
failing to transfer ommended that
given 3-5 years to
use up funds
computing taxable income will meant for ongoing CSR pro-
come as a big relief to busi- jects before unspent amount is
SC turns down govt plea to reopen
reverification process for NRC
A slowing economy, higher ownership costs and floods keep buyers away nesses, one of their long-stand- compulsorily transferred to
ing demands. To give effect to the designated state fund. This
As the deadline for the National Register of m MINT GRAPHITI SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT such a provision, the Income is a relaxation from the maxi-
Citizens inches closer, the Supreme Court Malyaban Ghosh Tax Act will have to be mum of three years allowed for
struck down a plea by the Centre and the
Assam state government to reopen the
malyaban.g@livemint.com STUCK IN THE SLOW LANE (Year-on-year change in % ) amended to include CSR spending CSR funds that was
NEW DELHI spending among other classes introduced as part of the Com-
reverification process. See Page 17 Auto sales fell 30.9% to 200,790 of expenditure that are allowed panies Act amendment this

MS Dhoni invests undisclosed
sum in used car company Cars24
Cars24, one of India’s fastest growing tech-
enabled used car firms, has announced a
strategic partnership with cricketer M.S.
Dhoni, in a move to strengthen the brand as
it expands across markets.
Worried EPFO seeks
early redemption of
I
ndia’s passenger vehicle
industry suffered its worst
sales performance in
nearly 19 years in July as a
slowing economy, higher
ownership costs and floods in
See Page 3
some states deterred buyers.
Sales fell 31% to 200,790
vehicles last month from
290,931 units a year earlier,
showed data released on Tues-
day by the Society of Indian
Automobile Manufacturers
(Siam). It was the worst sales
performance since a 35%
decline in December 2000.
This was also the ninth VIEWS: What’s ailing India’s automobile market See Page 14
straight drop in monthly pas-
senger vehicle sales. Sales have vehicles came despite the
vehicles last month from 290,931
units a year earlier, the ninth
straight month of decline. Sales
have now fallen in 12 of the 13
months since July 2018,
underscoring the sharp
slowdown in demand in the
world’s fourth-largest
automobile market.
Source : Siam
CRASH COURSE
IN THE two-wheeler
segment, total
dispatches fell by 17% in
July to 1.51 million units.
as a deduction while comput- year. Sitharaman last week told
-0.4 ing taxable profits. industry executives at a meet-
-1.87 -1.11 -2.96
Sitharaman, who holds the ing that the imprisonment
-3.4 portfolios of both corporate clause would be reviewed.
Nov 2018
affairs and finance, could help The panel, however, recom-
in quicker implementation of mended that the CSR spend-
98,210
Maruti’s monthly sales
the proposal, a government ing obligation be extended to
official said on condition of limited liability partnerships
drop below 100,000 units -17.07 -17.5 anonymity. and banks too.
for the first time since
June 2017. -20.55
SALES OF medium and AS THE slump worsens,
heavy commecial
vehicles fell 37%, while
light CVs saw a 19% drop.
automakers have been
forced to halt production
to adjust inventory.
-30.9
Jul 2019 INFLATION IN COMFORT ZONE
Retail inflation rate eased slightly in July, staying below
the Reserve Bank of India’s 4% medium-term target
for a 12th straight month, strengthening views that the

₹700 cr DHFL bonds fallen in 12 of the 13 months recent introduction of models

since July 2018, underscoring such as Mahindra and Mahin-
the sharp slowdown in dra Ltd’s XUV300, Hyundai
Dreams of secure job central bank will cut the policy rate in its October
meeting. CPI inflation in July was 3.15%, down from an
eight-month high of 3.18% in June, data from the

Prashant K. Nanda
prashant.n@livemint.com
ANIRUDDHA CHOWDHURY/MINT demand in the world’s fourth- Motor India Ltd’s Venue and
largest automo-
bile market.
MG Motor India
The drop in sales Ltd’s Hector
are taking a back seat ministry of statistics showed on Tuesday. Overall
food inflation accelerated to 2.36% from the revised
2.25% for June.
NEW DELHI In July, passen- of utility vehicles models. The new Ajai Sreevatsan Year-on-year change (in %)
ger car sales came despite the models have seen ajai.s@livemint.com m 5
CPI 3.15
T
he Employees’ Provi- plunged 36% to recent launch of robust demand GURUGRAM/MANESAR
AUTO SLOWDOWN 4 4.6 (year-on-year)
dent Fund Organisation 122,956 units, despite a weak-
new models such ness in the overall A MINT SERIES

A
(EPFO) will seek early while utility vehi- s the second week of 3
redemption of about ₹700 cles recorded a as the XUV300 market. August rolled in, three-week-long leave. “I
and the Venue 2 2.8
crore worth of bonds of troub- 15% drop to Maruti Suzuki 39-year-old Banarsi don’t really know what is
led mortgage lender Dewan 67,070 units. India Ltd reduced Shah began making plans happening to car sales or 1 2.36
Housing Finance Corp. Ltd Vans suffered a wholesales of its to head back to his village the economy,” he said over
(DHFL) to safeguard workers’ 46% decline to 10,804 units. Vitara Brezza compact sport near Begusarai in Bihar. An the phone from his village. 0
savings. Industry body Siam releases utility vehicle because of weak auto worker at the diesel “I hope to come back on 1
1
The retirement fund man- wholesales, or factory dis- demand, emerging competi- engine unit of Maruti Suz- September.”
ager will exercise an early exit DHFL has been hit hard by the patches, of automobiles, and tion and its recently uki’s Gurugram plant, Shah 2 CPI
option to redeem investments liquidity crisis at non-banks. not retail sales. had hit the jackpot: a nearly TURN TO PAGE 6 FOOD
in 10-year bonds of DHFL that The drop in sales of utility TURN TO PAGE 6 3
Apr 2018 Jul 2019
mature in 2024, said Prab- of its bond investments in cri-
hakar Banasure, a member of sis-ridden shadow lender Source: Statistics ministry
the finance investment com- Infrastructure Leasing and
mittee of EPFO. Financial Services Ltd ARTHANOMICS C AFE ECONOMICS EX MACHINA SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT

“Of the total ₹1,300 crore (IL&FS). R. JAGANNATHAN NIRANJAN RAJADHYAKSHA RAHUL MATTHAN
bond investments (in DHFL), DHFL is among the compa- See Page 14 See Page 15 See Page 14
we are yet to recover ₹700 nies worst hit by the liquidity
crore. Though the company crisis triggered by the pay-
has promised to pay back the ment defaults by IL&FS in
investments, it is tough to give 2018. The crisis shook investor
a timeline right confidence in
Jio’s First Day First Show delights investors, spooks multiplex stocks
now,” said Banas- EPFO will exercise non-banks and
ure. dried up access to Lata Jha service, will get to watch the Luka Chuppi released this said Jio will have to pay film-
an early exit
Since mid- option to redeem financing for lata.j@livemint.com latest movies on the first day year, Jio Studios has makers a big chunk of their
June, the invest- investments in them from banks NEW DELHI itself. On the BSE, shares of announced a bunch of Hindi investment upfront and
ment committee as well as bond PVR Ltd and Inox Leisure Ltd, movies for the next year, ensure smooth returns on
10-year bonds

R
of the retirement markets. eliance Industries Ltd India’s largest and second- including Ayushmann Khur- investment because theatres
fund manager of DHFL that “Initially, EPFO chairman Mukesh largest multiplex operators rana and Yami Gautam-starrer may not screen films if they’re
has met four mature in 2024 thought of going Ambani’s audacious with 800 and 600 screens, Bala and director also streaming
times to discuss to the debt recov- plan to home-deliver movies respectively, fell more than 4% Imtiaz Ali’s next For Jio to be able elsewhere. Jio
ways to recover ery tribunal on the day of their release each. JioFiber will start offer- with Kartik Aar- to pull off its will need to keep
the investments. It redeemed against DHFL and it was dis- could transform movie- ing the First Day First Show yan and Sara Ali First Day First lead actors on its
₹201 crore in two tranches, fol- cussed in one of the meetings watching and reshape India’s service from mid-2020. Khan. Show service, side as well, since
lowing at least two rounds of of the investment committee. ₹10,000 crore multiplex RIL shares surged 9.72% The bigger they often ensure
deliberation with DHFL offi- But before that it called the
it first needs
industry, provided Jio mana- on Tuesday, the biggest jump chunk, however, impressive open-
cials in late June, according to officials of the firm who prom- ges to deftly navigate a land- since February 2017, even as will come from a massive ing figures by
official documents reviewed ised to pay a part of the scape of producers, exhibitors the benchmark Sensex shed films acquired content library pulling in
by Mint and two people famil- amount,” said one of the two and top actors, key stakehold- 1.66% to 36,958.16 points. from other pro- crowds. While
iar with the development. officials cited earlier, request- ers in the entertainment In separate statements on JioFiber’s plan to home-deliver movies on the day of their release ducers. Cur- digital deals for
The EPFO action comes as it industry. Tuesday, both PVR and Inox could reshape the ₹10,000 crore multiplex industry in India. HT rently, there is an unspoken films are currently struck at
struggles to recover ₹574 crore TURN TO PAGE 16 Shares of multiplex opera- said producers will need to agreement to maintain an ₹30-40 crore, Jio could take
tors plunged on Tuesday, a choose between theatrical off, it first needs a massive tion at Jio Studios,” said film approximately eight-week this several notches up, com-
NOTE TO Mint Brand Cell content is created in day after Ambani said pre- release and other platforms in content library. trade and exhibition expert window between theatrical pelling streaming platforms
READERS collaboration with our associates mium users of JioFiber, a fea- the early days of a release. “A part of this could come Girish Johar. Known for hits release and digital premieres.
ture-rich wired broadband However, for Jio to pull it from the films under produc- such as romantic comedy Industry experts such as Johar TURN TO PAGE 6
02 WEDNESDAY, 14 AUGUST 2019
NEW DELHI PLAIN FACTS

Looking beyond India’s headline job numbers

The results of the periodic labour force survey (PLFS) for 2017-18 show that the employment structure in the country has seen some changes
Amitabh Kundu & refers to any work activity pur- m MINT GRAPHITI
P. C. Mohanan sued for a smaller duration
Chart 1A Chart 1B
feedback@livemint.com
besides the principal activity. A
usual status worker is one India's rural employment structure India's urban employment structure
working either in principal or Share by principal activity status (%) Male Female Share by principal activity status (%) Male Female

T
he new periodic subsidiary activity. 2011-12 2017-18 2011-12 2017-18
labour force survey The accompanying chart Principal activity status Principal activity status
(PLFS) for 2017-18 shows the distribution of peo- Own account worker*
32.1 33.2 Regular salaried/wage 32.1 31.6
conducted by the ple (aged 15 years and above) by 4.1 3.7 employee 8.1 9.4
National Sample principal activity for 2011-12 Casual wage labourer 27.4 19.8 23.8 21.7
Own account worker*
Survey Office (NSSO) gener- and 2017-18. Overall, the prin- in other works 9.3 6.6 3.7 3.7
ated a lot of interest and atten- cipal status WPR declined 7.4 Attending educational 13.3 15 Attending educational 15.3 14.7
tion because of the high rates of percentage points between institutions 8.7 10.4 institutions 12.3 13
unemployment and the low 2011-12 and 2017-18 to 71.4% in 9.4 6.6 Casual wage labourer 10.5 10.2
Unpaid family worker
workforce participation rate rural India. The fall perhaps 9.1 7.7 in other works 2.4 2.1
(WPR) that it reported. mirrors the rise in rural stress, 8 10 Unpaid family worker 4.8 2.9
Regular salaried/wage employee
1.9 2.5 2.3 1.7
Now that the heat and dust which seems to have shrunk
around the survey have settled, employment opportunities. 3.9 3.7 Rentiers, pensioners, 4.8 7.1
Others not in labour force
4.5 2.9 remittance recipients 2.1 4.8
and the government has The WPR also fell for urban
released the report and the raw males but the decline (4.5 per- 1.7 4.6 3.5 3.3
Unemployed Others not in labour force
0.7 1 4.2 2.5
data for the PLFS 2017-18, it is centage points) was smaller
time to have a more meaningful compared to that among rural Rentiers, pensioners, 1.7 4.5 2.4 5.2
Unemployed
remittance recipients 1.3 4.4 1.2 2.2
debate on the males. The urban
changes in the WPR was 69% in 1.2 1.4 2 2.5
Employer Employer
0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
country’s labour 2017-18 (See
market over the
past few years. PLAIN charts 1A and 1B).
In rural India,
Casual wage labourer
in public works
0.7
0.4
0.4
0.4
Casual wage labourer
in public works
0.3
0
0.1
0.1

The compara-
bility of the FACTS the share of male
casual workers
Engaged in domestic duties and
also doing additional activities**
0.3

0.2
33.6
0.4

0.6
18.4
Attending domestic duties only

Engaged in domestic duties and

0.3

0.1
48.2
0.7

0.1
55.6

PLFS with past has seen the Attending domestic duties only
26.1 42 also doing additional activities** 15.4 4.7
NSSO employment surveys sharpest fall between 2011-12
remains a contested issue but and 2017-18, declining 7.6 per- 0 10 20 30 40 0 10 20 30 40 50 0 10 20 30 40 50 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

the PLFS results are broadly
comparable with past surveys.
NSSO has conventionally
used three different measures
for classifying the activities of
the population viz. the usual
status, current weekly status
and current daily status, each
having different reference peri-
ods. The usual status, quoted
most often, is based on the
employment status of the
respondent in the year prece-
ding the survey. The other indi-
cators are based on the status in
the week preceding the survey.
The usual status data has two
components: principal status
and subsidiary status. The
former refers to the activity that
a person pursues for the major
part of the year. The latter
centage points to 19.8%. This
segment comprises casual
workers in farm and non-farm
sector, hired by rural establish-
ments.
Clearly, such hiring has gone
down. Simultaneously, there
has been an unprecedented
rise in the share of unemployed
rural males from 1.7% in 2011-12
to 4.6% in 2017-18. However,
the data also shows that there
was a significant fall in the
share of people engaged in
unpaid family labour among
rural males. Their share fell by
2.8 percentage points between
2011-12 and 2017-18 to 6.6%.
This section of the workforce
represents the disguised part of
family labour, whose with-
drawal may not impact the out-
*Own account workers are self-employed and do not employ anyone to work for them in the reference period. **Such activities, which are not paid for but are beneficial to the household, include free collection of firewood, cattle feed, tailoring, weaving, etc.
put of the family enterprise,
and which may in fact reflect
improvement in the economic
status of their households.
Another silver lining in the data
is that the share of regular
workers saw a small increase in
rural India.
Interestingly, the share of
the “rentiers, pensioners, and
remittance recipients” cate-
gory saw an impressive rise
over the same period, rising 2.8
percentage points to 4.5%
among rural males in 2017-18.
There is a similar increase
among urban males as well.
Without additional data on the
Source: PLFS 2017-18, NSSO EUS 2011-12
SANTOSH SHARMA/MINT
sources of such earnings, it is from 16.6% in 2011-12 to 17.1% in routine household work are could bring down the share of as the decline in unpaid family
difficult to say if this increase is 2017-18, with the rise in salaried also engaged in other activities these activities even further in labour could be due to
being driven by improved pen- workers driving the increase. outside the home such as the coming years. improvements in educational
sion schemes, return migra- A heartening development (unpaid) collection of firewood, Among females, the share of and economic conditions, free-
tion, or improved economic over the past few years has been cattle feed, tailoring, sewing subsidiary workers has histori- ing many workers from the
condition due to other earnings the increase in the share of stu- etc. Between 2011-12 and cally been high but this cate- drudgery of unremunerated or
or remittances. dents in the population aged 15 2017-18, the share of those gory appears to be declining poorly paid work. However, the
Among rural females, the years and above. Among rural engaged in only household now. The share of rural women increase in the share of the
WPR (based on principal sta- females, the share of students work saw a 15.9 percentage who reported being engaged in unemployed and the sharp
tus) fell across all categories rose 2.7 percentage points point jump to 42%. subsidiary employment drop in the labour force partici-
other than that of regular or sal- between 2011-12 and 2017-18 to Over the same period, the declined 11.1 percentage points pation rates, especially among
aried employment (which saw 10.4%. Most rural women share of the other sub-category between 2011-12 and 2017-18 to females, should worry policy-
a small jump). Overall female report being engaged in declined by an equivalent mag- 5.2%. There was a similar drop makers.
WPR fell 3.9 percentage points domestic household chores. nitude to 33.6%. The reduction among rural male workers as Amitabh Kundu is a former
between 2011-12 and 2017-18 to But there are two sub-catego- in grazing land and such other well, indicating a decline in professor of Jawaharlal Nehru
21%. For urban females, the ries within this section: those village commons, and the economic activities pursued as University and P.C. Mohanan is
WPR has, however, witnessed engaged only in household wider availability of clean fuel a marginal activity in the Indian a former member of the National
a small improvement, rising work and those who apart from through state-funded subsidies economy. This decline as well Statistical Commission.

m CRICKET DASHBOARD Does macro-stability really boost growth?

MEN’S TEAM RANKINGS Nikita Kwatra
ANIRUDDHA CHOWDHURY/MINT
reduction in the deficit, is nec-
TEST ODI T20 nikita.k@livemint.com essarily contractionary, as it
# Team Rating # Team Rating # Team Rating
MUMBAI lowers output. But at a time of
fiscal consolidation, economic

W
hat is the reason policy can lessen its contrac-
1. INDIA 113 1. ENGLAND 125 1. PAKISTAN 283
behind India’s eco- tionary effect by raising the
2. NEW ZEALAND 111 2. INDIA 122 2. ENGLAND 266 nomic slump? Dif- share of capital expenditure.
ferent economists have come In the face of declining pri-
3. SOUTH AFRICA 108 3. NEW ZEALAND 112 3. SOUTH AFRICA 262
up with different answers to vate investment, this is what
4. ENGLAND 105 4. AUSTRALIA 111 4. AUSTRALIA 261 this. In a new Economic and public policy should attempt
Political Weekly to do. But the data RBI’s inflation-targeting regime and the Centre’s fiscal policies
5. AUSTRALIA 98 5. SOUTH AFRICA 110 5. INDIA 261 research paper, on the pattern of have led to the current economic slump, argues a research paper.
economist Pulapre
m public expenditure
6. SRI LANKA 94 6. PAKISTAN 97 6. NEW ZEALAND 254
Balakrishnan of SNAP FACT since 2014 shows though inflation was easing at may explain why investments
7. PAKISTAN 84 7. BANGLADESH 86 7. AFGHANISTAN 241 Ashoka University that the budgetary that time and it continued to have suffered despite
8. WEST INDIES 82 8. SRI LANKA 82 8. SRI LANKA 227 pins the blame on share of capital first be tight for an excessively long improvement in ease of busi-
declining investments and rose to 14.4% in 2016-17 from period. He also points out that ness rankings.
9. BANGLADESH 65 9. WEST INDIES 77 9. WEST INDIES 224 contractionary public policies 11.8% in 2014-15, but then at 2.8%, India’s real interest Macro-economic stability—
10. ZIMBABWE 16 10. AFGHANISTAN 59 10. BANGLADESH 220 for the slump. sharply fell to 12.3% in the sub- rate in 2018 was the highest measured in terms of low fiscal
Balakrishnan argues that sequent fiscal year. among its Asian peers. deficit and low inflation—
MEN’S BATTING RANKINGS both the inflation-targeting The fiscal space that opened He argues that instead of could at times be too much of a
regime of the Reserve Bank of up due to the fall in oil prices using one of the two policy good thing, he argues.
TEST ODI T20 India and fiscal policies of the should have been used to instruments in a countervail- Also read: Unmoved by Sta-
# Player Rating # Player Rating Player
Union government have led to expand capex, but this was not ing way, the conduct of both bility (bit.ly/2MfuIWq)
# Rating
the current situation.He done, he writes. At the same the monetary and fiscal poli- Snap Fact features new and
argues that fiscal consolida- time, monetary policy was cies compressed demand. This interesting reads from the
1 Virat Kohli 922 1 Virat Kohli 886 1 Babar Azam 896
IND IND PAK tion, which involves a targeted tightened in 2014-15, even miscalculation in policy mix world of research.

2. Kane Williamson 913 2. Rohit Sharma 881 2. Colin Munro 825

NZ IND NZ
3. Steve Smith 903 3. Babar Azam 827 3. Glenn Maxwell 815
AUS PAK AUS
4. Cheteshwar Pujara 881 4. Francois du Plessis 820 4. Aaron Finch 782
m NEWS IN NUMBERS CORRECTIONS AND
IND SA AUS CLARIFICATIONS
AFP

5. Henry Nicholls 778 5. Ross Taylor 817 5. Hazratullah 718 4 2,800 Mint welcomes comments,
NZ NZ AFG What is it? The number of foreign coaches What is it? The suggestions or complaints
Indian cricket team (men’s senior) has had number of people about errors.
MEN’S BOWLING RANKINGS since 1990. infected by the
Readers can alert the
TEST ODI T20 Why is it important? India is set to Ebola virus in the
newsroom to any errors in the
choose its next head coach on 16 August. Democratic paper by emailing us, with your
# Player Rating # Player Rating # Player Rating Six have been shortlisted, including the Republic of Congo full name and address to
incumbent Ravi Shastri, Tom Moody in the last one feedback@livemint.com.
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 DEALS WEDNESDAY, 14 AUGUST 2019
NEW DELHI 03

REVERSE PITCH
Reverse Pitch is like a normal investors pitch, but
Amazon in talks to acquire
with the roles reversed. That means the startup
doesn’t present its business to investors but investors
and companies pitch their business concept,
challenges and the like to startups.
10% stake in Future Retail
“There is
tremendous value in Future Retail is seeking a valuation of about ₹2,000 crore from Amazon for the stake
automotive spares & Saritha Rai, Ari Altstedter &
services business” P.R. Sanjai Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder
Ola. BLOOMBERG
MITESH SHAH BENGALURU/MUMBAI
Head, finance,
Ola acqui-hires

A
BookMyShow Uniphore
mazon.com Inc. is in
raises
late-stage talks to
acquire as much as 10%
$51 mn in
Series C
Pikup.ai, aims
A
nalysts are unanimous that the automobile of India’s Future Retail
sector is handicapped, but we believe there Ltd, people familiar
funding
bit.ly/2yUGRrl
to develop deep
is tremendous value in the spares and servi- with the negotiations said, as the
ces business. It is an underserved and fragmented US company moves to bolster its tech solutions
market, wherein a digital platform can bring about brick-and-mortar presence in one
uniformity and transparency for all stakeholders,
from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to
of the world’s fastest-growing retail
markets.
for mobility
dealers, and service centres to consumers. India’s No. 2 retailer by turnover,
Auto spare replacement is often technical, Future is seeking a valuation of Nandita Mathur
requiring specialized knowledge. Besides, India about ₹2,000 crore ($281 million) nandita.m@livemint.com
does not have a DIY culture. Even for car owners, from Amazon for the stake, accord- NEW DELHI
who might want to do it themselves, finding genu- ing to the people, who asked not to

ine spare parts at reasonable price is a struggle. be identified as the discussions are
For regular household goods, horizontal and private. The sale is likely to be
vertical e-commerce platforms offer price discov- routed through a holding com-
ery. India lacks a platform which lists prices of pany, they said, and will give Ama-
spares from various manufacturers and different zon the option to buy more shares
variants. from Kishore Biyani, Future
Given the absence of knowledge, spare parts Retail’s founder and chairman.
and price information, vehicle owners are The deal with the Mumbai-based
dependent on local workshops to get their vehi- company, which operates its flag-
cles serviced. ship “Big Bazaar” grocery store
There are some great success stories globally in chain, will give Amazon more expo-
this segment. YourMechanic offers on-demand sure to the business after it bought
mechanic services in 700 cities across the US. It Whole Foods Market Inc. for $13.7
monetizes through spare part sales and raised $24 billion in 2017 and secured a foot-
million in March 2016. TUHU has 6,500 delivery hold in the US food retailing seg-
partners in 260 cities across China offering same- ment. The proposed investment in
day delivery and installation. It had raised $100 Future Retail offers some parallels,
million in April 2015. enabling Amazon to tap into India’s
Back in India, startups are in a race to brand rising demand for household prod-
workshops and build businesses across B2B and ucts and home-delivered fresh pro-
B2C platforms. Gaadiweb is trying to organize duce and vegetables.
garages on a platform and make money selling Discussions are yet to be final-
spares. Gomechanic is focused on controlling ized, and the deal could still falter
customer experience across touch points. Spare- or be delayed. Representatives for
sHub focuses on quick delivery of spare parts to parent company Future Group and
make a profit. We expect increased traction in this Amazon in India said they don’t
space over the next couple of quarters. comment on market speculation.
The potential deal underlines
the American online giant’s ambi-
R
ide-hailing company
Ola on Tuesday acqui-
hired Pikup.ai, a Ben-
galuru-based artificial intelli-
The sale is likely to be routed through a holding company and will give Amazon the option to buy more shares gence (AI) startup.
from Kishore Biyani, Future Retail’s founder and chairman. ANIRUDDHA CHOWDHURY/MINT Co-founded by Inder
Singh and Ritwik Saikia,
tions to dominate the last sizable Amazon has been acquiring tiny up from $79 billion last year. Pikup.ai uses technologies
market yet to be conquered by stakes in other Indian brick-and- Discussions between the Seattle- such as AI, computer vision
large networks of hypermarkets mortar chains such as Shoppers based retailer and Future Group and sensor fusion to provide
and supermarkets, after losing Stop Ltd and a grocery chain from revived recently, said the people, solutions for businesses. As
ground in China. the Aditya Birla Group in the past after waning earlier this year when part of the deal, the team at
It’ll also give the Jeff Bezos-con- couple of years. India tightened rules related to pikup.ai will join Ola.
trolled firm an edge over rival Wal- That’s on top of directly plowing online retail, throwing Amazon and Ola is increasing its focus
mart Inc. and the Walmart’s grand on using advanced analytics
planned e-com- AMAZON’S A TO Z PLAN IN INDIA plans for the nation and deep technology to build
merce venture of in disarray. futuristic mobility solutions.
Mukesh Ambani, THE move comes THE investment will IT will also give Future Retail The application of machine
Asia’s richest man, as Amazon tries to enable Amazon to tap
bolster its brick- into India’s rising
Amazon an edge over
Walmart and Mukesh
operates over learning and AI will enable
that plans to com- and-mortar demand for household Ambani’s planned 2,000 stores across the company identify
bine the online and presence in India products e-commerce venture 400 Indian cities, insights that can lead to
offline retail for- including the “Big improved mobility out-
mats in India. Wal- Bazaar” stores that comes. This will include
mart, which spent $16 billion last in $5.5 billion into its own opera- are designed to appeal to the value- investments in early-stage
year to acquire Indian e-tailer Flip- tions in a bid to grab a bigger slice of conscious urban consumers who businesses, acquisitions as
kart Online Services Pvt. Ltd., has a India’s modern retail market have traditionally shopped in well as acqui-hires across AI,
local unit that is allowed to sell which, according to consultant India’s chaotic street markets. machine learning, computer
goods to smaller grocery stores but Technopak Advisors, will more BLOOMBERG vision and other emerging
not directly to consumers. than double to $188 billion by 2023, feedback@livemint.com areas of deep technology, the
company said in a statement.
Earlier this year, Ola
announced its intention to
set up an advanced technol-
ogy centre in the San Fran-

CDPQ in exclusive talks to buy GIP’s Highway Concessions One road portfolio cisco Bay area to focus on
developing next-generation
technologies in mobility like
electric, connected and
Swaraj Singh Dhanjal Expressways Pvt. Ltd in Tamil Prior to the acquisition, India’s roads sector has seen autonomous vehicles.
swaraj.d@livemint.com Nadu, Nirmal BOT Ltd in Tel- IDFC Alternatives had raised significant pickup in deal activ- “As we advance on our mis-
MUMBAI angana, Dewas Bhopal Corri- two infrastructure funds— ity this year with many devel- sion to build mobility for a
dor Pvt. Ltd in Madhya Pra- India Infrastructure Fund and opers looking to monetize their billion people, we are invest-

C
anada’s second largest
pension fund manager
Caisse de dépôt et
placement du Québec (CDPQ)
is in exclusive talks to acquire
Highway Concessions One, a
roads portfolio owned by infra-
structure fund manager Global
Infrastructure Partners (GIP),
two people aware of the devel-
opment said.
“CDPQ is the only one left in
the race now and they are in
exclusive talks with GIP,” said
the first of the two people cited
above, both of whom spoke
under condition of anonymity.
The sale of the roads to
CDPQ could fetch up to ₹3,000
crore in enterprise valuation,
he said.
Mint first reported in
December 2018 that GIP had
started a formal process to find
buyers for the Highway Con-
cessions One (HC1) portfolio,
which comprises roads totaling
The HC1 portfolio, comprising seven road assets—five toll roads and two annuity roads—is spread
across seven states and generates a consolidated revenue of ₹620 crore.
472 route km.
In April, Mint reported that
the HC1 sale process had
attracted several buyers includ-
ing Italian roads operator
Atlantia as well as the Piramal
Group, apart from the Cana-
dian pension funds. Last
month, Mint reported that
CDPQ was competing with
Canada Pension Plan Invest-
ment Board for the GIP roads
portfolio.
An email sent to GIP on Fri-
day remained unanswered. A
spokesperson for CDPQ
declined to comment.
The HC1 portfolio, compris-
ing seven road assets—five toll
roads and two annuity roads—
ANIRUDDHA CHOWDHURY/MINT
is spread across seven states
and generates a consolidated
revenue of ₹620 crore.
The construction of roads
was funded by IDFC Alterna-
tives’ second infrastructure
fund, which was acquired by
GIP last year.
The HC1 platform’s road pro-
jects include Ulundurpet
desh, Bangalore Elevated Toll- India Infrastructure Fund II— toll road assets. ing in futuristic technology
way Pvt. Ltd in Karnataka, aggregating $1.8 billion. As part IndInfravit Trust, an infra- solutions that will shape the
Godhra Expressways Pvt. Ltd of its investment strategy for structure investment trust future of mobility in India
in Gujarat, Jodhpur Pali the second fund, it had focused sponsored by the L&T Group, and the world. We are very
Expressway Pvt. Ltd in Rajast- on buyout transactions, club- on 1 July said that it is acquiring excited to welcome the
han and Shillong Expressway bing the assets under various nine operational road assets Pikup.ai team to Ola and we
Pvt. Ltd in platforms to from Sadbhav Infrastructure look forward to co-creating
Meghalaya. The sale of ensure aggrega- Project Ltd for ₹6,610 crore. innovative technology that
T h e r o u t e the road assets to tion, better con- In June, Mint reported that will help redefine the mobil-
length under CDPQ could trol, and govern- Edelweiss Infrastructure Yield ity experience in the times to
management has fetch up to ance. Plus fund, an alternative invest- come,” said Ankit Bhati,
grown at a com- CDPQ has been ment fund set up by the Edel- co-founder and chief tech-
₹3,000 crore
pounded annual on the hunt for weiss group, is acquiring two nology officer, Ola.
growth rate of in enterprise operating road annuity road assets from Inder Singh, co-founder
45% since the valuation assets in India for Hyderabad-based Navayuga Pikup.ai said, “We are look-
inception of the some time now. Group for approximately $150 ing forward to joining Ola on
platform in 2014, Mint reported million. its mission to build mobility
according to the company’s in May that the pension fund Earlier in March, Cube High- for a billion people and are
website. was in talks to buy three road ways and Infrastructure, the very excited about building
GIP Alternatives completed assets from Essel Infraprojects Indian roads and highways meaningful technology solu-
the acquisition of IDFC Alter- Ltd. However, it dropped the platform of global infrastruc- tions that have a deep impact
natives’ infrastructure business plan later. ture fund I Squared Capital, on the lives of millions, every
last July. This allowed the infra- The pension fund is also in agreed to acquire DA Toll Road single day.”
structure fund manager, which talks to buy seven road projects Pvt. Ltd, which operates a toll Ola was founded in 2011 by
has offices in the US, the UK from GR Infraprojects, the Eco- road in the states of Haryana Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit
and Australia, to establish a nomic Times reported on 4 and Uttar Pradesh, from Reli- Bhati with a mission to build
foothold in India. August. ance Infrastructure Ltd. mobility for a billion people.

MS Dhoni invests in used-car company Cars24

HT
Nandita Mathur the same values that we live by companies that are disruptive,
nandita.m@livemint.com at Cars24 and therefore the innovative and shaping the
NEW DELHI partnership felt natural and future. Cars24 is definitely one
perfect. We also share a com- of these companies. They have SUPERB

C 30
ars24, one of India’s
fastest growing tech-
enabled used-car com-
panies, has announced a strate-
gic partnership with cricketer
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, in a
move to strengthen the brand
as it continues to expand across
markets.
As part of this partnership,
M.S. Dhoni will own equity in
Gurugram-based Cars24 and
will act as its brand ambassador.
His investment, the quantum of
which was not disclosed, is part
of the series D round of fund-
ing.
Talking about the partner-
ship, Vikram Chopra,
co-founder and chief execu-
mon love for cars which makes big ambitions and I am excited
this even more to work with them
special.” As part of the and help them
Cars24 believes partnership, achieve their
that Dhoni’s cre- Dhoni will goals.”
dentials, recogni- own equity in Founded in
tion and traits, 2015, Cars24 is
Cars24 and will
makes him the already the largest
perfect face for act as its brand platform for buy-
Cars24 and will ambassador ing and selling
strengthen its cars in India and is
endeavour to revolutionizing To get your MINT copy,
Vikram Chopra, co-founder and chief executive officer, Cars24 become India’s most trusted the way pre-owned cars are Business of Life give a missed call on
(left) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. brand for pre-owned car sales. sold in India. Daily articles on the
7039035039 or visit
Commenting on his associa- The company recently workplace, and how it www.mintreaders.com
tive, Cars24 said, “We are very evolve, innovate and find solu- tion with the brand, Dhoni said, announced its foray into the is evolving or write to us at
excited to welcome Mahi into tions to every problem thrown “I am thrilled to be part of the franchise model and intends to subscription@livemint.com
the Cars24 family. He is a role at him over the years have Cars24 journey. Besides being scale up its presence in more
model and hero to most Indi- made him the most celebrated a fan of all things to do with than 300 tier 2, 3 and 4 markets
ans. His ability to constantly captain in Indian history. It’s cars, I am also a fan of new-age by 2021. THE MOST AWESOME BUSINESS DAILY THERE IS.
04 WEDNESDAY, 14 AUGUST 2019
NEW DELHI MARK TO MARKET

S&P BSE Sensex Nifty 50 Nifty 500 Nifty Next 50 Nifty 100 S&P BSE Mid-cap S&P BSE Small Cap
CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE

36,958.16 -1.66 10,925.85 -1.65 8,890.10 -1.73 25,636.10 -2.29 11,027.40 -1.74 13,362.90 -2.25 12,519.43 -1.42
PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN

37,581.91 37,755.16 11,109.65 11,139.40 9,046.55 9,066.35 26,236.60 26,228.30 11,222.20 11,248.00 13,670.05 13,681.50 12,699.50 12,719.23
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW

37,755.16 36,888.49 11,145.90 10,901.60 9,070.20 8,874.85 26,228.90 25,583.05 11,253.20 11,004.90 13,681.50 13,344.45 12,725.51 12,504.72

Back to zero
SHORT TAKES
Reliance Industries goes slow with
JioFiber, after big-bang Jio launch
US stocks haven’t gone anywhere since
January 2018.
S&P 500 Index
3100

3000

2900

2800 R. Sree Ram & Mobis Philipose ing to sneer at. The entire fixed line
Jefferies India Pvt. Ltd said in a note Numbers game
2700 sreeram@livemint.com broadband market in the country to clients. ARPU stands for average JioFiber’s lowest tariff plan of ₹700 for broadband is not far lower than
2,883.09 right now is at a little more than 18revenue per user. competitors’ monthly rates.

S
2600
2,695.81 low and steady wins the race million. Among private sector opera- The limited scope of the market Per subscriber per month (in ) Subscribers (in million)
2500 Revenue (Right-hand scale)
isn’t the mantra anyone will tors, the largest is Bharti Airtel Ltd,
and challenges with last-mile con- 1000
Ebitda
2.5
2400 BSE to associate with Reliance Jio which has a subscriber base of about nectivity seem to have led to the deci- 2.3
launch
2300 liquidity
Infocomm Ltd. In less than 2.3 million. sion. Taking broadband services to 800 2
2 Jan 2018 12 Aug 2019 enhanceme three years of the launch of Even so, Jio’s decision to lower its
residences involve multiple approv-
600 1.5
Source: Bloomberg nt plan in its mobile broadband services, it has target reflects the underlying chal- als from authorities, such as munici- 1.3
SATISH KUMAR/MINT equity become the clear market leader. The pal corporations and housing socie-
lenges, such as last-mile connectivity 400 1
derivative 0.8
segment
company first enticed ties, which aren’t very
A steady diet of nothing is bit.ly/2TuBTeo
customers by offering SLOW AND UNCHARACTERISTIC easy to come by. Note 200 0.5
its services free and, that Jio’s broadband
making investors irritable even when it started RELIANCE HAS THE COMPANY’S SLOW AND steady trial runs, which effec-
0
Airtel ACT Hathway
0

charging them, tariffs scaled back its minimum tariff for its approach means the
subscriber target for 100GB JioFiber plan payback period for
tively amount to free Ebitda: Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization
It has certainly seemed like a busy 18 months were way below com- its fixed broadband isn’t vastly lower than Jio’s massive capex services over the past ACT data is for 1H FY18 annualized, for others it is FY19 Source: Jefferies India
for stock traders. There was the bull market’s petition. service, JioFiber competitors extends further many months, have
SATISH KUMAR/MINT
near-death experience in December 2018, the In comparison, the resulted in a customer
VIX blowing up 10 months before that, a smat- company’s plans for base of only 0.5 million. tors. At the time of acquisition, both add 3-4 million subscribers per year,
tering of other memorable tumbles, as well as its fixed broadband services, under and affordability. Interestingly, the Some analysts are hopeful that Jio- had access to 24 million cable and 1.2 achieving the target in five years.
18 record highs. On the other hand, nothing the JioFiber tag, are far more company has decided on a minimum Fiber may be better placed than com- million broadband subscribers. In other words, the progress is
whatsoever has happened. Never mind that restrained. To start with, in its annual tariff of ₹700 for its 100GB plan, petitors because of its bundled offer- According to Rajiv Sharma, expected to be slow and steady. This
equities had their best yearly start since 1987, general meeting on Monday, parent which isn’t vastly lower than compet- ings, and its partnership with cable co-head (research) at SBICAP Securi- may have been fine, except that the
or that the index is up 23% since Christmas: company Reliance Industries Ltd itors. “With most peers, offering operators. ties Ltd, there are an estimated 20-25 pace at which capital expenditure has
563 days after surging to a high in January (RIL) scaled down its target of reach- 100GB plans and pricing starting Last year, RIL bought stakes in million affluent homes in India. Add been incurred on the project was any-
2018, the S&P 500 hasn’t made a lick of ing 50 million homes with its broad- from ₹600 and ARPU for most at DEN Networks Ltd, and Hathway to this the infrastructure back-up of thing but slow. As such, the payback
progress from there. band services to 20 million. ₹400-800, the plans do not appear as Cable and Datacom Ltd, providing RIL, and market access from DEN time for Jio’s massive expenditure
The stretch extended on Monday when a Of course, the new target is noth- disruptive as in mobile,” analysts at access to 27,000 local cable opera- and Hathway, Sharma expects RIL to continues to get drawn out.
1.2% tumble in the S&P 500 again pushed it
below its 26 January 2018 close of 2,872.87.
Most other American indices have done worse
over that stretch, some significantly so. From a
high a few weeks earlier, the Dow Jones Trans-
portation Average has fallen 12%, while the
Russell 2000 small-cap index has dropped
6.6% from 18 months ago. BLOOMBERG
Fevicol firm Pidilite’s rich valuation Small finance banks march ahead
Pay gains
is weakening its bond with investors on growth as listing deadline looms
UK wage growth is now comfortably
outpacing Inflation. Harsha Jethmalani Aparna Iyer
(in %) small finance bank. Since the deadline. It is still exploring its pos-
6
Basic wage growth (year-on-year) harsha.j@livemint.com
Improving performance aparna.i@livemint.com announcement of this scheme, the sibilities on listing and is willing to
Wages including bonuses Pidilite Industries’ operating margins have seen an stock has lost 8%. go the IPO way. “We are completely
5
improvement, thanks to easing raw material costs.

F L
Inflation or adhesives producer isted small finance banks “We hence continue to factor in a prepared for listing. If we go for an
3.9 Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation Operatings margins (in %)
4 Pidilite Industries Ltd, and amortization (in  crore) (Right-hand scale) reported robust performance 50% holdco discount to 50% of the IPO, we will ensure all existing
3.7 maintaining a strong 5000 22 25 metrics for the June quarter, firm, while current valuations shareholders get a chance to get
3 20.8
bond with investors is getting 4000 20 but barring AU Small Finance Bank already reflect a worst-case out- exposure to the bank,” Samit
2.1 challenging. Ltd, the stocks haven’t been reflect- come, implying a Kumar Ghosh, chief
2 3000 3,817 4,437 15
1.8 2 This is despite the fact that 2000 10 ing the performance of the lenders. holdco discount to Equitas and executive and manag-
1 the company reported decent 1000 5
That is so because both Equitas 80% of the firm, in our Ujjivan have to list ing director of Ujjivan
1 June quarter earnings in an Holdings Ltd and Ujjivan Financial view,” said analysts at their banks within Financial Services said
0 0 0
environment of moderating Q1 FY19 Q1 FY20 Services Ltd have a fast approach- Nomura Financial three years of in a phone interview.
industry growth. Volumes in Source: Motilal Oswal Financial Services ing listing deadline. On the other Advisory and Securi- Analysts are pencil-
-1
SATISH KUMAR/MINT setting up shop;
its key consumer and bazaar hand, AU Small Finance Bank does ties (India) Pvt. Ltd. ing in a dilution of
In essence, once the the former by Sep, 14-16% for the holdco
30 Jun 2009 30 Jun 2019
business grew 6% year-on- pricing in overly-stretched discount to the consumer peer not have the holding structure
Source: Office for National Statistics, Bloomberg
year. Thanks to easing input expectations, leaving minimal average of around 32%. problem its peers have. bank is listed, share- the latter by Jan shareholders once the
SATISH KUMAR/MINT costs, operating margins too room for error, the brokerage “Moreover, the challenging As per rules, Equitas and Ujjivan holders will get direct IPO comes to the mar-
improved more than 100 basis firm wrote in a note to clients, demand environment and the have to list their banks within three exposure to the lender ket. Analysts at Nom-
UK wages rising at fastest points year-on-year to 22%. A explaining its underperform raw material cost dependence years of setting up shop. Equitas will to the extent of about 50% of its ura have factored in a relatively
basis point is one-hundredth rating on the stock. on crude price trends add an be the first up in this deadline game, value, while the rest would con- high holdco discount. “Ujjivan will
pace since 2008, jobs jump of a percentage point. “We like the story but await element of uncertainty to the as it will need to list its bank by Sep- tinue to be through the holding look to list the bank via the IPO
In a post-earnings confer- a better entry point given earnings outlook,” it said in a tember. Earlier this year, the com- company (holdco) stake. The route as, unlike Equitas, issuing
UK wages rose at their fastest pace in 11 years in ence call, the management expensive valuations,” Kotak report on 7 August. pany said it would list the bank holdco discount Nomura refers to bank shares will be limited to the
the three months through June and employ- said that profita- Institutional Although some brokerage without an initial public offering would apply to this exposure. bank’s free reserves. This would
ment climbed to a record high. The stronger- bility outlook has Stock is trading Equities said in a firms remain upbeat on Pidil- (IPO) by giving its existing share- Ujjivan Financial Services, how- mean that the holding discount
than-forecast figures from the Office for improved further at 56 times r e p o r t o n 8 ite, it is unlikely to see a run- holders a direct 47% stake in the ever, has more time, with a January would apply to more than 50% of
National Statistics suggest that the labour mar- due to the con- one-year forward August. The brok- away rally from its current the firm,” said a Nomura note.
ket remains tight, meaning the Bank of tinued down- price-to-earnings ing house has level. For instance, Edelweiss On valuations, AU Small Finance
England is unlikely to join the global rate-cut- ward trend in raw raised FY20-22 Securities Ltd is working with How they stack up Bank is a winner given the scorch-
ratio, as per While all three small finance banks have reported a strong
ting trend, at least for now. material prices. earnings per share a target price of ₹1,486, which ing growth the lender has shown.
However, the unemployment rate rose as However, that Bank of America estimate by 2-4% is 9.5% upside from the cur- balance-sheet growth for the June quarter, AU Small Finance Bank’s But the biggest strength stems from
more people actively started looking for work, hasn’t prompted Merrill Lynch on the back of rent market price of ₹1,344.10. performance was the strongest.
(in  crore) its deposit franchise, which dou-
and there were some signs that the jobs market analysts to lower input prices It should be noted that the 25000 bled in the June quarter. The fact
Ujjivan Financial Services
is succumbing to the Brexit jitters weighing on change their but maintains a stock hit a new 52-week high 20000 that the bank’s management has
the wider economy, with vacancies falling to stance on the Pidilite stock. reduce rating on the stock. of ₹1,371 on the National Stock Equitas Holdings stated its aspiration to turn into a
15000
their lowest level since early 2018. BLOOMBERG Blame it instead on the com- Similarly, Motilal Oswal Exchange on 13 August. AU Small Finance Bank universal bank has also given inves-
pany’s rich valuation. Securities Ltd pointed out that In short, in the backdrop of 10000 tors reasons to grab the AU Small
Pidilite is trading at 56 times while the estimated earnings the ongoing consumption 5000 Finance Bank stock. It has gained
Treasury rally one-year forward price-to- growth rate is healthy at nearly slowdown, Pidilite’s valua- 0
6.7% in the last three months and
earnings ratio, according to 18% for the next two years, the tions have to moderate for it to Advances Disbursements Total deposits Current and trades at a multiple of four times its
The 30-year bond yield is knocking on the savings accounts
door of record lows. Bank of America Merrill return on capital employed in regain popularity among estimated book value for FY21,
Source: Companies
5
Yield on 30-year Treasury (in %) Lynch. The stock seems to be the early 20s is at a substantial investors. which is seen as steep by analysts.
4.4 SATISH KUMAR/MINT

4.5

3.5

2.5
3 Bharat Forge: Demand slump across markets weighs on profit margins
2.1
Vatsala Kamat from the medium and heavy depreciation and amortization) de-risking strategy in the inter-
2
3 Jan 2011 12 Aug 2019 vatsala.k@livemint.com commercial vehicle segment
On a rough terrain margin took a tailspin, narrowing national oil and gas business
Source: Bloomberg Bharat Forge’s revenue analysis shows a strain in the domestic
plunged 30% year-on-year. This commercial vehicle segment and higher stress in the global by 3 percentage points to 26.1%, involves addition of new prod-

K
SATISH KUMAR/MINT alyani Group flagship
company Bharat Forge
US long-bond yield nears Ltd’s shares fell 7% on the
bourses as soon as it declared the
all-time low as anxiety up June quarter results on Tuesday.
Clearly, the firm has not been
The rate on 30-year Treasury bonds spared the adverse impact of
approached an all-time low and a closely moni- global industrial slowdown and,
tored section of the US yield curve hurtled more importantly, of the domes-
closer to inversion as investors sought shelter tic auto crisis.
amid a fraught geopolitical backdrop. The 9% drop in stand-alone
The yield on the long bond tumbled as much net revenue to ₹1,347 crore dis-
as 14 basis points on Monday to close in on its appointed analysts who had pen-
record-low of 2.0882% from July 2016. The cilled in a year-on-year growth of
10-year note fell 10 basis points to 1.65%, and at 8-10%. Total tonnage shipped
one point was just 5 basis points more than out of the company’s facilities
two-year notes. That’s the flattest that part of was lower by 8.9%.
the curve has been since 2007. BLOOMBERG On the home turf, revenue
segment is the worst hit in the
auto industry with a double-digit
sales drop after a robust FY19.
But the pain in international
markets was more. The industrial
segment suffered the biggest hit
on account of “inventory
de-stocking in the oil and gas
business and production con-
straints in North America’s oil
and gas markets”, the company
said in media release.
On the whole, the interna-
tional business contracted by
13.6%, more than twice the drop
in the domestic business. Looks
like business in Europe was
adversely affected during the
industrial segment. way below Bloomberg’s 12-broker ucts, new customers and inor-
India business Change (in %) International business
average estimate of 28.9%. The ganic growth opportunities.
19.83 11.07
upshot: An 18% year-on-year Be that as it may, the 25% year-
16.37 13.08 drop in Ebitda to ₹352 crore, on-year drop in net profit to
-2.98 which again was 25% below ana- ₹174.1 crore left little to be
-13.61 lysts’ forecasts. desired. In any case, the Bharat
-6.58
The moot question is when Forge stock have been south-
-30.92 -38.75 will things get better for the bound since December when
Commercial Passenger Total Commercial Passenger
world’s largest forging company. orders from one of its key mar-
vehicles vehicles vehicles vehicles Bharat Forge expects a recov- kets—the US Class 8 trucks—
Industrial Others Industrial Total ery in the second half of FY20, started falling. At ₹400.50, the
Source: Company though this hinges on some stim- stock trades at 15 times the esti-
SATISH KUMAR/MINT
ulus or support from the govern- mated FY21 earnings. With
quarter. Revenue dropped by ity. For Bharat Forge, raw mate- ment. Fortunately, the domestic hardly any earnings growth
26% from a year earlier, while rial cost increase as a percentage industrial segment has been sta- envisaged over the next 12-18
North America was more stable. of sales rose due to negative oper- ble except for some slowdown in months, the stock is not likely to
To be sure, declining revenue ating leverage. Therefore, Ebitda tractor sales. win investor fancy in the near
and rising costs dent profitabil- (earnings before interest, tax, Meanwhile, the company’s term.

Mark to Market writers do not have positions in the companies they have discussed here
06 WEDNESDAY, 14 AUGUST 2019
NEW DELHI CORPORATE

RIL surges on Aramco deal even Labour pains

The auto industry, in the middle of a slowdown, no longer
presents a happy picture for the employees.
Chart 1: The late-2000s boom Chart 2: The average wages

as global turmoil drags markets

in auto jobs has begun to earned by an auto worker have
plateau. been sliding.
New workers (% growth) Average annual wages (in ₹)
25 Auto worker
All manufacturing
20
6.2
15 82,854
10
67,722
47,716 52,763
RIL shares rose 9.7%, in stark contrast to broader market which tanked 1.7% over tensions in Hong Kong 5
0
-5 -2.8
Ravindra Sonavane 26%. Shares of Mahindra & Mahin- -4.9 FY12
-10
ravindra.s@livemint.com RIL defies weak markets dra Ltd declined 6.1%, Eicher FY2001 FY2016 2000-01 2015-16
MUMBAI Shares of RIL surged 9.72%, witnessing their biggest jump since February 2017, after billionaire Mukesh Ambani Motors Ltd fell 5.3%, Maruti Suz- Source: Bloomberg
announced the group’s plan to sell a 20% stake in its oils-to-chemicals business to Saudi Aramco on Monday. uki India Ltd dropped 4.7%, Hero

S
SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT
hares of Reliance Indus- MotoCorp Ltd lost 2.1%, and Bajaj
tries Ltd (RIL) surged
9.72% on Tuesday, wit-
nessing their biggest
1310
1300
RIL
(In ₹)
37800
SENSEX
11150
NIFTY
11,081.95
Auto dipped 1.3%.
Investors were also disap-
pointed after the government did
Renault to
launch EV in
India by
2022
Dreams of secure job
1,275
jump since February
2017, after its chairman and man-
aging director Mukesh Ambani
1290
1280
37600

37400
36,958.16
11100

announced the group’s plan to sell
a 20% stake in its oils-to-chemicals
business to Saudi Aramco.
The sharp jump in RIL shares
was in stark contrast to the
broader market, which ended the
day 1.7% down, as turmoil in Hong
Kong and Argentina spooked
investors, already on edge over the
US-China trade war.
The benchmark 30-share
index, Sensex, fell 1.66%, or 623.75
points, to close at 36,958.16 points,
while the 50-share Nifty slid
1.65%, or 183.80 points, to end at
10,925.85 points.
Following major announce-
ments at RIL’s annual general
meeting on Monday, including the
company’s plans to become a zero
net-debt company by March 2021,
several brokerages have raised
their target price for RIL and
upgraded the stock. The stock
gained for the third consecutive
session and added nearly ₹1 trillion
to investor wealth.
In intraday trade, the RIL scrip
touched a high of ₹1,302.5 a share,
gaining as much as 12.09%, its
highest since 18 May 2009. So far
this year, it has risen 13.7%.
m SHORT TAKES
Sun Pharma reports net profit
of ₹1,387 crore in June quarter
New Delhi: Sun Pharmaceutical
Industries Ltd on Tuesday
reported a consolidated net profit
of ₹1,387.48 crore for the quarter
ended 30 June 2019, as against a
profit of ₹1,057.29 crore for the
corresponding period of the pre-
vious fiscal.
Total revenue from operations
for the quarter under review stood
at ₹8,374.36 crore, Sun Pharma
said in a BSE filing. Consolidated
research and development invest-
ment for the first quarter of 2019-20 was ₹422 crore, or 5.1% of the
sales compared to ₹500 crore or 7% of the sales for the year-ago
period, it added.
IOC to invest ₹2 tn to expand
refining, petrochem capacities
11050
not announce any measure to
exempt foreign investors from the
increase in surcharge on the
bit.ly/2KEExdm
are taking a back seat
super-rich. The dominant senti-
1270
1260
1250
37200 11000
ment among investors continued
to be that of caution amid the sharp
decline in vehicle sales in July and
as auto slump persists
1,250.7 37,469.92
rising geopolitical tension, follow-
1240 37000 10950
ing the removal of Jammu and FROM PAGE 1 University. “The employment
1230 Kashmir’s special status. outcomes we are seeing in the
10,925.85
1220 36800 10900 “Global crackdown due to polit- When Shah became an auto current conditions (of a down-
9.15am 3.30pm 9.15am 3.30pm 9.15am 3.30pm ical uncertainty in Argentina and worker in 2008, the automo- turn) have been a decade in the
Italy impacted our market. tive industry was going making.”
Source: Bloomberg Domestic market is floating on a through a prolonged boom. In Manesar, the brunt of the
hope that the government will Between 2000 and 2015, the fallout has been borne by the
SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT
come out with supportive meas- share of jobs in automobile temporary and casual work-
RIL plans to sell a 20% stake in standstill on Monday. Argentina’s 48.3% on Monday, while S&P Mer- ures as indicated in the meeting manufacturing doubled from force, which is in the majority.
its flagship chemicals and refining peso as well as equities sank after val Argentina Index dropped 49%. with finance minister. Till meas- about 3% to nearly 7%, provid- Around Sector 4 in Mane-
business to Saudi Aramco in a deal voters rejected President Mauricio Back home, auto stocks were ures are implemented, the market ing employment to an esti- sar, normally teeming with
valued at $15 billion, amid plans to Macri in primary elections. hammered, after data from auto will react based on economic data, mated 800,000 people. But casual workers looking for
cut its massive debt and secure an Among Asian markets, the Nik- industry body Society of Indian which continues to be weak,” said that ride now seems to have daily work, the streets are
assured supply of crude Vinod Nair, head of definitively hit the brakes. eerily empty. “Chhutti pe gaya”
oil to its twin refineries in RIL SHARES RISE FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE SESSION research, Geojit Financial Reports of job losses (some (gone on leave) is code in an
Jamnagar. In addition, Services Ltd. of it masked as long leaves) in industrial belt where firing is
RIL will raise $1 billion SHARES of RIL THE stock gained for ON the other hand, AUTO stocks were Expectations of a roll- the automotive sector in the no longer necessary, since the
from BP Plc, which will surged 9.72%,
witnessing its
the 3rd consecutive
session and added
the Sensex fell 1.66%, hammered after
or 623.75 points, while SIAM data showed
back of the higher sur- face of an economic slowdown permanent workforce is lim-
acquire a 49% stake in biggest jump since nearly ₹1 trillion to the Nifty slid 1.65%, or passenger vehicle charge on foreign portfo- are now steadily streaming ited anyway.
RIL’s petro-retailing February 2017 investor wealth 183.80 points sales in July fell 31% lio investors (FPIs) drove out, although growth in new Workers at big car and bike
business. Sensex to a 900-point auto jobs had begun to show factories are still better off
The broader markets rally on Thursday and signs of weakening as far back because of an impending
were, however, dragged down fol- kei fell 1.1%, while Hang Seng fell Automobile Manufacturers, Friday last week. as 2012 (see Chart 1). 8-10% bump in production
lowing global cues. Global mar- 2.1%. European markets FTSE 100 showed India’s passenger vehicle However, finance minister Nir- Jasraj Singh, who sits next to capacity ahead of Diwali and
kets, especially Hong Kong, fell as and CAC40 were down 0.4%, sales in July fell 31%, its steepest mala Sitharaman gave no such his idle truck in an open field the annual festive season.
pro-democracy protesters while Dax declined 0.7%. Argen- drop in two decades. Car sales fell indication at a meeting with FPIs in Gurugram, remembers the However, those staffing the
brought the city’s airport to a tina’s S&P Merval index slumped 36%, while truck and bus sales fell on Friday. 2012 slowdown. “Even that auto parts factories, which
wasn’t this bad,” he said. “I operate on narrow margins,
used to transport have a more
2-3 loads (of cars) The question immediate per-
a month to a rail- many workers are ception of pro-
head in Guwa- faced with is: even duction swings.
Jio’s First Day First Show delights investors hati. Now, I
haven’t got work
for over 10 days.
if the slowdown
ends, will auto
“Nobody gets
overtime work
these days,” said
Some others jobs ever have the Subham Rana, 26,
FROM PAGE 1 not just in a growing market haven’t trans- same allure? who works at
such as India but also in more ported anything Lumax Auto
BLOOMBERG such as Netflix and Amazon mature markets such as the for a month.” Industries Ltd in
Prime Video to act. US, China, Europe etc. where The 2012 slowdown and the Manesar. “The streets are
Films such as Vikram cinemas have regularly com- violent strike at Maruti Suz- empty when I step out after
Bhatt’s 1921 and Rajkummar peted with many similar initia- uki’s Manesar plant that year 5.30pm.”
Rao-starrer Shaadi Mein tives like Netflix original mov- resulted in 70% of the work- The long-term effects that
Zaroor Aana have had their ies,” it said. force morphing into a “tempo- this is going to leave on the
day one shows disrupted when The producer of the film is rary”, six-month-long contrac- labour market is “very worry-
multiplex chains pulled them the owner of the creative con- tual status; a subsequent fall in ing”, said Radhicka Kapoor, an
down as they appeared on tent and is therefore entitled average wages (see Chart 2); economist at the Indian Coun-
over-the-top (OTT) platforms to choose the platform for dis- and an acceleration in automa- cil for Research on Interna-
simultaneously or within days tribution and consumption of tion that was already under- tional Economic Relations.
of their theatrical release. if Jio’s First Day First Show takes off, it could mean a threat to the his content, Inox Leisure said way (while the average robot “That one of the fastest grow-
“It could, however, be a Indian film exhibition business. ANIRUDDHA CHOWDHURY/MINT in a statement. density in Indian manufactur- ing industries in the country
good option for producers “However, in view of this ing is three per 10,000 work- over the past two decades is in
making small films that any- the Ficci-EY media and enter- sanct gap between the theatri- mutually agreed exclusive ers, it is 79 per 10,000 in the such a slump is worrying.”
way don’t draw crowds to the- tainment industry report cal release date and the date of theatrical window, he would automotive industry). At Maruti’s Manesar plant,
PTI atres,” Johar said, adding that 2019. Film exhibition chains release on all other platforms, have to choose between theat- The current slowdown, however, workers have been
the exhaustive library Jio is are unlikely to i.e. DVD, DTH rical exhibition or release on which began to hit the work- insulated somewhat due to a
looking at is likely to be built take the threat Shares of PVR, (direct-to- any other platform, since force early this year, is perhaps slight uptick in production to
on the back of non-star driven, lying down. Inox Leisure fell home), TV, OTT release on both simultane- the final piece in the jigsaw. cater to the expected rise in
niche films. “For decades, etc. Cinemas con- ously would breach the mutu- The question now on the sales around Diwali. “Pasina
To be sure, though, if Jio theatrical release
over 4% each, a
tinue bringing ally agreed exclusive theatri- minds of many workers is: dekh (look at my sweat),” said
RAMESH PATHANIA/MINT day after it was
manages to pull this off, it window has been people together cal window (of eight weeks),” it even if the slowdown ends, will Nitesh Pratap, stepping out of
announced that auto jobs ever have the same the factory after the 3pm work
could mean a serious threat to a valuable model to share a com- added.
the Indian film exhibition for exhibitors Jio will start First munal experi- Cinepolis India declined to allure? shift. “There is no slowdown
business. and producers Day First Show ence, this irre- comment. “In the automobile industry, on my assembly line. I am
Domestic theatricals con- alike,” PVR said placeable ele- Actors such as Salman you don’t really need experi- working as hard as I was.”
tributed about ₹10,210 crore of in a statement. ment which is at Khan, Ajay Devgn and Mahesh ence, especially on the assem- If sales don’t pick up around
the total ₹17,450 crore gener- “In India and globally, produc- the core of theatrical experi- Babu have also announced bly line. You are expendable,” and after Diwali, men like
ated by filmed entertainment ers have respected the release ence, continues to deliver a forays into film exhibition in says Paaritosh Nath, a Pratap may need a viable
in India in 2018, according to windows and kept a sacro- robust box office performance recent times. researcher at Azim Premji backup plan.

New Delhi: The country’s biggest oil firm Indian Oil Corp.
Ltd (IOC) will invest ₹2 trillion in the next five to seven years
to expand refining and petrochemical capacities, its chair-
Auto industry woes pile up, sales in July the worst in nearly 19 years
man Sanjiv Singh said. The plan is to expand its fuels and
liquefied petroleum gas retailing network, jack up petro- FROM PAGE 1 trucks, which led to a sharp fall stocks in the dealerships when the automobile industry
chem production capacity and produce more oil and gas. in sales as fleet owners could there is no demand in the mar- receives a financial package
The company currently is India’s largest oil refiner with announced plans to phase out carry more freight on their ket. We will take a call regard- from the government. The
a group refining capacity of 80.7 million tonnes per annum. diesel vehicles from next April. existing trucks. Lower demand ing production after taking a flood situation in states such as
It wants to maintain this leadership position by raising the Hyundai and Mahindra and from agriculture and other look at the market situation. Maharashtra will further
refining capacity to 150 million tonnes through greenfield Mahindra reported 10% and sectors also contributed to the We have an inventory of a little impact consumer sentiment,
and brownfield expansions. PTI 15% decline in sales, respec- weak market as fleet owners over a month with our dealers he said.
tively in July. witnessed a drop in rentals. since retail sales are under “Thankfully, this time the
Weak domestic economic Sales of medium and heavy pressure,” R.S. festive season will
Allianz Real Estate to invest activity and escalating global commercial vehicles fell 37% Kalsi, senior exec- Sales of arrive a bit late.
trade tensions led the Reserve in July to 17,722 units, while utive director So, if some help
$150 mn in Godrej’s office platform Bank of India to cut India’s light commercial vehicles (sales and mar-
motorcycles
comes from the
dropped 19% to
growth projection for 2019-20 posted a 19% decline to 39,144 keting) at Maruti 933,996 units, government,
Mumbai: Allianz Real Estate, part of Munich-based Allianz SE, to 6.9% last week from its June units. Total sales of commer- Suzuki, said in a then we can
while scooter
said on Tuesday that it has committed $150 million in Godrej forecast of 7%. A liquidity cial vehicles fell 26% to 56,866 recent confer- expect demand to
PRADEEP GAUR/MINT Build to Core (GBTC), an office crunch caused by a shadow units. ence call with sales fell 12% to pick up during
development platform, as part of banking crisis since late 2018 A sharp contraction in con- analysts. 526,504 units the festive sea-
its expansion plan in India. has exacerbated the woes of sumption in both urban and Among carmakers, Maruti cut production for the sixth straight Car and two- son,” Mathur said.
For Allianz, the investment is the auto industry. Severe rural markets and an increase month in July to control dealership stocks. RAMESH PATHANIA/MINT wheeler makers “The automobile
part of the company’s strategy to floods in key states such as in third-party insurance pre- tend to start adding to dealer industry supports the steel,
allocate 50-60% of its real estate Maharashtra, Kerala and Kar- mium continued to adversely As the slowdown intensi- cial vehicle maker by volume, inventory from August in chemicals, textiles and other
exposure within Asia-Pacific to nataka before the onset of impact sales of motorcycles fied, automakers announced closed its Pantnagar facility for anticipation of higher sales sectors as well, and any slow-
fast-growing markets such as Onam and Ganesh Chaturthi and scooters. In the two- shutdowns of their factories to nine days last month due to during the festival season, down will impact the broader
China and India, it said in a state- are also impacting the fortunes wheeler segment, total dis- adjust inventory. Tata Motors weak demand. which starts with Onam in economy. Demand in the rural
ment. In 2018, Netherland-based of the automobile industry. patches fell by 17% in July to Ltd, India’s largest commercial Among carmakers, Maruti August and ends with Diwali in market has also declined sig-
APG Asset Management NV had In commercial vehicles, the 1.51 million units. Sales of vehicle maker, closed its Jam- cut production for the sixth November. nificantly and the double-digit
committed $150 million towards economic slowdown has coin- motorcycles dropped 19% to shedpur and Pune plants for straight month in July to con- Vishnu Mathur, director drop in motorcycle sales is an
GBTC, which was set up to invest cided with an increase in 933,996 units, while scooter up to 12 days. Ashok Leyland trol dealership stocks. general of Siam, said the indication of the demand situ-
in office assets. BIDYA SAPAM freight carrying capacity of sales fell 12% to 526,504 units. Ltd, the third-largest commer- “There is no point pushing decline can be arrested only if ation in rural areas.”

Smartphones
record strong
sales despite
slowdown
Abhijit Ahaskar
abhijit.a@livemint.com
NEW DELHI
I
ndia’s smartphone market is
belying signs of an eco-
nomic slowdown that has
crimped demand in sectors
such as automobiles.
Smartphone shipments
jumped to 36.9 million units in
the second quarter of 2019,
from 32.1 million in the previ-
ous quarter, according to
International Data Corpora-
tion’s (IDC) “Asia/Pacific
Quarterly Mobile Phone
Tracker”, issued on Tuesday.
The domestic smartphone
market grew 9.9% year-on-
year and 14.8% quarter-on-
quarter during the April to
June period.
Chinese companies con-
tinue to command a lion’s
share of the market with
Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo and
Realme having a cumulative
market share of more than
60%.
Xiaomi retained the top spot
in the June quarter with a
28.3% market share compris-
ing 10.4 million shipment
units. However, its market
share fell from 30.6% in Q1
2019.
Its main rival, South Korea’s
Samsung shipped 9.3 million
units, increasing its market
size to 25.3%—up from 7.2 mil-
lion units and 22.3% market
share in Q1 2019. While
Xiaomi’s shipment volume
grew by 4.8% y-o-y, Samsung
registered a stronger YoY
growth of 16%.
However, Realme, Oppo
and Vivo were the fastest
growing brands in Q2 2019
with y-o-y growth rates of
602.4%, 41% and 31.6%,
respectively.
Online sales contributed to
most of the demand, with an
y-o-y growth of 12.4%, while
offline sales grew 8.5% y-o-y.
Embassy REIT sets sights
on stressed office assets
The real estate trust is also aiming to expand its portfolio in Hyderabad and Chennai
Bidya Sapam
bidya.s@livemint.com
MUMBAI
E
mbassy Office Parks REIT,
India’s first listed Real
Estate Investment Trust
(REIT), a joint venture
between private equity
giant Blackstone Group Lp and
Embassy Property Developments,
plans to acquire stressed office
assets in India, while looking to
expand its portfolio in Hyderabad
and Chennai, said a top executive.
At present, the REIT portfolio
includes of 25 million sq. ft of com-
pleted commercial real estate and
another 8 million sq. ft of under-
construction office space. These
assets span across Mumbai, Pune,
Bengaluru and the National Capital
Region (NCR).
Michael Holland, chief executive
of Bengaluru-based Embassy Office
Parks REIT, said the ongoing liquid-
ity crisis has thrown up a huge
opportunity to buy out commercial
assets in the market, particularly
from builders who own both office
and residential space, and want to
raise funds.
“The tight liquidity today creates
a lot more opportunity (for acquisi-
tion). We are looking to buy assets
that add value to our REIT portfo-
lio…and we have significant head-
room in terms of our ability to raise
further debt for those acquisitions,”
he said.
At present, Embassy Office Parks
REIT’s net debt stands at ₹3,500
crore, which is 11% of the total enter-
prise value. According to regulatory
guidelines, net debt can go up to
49% of asset value.
While Embassy Office Parks REIT
will continue to look for opportuni-
ties in the existing four cities, it is
also looking to expand in Hyderabad
and Chennai. Holland, however, did
CORPORATE WEDNESDAY, 14 AUGUST 2019
NEW DELHI 07
Flipkart’s 2GUD eyes
new internet users
with unbranded items
Varsha Bansal
varsha.b@livemint.com
BENGALURU
A
year after launching
the 2GUD platform for
refurbished goods,
Walmart-owned Flipkart
plans to expand the offerings
to unbranded new products,
said a top executive.
Tata Capital In a bid to compete with the
Fin expects
20% growth
new breed of social commerce
despite companies to reach the next
stress in 200 million internet users,
NBFCs Flipkart’s 2GUD will start sell-
bit.ly/2MYR6D ing new unbranded products Chanakya Gupta, head of
2 across categories such as fash- 2GUD.
ion, home and electronic
accessories by the end of this 60-65% of the orders coming
month. from tier II and III markets.
“Over the last year we real- This prompted the firm to
ized that we could offer more launch new and unbranded
than just one way of maximiz- products across categories
ing value for customers,” said such as fashion, fashion acces-
Chanakya Gupta, head of sories, home, toys and station-
2GUD. “That is why we are ery—although at lower price
Michael Holland, chief executive officer, Embassy Office Parks REIT. expanding our product offer- points when compared to Flip-
ings from an only-refurbished kart’s offerings.
not disclose the kind of investment April, said its revenue has improved for acquisition of Embassy One portfolio to a marketplace of 2GUD will start off with over
and additional space the company is by 19% to ₹535 crore, as compared to assets. new unbranded products.” 100 sellers for now as they
looking to buy. ₹449 crore for the quarter ended 30 “Despite the ongoing liquidity This comes at a time when continue to add more to the
Vikaash Khdloya, deputy chief June 2018, driven by continued leas- issues, we are at an advantageous consumer internet companies platform over the coming
executive and chief operating offi- ing momentum across the portfolio. position given that we are pretty are looking at dif- months. “We are
cer, Embassy Office Parks REIT, During the quarter, it also raised lowly levered. Eleven percent lever- ferent ways to 2GUD will start targeting the next
clarified that while looking to buy- ₹3,000 crore through non-convert- age at the balance sheet which is in bring the next selling unbranded 200 million inter-
out assets, it should be free from any ible debentures, which will mature stark contrast to the other residen- wave of new goods across net users who are
kind of litigation, or other major in June 2022. tial and office developers. Hence, we internet users categories such as only online on
issues. Considered to be the largest REIT are able to raise capital to invest in on-board. It also WhatsApp or
fashion, home
“When we say building new office comes against the Facebook or will
and electronics
stressed assets, we FLOOR PLAN spaces and achieve backdrop of
by August-end
come into the
mean those assets those organic industry experts internet fold in
that are owned by EMBASSY Office ITS portfolio includes 25 EMBASSY Office growths,” Khdloya speculating that the next coming
someone, which Parks REIT plans
to acquire
mn sq. ft of completed
commercial real estate
Parks REIT’s net debt
stands at ₹3,500 cr,
said. Flipkart and years,” added
has a scarcity of stressed office and 8 mn sq. ft of under- which is 11% of the India’s commer- Amazon may not be able to tar- Gupta.
capital or owned by assets in India construction office space total enterprise value cial real estate mar- get the new internet users in This strategy pits 2GUD
people who are not ket has become India. directly against the social com-
specialist in office. much more lucrative Launched in August last merce companies that have
We would be looking at assets which in Asia by asset size, Embassy Office in the recent past due to an year, 2GUD was Flipkart’s way been cropping up over the last
the owner is not able to reinvest to Park REIT was launched in March, improved regulatory environment, to sell refurbished mobile few years. Naspers-backed
improve rentals or assets that need raising around ₹4,750 crore. The apart from growing demand for phones, laptops, etc, after eBay Meesho connects resellers
correction in terms of their capital proceeds will be used for partial or office space in the country. Accord- exited Flipkart. The company with manufacturers to sell to
structure,” Khdloya said. full repayment or prepayment of ing to JLL, India currently has claims that since its launch, their customers through
Embassy Office Parks REIT, bank/financial institution debt of around 294 million sq. ft of office 2GUD has catered to almost a WhatsApp and Facebook—
which announced its first quarterly certain special purpose vehicles, as space stock that are eligible for million customers from over mostly dealing with
result on Monday post its listing in well as for payment of consideration REIT. 3,000 towns, with around unbranded products.
08 WEDNESDAY, 14 AUGUST 2019
NEW DELHI

REPORTAGE | TALKING POINTS | IDEAS | INSIGHT | THE BOTTOMLINE

15 WAYS TO DEFINE
INDIA’S SLOWDOWN
An analysis of indicators that make up India's GDP reveals the extent to which the economy has slowed down

JAYACHANDRAN/MINT

Vivek Kaul ing the period April to June 2019 has last year. During the same period last year, mint
feedback@livemint.com slowed down. they had grown by 17.9%. There has been SHORT THE GREAT INDIAN SLOWDOWN
a marginal fall in growth. Housing loans STORY

T
he rain has stopped. You step THE CONSUMPTION MATRIX form more than half of the retail loans— The GDP growth during January to March 2019 slowed down to 5.8%. Looking at

C
out of home to run a few onsumption is the most important they grew by 18.9% during the quarter economic activity in the period April to June 2019, it is safe to say that the GDP
errands. On the way, you find part of the Indian economy, given against 15.8% last year. WHAT growth would have slowed down further.
₹500 note lying on the ground. that it forms around three-fifths of the How does one explain the fact that GDP = C + I + G + (X-M) Growth during Apr to Jun (in %) 2018 2019
You pick it up and put it in your Indian economy. And any slowdown here housing loans are growing and so is the GDP, the measure of all the
PRIVATE 18
trouser pocket, thinking you’ll donate it to is bound to affect the overall economy. number of unsold homes? A possible goods and services produced in CONSUMPTION
Domestic car sales -23.3
the local charity. But you give in to temp- Except for perhaps retail loans given by explanation for the fact is that people are a country, is the sum of private Domestic two-wheeler sales 15.9
consumption expenditure, -11.7
tation as soon as you cross the local book banks, there is a contraction in all other now buying homes from investors who 25.7
shop and buy the latest bestseller for parameters which measure consumption had bought many homes between 2003 investment, government Domestic tractor sales -14.1
₹500. The bookseller is an alcoholic and in different ways. and 2012, instead of buying directly from expenditure and net exports. Number of unsold homes*
Not available
7
uses the money to buy his stock of alcohol Domestic car sales: During April to June a builder. To that extent these are not new C 17.9
Bank retail loans
for the day. The liquor shop owner takes 2019, car sales fell by 23.3% in comparison homes and hence, cannot create the kind 16.6
the ₹500 and walks across to the local cin- to the same period in 2018. This is the big- of economic activity that the building of a AND Volume growth of FMCG companies** 5
12
ema and buys the ticket for the latest gest contraction in quarterly sales since new home can. 6.3
movie, featuring his favourite heroine. He 2004 (that’s how far back the quarterly Other than home loans, credit card out- A look at a series of 15 high- Non-oil non-gold non-silver imports -5.3
also buys some atrociously priced pop- data in the Centre for Monitoring Indian standing grew by 27.6% between April and frequency indicators that make INVESTMENT Domestic commercial vehicles sales 51.6
up GDP shows a contraction in -9.5
corn and a soft drink. The cinema owner Economy database goes). A slowdown in June 2019, against 31.3% in April to June 0.9
has to go attend a wedding at the other car sales negatively impacts everyone 2018. Again, a marginal fall at best. This India’s economic activity in Apr- Bank lending to industry
6.5
end of the town and he gives that very from tyre manufacturers to steel manufac- also explains, why every time you tell Jun 2019, pointing towards a 6.4
Revenue-earning rail freight 2.7
₹500 note to a taxi driver, given that his turers to steering manufacturers etc., someone there is a slowdown, they reply, further slowdown in the period.
I Final consumption of finished steel 8.8
driver is on leave. when it comes to the backward linkages but the malls and restaurants are packed. 6.6
What’s happened here? The movement that car manufacturers have. As far as for- Credit cards are used by a certain section New investment projects 13.2
of the initial ₹500 has made everyone bet- ward linkages are concerned, many auto of the population and at least, when it MOREOVER announced (value) -79.5
Investment projects completed (value) -48 49.1
ter off. The initial ₹500 has been spent dealerships are shutting down or shrink- comes to them, they haven’t slowed down
four times and has generated ₹2,000 ing. At the same time, the vehicle loans on spending on small ticket items. With tax revenue growth coming GOVERNMENT 22.1
down to just 1.4% in Apr-Jun 2019 G EXPENDITURE Gross tax revenue
1.4
worth of economic activity. In that sense, growth has slowed down to 5.1%, the slow- FMCG companies: The volume growth NET 14.7
the first ₹500 contributed ₹2,000 to the est it has been in five years. or the number packs sold, of fast-moving from 22.1% in the same period last X-M EXPORTS
Net exports
-1.2
Indian gross domestic product (GDP). The Two-wheeler sales: These have not consumer goods (FMCG) companies has year, the government may find it Sources:
same wouldn’t have happened if you had been as badly hit as car sales. Between slowed down over the last one year. If we difficult to increase its spending *Liases Foras, **Investor Presentation of Hindustan Unilver Ltd,

taken the ₹500 and deposited it in the April and June 2019, two-wheeler sales look at Hindustan Unilever Ltd, the vol-
bank or simply kept it in your pocket. contracted by 11.7%. This is the biggest fall ume growth between April and June 2019
GDP, in the conventional sense of the since October to December 2008, when was at 5%. It was 12% during the same
term, is defined as the “measure of all the two-wheeler sales had contracted by period last year. There are other examples
goods and services produced inside a 14.8%, in the aftermath of the start of the as well. Dabur India posted a volume
country”. Nevertheless, as John Lanches- financial crisis. In fact, even mopeds are growth of 6% during April and June 2019,
ter writes in How to Speak Money: “GDP not selling, with their sales down 19.9% against 21% last year. Britannia was down
can be thought of as a measure not so between April and June 2019 (In 2018- to 6% against 13% last year. Indeed, this is
much of size… It measures the movement 2019, a total of 880,000 mopeds were worrying, given that people seem to be
of money through and around the econ- sold, suggesting there is still good demand going slow on making everyday purchases.
omy; it measures activity.” The example for them). Non-oil non-gold non-silver imports:
shared above (which is inspired from a Tractor sales: A good indicator of rural This is a good indicator of consumer
similar example in Lanchester’s book) demand, tractor sales during April to June demand as it indicates when people buy
shows precisely how economic activity 2019, fell by 14.1%, the highest fall in nearly more imported goods. During April to
adds to the GDP. One man’s spending is four years. June 2019, these imports fell by 5.3%, the
after all another man’s income, and the Housing sales: As per Liases Foras, a real biggest contraction in three years. They
income can be spent again. So, the cycle is estate research company, India’s top 30 had risen by 6.3% during the same period
supposed to work and cities had 1.28 million last year.
add to the economic unsold housing units as
activity and the GDP. How does one explain the of March 2019, a jump of INVESTMENT INSIGHT
It is this activity that
has been slowing down
fact that home loans are 7 from March 2018,
when the number was at
in India, since the begin- growing and so is the number 1.2 million. This means
F resh investments are very important
for the GDP of any economy to keep
growing, for the simple reason that they
ning of 2019. The GDP of unsold homes? It may be that builders are build- create new jobs, which in turn leads to
growth during January ing new houses at a faster higher incomes and higher spending, cre-
to March 2019 slowed that people are buying homes pace than people are ating economic growth. Unfortunately,
down to 5.8%. Looking buying them. The real things are not looking good on the invest-
at economic activity in from investors, not builders estate sector has forward ment front. Consider:
the period April to June and backward linkages Domestic commercial vehicle sales:
2019, it is safe to say that the GDP growth with 250 ancillary industries. So, when This is seen as an economic indicator of
would have slowed down further during the real estate sector does well, many
the period. other sectors, right from steel and cement
The GDP of an economy is the sum of to furnishings, paints, etc., do well too.
industrial activity. Faster sales indicate a
robust activity on the infrastructure and
industrial front. Commercial vehicles are
private consumption expenditure, invest- This is something which isn’t happening used to move around finished as well as
ment, government expenditure and net currently. The fact that real estate prices semi-finished goods. Sales of these vehi-
exports (exports minus imports). There haven’t gone up in years makes people feel cles during April to June 2019 fell by 9.5%,
are many high-frequency economic indi- less wealthy and as a result spend less. the highest contraction in five years, tell-
cators which tell us about the state of each Bank retail loans: This data point goes ing us that all is not well on the investment
of these four inputs that form the GDP. against the trend. During April to June front. Between April to June 2018, sales
Let’s look at a series of 15 economic indica- 2019, the retail loans of banks grew by had gone up by 51.6%.
tors to see how the economic activity dur- 16.6% in comparison to the same period Bank lending to industry: This crucial
like it did over the last two fiscals.
indicator had remained almost flat for a
couple of years, and it has improved in the
recent past. For April to June 2019, it went
up by 6.5% against 0.9% between April to
June 2018. This was largely on account of
lending to large industries, which grew by
7.6%, against 0.8% last year. When it
comes to lending to micro and small
industries, the growth was almost flat at
0.6% against 0.7% last year. While lending
to big industry is important, it is the micro
and small industries which tend to create
the bulk of any jobs in any economy, as
they grow bigger.
Revenue-earning rail freight: The
bulk of the freight operations of Indian
Railways is concentrated around moving
certain commodities like coal, pig iron,
cement, petroleum, fertilizers, iron ore
etc. If the Railways is moving more of
these commodities around the length and
breadth of this country, it’s a good indica-
tor of investment and industrial activity
picking up. How do things look on this
front? This indicator grew by 2.7%
between April and June 2019, the slowest
in nearly two and a half years. It had grown
by 6.4% between April and June 2018.
Final consumption of finished steel:
Creation of any new physical infrastruc-
ture requires steel. Hence, a faster
increase in steel consumption than in the
past shows increased investment activity
than in the past. The consumption of fin-
ished steel grew by 6.6% between April
and June 2019, in comparison to the same
period during the last year, when it had
grown by 8.8%. This was the slowest in
Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy
NAVEEN KUMAR SAINI/MINT
two years. government needs to spend more and for
New investment projects announced: that the tax growth is important. During
The value of new projects announced dur- April to June 2019, the gross tax revenue
ing April to June 2019 fell by 79.5% year on of the central government went up by just
year. This is the highest fall since Septem- 1.4% to ₹4 trillion. During the same period
ber 2004. In absolute terms, the value of last year, the gross tax revenue had
new investment projects announced dur- jumped by 22.1%.
ing April to June 2019 stood at ₹71,337 What this tells us very clearly is that the
crore, the lowest since September 2004. government is clearly feeling the heat of
This is a great indicator of the fact that the economic slowdown. In this scenario,
businesses really do not have faith in the whether it will have the ability to increase
economic future of India, irrespective of its spending like it did over the last two
what they say in the public domain. years, is a question well worth asking.
Investment projects completed: The Finally, net exports: This figure for
investment projects April to June 2019 stood
completed fell by 48% in at -$46 billion. This was
comparison to the last The irony is that the slowdown almost similar to the net
year. This is the highest
fall since September
seems to be obvious to exports for April to June
2018 at -$46.6 billion.
2004. In absolute terms, everyone except the Centre. This is primarily
the value of the projects The question is, how do you because both exports
completed during the and imports during the
quarter stood at ₹69,494 solve a problem without period were at almost
crore, the lowest in similar levels as last
nearly five years. acknowledging it first? year. Given this, there
hasn’t been any
EXPENDITURE AND NET EXPORTS increased economic activity on the
G overnment expenditure tends to exports front either.
form around 10-11% of the Indian Almost all these economic indicators
economy (in current terms, without suggest that we are well into an economic
adjusting for inflation). In the last two fis- slowdown, and it can possibly get worse
cal years, the growth in government from here. The irony is that this slowdown
expenditure was at 19.1% and 13.2%, the seems to be obvious to everyone except
highest since the financial crisis years of the government. The question this leaves
2008-09 and 2009-10 and was instru- us with is, how do you solve a problem
mental in driving economic growth to without acknowledging it first?
some extent. How do things look in Vivek Kaul is an economist and the
2019-20? To drive economic growth, the author of the Easy Money trilogy.
 WEDNESDAY, 14 AUGUST 2019
09
BUSINESS OF Life NEW DELHI

ISTOCKPHOTO

Turning hard-to-sell
ideas into businesses
A clutch of entrepreneurs in the food and entertainment sectors are trying to turn zany
ideas into sustainable businesses, and draw investors and mentors
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JITHENDRA M/MINT
Jayanthi Madhukar

W
hen Prashant Param-
eswaran moved to
Bengaluru from the
US nine years ago, he
was mulling over a
business idea: popularizing Indian
grains like ragi (finger millet) and turn-
ing them into foods of choice for mil-
lennials. The idea was partly inspired
by the two years he’d spent working at
market research company Information
Resource, Inc., in Chicago.
“Having spent hours watching con-
Too many co-founders
sumers buy products, I realized that
they were on the lookout for low
sodium, healthy options,” recalls the
39-year-old. “This in the land of tinned
jostling to be ‘top dog’
can hold a startup back
foods. It got me thinking of traditional
Indian grains like ragi and their intrin-
sic benefits,” he says. The traditional
preparations of millets, however, were
an acquired taste. So, after a lengthy
R&D process, he decided to sell ragi Angus Hildreth & Cameron Anderson were the most creative? Independent
flakes under the brand Soulfull pro- judges rated groups of leaders to be the

duced by Kottaram Agro Foods Pvt.
Ltd, a company he launched in 2011.
Similarly, former colleagues Anurag
Dalmia and Gautham P.B., both 39,
wanted to disrupt the way people
bought fresh produce in 2014 when the
concept of organic food hadn’t really
caught on. While working at multina-
tional company GE, the Bengaluru-
based duo often discussed the use of
pesticides in vegetables and fruit and
their effect on people’s health.
“We decided to deliver organic vege-
tables and fruit to people’s homes
despite knowing the huge trust deficit
in the organic sector,” says Gautham.
Leaving cushy jobs for a nascent con-
cept was a leap of faith, he says. They set
up Healthy Buddha in 2014, after
spending 12 years in the corporate
world both in India and abroad.
Parameswaran, Dalmia and Gautham
are among a handful of entrepreneurs
who have built sustainable businesses
from offbeat, even zany, ideas because
they felt there was a gap in the market.
Take gifting, for instance. Till Book
My Balloons arrived in 2014, there was
no way one could gift balloons to some-
one by just placing an order online or
over the phone. Ashwin Kannan, chief
happiness officer at Book My Balloons,
got the idea when he couldn’t find any-
one to deliver balloons to his mother.
“It was an easy concept and I relied on
word of mouth,” says Bengaluru-based
Kannan, who quit an HR job at Accen-
ture to start the venture with ₹3 lakh.
Another idea that wasn’t mainstream
was Abhay Rangan’s concept of selling
vegan products like peanut curd and
cashew oats milk. He started out by
going door-to-door selling plant-based
milk his mother made at home. In 2017,
he turned it into a startup, Goodmylk,
after receiving investment from a Tex-
as-based vegan angel investor. Rangan,
a 21-year-old animal rights activist, who
quit engineering college to start Good-
mylk, says his goal is to make plant-
based food a household habit.
ANSWERING TOUGH QUESTIONS
Selling an offbeat idea, however,
comes with its share of challenges. For
instance, how would one know if what
(Top) Abhay Rangan started vegan brand Goodmylk in 2017; and (above) Book My
Balloons’ founder and chief happiness officer Ashwin Kannan.
is tagged organic is really organic? The
founders of Healthy Buddha realized
that the only way to address such
doubts was to talk of their own food
philosophy. Both spoke of the impor-
tance of keeping their families healthy
and away from pesticides.
Healthy Buddha organizes farm vis-
its for customers, farmers’ markets, and
workshops on growing organic vegeta-
bles. “It’s a volume business and the
margins are thin,” says Gautham, who
says their startup has seen year on year
revenue growth of 80%.
Parameswaran of Soulfull, too, had a
hard time convincing customers as well
as retailers about his product. “Ragi is
not eaten across India. For the first four
years, we were out every weekend,
organizing sampling sessions in parks,
supermarkets and schools,” he says.
The hard work paid off, he says, adding
that revenue growth has doubled in the
last financial year.
Rangan of Goodmylk and Kannan of
Book My Balloons, on the other hand,
had it easier because their unique prod-
ucts instantly found an audience.
“My products are not the expensive
artisanal kind and can be used just as
you would use dairy products,” says
Rangan. The price of one litre of
cashew oat milk is ₹120, a product
unique to Goodmylk. “We see a 25%
increase in revenue growth month on
month,” says Rangan.
While Kannan didn’t struggle to find
customers, the challenge has been to
build his brand and create instant rec-
ognition for it. “I’d like it to be as well
known as BookMyShow, maybe,” Kan-
nan says with a laugh. In the last finan-
cial year, the company’s revenue was
over a crore of rupees, he says.
MONEY MATTERS
Turning a gutsy idea into a sustainable
business model and achieving scale can
be a hard journey.
Healthy Buddha, a self-funded
startup, began with two employees.
Today, it has on board 50 people and
about 200 organic farmers, primarily
from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for
vegetables. They have signed on farm-
ers from other parts of India for fruits
and non-perishables. Some of the pla-
ces they source from include Solapur
(grapes), Nagpur (oranges) and Kash-
mir (apples). Although the founders are
“still on a beginner’s salary”, they do
2,000 deliveries a week and have
increased the basket size with more
varieties and products. In future, they
plan to add natural cleaners, including
dishwashers and floor cleaners.
Soulfull, also self-funded, has
expanded to include a wide range of mil-
lets-based snacks and drinks in the hope
of “creating a healthy world”. It is availa-
ble in 13,000 stores across 22 cities.
Goodmylk now employs 15 people
and ships products across India. Book
My Balloons, meanwhile, has an
e-commerce website to order party
snacks, cakes and, of course, a variety of
high-quality latex balloons filled with
helium instead of explosive hydrogen.
Kannan’s employee count has risen
from two to “20 full-timers and about
15 part-time workers on any day.”
CALL WITH INVESTORS
It is tough to get resources for an off-
beat business idea, especially from
investors who need reassurance.
Healthy Buddha had initially sought
out angel investors but that “didn’t
click”. “Most of them wanted to know
how many orders we had. At that time,
we had 100 but they wanted at least
1,000. We decided to focus on business
and profitability. Till date we have no
plans to approach investors,” Gautham
says. There has to be “an alignment of
vision between the company and the
investors”, Parameswaran believes.
Last year, he found a fit in Aavishkaar
Bharat fund, and received an invest-
ment of ₹35 crore. “Our first four years’
experiences helped in getting an inves-
tor.”
Though they aren’t looking for fund-
ing, many of these founders would
appreciate the experience and knowl-
edge that a mentor could bring. “My
generation is about rejection of the sta-
tus quo which is a good thing. But expe-
rience is valuable,” says Rangan.
Kannan, on the other hand, is seek-
ing a mentor-cum-investor, who would
not “just pump in money and watch the
show but also give me advice to guide
my expansion plans,” he says.
But an idea isn’t everything; what
eventually helps an entrepreneur is
persistence, says Parameswaran. “That
is the key.”
Write to us at
businessoflife@livemint.com
A
ll too commonly, we see groups of
leaders fail to accomplish their
goals—legislators who cannot agree
on a bill, heads of state who cannot broker
meaningful peace deals, or boards of
directors who make disastrous decisions
for their companies. Why do powerful peo-
ple, when working together, fail as often as
they do?
This question is particularly vexing
because researchers have long found
power to boost individual performance in
a variety of ways. When people work alone,
feeling powerful helps them process infor-
mation more effectively, think more crea-
tively, and focus for longer stretches of
time. If power enhances individual per-
formance, then by extension one would
assume that groups comprising high-
power individuals would perform well. But
research found the opposite: power ham-
pers the ability of leaders to work with
other leaders.
In a series of experiments, more than a
thousand participants, including students
and executives, were
brought into a laboratory
and their behaviour was
videotaped as they worked
on a variety of tasks on
their own or in groups. The tasks were
designed to mimic those that leaders might
face in their day-to-day work: some tasks
tested creativity and persistence while oth-
ers tested decision-making and the ability
to reach agreement in complex negotia-
tions.
Work together
In one experiment, students were ran-
domly assigned to the roles of either a
leader, worker, or a control condition. In
the first phase of the experiment, each
leader was given power over a worker, eval-
uating the worker’s performance and
deciding how much money the worker
would receive for completing a task.
Control participants simply worked
together as peers with equal power. In the
next phase of the experiment, participants
were reorganized into groups of three and
were made to work on a creativity task in
which they designed a new product.
Leaders worked with leaders, workers
with workers, and control participants with
other control participants. Which groups
least creative of all groups. Their product
ideas were the least innovative and the
most uninspired. Particularly striking is
that this effect emerged even though
power makes people more creative when
working alone.
When more powerful individuals
worked alone or on tasks that required less
coordination with others, they performed
better than anyone else; but when they
worked together on tasks that required
more coordination with others, those same
powerful individuals performed worse
than others.
Why did groups of leaders fail so consist-
ently? That’s because they fought over who
should have higher status, who should get
to call the shots, who should have more
influence over the group’s decisions, and
who should command more respect than
others. In essence, leaders fought over who
should be “top dog” in the group, and this
conflict over status harmed their ability to
work together effectively.
Research also shows that groups of lead-
ers are less focused on the
task and share information
less effectively with each
other than did members of
other groups.
Again, this pattern is particularly ironic
because power tends to make people more
task-focused and efficient when working
on tasks alone. When working together
therefore, leaders’ status concerns—be
they jockeying for position or avoiding the
potential loss of face that might result from
sharing ideas that could be judged
harshly—appears to distract them from the
task at hand.
So while the possession and experience
of power can make leaders more capable
than others on individual tasks, that same
power appears to undermine their ability
to get along and work with other leaders
on collaborative tasks. Interaction among
leaders who are accustomed to possessing
power is vulnerable to conflict and mis-
communication, which undermines their
collective performance.
This article was first published on
Hbrascend.org, a digital learning platform
for graduating students and millennials.
Write to us at businessoflife@livemint.com

Building a strong gig ecosystem starts with cutting paperwork, expanding networks ISTOCKPHOTO

education and skilling courses, freelance and networking plat- Self employment, not exploitation
forms and digital freelance project management systems are tak- Over the past few years, the gig economy has been growing expo-
TA L K I N G ing shape. In India, the advent and freelance consulting plat-
forms that bridge the gap between a client and a freelancer is also
nentially in size. Its impact on labour rights, however, has been
largely overlooked. To increase job security among freelance
POINT steadily changing the freelance landscape. workers, some states in the US, and Singapore are working
Zurich-based global consultancy a-Connect provides organi- towards introducing progressive policy-level changes with
RUCHIRA CHAUDHARY zations with on-demand talent, and sees India as an attractive tal- regard to taxes, employment and revenue, which govern income
ent base rather than a client base. Their Asia partner Vincent security, sickness, disability, among others. In India, however,
Write to us at Casanova advocates a seamless engagement process to engage this is still in its infancy.
businessoflife@livemint.com independent consultants which could be achieved by minimizing So, as a freelance consultant in
paperwork and administrative steps, and providing timely feed- Consulting India, you need to be cognizant of

W
ork when you want to, from wherever you want to—
freelancing comes with its share of advantages. Sure,
flexible working hours afford highly skilled freelance
consultants more control over the direction of their careers, but
being your own boss does come at a cost.
Unlike in a full-time job, where one takes several benefits for
granted like travel insurance, the comfort of a regular paycheck,
access to loans, credit cards and regular development courses,
the freelancing gig means you’re always on your own. You build
your own networks, ensure the payments come on time, take care
of accounts and market yourself ruthlessly so that money keeps
coming in.
Help at hand
To counter some of these challenges, a new breed of gig economy
support services are emerging. Investments related to the gig
economy are shifting from the financing of marketplaces toward
the development of adjacent technologies. In the West, for
instance, a range of reputation management services, freelance
back. Closer home, Flexing It, a freelance platform, guides con-
sultants on how to quote for projects and to position themselves
so they stand a chance of getting assignments. They also facilitate
invoicing and timely payments on behalf of freelancers.
Other new entrants like Outsized that focus on Africa and Asia,
help those who are looking to venture into the freelance space
after giving up traditional jobs. They assist potential freelancers
understand where specialist skills are sought and how to get
started on the path.
Co-work to collaborate
The advent of co-working spaces has also been a big boom for
freelancers. Working from home or the nearby coffee shop no
longer has the same appeal for many. With the startup ecosystem
gaining pace in the country, co-working spaces have seen a sig-
nificant rise in usage. There are presently 100 branded co-work-
ing spaces operating in India, and this figure is estimated to quad-
ruple in the next three years. The total number of shared spaces
are expected to reach around 500 centres by the end of 2020
from the present 150. Currently, there are about 300 branded as
well as non-branded shared space operators in India.
Mumbai’s Ministry of New is one such collaborative work-
space. Its founder Marlies Bloemendaal claims that unlike many
others focused on corporates, their space helps freelancers and
individual entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds work
together and get to know each other in an environment that
encourages them to network, share and tap into each other’s
expertise. Apart from learning sessions, Ministry of New also
helps with services like registering businesses and navigating the
freelance landscape.
platforms are reality when you embark on this
journey and build your own safety
helping freelancers nets. These safety nets can range
understand where from writing contracts and keep-
specialist skills ing excellent documentation, to
are sought establishing relationships with
other freelancers that can keep
you informed of the rates and new
work opportunities, and help prevent feelings of isolation.
Registering with freelance consulting firms and networks is a
good way to know the market and get support with developing
business at a fair professional fee.
Ultimately, the onus lies with the freelance consultant to pro-
tect herself. With awareness and proper planning, one can enjoy
benefits of freelancing without having to worry about getting
taken for a ride.
Ruchira Chaudhary is an independent strategy professional, an
executive coach and adjunct faculty.
 EXCLUSIVE FROM

10 WEDNESDAY, 14 AUGUST 2019

NEW DELHI

The animal spirit of the business community

has been bruised, says Rakesh Jhunjhunwala
Shereen Bhan you said that you gave the analogy of power, there is 15-20% power loss. It is not
CNBC-TV18 a cancer patient and you said that politically involved. People are doing
India is a chemotherapy is administered to a power theft in collaboration with others.

R
akesh Jhunjhunwala is “not democracy, it is an cancer patient. You are giving free power to people that
happy with the current market Let me go to the other reasons first. cannot afford. You are not paying the elec-
condition”, but he’s not bearish elephant. Any kind of Other than the banking crisis and the elec- tricity plants. All this is – you are supplying
either. In an interview, change will take time. tion results. The second reason why I think power at ₹15 a unit at Nariman Point, else-
Jhunjhunwala said that while he In the short-term, we have this problem is that we are correct- where power has been stolen, this is one of
is confident the economy and the markets ing a lot of wrongs, which took place. We the examples that is creating a damage to
will rebound, the question is “when”. The first, liquidity will are in the process of correcting incorrect the Indian economy. You keep funding the
ace investor stressed that he is “not bearish” correct itself. business models, right? Now this is a proc- public sector, you are Hindustan Antibiot-
at current market levels and he does not ess, it is a journey but it is something which ics who have a debt restructuring scheme
expect the Nifty to fall below 10,750 points. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala is going to do very good to our economy for it. So these are things, which have con-
Veteran stock market investor
The economy can do with a short-term and to our society but that involves pain. So stantly damaged our economy.
stimulus, he added. Edited excerpts: it is like a cancer patient when given If we do not want to have any study or
Let me start by asking you about the chemotherapy. So we have to bear that any reduction in the administrative
rather philosophical note that you pain. expenditure of the government, we want to
struck at the Motilal Oswal Confer- Do you believe that, you used the give where we cannot afford. We Indian cit-
ence a few days ago, where you said cancer analogy so let me continue izens think that tax evasion is our birth
and I am quoting you, “gloom and with that it is important to follow the right. So, all these things have affected our
doom is to the market; what’s sad- protocol, the sequencing, to get the economy throughout. But as time passes,
ness and happiness is to our lives. potency of the chemotherapy right now we are paying a higher price and the
What mood is Rakesh Jhunjhun- as well, do you believe that while we higher price is slower growth.
wala in currently when it comes to have been well-intentioned, the gov- Given the political mandate that this
the market? ernment and the regulators have government enjoys and it enjoyed in
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala is also a human, been well-intentioned, perhaps the the first term as well and more so
he follows the markets. However, the mar- sequencing and the execution plan now in the second term, the course
kets being in the state that they are, I cannot has not been. correction that you are talking
be happy about it, but we have to accept I disagree with you. All this has not come about if you believe that they recog-
reality as it is, rather than what we would out by design, it has come out by accident. nise it but you talked about social
like it to be. So it is okay, it’s part of life. Life All this correction and organizations, scheme.
is not linear; there are good times, there are which are not doing well and we did not fol- Mr Sinha has said that now for the state
bad times. So they do come and they will low correct practices, all this correction is electricity boards, the distribution compa-
go. not taking place by design. It is a process. nies (discoms) will not supply power unless
The question is, do you believe that However, the sequencing, however pain you give them a letter of credit so that the
we are closer to the bottom, do you we have to bear, it has to be corrected and state governments are forced to fund the
expect a rebound for the economy as the longer-term benefits to India as a coun- subsidized power.
well as the market in the second half try, India as an economy and India as a soci- India is a democracy, it is an elephant. To
of the year and what is the case for ety is unbelievable. change anything is going to take time. We
the recovery? RBI will not only reduce interest rates, they demonetization and GST. Now, none of believe very strongly that DHFL Let me talk about these specific fac- are now today trying to recognize what has
When I asked my dad for wealth. He said will also ensure there is adequate liquidity. this is going to recur. So, I do not see that we would not see a default situation. tors, again people are assuming led to this slowdown. So there is a short-
all yours, but the question was when. So, Do you believe that with the rate are going to come back. We are going to You know where we are today. What responsibility for the fall in the mar- term—the liquidity will correct itself. We
the question isn’t if the economy will cycle easing further that we are have another NPA cycle in the next 10 is the take as far as NBFCs are con- ket, how much of a factor is this for- also face a very difficult fiscal situation. We
rebound, the indices are going to rebound, going to see a pickup in credit off- years. We are not getting NPAs on loans cerned? eign portfolio investors (FPIs) sur- have no money to spend for a lot of things
the smallcap and midcaps will rebound but take as well? lent after 2014. When I do something wrong, I will never charge, do you attribute this as one but you want to keep spending. That will
the question is when. Before we ask our- Absolutely, credit offtake is up 10-12% We have heard this do it again. So today there of the severe factors? have to correct. Also I feel that somehow I
selves when it is going to rebound, is it and when banks have so much surplus story and the argu- INTERVIEW is so much caution, there No, the FPI surcharge has nothing to do don’t know for whatever reasons, the busi-
going to rebound at all? We have to dig liquidity—today they get 5.2% with RBI, ment that perhaps is extra caution and apart with what I am saying. Let us not jump to ness spirits and the animal spirits of the
deeper into the reasons while we are in this then RBI will make it 4.75%; they will be the NPA cycle, we have seen the from DHFL or one or two other NBFCs, the FPI surcharge. What I am saying today business community are affected.
kind of a situation. forced to lend or otherwise they will be worst and we have passed that, but most of them are able to raise money now. is that we are in the process of correcting What do you attribute that to?
The first one is I think a required to put money with do you truly believe that given the So they will deploy money. What is the and punishing some incorrect I’m myself perplexed why.
short-term reason which is ‘Reluctance to the RBI at 4.75% and with fact that we are in the midst of a cure? If things which led to NBFC crisis are activities, right? We are pro- ‘There has to be I don’t think, I don’t know
that with every election, there lend can be ended constant push by the govern- slowdown and we do not know how not going to recur, they are going to correct moters who are without short-term why maybe because the busi-
is some kind of slowing in eco- by capitalizing the ment and the fact that the long this will last? with time. integrity, I don’t question intervention. We ness community was used to a
nomic activity maybe this banks, injecting NBFC crisis is also going to be I think we have reached the peak and When you say what the cure is, do anybody, I am not anybody to have to ensure certain kind of way of func-
time the slowing was more cured with time. I personally remember that the bulk of the corporate you believe that any further inter- sit but they are losing their the correction tioning, chalta hai, ho jayega,
severe because of fiscal situa-
ample liquidity feel this liquidity problem will NPAs have come where there has been an ventions specific for NBFCs is companies, corrections are procedure which pata lenge, but now they find
tion. in to the economy ease over a period of time. explosion of capital expenditure without required beyond what is already taking place, it is a process. is taking place in all that difficult. They have to
Second thing is that there and by supporting But specifically on the adequate liquidity, where integrity is under been announced by both the RBI as The people with integrity are business models follow the rules, the law which
was always a monetary tight- the weak banks’ side, the fact that question. I see very few organizations now, well as the government? winning. It was a collabora- is flawless and is also a process of change
ness in the economy and NBFCs’ there also seems to be a cri- who have not gone down with all these The government announced in the bud- tion, auditors, everybody was accelerated’ which is making things diffi-
reluctance to lend and an sis of confidence. So it is characteristics. So I for one feel that the get that they will make one trillion window involved. Now it is unfurling cult. I am trying to recognise
ambition to invest, but this not just a rate factor but peak of the NPA cycle recognition has for NBFC financing but the rules are not and a price has to be paid. One things. I don’t claim to know
was again accentuated by the NBFC crisis. there is also a crisis of confidence passed us, maybe it will take 6 months, one out as yet. So, we need a sense of urgency, of the prices is that the economy will slow too much.
So once we had a slowdown in expenditure factor that inhibited banks from year maybe one-and-a-half year to provide we need a sense of liquidity; liquidity for down, the animal spirits will be affected. I Do you believe that there is need for
because of the elections. One’s reluctance lending further? for it annually. NBFCs which government recognized that think that is reason number two. fiscal intervention on the part of the
to lend got accentuated by the NBFC crisis. But that with time will ease. I personally Do you see value in banks today has to be done but the rules are notified. I think the price that we are paying – any government?
These are short-term reasons. feel it will, and with the push by the govern- whether its public sector or private Is time running out? price we pay is too small for the correctness No, I think there has to be a relief all
The election expenditure is past us, the ment and RBI and with banks being in sur- sector? I do not think time is running out. Don’t that it will bring and the good it will bring to through. First of all, there has to be short-
expenditure has resumed and the resump- plus liquidity, what are the banks going to I am bullish on banks. worry, India is not in the ICU. I think the our society not just morally but economi- term intervention. Secondly, we have to see
tion will be felt in the next 2-3 months. do with it. In fact, I think now, every bank is You are bullish on banks both pri- fear that people are having, when does a cally also because assets will be used more that the process of correction which is tak-
Third, reluctance to lend can be ended by shy to lend to corporate. If I was a banker I vate as well as public sector banks? market bottom - when there is a sheer peak efficiently. ing place in business models, in business
capitalizing the banks and by injecting a lot would look for good corporate to lend to Yes, maybe. We do not know. of the fear and all kinds of fears are prevail- Point number three according to me is units is flawless and done with speed and
of liquidity in the economy and by support- and also the non-performing asset (NPA) Let me talk about NBFCs now and I ing. So I do not think things are as bad as the fact that we are—if Rakesh Jhunjhun- done fairly. Thirdly, we got to reassure the
ing the weak NBFCs. I think this govern- cycle why did it arise. go back to the conversation that you people are making it. wala constantly abuses his body, one day it business community that the change that
ment is making an effort and I am sure we It arose because of unprecedented capi- and I had, this was just before You said that India is not in the ICU. will give way. So we are a society which has is taking place is for the good and is inevita-
already have ₹1.5 trillion of liquidity every- tal expenditure boom from 2009 to 2013, Muhurat trading last year and at I go back again to the comments that been constantly abusing our economy. ble.
day surplus in the banking system and the indiscriminate lending followed by that point in time you continued to you made at Motilal Oswal where Look at power sector issue, you give free feedback@livemint.com

Major regulatory and taxation amendments have harmed auto sales: Bhargava
Parikshit Luthra 5% of the cost of the vehicle. sales. of a blanket requirement of col- some other class of vehicles has
CNBC-TV18 Now, this is on top of the So, before the middle of the lateral, they will do it on a case- default or some other class of
increases, which were inevita- year, in the first six months, we to-case basis; where a dealer industry default? That is hap-

R
.C. Bhargava, chair- ble because of the BS-VI have already covered 70% of has a record of having followed pening. That is in our control,
man, Maruti Suzuki, changeover and safety regula- petrol. Diesel cannot be done all the rules, made payments in so we have raised it with the
says that the central tions being implemented, within this financial year time, no default, and no diver- banks, we have convinced
and state governments including anti-lock braking because there is no diesel fuel, gence, there is no point in ask- them of the logic of what we are
should postpone revision of system (ABS), airbags, etc. (The and diesel BS-VI vehicles can- ing him to give collateral saying, and they are taking
registration and road tax. problem is) all came together, not run on BS-IV fuel. because he has a perfectly good action.
Edited excerpts from an inter- which possible could have been Petrol BS-VI vehicles can run credit history. Somewhere this whole ques-
view: staggered. on petrol BS-IV fuel. So, there is Where dealers have issues of tion of staggering of the things
What could be the rea- Then, we also had the a difference and that is why we default or some other things, it which are still possible to
sons for the increase in insur- are doing the petrol vehicles, is a different issue. However, extend, that has to be taken up
auto slow-
down?
INTERVIEW ance premium.
The financial
and the diesel vehicles will not 80% of the dealers at least will
be done this year. fall in the first cat-
by the government because it is
only a question of postpone-
We have had cost has been If you had to ‘The financial egory, so why ment, policy announcement.
slowdowns in the past also. going up also because dealers rate these cost has been penalize them Don’t do all policy announce-
2008-2009 there was a slow- are not getting inventory recommen- going up because because some ments which have a financial
down, 2013-2014 there was a financing, without providing dations in dealers are not 20% or something impact on the customer all
slowdown. In the last two quar- up to 50% collateral. Cus- order of pri-
getting inventory have done some-
together.
ters of last year it was not a seri- tomer’s interest rate is also ority, easing thing wrong. Do you think that the
ous slowdown. The first quar- going up despite the repo cuts. R.C. Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki. PTI liquidity at financing, Banks have recog- shift to BS-VI, new insur-
ter of this year, and July, have They are needing to pay up to NBFC level, without providing nized that and ance norms, draft notifi-
seen a different type of drop in 20% deposit, which earlier was mentation to the next year. For services tax at 28%? Most on it is futile because it is totally removing up to 50% they are being cation on registration,
sales. barely 10%. example, the road tax dealers, most original a decision of the GST Council these collat- collateral’ pretty quick to these new norms that
Now how is it different from You are saying a large increases...why do it this year? equipment manufactur- and of the finance minister. I eral restric- recognize that. have come into place over
the previous year? We have number of policy changes You mean registration or ers say this is hurting think the finance minister is tions when it Banks are already the last year, have they
concluded that the major factor plus crunch in liquidity is road tax? sales, and should be fully aware of the crisis. comes to inventory cutting down on interest rates, confused the consumer?
is the several regulatory and impacting sentiment? Registration is still a draft reduced to 18%. The gov- However, how the finance financing, slashing cess, at least two or three banks as The fact is, it puts a big bur-
taxation changes, not only by Both have come together to notification; that in any case ernment is of the view ministry comes up with an where will you put this? you know have dropped, not den on his pocket. Indian cus-
the central government, but by make it difficult for the cus- should be postponed till the cri- that GST is not a problem, appropriate solution, has to be Some things are within our adequately, but some drop. tomers are by and large are not
the state governments and tomer. sis is over. I am talking of the there is a problem with worked out by them. There is control, some or not within our On customer finance, they guys with a lot of surplus
state government agencies—all How should one address road tax, which is the 1-5% liquidity. They are also no point speculating on that. control. So there is no point of again have to look at more on a money and if you suddenly say
of this led to a substantial this? As a veteran of the increase in road tax; this has a blaming OEMs for piling What you said about BS-VI is my saying anything about case-to-case basis or as a class of that the total cost of buying a
increase in the on-road price of industry, what would be major effect on the customer. If up inventory on dealers not of course true of Maruti. We things which are not within my vehicles, which class of vehicles vehicle is gone up by
cars for the customer. Not the your recommendation? the car costs ₹10,000 and you and not bringing in BS-VI have already launched six control. have high default, which class ₹20,000-25,000 he thinks
ex-factory price. These include, Now some of these things have a 3% increase in road tax, vehicles on time? BS-VI vehicles, including the However, inventory financ- of vehicles do not have default. should I buy now or should I
for example, road tax. could still be addressed if the he is paying ₹30,000 extra. It is On GST, industry has made a Ertiga. If you look at petrol ing, we have already taken up Why would you penalize the wait till I get a couple of more
Several states have increased states recognize the impor- not a small amount. representation to the govern- vehicle sales, these constitute with the banks and some of the vehicles which do not have any increments.
road tax from between 1% and tance, and stagger the imple- What about goods and ment. Beyond that, a discussion about 70% of petrol vehicle banks have agreed that instead significant default just because feedback@livemint.com
 WEDNESDAY, 14 AUGUST 2019
NEW DELHI 11

V.O.CHIDAMBARANAR PORT TRUST

MARINE DEPARTMENT
TUTICORIN - 628 004.
NOTICE INVITING TENDER
Online Electronic Tenders are invited by V.O.Chidambaranar
Port Trust, Tuticorin from experienced, reputed and financially
sound contractors, as stipulated in the tender document for the
following work:
Tender No. : M-NAVI/50T BP Tug
Hire/F08
Name of work : Supply, Manning,
Operation and
Maintenance of 1 No. of
50T BP or more highly
maneuverable Tractor,
Reverse Tractor or ASD tug
for VOC Port Trust on hire
basis for a period of five
years extendable by two
years.
Estimate value of Work : Rs. 34,53,03,000/- plus
GST
Earnest Money Deposit : Rs. 59,53,030/-
[Rs. 25,00,000/- by NEFT / GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI, DELHI JAL BOARD
RTGST and OFFICE OF EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (PR) SR-I
Rs. 34,53,030/- by BG] SECTOR VI, POCKET D7, ROHINI, DELHI-110085

Date of downloading of tender : 14.08.2019 to 29.08.2019

NIT No.-03(2019-2020) EE (PR) SR-I
PRESS NOTE
document from VOCPT
e-tendering website
S. Name of work Amount put to Earnest Date of release Last date/time for tender
No. tender(Rs.) Money (Rs.) of tender in download, Time of
Last Date and Time for : Up to 15.00 hrs. on e-procurement receipt of tender through

submission of Tenders on line 29.08.2019

solution e-procurement solution,
Time of opening of

Date and time of opening of : 15.30 Hrs. on 29.08.2019

technical Bid, Pre-bid
meeting time, Time of
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Validity of tender : 120 days from the last

Bid. date
1. Component Providing & laying 250 mm to 1600 mm nominal dia 276,83,58,304/- 3,91,69,000/- 09.08.2019 03.10.19 upto 3.00 pm,
date fixed for receipt of -A internal and peripheral sewar line in Kirari group of 03.10.19 upto 3.00 pm,
tender
colonies under Rohini catchment area, in Delhi 03.10.19 at 3.15 pm,
Component Construction of waste water pumping station in at ON DBO BASIS Pre-bid meeting
For further details and updates visit the port e-tender website -B Pratap Vihar, Prem Nagar & at Bhagya Vihar of 11.09.2019 at 12.00

www.tenderwizard.com/VOCPT
41.00, 6.50 & 9.00 MGD capacities respectively Noon
After Evaluation of Part
Sd/-
including rising mains and other related associated/
allied appurtenant works on DBO basis including A (Technical Bid)
Deputy Conservator operation and maintenance of all above sewage
pumping station for the period of 12 years including
defect liability period of 2 years
Futher details in this regard can be seen at (https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in) tender ID No. 2019_DJB_178099_1 dated 09.08.2019
EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (SDW)-XII
ISSUED BY P.R.O. (WATER)
Advt. No. J.S.V. 265/2019-20 EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (PR) SR-I

PROPERTY FARIDABAD NOIDA/GREATER NOIDA NOIDA/GREATER NOIDA OFFICE/SHOPS/ OFFICE/SHOPS/ SOUTH DELHI SOUTH DELHI DLF − SUSHANT LOK NOIDA/GREATER NOIDA
GODOWN GODOWN
RENT PRIME location G.floor 1540 ANAND LOK 3 Bedrooms, GOVIND PURI Extension FOR RENT Kothi fully furnished
DLF − SUSHANT LOK sq ft,1st floor 1200 Sq ft on main
DB Gupta Road opp P.S Paharganj
WAREHOUSE RENT 55,000 Drawing/Dining, with A/C, Lift,
S.Qtr, Parking, Nice Location.
Commercial Shop Wholeseller
Grocery market 1400 Sqft.
& unfurnished company lease
prefer. Independent floor with
FOR RENT
sq.ft. in Pataudi, Gurgaon Contact
suitable Restaurant,Banks, Retails, Owner # 9810922338 Dheeraj Nathani 9654329909, Basement + Ground Prime Location stilt parking brand new. Cont.
Transport, courier co 9810198166. 9811509552 Contact: 9810900437 S.Kumar Associates # 9818156931.
OKHLA PHASE-1, Basement CHITTARANJAN PARK 3 Beds M3M GOLF Estate - Available 3BR
2000, Ground 1400, & 1st flr. 1800 D/D, Lift, Pkg, SQ, ACs, 35k to 45k,

1.25CR ONLY 215sq.yds 2nd flr with DIRECT OWNER Sale Residential
Roof DLF Ph-2, 300sq.yds 4BHK @
1.50cr, 300sq.yds 2nd flr with roof
rights@1.40cr 500sq.yds floor DLF
Ph-1 reasonable price # 9667169203
SUSHANT LOK-I, DLF: Luxurious
Builder Floors: 215 yd @1.30 Cr,
300 yd @1.80 Cr, 418 yd @2.40 Cr+.
Stilts, Lift, near Metro, North & East
facing. Call 9911441118
CONFIRM PLOTS DLF 4, 500yrd
@1lac Gated, 360yrd @1lac, Gated,
270yrd @1.10lac, Sushant Lok 1,
418yrd @90k, 300yrd @1.20lac,
215yrd @1.35lac. 9711557979
S.LOK-I PLOTS 215 yd/East/North
@1.40k,300yd/North/west@1.30k,
418yd/North/west@95k,500yd@1lac
813yd/park@95k Nr MG Rd,Sabhar-
wal Asso.,9958492130,9810303098
ATTRACTIVE PRICE Park Fac,
Nicely Located Flrs Sushant Lok1-
215yd 3Bhk nicely constructed Lift
stilt Top Floor + Roof @1.90cr Nr by
Mkt, Metro. Saudagar 9718511207
FARIDABAD
FOR SALE Tastefully build kothi No.
535, Sector 14 and 207 in Sector 9,
both 500 yards thru Bank Auction.
Call: Sanjay Sharma 9810029326 /
9810029386
GREENFIELD SUPER Deluxe Flat: OWNER SALE 4000 Industrial Plot
3br/4br(s.u) lift & S.pkg. (90% loan)
@68 to 82,resale flat. 2BR, 3BR (D.U)
cash @ 24 to 42, 3BR (S.U.)+ loan
@49 to 54. Chirg Prop. 9811031478
NOIDA/GREATER NOIDA
GR. NOIDA / Yamuna Exp.Buy/Sell,
Res./Ind. Plots.. Alpha, Beta, Gama,
Delta, P-3, S.Nagri, Omicron, Sec-2, 3
& Sec-18,20 Cont: Ghar Sansar Prop-
erties # 9818341540, 9871015111.
Plot, CC Done, on 18 Mtr Road,
EAST Facing in Sector Chi Phi
@1.1CR Call # 9999921997
SALE IT corporate plots 1000/2000/
4000/5000& 5 acre to 10 acre sec
125/127/132/136 & 142 on main
expressway. Cont Venus prop
999-999-2929
IMMEDIATE SALE Vocational
and Mgmt Institute 5420 mtr
35000 Sq. ft. covered area
G+2storey near knowledge park
metro station. # 9999327515
DESIGNER 180 M Kothi 6 BR
Sec-41 GF- 2 Bed D/D, Kit FF- Same
MZN & SF One Bedroom Att. Bath
RGPC (P) Ltd., 26 yrs Services
9810038245, 8860004733
URG SALE-3 floors kothi 162m
plot sec.20, Noida. Excellent loc,
12m road, modern design.
Two independent 3 BHK units
& one addl. room. # 9810290830
INDUSTRIAL / Institutional / IT
Plots / Building Sale, Purchase &
Renting in Ph-I, II & III / Noida Exp-
way & all Resi. Noida / Gr. Noida.
# 9891008515, 9891007076
RENTED TO HDFC, Area-28 sq mtr,
Covered area-603 sqft, GF+FF
in Noida, getting rent-1.41 Lac.
Sale Demand@3.38 Cr Return-5%
# 9999981395
in Sec-63 Co. Trs & 450 N/E on 24
Mtr Road Residential plots in high-
way Sec-92 Noida # 9811701783 &
9810170178
FOR SALE Indl. 1000mtr, Hosiery
complex. Kothi 162mtr Sec-40,
300mtr D-140 Sec-122, Corner.
Plot 450mtr, F-98 Sec-44, 18mt Rd.
N/E facing. 9810080184
GR.NOIDA Buy/sale- plot/Kothi/
flat- Alpha Beta, gamma, delta, p3n
s.nagri. sigma chi Phi Nri city, Omic
ron,Ansal Sec-2/3 or ind. Party mee-
ting coll-9999004005, 9999555100
FACTORY SEC 63/450, 800, 1000,
4000 mtr Plots Sec-58/1000,
63/1000 & 2100 mtr, 80/4000 &
10000, 85/2100 & 4000, 140/20000
& more. Contact : 9810496262
SALE 12000 Super Structure,
bsmnt, stilt on 450sq metre, Sec
30 Noida, main DPS Rd, Mixed
land converted by Noida
Authority. Owner 9810092659
SALE INDUSTRIAL plots / factory
800/1000/1800 to 5000sqm sec 63/
64 800/1000/2000 sec 83/ Housery
2100/4000 sec 138/140 & 4000sqm
sec 90. Venus prop 999-999-2929
PLOTS 300/360 mtr park & 18m
rd sec 30/36/50,300/450 mtr cnr &
park sec 44/938, 450 mtr G.belt
sec - 48/50/51, 162/200/450
sec 105/108/92. Venus 9810417663
NOIDA INDUSTRIAL: 800-
2100mt plot Sec-140A,140,138//
Sec-57 1222mt, Hosiery-1000mt//
Sec-65 450mt buildup, Sec-7 780mt:
9810234716, 8383062712
OUTSIDE DELHI
COMMERCIALLY APPROVED
F'hold Hotel/Plots/Villas/cottages in
Landsdowne Hill station Loan avbl
Immediate possession& registry Non
Uttarakhand can buy 8766260659
DEHRADUN
PREMIUM DEHRADUN Property
For Sale on the main EC Road. Size:
725 Sqyds & built area 5,000 Sqft.
Good for commercial use. Cont : +91
9971119084 or +91 8826006771
CHANDIGARH
BRAND NEW 250 sqyd duplex
stilt parking, Sector-23, Panchkula
(CHD). Near Golf Club & IT Park
Pollution free area. Contact:
9779621111
BAHADURGARH
ZINC SULPHATE manufacing /
zinc ash recycle plant with HSPCB
consent for sale at Bahardgrh-
Jhajjar rd vilge- Kablana (Ruhil ind
area) size 3850sqmt. 9813370210
RAJASTHAN
HIMACHAL PRADESH
FURNISHED RUNNING Hotel
(17 Rooms),Restaurant,Ktchn, Recp.,
2 Covrd Terrace, Parking Situated
at Vashisht, Manali. G.K.Jain 99107-
17163 www.manalijaincottage.com
GOA
EXCELLENT RESORT on the
beach high end and luxurious
facing the Arabian Sea at Calangute
North Goa available for change
of Ownership. Tastefully made 20
rooms and other amenities.
Running successfully for last
4 years. For details pl mail on
exclusiveresort@yahoo.com
HOTEL PROJECT for sale in
Calangut, Bardez, Goa. 21 Rooms,
1 kitchen, 1 Swimming Poole
propose. totel area is 450 Sq mts
Contact 9923404376
TO-LET
WEST DELHI
FACTORY / Godown/Offices/
Warehouse in Indl./Coml. at Naraina
Mayapuri, Kirti Ngr., Rama Rd., Shi-
vaji Marg, Najafgarh Rd. etc. Shivam
Prop. 98100-06330, 98731-11900.
VIKAS PURI Available to Rent
Two Room Set Kitchen, Toilet,
Indraprasth Gas Limited and
Courtyard at Second Floor Rent
Negotiable. Contact: 9958302223
DWARKA
3B/R, 3BATHS fitted with ac's and
geysers flat of 1900 sft. in Sadbhavna
CGHS Dwarka near Sector 11 Metro is
available for rent. Contact Chaturvedi
9971100645, 9990339948
SPACE AVAILABLE for Rent
Ground Floor, Area: 2700 sqft best
for Godown/Warehouse, Plot No-5,
Old Palam Rd (near NSIT) Sec-14,
Dwarka. Contact # 9818924624.
OWN COMM bldg 4 Hotel/ Nursing
Home/ Bank/ Showroom/ Coaching
Inst. 400yd stilt prkng Nr city centre
mal in Sec-12 Dwarka new construc-
tion 2 side open Owner 8527540404
CENTRAL DELHI
BANK SPACE in Chandni Chowk
Main Road 2 Side Open Corner
Commercial Building 1000-2000
Sq.ft. Space for Lease Contact
Owner: 7678692326.
1500 SQFT Furnished Office UGF
& 1500 Sqft Semi-Furnished Office
2nd Floor, Main Road Patel Nagar
Metro Station on Rent/ Lease
9810855661 (Owner)
KAROL BAGH between Gurudwara
and Abdul Aziz Road, fully furnished
3 bedrooms, D/D and two storey
newly constructed Godown/ Show
room Company lease. # 9871636740
CONNAUGHT PLACE : Avail.
on Rent, Office 2450 sq.ft. Fully
Furnished in Kailash Building
K.G. Marg. Contact Owner :
9810067274, 9810928469
AVAIL. BARAKHAMBA Rd. 1000,
1700, 3300 sq.ft. Excellent furnished
office Suit. for MNC/Corporation
Groups. Huge Signage. Opp. Metro
Station. Ashish 9899005002.
CENTRAL DELHI
STATESMAN HOUSE Antriksh
Bhawan, Ambadeep, Gopal Dass
furnished offices on rent area 500-
15000 Sq.Ft. Call 9810054005
9999412882, 011-43515602.
SOUTH DELHI
154, SUKHDEV Vihar, 300 sq.yds,
3 Bedrooms attach bath, D/D,
Modular Kitchen with a store room,
Lift, Parking for 1 Car. Contact
Owner: 9810808162 / 9810034566
BUILDER BUILT Modern,Park fac-
ing, 30 Hemkunt Colony 12 BR House
(3 BR, 4 Floors) & E-42 Panchshel
Park FF 3 BR, SQ, P, AC, IGL, Jacuzzi.
Owner: 9818514489, 9810514268
32, SADHNA Enclave Main Road
Comm. Building 8100 sqft Basement
GF, FF suitable for Nursing Home,
Hotel, Fitness Center, Bike / Car
showroom Institutions. Brokers
Welcome. 7678192398, 9811769049
DEFENCE COLONY, Saket, G.K.- 1, FOR RENT 3 BHK furnished ground
2 Posh Furnished, Ac, Apartments
for short/ long Lease. wanted Rental
Apartments in South Delhi. Sjen
9650637878.
VERY ELEGANT 1600 sqft. Office
space available for Rent. preferably
multi-nationals required. Fully
furnished. centrally air-conditioned.
full power back-up. Free parking
for 20 cars green beautiful
neighborhood park most important
address in South Delhi: opposite
Siri Fort Auditorium 4/6, Siri Fort
Institutional Area New Delhi-110049
(M) 9871288752, 9911004791.
ANAND NIKETAN, 4BHK, 425
sq.yds, Designer Apartment, AC, Lift,
Terrace Garden, Facing Park, Servant
Room. Diplomat/Foreigners/MNC.
Owner # 9871926228, 8800521594.
Sq. ft. available for Rent for Office,
Godown and light work. Nice loc. &
ample Prkng space. # 9810962603
NEW FRIENDS Colony, C-559,
First Floor 4 Bed Rooms, Servant
Quarter, Inside Parking, Suits
MNC's Contact Owner 26911344 /
26830912
DERA MANDI Farm House
4 BHK With Lawn, Servant quarter
Available on Rent 1.5 Lac
For Forigners / MNC Contact
9971138138, 9810040488
PRIME GROUND Floor - NFC
4800 sq.ft. For Lease, Suitable for
Banks, Pathlab, Insurance Company,
Grocery Store etc. Call: The Arora
Group 9717050553 (Brokers excuse)
OKHLA ESTATE Ph-III, fully furnd
office space with AC & P.backup
area 1500, 2000, 3500 to 50000sqft
ready to move @ 75 to 100 sqft #
Bholanath 8377030642,9312663009
SHOP FOR Lease Lajpat Nagar-2,
Main Market, B+GF, 3600 sqft,
Fully A/C, Suitable for Retail/
Restaurant/ Café/Jewellery.
Call - 7838871113.
DEFENCE COLONY, 2, 3, 4,
5 BHK, Kothi for Rent, Semi furn
/Furnished Brand New. Many
Options, Any Client, Brokers Wel-
come. Contact: Ajay # 9811695488.
BUNGLOWS MAHARANI Bagh
800-500 New frnds Col flrs 800-500
4/5 BHK Newly Built Furnd Offices
8000/10000 Jasola Mohan Coop-
rative 9312709548, 9810494786
floor with parking facility in J Block
Saket, New Delhi-110017 for
company lease/family contact
9315909521/7703950346
FOR RENT: Saket-M Blck 3 bhk
fully furnished apartment with
Aircons/LED TVs/Lift near ITC
sheraton /max. Suits expats/family
etc. owner 9810007165
FOR RENT : Green Park Commercial
Space, Aurobindo Road 1000 sq.ft.
Basement, MCD Approved, Vastu
Friendly, Ample Parking, Immediate
Possession # 9999028249
SOUTH EX-II, Brand New S.Flr 3
BHK, 2Car Park; GK-III, F.Flr 3 BHK, 2
Car Park; Hauz Khas Mkt, F.Flr/S.Flr
1800 Sft each, Furn, Ample Parking.
Negi 9811888979, 9810047049
FOR RENT: Okhla -2, fully furnished
office 2000 + 2000 sq ft with power
back up/ cafetaria / 100 seats/ conf/
cabins. Prime location. Suits IT/
office. Owner: 9810007165
SAKET DDA Ground Floor 2 Bed,
D/D, Study, lawn and Greater Kail-
ash Part-I, E- Block 3rd floor with
terrace, 3 Bed, D/D, Stilt Parking,
SQ. # 7048987060, 9899576565
WANTED ON Long Term Co. Lease.
Full Resi. Tower, Indp. Bungalows/
Houses in Delhi, Ggn, Noida, Fbd,
Gzb. # 9999838647, 9953130634,
realtors.moneytree@gmail.com
AVAILABLE ON rent Fully furn.
office with AC, power backup 1500,
3000 & 6000 sqft at Safdarjung En-
clave New Delhi & Udyog Vihar Ph-5,
Gurgaon. 9811559675, 9811089339
GREATER KAILASH-1, Main
Road S- Block 4 BHK Ground Floor
With Parking servant quarter Suits
Foreigner / MNC Rent 1.25 Lac
Call 9971138138, 9810040488
GREATER KAILASH-1, 340 yds.
FF, 4BHK, Superb Location, Stilt
Parking & Green Park, 311 yds.
FF, 4BHK, Separate Parking.
Pratham Gupta 9999339294
Nehru Apts DDA Flats 2/3 Beds D/D
+ Terrace, Lift, Garrage, 32k to 38k.
# 9810888826, 9810007100
12/25, SARVAPRIYA Vihar
First Floor, Two Bedrooms, Two
Bathrooms, Kitchen, Lobby, Drawing
Dining, Big Balcony & One Study.
Call: Dr. Gupta 9811323442.
AVAILABLE 3 BHK Semi furnished
Appt. in Green Park Close Proximity
to Market. New Construction.
G.Floor 100% backup, 24hr Security.
# 011-41040493/4, 9654591747
MOHAN CO-OP Ind.Estate Space
avail. for rent Approx.6000 Sqft. at
G. flr. & Approx 6000 Sqft. at Base-
ment Suitable for industry, office &
storage # 9811097822, 7011402340
LEASE 1 Saket 18BRs for Guest house
2 Vasant Vr-BMT+GF+FF 15000 Ft.
for Hosp/Medical Line 3 GK-1,3BHK
2nd Flr, 4 V.kunj 4BHK, wtd collabs
in S.Delhi # Saluja 9999904543
PANCHSHILA PARK Four Bed
Rooms Drawing / Dining Lobby.
Lounge Servant Quarter Car Parking
Contact: 45151664 / 41036873
GK-1 WHOLE house for rent.
Three floors: GF, FF and SF with
3 BHK and attached bath on each
floor. Suitable for foreigners only.
Call: 9971197979 or 9971198198.
FOR RENT Commercial Space
Savitri Cinema Complex GK-2,
1875 SQ. Ft., Contact :- Seema
9810636317.
(3950) & 4BR (5100) Ready to
move Apartment for lease.
Broker Welcome 98-715-33177
Available For Rent Fully
Furnished Building In
Sector -2 Noida
Area 12000sqr Feet.
Call 9810776115
FURNISHED / unfurnished Office
space Available for long lease /rent
in Sec-10, DND Road, Noida, Bsmt -
1250 sq.ft, GF-1250 sq.ft, SF-1550
sq.ft, TF-1550 sq.ft. Call 9811142911.
HIMACHAL PRADESH
OFFICE SPACE 615 sq.ft
(carpet area) on First Floor in
FOR RENT Kullu (HP) 5-storey New
The Shopping Mall, Arjun Marg, Building Hotel, Restaurant,
DLF City-I, Low maintenance.
Banquet Hall, Parking, good
Contact owner: 9810014398
location. 81969-35200.
ARALIAS 6300 ft. furnished
tastefully Luxurious Apartment with
all Furniture, Electrical Gadgets and GURUGRAM
Lawn on 2nd Floor. Contact - Kohli -
9811155195 / 9999889333
14 ACRE Built to Suit Warehouse
WANTED/ AVAILABLE Land on Farukh Nagar Jhajjar Road
Industrial Units /Sheds/Plots/ with All Govt. Clearances. Land can
also be increased for expansion
Factories /Warehouses / Office
Spaces - in Udyog Vihar, Gurgaon Contact: 9814909996.
& IMT Manesar. # 98-118-118-80.
OFFICE SPACE 10500 sq.ft for
Lease in Ambience Corporate Tower
NOIDA/GREATER NOIDA Gurgaon near Leela Hotel & Rapid
Metro Station on NH-8 Delhi border.
RUNNING INSTITUTE KP-III Gr Contact Owner - 9717125588
Noida Corner Plot area 5420sqmt
Built up 33000 sqft Suits Vocational
Courses, MBA, BBA, BCA, MCA, BED,
NSDC Projects & etc. 9811300176
FOR RENT, In Sector-58,
9500 SQ FT Basement, 6250 Sq Ft
FF., Fire NOC Available, Mobile:
9811032330, 9810002829
MILLENNIUM PLAZA MG Road
GROUND FLOOR shop 480 sft fully furnished 5,000 sft. Brand new
sector- 46 Noida Gardenia Glory office Space with 70 Work stations,
Market Contact Owner 2 Cabins, 2 Meeting room, Pantry.
# 85277 94127 Owner: 9958444918, 9599089652
12 WEDNESDAY, 14 AUGUST 2019
NEW DELHI PERSONAL FINANCE

GLOBETROTTER CITIES BALI SHOPPING

Price in Price multiple Price in
RESTAURANT
Price in Price multiple Price in
STAY & TRANSPORTATION
Price in Price multiple Price in
The Mint Globetrotter Index compares the cost of 25 essential travel spends Delhi () (times) Bali () Delhi () (times) Bali () Delhi () (times) Bali ()
for 50 cities across five regions. The analysis, published on 15 May, can be
seen on www.livemint.com/globetrotter2019. Every Wednesday, in this space, Coke/Pepsi (0.33 litre) 32 1.3 43 Inexpensive meal 250 0.4 100 Hotel tariff (per day) 3,408 1.7 5,729
we will list these 25 spends for a city and compare it with Delhi. 3-course meal Airbnb (per day) 2,446 1.6 3,909
Milk (regular, 1 litre) 49 2.0 97 (mid-range restaurant) 1,200 0.7 824
Mint One-way ticket
Globetrotter White bread (500 gm) 30 1.8 55 McMeal 250 0.9 225 (local transport) 30 0.5 16
Index 2019
ranking Local cheese (1 kg) 301 1.5 441 Local beer Taxi fare
115
(0.5 litre draught) 120 1.2 140 (base fare + 5 km) 1.1 125
RANK Apples (1 kg) 124 1.3 160
(out of 50) Cappuccino (regular) 123 1.1 140 Petrol (1 litre) 73 0.6 44
Bananas (1 kg) 53 1.8 96
8 Oranges (1 kg) 59 2.1 125 LEISURE
1. All data from www.numbeo.com, barring
two exceptions (given below). 2. City-
specific price data as of 13 August, 2019.
Water (1.5 litre) 29 0.9 25 Price in Delhi () Price multiple (times) Bali () Globetrotter ranking as of 19 April 2019. 3.
Overall price For hotel tariffs, we considered three-star
multiple Wine (mid-range) 700 1.5 1,061 Movie ticket (1 seat) 300 0.8 250 hotels on Hotels.com and Expedia.com. We
searched for two guests, stay of 1-2 June, and
to Delhi (times) Local beer (0.5 litre) 103 1.2 128 Jeans (Levi's 501 or similar) 2,485 0.9 2,289 sorted the top seven listings by guest rating,
and took their average. 4. Airbnb tariffs
Cigarettes
300 0.3 90 Summer dress (Zara, H&M or similar) 2,737 0.6 1,748
1.17
sourced from Airdna.co (the analytics arm
(Marlboro, pack of 20) of Airbnb). Tariff shows average for studio
Nike running shoes (mid-range) 3,949 1.0 3,795 apartment or one-room apartment for city.
Source: howindialives.com

Three different routes to save EXPENSE

ACCOUNT
tax on long-term capital gains MONIKA HALAN

Respond to this column at

mintmoney@livemint.com

There are provisions under different sections of the Income-tax Act that can help you save on LTCG tax
PUTTING REINS ON
Bindisha Sarang In case you are not able to invest
PORTFOLIO
How to avoid tax on LTCG
mintmoney@livemint.com
There are provisions under the Income-tax Act
the entire amount, the exemption
is allowed proportionately. Let’s MANAGERS
J
ust like you pay tax on to save tax on long-term capital gains (LTCG) say you transfer gold worth ₹20 ISTOCK
arising from transfer of capital assets like real
income earned, selling your lakh, which was purchased by you
estate, stocks, gold, bonds and so on. Revised tax
capital assets too invites tax. for ₹10 lakh five years ago. To
surcharge
The gains made from trans- avoid tax on LTCG of ₹10 lakh (₹20 doesn’t only
ferring capital assets such as Particulars Section 54 Section 54 EC Section 54 F lakh minus ₹10 lakh), you need to have
house, stocks and gold is Capital gains arising from Residential property Residential property Assets other than reinvest entire ₹20 lakh. In case wealthy
subject to capital gains tax and residential property you invest just 50% of the sale individuals
in its ambit
there are certain benefits you can Exemption LTCG tax can be saved LTCG tax can be saved LTCG tax can be saved receipts, only 50% of the LTCG
avail to save tax on capital gains. amount, i.e., ₹5 lakh will be tax bit.ly/2KGDRU
by reinvesting the gains by investing in specified by buying a residential
S
While there is little relief when it in maximum of two bonds property exempt, and remaining ₹5 lakh
comes to paying short-term capi- residential properties* will attract tax.
tal gains (STCG) tax, there are pro- Time limit for reinvest- Can be adjusted against LTCG amount should be Can be adjusted against Also, to avail the benefit, “you
visions to save long-term capital ment of LTCG the house purchased in invested in bonds within the house purchased in should not own more than one
gains (LTCG) tax. We list out three last one year or two six months from the sale last one year or two house on the date of transfer,
years from the date of date years from the date of

A
such provisions to help taxpayers sale; three years in case transfer of the old
other than the one bought for few years ago, a friend asked if she could get her friend to
save tax. the seller wishes to house; three years in claiming exemption under this talk to me. On the promise of anonymity, he spoke to me.
construct a house with case seller wishes to section,” said Jain. Just like section He had made the mistake of following his adviser from
SECTION 54 the LTCG amount construct a house with 54, new property should be pur- one portfolio management scheme (PMS) to another. He said that
the LTCG amount
Property, whether land or house, chased either one year before or the firm had managed to reduce ₹7 crore to a few lakhs in just over
is a capital asset. Gains from trans- CGAS applicability Yes No Yes within two years after the date of a couple of years. He is not a newbie in investment and can follow
ferring of such assets attract capi- CGAS: If you want to use the sale proceeds after a while, you should deposit the amount in a CGAS, with the intention to use the funds to buy a
transfer or new property should be data and disclosures quite well. His problem was that the disclo-
tal gains tax. If you sell a house new house within two years or to construct one within three years from the date of sale. Make sure you deposit the LTCG amount before the constructed within three years sure standards of the two firms were starkly different. In his first
due date for filing the ITR for the year in which LTCGs occurred. *The capital gains on the sale of house property must not exceed ₹2 crore in
within 24 months, you have to pay order to claim exemption for reinvesting in two properties. This benefit can be claimed only once in the lifetime
from the date of transfer. Remem- firm, the entire disclosure was geared towards indicating risk and
Source: Mint research
an STCG tax on the gains as per ber, the exemption can be taken advising him on how much a decision would potentially cost him,
SANTOSH SHARMA/MINT
your income-tax slab. After 24 back if this new property is sold all the while showing the upside as well. The second firm man-
months, you have to pay an LTCG amount of LTCG is not reinvested, have taken a home loan to buy the property instead of the bonds,” within three years of its purchase. aged disclosure in a manner that totally obfuscated the risk,
tax, which is charged at 20% with then pro rata relief is available,” new property, capital gains said Mrin Agarwal, financial edu- showing him in the green all the time, while the underlying port-
indexation benefits. Section 54 said Ashok Shah, partner, NA Shah exemption is valid under section cator, founder director, Finsafe THINGS TO REMEMBER folio was haemorrhaging. He lost ₹7 crore and there was nothing
gives you an exemption if you sell Associates LLP, a chartered 54 and also if you used it to repay India Pvt. Ltd and co-founder, Can one use more than one section the regulator or any court could do.
a property and buy another one. accountancy firm. Remember, the home loan. Womantra. The interest rate on to pay lesser tax? Shah said that it is As the rules around the mutual fund industry have tightened,
“The exemption under section 54 your exemption will be reversed if these bonds is 5.75% and is taxable. possible to claim deduction under the rush to open the loosely regulated PMS became a flood over
is available when the capital gains you sell this new property within SECTION 54 EC Post Budget 2018, section 54EC both section 54 and 54EC by add- the last two years. One estimate says that almost half of the cur-
from property sale are reinvested three years of purchase and capital This is a section you can use if you has been restricted to gains from ing the investment made in new rent PMS firms today that manage about ₹18 trillion of investor
into buying or con- gains from sale of the want to save LTCG from sale of real estate only. property and in spec- money, or almost three-quarters of the mutual fund industry,
structing maximum Capital gains new property will be property, and are not interested in Don’t ignore the ified bonds. As far as were set up in the last two years and have hard-sold small- and
two houses. Prior to exemption will be taxed as short-term redeploying the gains in real SECTION 54F rules related to using simultaneous mid-cap portfolios. These are currently in deep distress and
Budget 2019, the reversed if you capital gains. The estate. “Section 54EC allows But what if you have specified time to exemption under before the foul stuff hits the fan, the market regulator is trying to
exemption was lim- sell the new new properties must exemption of LTCG on sale of land capital gains arising reinvest, lock-in Section 54 and 54F, tighten rules of the game by doing what it has done best for the
ited to only one prop- be purchased either and building if capital gain amount from assets such as by investing in the past few years—setting up a working group or committee, popu-
property within period and other same house goes,
erty,” said Balwant one year before the is invested in certain specified gold, stocks or even lated with industry representatives, analysts, academics and oth-
Jain, a tax and invest- three years of sale or two years after bonds. The exemption is available mutual funds? Even provisions while Jain said, “If all condi- ers—to offer solutions to the problem.
ment expert. Post purchase the sale of the prop- for both residential as well as non- LTCG from assets reinvesting tions are fulfilled, The draft of the working group is out and you can read it here:
budget, it extended erty. Or the new resi- residential property,” said Shah. other than residential assessee can claim bit.ly/2MX5RpR. The draft has put down a much higher standards
to two houses. How- dential properties Specified bonds here mean, 54EC property can be saved exemption under requirement, while keeping the basic foundation of the PMS reg-
ever, the capital gains on the sale must be constructed within three bonds issued by National Highway under section 54F if you decide to section 54 and 54F for investment ulation intact. The higher standards
of house property must not exceed years of sale of the property. If you Authority of India, Rural Electrifi- use the gains to buy residential in the same house.” Sebi’s draft has are largely across skills, net-worth,
₹2 crore in order to claim exemp- are not able to use the capital gains cation Corporation, and the like. property, subject to certain condi- So calculate the LTCG from dif- put down a investor thresholds, costs, returns and
tion for reinvesting in two proper- to buy or construct new houses You get six months to invest in tions. “Unlike section 54 and sec- ferent capital assets and take disclosures. PMS firms will now need
ties. This benefit can be claimed before the date of furnishing of the these bonds. “The maximum tion 54 EC, you must invest the advantage of the tax benefits. much higher ₹5 crore of net worth, up from the cur-
only once in the lifetime. return of income, you should amount permitted is ₹50 lakh and entire sale consideration and not Don’t ignore the rules related to standards rent ₹2 crore. This is aimed at curbing
To claim exemption on the deposit the amount in capital gains now lock-in is five years instead of just the capital gains to buy or con- specified time to reinvest, lock-in requirement for some of the fly-by-night operations
entire LTCG amount, you have to account scheme (CGAS); else the three. The rate isn’t attractive; if struct a new residential property period and other provisions while PMS that are currently in business. The
reinvest the entire amount. “If full gains become taxable. Even if you possible, you might as well buy a to claim this exemption,” said Jain. reinvesting. higher skill requirement for the staff
and the setting up of a compliance offi-
cer are in line with best practices in the interest of investor pro-
tection. The minimum amount an investor has to bring has also
doubled from ₹25 lakh to ₹50 lakh. This threshold enhancement
is in keeping with the rising wealth of the upper middle class
How much tax do investor and was overdue. The Securities and Exchange Board
Invest in 54 EC bonds to get you pay on debt-
of India (Sebi) should put in place an automatic review of this limit
and that of the net worth criterion every five years.
exemption from tax on LTCG related investments? TAX The most contentious issues in the draft are around how
returns should be calculated, disclosed and what benchmarks
Any portfolio should have a balanced Debt-oriented mutual funds (What is long term? can be used. The draft has advised moving away from the current
Ashwini Kumar Sharma More than 3 years) anarchy, where returns are disclosed in any manner, cherry pick-
mix of asset classes. Diversification
ashwini.s@livemint.com helps reduce the overall risk. For ing the best portfolios and years, across simple, compound and
Dividend Short-term Long-term
instance, equity investments tend to distribution tax (DDT) capital gains tax capital gains tax other measures of returns. And moving towards the time

C apital gains tax exemp-

tion bonds are also
known as 54EC bonds, as
investment in these bonds
allows exemption under
section 54 EC of the
Income-tax Act. These
bonds are offered to inves-
tors who earned long-term
capital gains from land or
building or both and would
like tax exemption on these
gains. The eligible bonds
under section 54EC include
bonds on offer by Rural
Electrification Corporation
Ltd (REC) and National
Highways Authority of
India (NHAI). The maxi-
mum limit for investing in
54EC bonds is ₹50 lakh per
financial year, whereas min-
imum investment is capped
at ₹20,000 and ₹10,000
respectively in REC and
NHAI bonds. These bonds
come with a lock-in period
of 5 years (effective from
April 2018) and are non-
transferable. Both REC and
NHAI bonds offer an inter-
est rate of 5.75% per annum,
payable annually. Interest
earned from 54EC bonds is
taxable; however, no TDS is
deducted on interest. 54EC
bonds are AAA rated bonds
and are backed by the gov-
ernment; hence, the risk of
interest and capital pay-
ment is protected.
give higher returns than all other asset
classes over the long run, but they are
also riskier. To balance that, one must
38.83%
invest in debt-related products. While
these too carry some risk, they are
considered safer. Also pay heed to the
taxation rules to know what the net
returns would be. Any change in rules
can affect the reason why you had
invested in the product. Here’s a look at
the tax rules that apply to some
debt-related investment products
Slab rate 20.8%
weighted rate of return measure to be disclosed over a standard-
ized period. Other prudential norms make only listed securities
eligible for investment, distributors fee to be only trail (it does
Fixed deposits
seem that upfronting is banned) and a cap on exit fees.
Tax on interest For senior citizens, interest up to The one area left grey is the benchmark fixing. Given that a
Slab rate 50,000 is exempt
PMS is meant to be an offering that is more customized than a
mutual fund, fixing benchmarks is a problem. But look at the
National Savings Certificate world from the investor point of view and see what matters to
him. He wants to know if, post cost, his portfolio is doing better
Tax on interest If interest is reinvested, deduction up to
a maximum of 1.5 lakh is allowed under than a guaranteed return product and the broad market. The rea-
Slab rate Section 80C
son that a PMS can charge a higher fees and have a profit sharing
agreement is on the carrot of a higher than market return. It may
Post office deposits be a good idea to give a standard return figures of five-year SBI
Tax on interest fixed deposit, 10-year G-sec, the Sensex, a mid-cap index and a
For senior citizens, interest up to
small-cap index. Anybody who has ₹50 lakh to invest should be
Slab rate 50,000 is exempt
able to do the math to see how his portfolio is doing in relation to
other products in the market. Trying to find a benchmark for
Senior Citizens’ Savings Scheme each PMS is to totally miss the point of a benchmark in such a
Tax on interest bespoke product.
No tax deducted at source on interest
The draft is a step in the right direction. Just because a person
Slab rate up to 10,000
is well off does not mean that he does not deserve a well-defined
For further details on taxation, go to bit.ly/2pOeeH9 and regulated market. The socialist hangover over our policy and
Source: EY, Mint research regulators is beginning to go away. And that is a good thing.
Monika Halan is Consulting Editor at Mint and writes on house-
SANTOSH SHARMA/MINT hold finance, policy and regulation.
 PERSONAL FINANCE WEDNESDAY, 14 AUGUST 2019
NEW DELHI 13

Aspiration drives Indians You might need to maintain tax

returns records for seven years
towards financial goals Neil Borate
neil.b@livemint.com
before 30 September 2020. assessment can be framed
Second, you can receive a between the seventh and tenth
notice for re-assessment assessment year.

I
n today’s digital age, income
tax records can be main-
BankBazaar’s Aspiration Index also shows Indians prioritizing health over wealth tained at little or no expense
for long periods of time in a
digital format. However, it is
Nilanjana Chakraborty important to know the time
nilanjana.chakraborty@livemint.com WHAT SALARIED INDIANS WANT limits for different types of
income tax assessments while
under section 147 of the Act. Although seven years is a
Such a notice can be served good rule-of-thumb for main-
within four years of the end of taining tax records, you should
the assessment year if the hang on to the past records in
income that is alleged to have digital format for as long as you
escaped assessment is less can. This can help in calculat-
than ₹1 lakh. If instead, such ing the applicable tax for assets
income is more than ₹1 lakh, purchased a long time ago

I
Non-metros trump metros in aspiration
ndia is a country driven by aspi- you are storing and filing away the notice can be served within such as shares or real estate.
2018 2019 Aspiration index score
rations. Not only do the ambi- old documents. An income tax six years of the end of the With the introduction of long
85.9 87.4 86.9 86.6 Why
tions of the growing middle return (ITR) for any financial assessment year. This term capital gains
millennials
class drive the economy of the year for most individuals effectively tax (LTCG) on
Did youW s t o c k s a n d
needs to
nation, growing aspirations for have a (other than those who need to means seven
a better life also encourages behav- financial
plan
be audited) needs to be filed by years from KNO mutual funds,
iours that ultimately result in 31 July of the following finan- the end of the you will need
greater productivity. The second 2018 2019 2018 2019 On average, people are spending Wealth goals are close at hand bit.ly/2JI2l1P cial year. Those individuals financial year these records.
edition of BankBazaar’s Aspiration Non-metro Metro the majority of what they earn The aspiration-preparedness gap is who are required to be audited in which you Recently
Index shows that, by and large, (% of salary) quite narrow for money goals can file their returns by 30 have earned social media
Indians across demographics have Men ahead of women but by slight margin Aspiration index September. For example, for the income in ques- has been abuzz
their aspirations firmly in place. 62 Preparedness index the financial year (FY) 2019-20 tion and hence, seven with reports of
However, the study also reveals
Aspiration index score 38 (which ends on 31 March years is considered the demand notices from old
Men 87 Buy a 92.1
that there is a gap between the aspi- Expenditure Savings 2020), the deadline for filing time limit for maintaining assessments being sent. If
home 88.9
rations and the readiness of young Women 86.3 ITR is 31 July 2020. your records in popular dis- you feel that a notice has been
Indians to achieve them. 76% ofthose
early jobbers, or
between the ages Spend on 86.1
Once you file the return, you course. However, if you have unfairly sent to you, can you
The study used quantitative Health tops the list of priorities of 22 and 27, use credit cards to premium can receive a ‘scrutiny notice’ foreign assets or income, a file a complaint with the e-Ni-
research, surveying 1,828 salaried meet their lifestyle expenses products 86.8 for assessment under section notice for re-assessment can varan System of the income tax
2018 2019 Aspiration index score
men and women across 12 cities. 143 (2) of the Income-tax Act, be served up to 16 years from department or with the cen-
89.3
The last edition analysed millenni- 83.9 83.9 83.9 87.7 84.4 87.5 82 87.3 Retirement planning Travel the 1961. Such a notice can be the end of the assessment year tralised public grievance
als between the ages of 25 and 35. world 86.7 received within six months of in question. In cases where redress and monitoring sys-
This year, it has been expanded to
include the working population
52% people have started
retirement planning
Retire
87.1
the end of the assessment year.
An assessment year is the year
tangible evidence is found tem (CPGRAMS) which is
during a search or seizure applicable to all types of public
between the ages of 22 and 45. haven't started planning early 85 that follows a financial year. operation revealing that grievances, tax-related or oth-
According to the survey, the Health Relationship Wealth Image
48% for retirement yet
Source: BankBazaar Aspiration Index For example, for FY18-19, a income exceeding ₹50 lakh erwise (get more information
national aspiration index stands at scrutiny notice can be served has escaped assessment, then here: bit.ly/31DVOdH).
SANTOSH SHARMA/MINT
86.9, which indicates that Indians,
in general, are clear about their ity of information, appropriate edu- one,” said Aparna Mahesh, chief goals, and is also high at three
aspirations as well as their readi- cation and work opportunities marketing officer, BankBazaar. points among early jobbers, who
ness to achieve them. forced non-metros to have limited Following a healthy lifestyle and know what they want, but have a
Although this is a drop from last aspirations. The scenario has building stronger bonds with one’s long way to go in terms of achieving
year (87.4), the change has not been
very drastic despite widening the
age group of the respondents. The
changed in the last eight to ten family takes precedence over more
years. So it is that subdued Indian materialistic goals. The widening of
population of non-metros which is the respondent base to include
it. The gap here is measured in
points by subtracting the perceived
preparedness from the importance
Property can be bequeathed to child
survey showed that individuals on
an average saved 38% of their
income, an increase from 2018,
outscoring metros,” said Shilpi both younger and older respon-
Johri, certified financial planner dents in the study is the reason for
and founder of Artha- this shift compared to
of the aspiration.

where they saved one-third of their
salaries.
The survey also tracks how close
people are to achieving their aspi-
rations. While a particular aspira-
tion might be of high importance,
people might not be adequately
prepared to fulfil it. It defines this as
the ‘aspiration-readiness gap’,
which is used to gauge how far
someone is from a certain goal.
NON-METROS TAKE LEAD
One significant change marked by
the survey this year was non-met-
ros outscoring metros on the aspi-
ration index. Last year, Chennai
had taken the lead, whereas this
time, Bhuvaneshwar has emerged
at the top with an aspiration index
of 90. But for many, this trend is not
particularly surprising.
“The internet and smartphone
explosion has changed India. There
was never a dearth of talent but the
lack of exposure and non-availabil-
RETIREMENT IN SIGHT
via Will after mutating the property
shastra Consulting. While buying a last year, when wealth While buying a house continues to ISTOCK
The non-metros as a Aradhana Bhansali ASK MINT
house continues creation was at the top remain the top priority, as it was in
whole have pro- to remain the top of the list of priorities, the last edition of the study, there is m LEGAL
gressed on the aspira- priority, there is a while health came sec- also a shift towards aspiring for I live in Delhi. I have three
tion index from 85.9 in ond and relationships early retirement, with 87.1% brothers and one sister. My
shift towards
2018, to 87.4 at came in fourth. expressing the desire to retire early, father has registered his Will you will have to apply to the land
present. Metros, on aspiring for early “This is certainly a and 85% stating that they were pre- in my favour. Based on the authority, i.e., being the competent
the other hand, have retirement healthy state of soci- pared for such a move. Will, I get the house mutated authority having the jurisdiction by
seen a slight fall by ety. It is a symbol of “While the early jobbers are laid in my favour but the convey- producing the Will and other rele-
dropping from 86.9 evolution. When peo- back about retirement planning, it ance deed of house is still in vant title documents, by virtue of
last year to 86.6 this year. ple emphasize non-monetary is still there on the horizon for the name of my father. The which you are claiming your own-
aspects of life more than monetary, them. The real investing starts at water and electricity connec- ership rights. The competent
HEALTH OVER WEALTH then we can assume that they have around 28-29. By that time, people tions are also transferred in authority, upon satisfaction, shall
According to the survey, health is passed the survival stage of life. are settled in their careers and my name. Now I want to make mutate the subject property in your
the number one priority for the Also, it will positively impact the begin planning for the long run in the Will favouring my child. name after taking into considera-
majority of respondents, followed finances, because happy and terms of a family and assets of their Please advise me how to pro- tion that your late father became
by relationships and wealth. “As life healthy people will be more pro- own. So, retirement planning ceed as I do not want any legal the owner by virtue of the convey-
spans increase, the implications of ductive and will consequently earn becomes a part of the overall plan- problems later. ance in his favour. Upon mutation
lifestyle diseases also increase. So, more,” said Johri. ning,” said Mahesh. —Name withheld on request ary in the Will, you have acquired of the subject property in your
people are trying to achieve the However, despite health-based However, according to the Bank- At the very outset, we have pre- the absolute rights in the subject’s name, you can thereafter bequeath
golden mean between work and goals being regarded as extremely Bazaar’s data, the average retire- sumed that your father has expired immovable property. You wish to the same in favour of your child by
exercise to ensure a healthy life. So, important by the respondents, the ment corpus people are looking to leaving behind his Will and last tes- apply to the land authorities to get making him the beneficiary under
from this perspective, health is the aspiration-readiness gap is fairly accumulate is ₹1-2 crore, which is tament. At the further outset, we your name mutated in the land your Will.
aspiration that helps you fulfil all high. The aspiration-readiness gap too low, considering inflation, ris- have presumed that you are the records in respect of the subject Aradhana Bhansali is partner,
other aspirations, and hence is is highest in the health category at ing healthcare costs and increasing only beneficiary or legatee in your property. For getting the subject Rajani Associates. Queries and views
looked upon as the most important upwards of three points for several life spans. father’s Will and being the benefici- property mutated in your name, at mintmoney@livemint.com

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES WELFARE HOUSING ORGANISATION

(An autonomous body of GOI under the aegis of M/o Housing & Urban Affairs)
6th Floor, ‘A’ Wing, Janpath Bhawan, Janpath, New Delhi - 110 001
Ph.: 23717249/23739722/23355408, Fax No. 23717250, E-mail: cgewho@nic.in, Website: www.cgewho.in

INVITATION FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI)

Pre-qualification of Civil Works Agency
Central Government Employees Welfare Housing Organization (CGEWHO) intends to construct a housing
project consisting of 370 (approx.) dwelling units of various types in basement + high-rise configuration at
Sector 79, SAS Nagar, Mohali, Punjab.
CGEWHO invites online offers in two bid system from eligible, reputed and experienced civil work agencies
(meeting Pre-qualification criteria) through CGEWHO’s e-procurement portal (www.tenderwizard.com/
CGEWHO) to indicate their Expression of Interest for building works contract.
To meet minimum pre-qualification criteria, the agencies should have :
i) Minimum average annual turnover for the last 5 years - Rs. 48 crores
ii) Generating profit throughout last five years and should not have any carry forward loss as on date.
iii) Minimum one completed housing project of Rs. 86 crores
iv) Minimum one housing project completed or in progress of 370 No. of DUs
v) Minimum Capital (Share Capital including loaned funds & free reserves) - Rs. 3 crores
vi) The borrowed funds should not exceed 3 times of the capital.
Detailed scope of work, technical drawings, preambles and other bid solicitation documents will be made
available only to the pre-qualified agencies on the basis of technical and financial competencies such as
fields of expertise, resources, available assets, financial stability, previous experiences in similar works,
litigation history etc. as sought, in the prescribed format. Interested agencies must provide the above
information strictly in the format provided by this office along with documentary evidence.
Any proposal received not conforming to EOI guidelines will be considered as technically non-compliant
and is liable to be rejected. The details of the agencies who meet the minimum pre-qualification criteria shall
further be evaluated according to the approved procedure adopted in CGEWHO as well as inspection of
works/offices of agencies.
Final pre-qualification shall be made out of the above evaluation and CGEWHO reserves its right to pre-
qualify or disqualify any or all applications, without assigning any reason thereof. No correspondence in this
regard shall be entertained.
Application Form for this EOI can be downloaded from www.tenderwizard.com/CGEWHO or
www.cgewho.in or www.eprocure.gov.in from 09-Aug-2019 onwards. Last date for submission of EOI is
19-Sept-2019. Tender documents should be submitted strictly through e-tendering website of CGEWHO,
i.e. www.tenderwizard.com/CGEWHO. No Off line submission will be accepted and summarily
rejected.
Chief Executive Officer
davp 20105/11/0004/1920 CGEWHO
14 WEDNESDAY, 14 AUGUST 2019
NEW DELHI VIEWS

OUR VIEW MY VIEW | ARTHANOMICS

RAMESH PATHANIA/MINT

A stimulus is needed but does

the auto sector deserve one?
Tax cuts would work best if they are broad-based and do not favour one sector or two over the rest

drawn. It is worth recalling that indirect
tax cuts for the auto sector, which began
in 2008, were finally ended only eight
years later, in December 2014. The
same is the problem with giving special
benefits to real estate, even granted that
this sector is hugely important for job
creation. What this sector needs is
reform of land and building laws, but
R. JAGANNATHAN that nobody is willing to touch. If India’s
is editorial director, ‘Swarajya’ magazine land market is reformed, land prices will
fall and provide a natural boost to hous-
ing demand. Instead, we are demanding
lower taxes. These are important, but
tax cuts will not only worsen this skew,
but make urban areas more congested
and unliveable.
If you accept the logic of the above
arguments, it does not follow that the
passenger vehicle industry needs a tax
cut right now. It may be fine to offer a
short-term cut in April 2020, in order to
smoothen the transition to costlier
vehicles that are BS VI-compliant.
There may also be a case for removing
the cess on higher-end vehicles, but this
cess is intended to fund compensation
to states for GST revenue losses. If this

What’s ailing India’s

ought to follow reform, not precede it. cess goes, another form of tax will have
Otherwise, the bulk of the tax cuts will to be imposed, or the same cess will

G
iven scary stories in the media be swallowed by vested interests and have to be imposed on a narrower band
about an accelerating economic demand will fall back to its old level of products, worsening the slowdown
slowdown and impending job after an initial boost. for them. You can’t help the automobile

automobile market losses, it is a safe assumption that some

kind of economic stimulus will be
unveiled over the next few weeks. The
auto sector, in particular, has assumed
If the finance minister were to look
back at history, the reality is that the
Indian auto sector’s success was built on
two colossal public policy failures: gross
sector without indirectly kicking the
daylights out of some other sector. The
third alternative is to let the fiscal deficit
slip in the short term, but this will spike
that it will be part of the coming tax cuts. underinvestment in public transport bond yields and raise interest rates. So,
The argument in the industry is about and bad urbanization, where settle- take your pick of which of these nega-
The prolonged slump in sales suggests the industry’s problems lie deeper than they seem. “when” these cuts should come, not ments are spatially spread out. Urbani- tive consequences you want to invite.
“whether”. Pawan Goenka of Mahindra zation works best when large popula- You can’t boost one sector and not hurt
Apart from an economic slowdown, a hasty transition to electric vehicles might have a role and Mahindra wants goods and services tions work in concentrated areas with another if you want to maintain tax rev-
tax (GST) cuts upfront; Rajiv Bajaj of good infrastructure. A World Bank pub- enues, and you can’t let the fiscal deficit
Bajaj Auto wants them to take effect lication, Leveraging Urbanization In slip so badly that it impacts the cost of
from April 2020, when the new Bharat South Asia: Managing Spatial Transfor- money for everybody.

I
ndia’s automobile market is in deep
trouble. Fresh figures released by the Soci-
ety of Indian Automobile Manufacturers
show that sales of passenger vehicles in
July plummeted 31% from the offtake a
year earlier. This marks the ninth straight
month of decline, and the steepest in about
two decades. Given the alarming fall, it isn’t
surprising that carmakers have intermittently
been halting production until dealers clear
inventories. Most companies are offering
discounts, and some are hoping that new
launches would whet demand. But little of it
seems to be working. The sector, as the num-
bers show, continues to shrink, threatening
job losses across the supply chain. The Auto-
motive Component Manufacturers Associa-
tion of India has warned that nearly a million
jobs could be lost if the contraction persists.
For an economy accustomed to high single-
digit growth, the travails of its main manufac-
turing industry have turned business senti-
ment especially gloomy. Whether slower
growth in incomes is to blame or market-
resume once the adverse trends reverse. But Stage VI norms kick in, raising auto mation For Prosperity And Liveability, Yes, we are in a slowdown and a
their optimism may be based more on hope prices all around. estimates that India’s actual level or stimulus is called for. It could be a mix
For a government that has already urbanization may be nearly 55%, but of monetary and fiscal stimulus, but
than realism. Given the sharp slide in sales, it been attacked for failure on the jobs new urban-like towns and cities are so should not be sector-specific. Once you
appears more likely that some of it also has to front, reports of the loss of lakhs of jobs far from city centres that the quality of make something sector-specific, vested
do with the government’s aggressive push for in automobile companies and dealer- urbanization is poor and spatially too interests will scream whenever you
the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). That car ships could well push it into offering spread out to optimize growth and jobs. want to revert to the old tax levels, as
manufacturers are ill-prepared for New Delhi’s premature tax cuts. But it should ask Our misguided auto sector policies happened in 2008-14 with the auto
itself two important questions: If there privileged private transport over public. sector and consumer durables.
hasty transition plan is more than apparent. is to be a stimulus, should it be sector- Bad urban infrastructure forced people Any tax stimulus by the government
But even consumers could be having second specific, which means giving favoured to invest in personal transport vehicles should be across the board and given to
thoughts about making four-wheeler pur- sectors a leg up and leaving the rest to commute over long distances instead almost all sectors, and could include
chases. Their fear, as a few industry stalwarts behind? And two, even assuming it of depending on overcrowded and speeding up the cut in corporate taxes
have observed, is that conventional vehicles needs to be sector-specific, should this poor-quality public transport. This is to 25% for all companies, big or small.
sector be automobiles? the reason why our car and bike indus- The GST regime could be moved to a
would turn obsolete in less than a decade. This The answer should be a clear “no” to tries are so huge, belting out nearly 20 5-15-25% rate structure and the cess
may be prompting consumers to defer pur- both questions. Every time the govern- million vehicles annually. This is also eliminated. The fiscal deficit can be
chases until greater policy clarity emerges. ment plays godfather to one sector or why a country which is yet to achieve allowed to slip marginally this year so as
To address the crisis, the industry has asked another, the sectoral lobby will ensure full-fledged middle-income status is so to allow the economy to deliver more
for a cut in the goods and services tax rate. This that the benefits endure by painting overdependent on cars, motorbikes and revenues after the slowdown is
negative scenarios if they are with- scooters. Giving yet another dollop of reversed.
may not help if the problem has more to do
with technology uncertainty than affordability
and access to credit. Unfortunately, the gov-
ernment’s EV transition road map offers little
by way of reassurance. To smoothen the proc-
ess, the Centre should spell out its objectives
clearly and elaborate how it plans to enable www.livemint.com New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Chandigarh*, Pune* Friday, August 14, 2009 Vol.3 No.193 Rs. 3.00 24 PAGES
+ 4 PAGES MARKETS WATCH

specific factors remains a bit of a puzzle. such an ambitious shift with minimal disrup- When something gets into
15,518.49

MARKETS: Sensex gains the

3.30pm

most in three weeks >7

AL JAZEERA SURVEY: Pakistanis see

Much of the problem can be explained by the tion. With technology standards currently in EXCLUSIVE PARTNER
US as bigger threat, not India >4
SERIES: Virtual coexistence—Twitter
now, blog later >8
15,207.96
9.55am
Intraday movement of the Sensex on 13 Aug
use, options immediately
broader slowdown in the economy. Growth in flux, this would make a difference. Govern-
SENSEX 15,518.49 Æ 498.33 NIFTY 4,605 Æ 147.50 DOLLAR Rs48.11 æ Re0.26 EURO Rs68.67 Æ Re0.11 GOLD Rs14,970 Æ Rs115 OIL $74.26 Æ $1.64

emerge via innovations,

LEGAL OPINION RELOOKING PRIORITIES

gross domestic product has slowed to a near
What’s inside
Govtmovein UPA’s 100-day
ment incentives for EVs are desirable, but it is
After six years of negotiations, India and the Association
of Southeast Nations, or Asean, on Thursday finally sign-
ed the comprehensive economic cooperation agreement
agenda derailed?
Ambani case
for duty-free import and export of 4,000 products, ranging
from steel to apparel to sugar and tobacco, over a period

research and investments.

of eight years. >P2 B Y L IZ M ATHEW & deck been reshuffled so early in
R UHI T EWARI the term of a government.
LEADING THE NEWS MONEY MATTERS ··························· “The priorities of this govern-

five-year low of below 6%, with consumer preferable if Indian traffic undergoes a mar-
NEW DELHI
The Wholesale RBI has set up a financial ment have changed now,” ad-
Price Index de-
clined 1.74% in
the week to 1
August from a
year earlier.
However, consumer prices
stability unit to carry out
periodic stress testing of
the banking system and
preparing financial stability
reports.
***
>P9
hurts NTPC T hree months after its unex-
pectedly strong victory in
the general election, the United
Progressive Alliance (UPA) gov-
ernment led by the Congress
party is going back to the draw-
mitted a Congress cabinet min-
ister, who spoke on condition of
anonymity. While indicating the
government had managed to
move ahead from the “embar-
rassment” of the joint statement,
rose in June from the year- Germany and France have Solicitor general slams IN A TANGLE ing board to take a relook at its the minister said: “Who knew

When I was talking about

ago period. >P9 shown a surpris- govt, which sets up a priorities, after a foreign policy that more problems like the

demand far weaker than seen in recent years. ket-led rather than policy-pushed transforma-
***
Ashish Saksena says the
ending of Ram Gopal Var-
ma’s Agyaat drew extreme
reactions, which perhaps
hurt its performance. >P6
ing 0.3% growth THE NEWS slip-up in the Sharm-el-Sheikh drought, price rise and swine flu
in Q2, helping 4-member ministerial The solicitor general criticizes the joint statement with Pakistan, would come up. Now, the priori-
ease contraction panel to come up with a government for jeopardizing NTPC’s the spread of swine flu and ris- ty is to tackle all these.”
of the euro zone case. The government forms a ing food prices following the There is also a growing feeling
GDP that shrank unified stand for issue four-member ministerial panel to failure of the monsoon. within the Congress party that
by 0.1%. >P17 come up with a unified stand. Among the options being con- something dramatic needs to be
B Y U TPAL B HASKAR sidered is a cabinet reshuffle done to revive political momen-
utpal.b@livemint.com THE BACKGROUND and expanding the team ahead tum. In the first few weeks after
························· The petroleum ministry and NTPC of completing 100 days in power

In such a situation, it is natural that fewer new tion. There should be no restraints placed on
NEW DELHI have taken conflicting stands in the on 29 August. Rarely has the TURN TO PAGE 3®
case between RIL and RNRL.

I
electric buses, people were
ndia’s solicitor general
Gopal Subramanium has THE IMPLICATION
criticized the government The gas dispute between RIL and
for jeopardizing state-run
power company NTPC Ltd’s
RNRL could become more
complicated with NTPC
CavinKare to take Donald’s Corp. not just in In-
dia, but also overseas with a
case in the Bombay high court
against the Mukesh Ambani-
considering intervention. onfastfoodMNCs multi-cuisine fast food restau-
rant format that it is currently
CORPORATE NEWS ECONOMY & POLITICS controlled Reliance Industries in India, abroad testing.

vehicles would be bought. In addition, credit consumer choice. Carmakers and consumers
SingTel’s latest results show India has objected to efforts Ltd (RIL) over the supply of gas Considering most Indians
Bharti Airtel’s importance, by the US and the Europe- from the latter’s Krishna-Go- ra, to come up with a unified spend far more on food than
as its contribution to Sing- an Union to use statements davari (KG) basin, off the east- stand for it, said a senior cabi- B Y A NUPAMA on personal care, India has a

laughing at me. Now

Tel’s pretax earnings rose
15.8% in Q1 from a year ago
and helped SingTel post a
7.7% rise in net.>P18
***
made by it in forums out-
side the United Nations to
influence the agenda of the
climate change talks due in
Copenhagen, Denmark, in
ern coast of India.
In a related development,
the government on Thursday
decided to form a four-mem-
ber ministerial panel, compris-
ing finance minister Pranab
net minister, who did not want
to be identified given the con-
troversial nature of the issue.
The petroleum ministry and
NTPC, which comes under the
purview of the power ministry,
C HANDRASEKARAN
anupama.c@livemint.com
·························
CHENNAI
T he Chennai-based compa-
ny that was among the first
potential for 500 restaurants,
said C.K. Ranganathan, chair-
man and managing director of
CavinKare Pvt. Ltd.
While CavinKare invested
nearly Rs75 lakh for the first

availability is tight, fuel prices are high, a judi- might need more than a decade to adjust to a
As fears over swine flu
spread across India, its ef-
fect is being seen in the re-
tail sector as well. Panta-
loon’s Kishore Biyani said
in an interview with CNBC-
December. >P11
***
In times of crisis, a lead
director could act as a
sounding board and sup-
port for the chief executive
Mukherjee, law minister M. have taken conflicting stands to popularize the sale of sham- restaurant it opened a month
Veerappa Moily, power minis- in the case between RIL and poos in sachets plans to take ago, the cost for each addition-
ter Sushil Kumar Shinde and on fast food multinational cor-
petroleum minister Murli Deo- TURN TO PAGE 2® porations (MNCs) such as Mc- TURN TO PAGE 3®

hundreds of electric buses

TV18 that his firm saw and also focus on company
some impact on sales in strategy, says Govind
Pune and Mumbai. >P11 Sankarayanarayanan. >P20 Pune’s Indus WOODSTOCK 1969

cial intervention has raised upfront insurance market being nudged away from vehicles that The day the music lived
VIEWS
The litmus test
claims to have a
of the latest
burst of tax
cure for swine flu
BARRY Z LEVINE/GETTY IMAGES
reforms—the
proposed new B Y S EEMA S INGH BY SAMANTH SUBRAMANIAN
direct tax sys- seema.s@livemint.com samanth.s@livemint.com
························· ····························

are plying in so many cities.

tem—will lie

costs sharply, and the prices of automobiles burn fossil fuels and spew dangerous emis-
BANGALORE NEW DELHI
in its effectiveness in help-
ADVT ing India’s economy. >P22
A Pune-based biotechnology
company Indus Biotech
Pvt. Ltd claims it can help the
W hen Maya Chadda was still
Maya Kulkarni, an unmar-
ried graduate student in New
government in its fight against York City, she received a tele-
the H1N1 virus—by providing phone call that was unusual but
QUICK EDIT a new antiviral, which is de- in no way indicative of the ex-
rived from a plant in the hu- traordinary events to come. Ravi

A tale of two central banks man food chain and hence is Shankar, on tour in the US, was

have gone up on account of higher input costs. sions. Achieving environmental goals is
very low on toxicity, a burden suddenly missing his tanpura
that most synthetic drugs player, who had fallen ill, so could

C oordinating monetary
policy across the globe
has always been complex. The
financial crisis may be easing,
but this challenge isn’t.
The US Federal Reserve on
Wednesday announced that
Portfolio flows in April-June
were at $8.27 billion (Rs39,780
crore today)—more than
foreign direct investment—
forcing the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) to act. RBI said
this week that it had bought a
come with.
The claim comes even as
governments around the world
are continuing to hunt for
more weapons in their arsenal
to fight the influenza virus,
which, historically, is known to
she step in for a few concerts?
Chadda could, fortunate-
ly—which is how, 40 years ago,
she found herself on stage, in Striking a chord: A file photo of Maya Kulkarni with the tanpura.
front of hundreds of thousands of
people, at the century’s definitive Fortunately for Chadda’s ped- world, and he had known me.”
rock-and-roll event: Woodstock. agogy, she had known Shankar Chadda, a very sheltered 22 at

All these have depressed demand to varying important, but if in doing so we end up leaving
“economic activity is levelling net $1.04 billion in June, its surface in mutated forms. “That’s right: Woodstock!” from her girlhood in Bombay, the time, was uncertain at first if
out”, or recovering. Yet, save biggest intervention since While Indus has filed an in- Chadda tells her students at Wil- when she used to visit the Bhula- she should volunteer, if she would
for slowing the purchase of April 2008. That means it’s vestigational new drug (IND) liam Patterson University today. bhai Desai Institute to learn be able to sit with the requisite

some securities, the US Fed
is bent on continuing its
highly expansionary monetary
regime—its policy rate is still
close to zero and it continues
quantitative easing.
been buying dollars, or selling
rupees, to check the rupee
appreciation that comes with
greater capital inflow.
The Fed’s spigots may have
saved the US. But if dollar
application with the US Food
and Drug Administration
(FDA) for the compound’s ac-
tion against HIV, subsequent
research at one of the labora-
tories it works with at the Na-
Usually, there is then a spell of
silence, as they wrestle with the
image of their political science
professor at a three-day, mari-
juana-clouded conclave of hip-
pies. “Their jaws fall open. They
Bharatanatyam. “M.F. Husain
and Vasudeo Gaitonde used to
have studios there, and Raviji
had classes and rehearsals and
stuff,” Chadda remembers.
“Then I came away to the United
N I TI N GA D K A R I
straight-backed elegance for two
hours. Shankar offered a simple
suggestion: Practise first. “So I did
that,” Chadda says. “I was part of
five or six performances, all on the
east coast of the United States. I

extents. Policymakers believe some of these an industry that employs millions in disarray,
Some of this easy money is liquidity continues unabated, tional Taiwan University Hos- cannot believe it,” Chadda says. States to study, and Raviji was had very little knowledge of the
finding its way into emerging it could keep pushing up the pital in Taipei showed that the “But it’s a bit of a teaching strate- performing all over the place popular music scene at the time,
markets, including India. rupee and local asset prices. compound is very effective gy. It’s what I use to get them to here. So even though I wasn’t and even less knowledge that I
interact with me as an individu- part of his team, I had been a
Mint is also available for Rs5.50 with Hindustan Times under a combo offer TURN TO PAGE 4® al, not as a professor.” part of the dance and music TURN TO PAGE 10®

factors are temporary, and expansion would then the goal itself may face resistance.

MY VIEW | EX MACHINA

The popularity and regulation of competitive eSports

Fortnite is a massively multiplayer video
RAHUL MATTHAN game in which 100 contestants at a time
fight on a virtual island in a setting strangely
reminiscent of a Hunger Games tourna-
ment. They fight with each other, Battle
Royale style, until there is just one player left
lenges that could have serious consequences different regions but it is possible that sev- question the timing of this entire article as
on the industry if not addressed early on. For eral others escaped detection. With players being a tad premature. Given the explosion
instance, there is a need to address issues located in different countries (with diver- of mobile data and smartphones over the last
around the protection of players from com- gent laws and standards on the legality of dif- three years, I have no doubt that it is only a
mercial exploitation. The average age of ferent types of gaming), it will be virtually matter of time before Indian gamers hit the
contestants at the Fortnite World Cup was impossible to determine what law should eSports big league.

W
hen you think of an elite athlete,
the image least likely to leap into
your mind is that of a teenager
playing video games in front of a computer.
And yet, when 16-year-old Kyle “Bugha”
Giersdorf won the finals of the Fortnite
World Cup at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in
Flushing Meadows, New York, it was hard to
standing. It is not dissimilar to other games 16, with the youngest finalist no more than apply and which court is competent to adju- The industry has more in common with
based on a similar format—PUBG and Coun- 13. While minors enjoy dicate. entertainment than sport and given that rev-
ter-Strike, for instance—but because its special protection under Once eSports is elevated enues are driven much more through view-
characters are cartoonish, parents seem to the law in most jurisdic- The industry to the level of a traditional ership rather than active participation, India
have less of an objection to its content. Fort- tions, they have limited sport, we will have to regu- is an ideal market. We are voracious con-
nite has an estimated 250 million players autonomy when it comes has more in late the use of perform- sumers of entertainment and we enjoy a
around the world, making it the most popu- to deciding which eSport ance-enhancing drugs in good battle as much as anyone else—be it
lar addition to the pantheon of electronic franchise to sign up with.
common with gaming tournaments. cricket or the latest flavour of reality TV. I

is a partner at Trilegal and

think of what we were witnessing as any-
thing other than a massive global sporting
author of ‘Privacy 3.0: Unlocking
Our Data Driven Future’
event.
Perhaps it was the prize money of $3 mil-
lion, more than has ever been paid to the
individual winner of any video game tourna-
ment (and in absolute terms, just $800,000
less than what the winners of this year’s US
Open singles finals will take home when
they play later this month in the very same
stadium). Or perhaps it had something to do
with the size and global nature of the audi-
ence—23,771 watching in the stadium and
millions more streaming it live around the
globe through Twitch and YouTube.
For those who have never heard of it,
sports (eSports).
Gaming is huge today in a way that it has
never been before. In 2017, viewers logged
a total of 355 billion minutes on Twitch. Of
the 2.2 billion gamers on the planet, 380 mil-
lion were eSports viewers—of whom 165
million were regular viewers. It has become
such a serious spectator event that the 6th
Olympic Summit in Lausanne seriously con-
sidered granting competitive eSports the
status of a sporting activity, based on, among
others, such considerations as how inten-
sively players trained for it.
Despite its rapid growth in recent years,
eSports still lacks a central governing orga-
nization. This has given rise to several chal-
In most instances, parents
and legal guardians, who
entertainment When that happens, it will
be important to recognize
have no doubt eSports will flourish in the
subcontinent.
are supposed to decide for
them, have no idea what
than sport and how different this activity
is and that the type of per-
That being the case, we’d do well to be
prepared to regulate this space appropri-
eSports is about. Despite India is an ideal formance that is being ately. We need to understand the differences
their best intentions, they chemically enhanced is dif- between eSports and traditional sport,
may not be the right people market ferent from everything that appropriately tuning our regulations to
to take decisions in their doping agencies are used account for that. It would not do for us to
children’s best interests. to dealing with in the con- force-fit our new eSports regulations into
As new as it is, the gaming industry is text of more physical sports. That said, the one of the pigeonholes we have already cre-
already rife with betting and match-fixing. likelihood of substance abuse is as high and ated to regulate traditional sports. Instead,
Gamers use nicknames and avatars while deserves to be appropriately regulated in the we need to appropriately address issues
playing, making it next to impossible to interests of the players and the sport at large. unique to the industry.
accurately identify each gamer. In the Fort- Today, none of the gamers participating While no one really thinks eSports will
nite World Cup, 196 players were disquali- in elite eSports tournaments around the de-throne cricket in this country, who
fied for illegally playing in the qualifiers for world are from India. As a result, one might knows?
 VIEWS WEDNESDAY, 14 AUGUST 2019
NEW DELHI 15

MY VIEW | CAFE ECONOMICS G LO B A L VO I C E S

The great growth story of China T

The radical blackness of Ebony magazine
he Chicago publishing legend John H. Johnson laid the foundation of an
empire in 1945 by styling a new magazine called Ebony as a love letter to the

awaits a modern-age epilogue black elite. African-Americans were virtually invisible in the white press at the
time—unless they committed crimes—and were held in such contempt in the South
that newspapers routinely denied them courtesy titles, including Mr. and Mrs., that
were extended to whites. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. referred to this as an
element of the “degenerating sense of ‘nobodiness’” that African-Americans
endured daily . Such was the status quo when Mr. Johnson announced that his new
With China in the midst of a profound change in its economic model, India needs to work out how to make the most of it magazine would celebrate black success and “mirror the happier side of Negro life”.
As the British historian E. James West shows in his forthcoming book Ebony Mag-
azine and Lerone Bennett Jr., the magazine helped to move African-American his-
BLOOMBERG tory from the margins to the very centre of American life by embracing the disci-
pline of history and highlighting historical figures who had been left out of text-
books... Johnson Publishing was, ultimately, a victim of its own success. By
acclimatizing the country to the black presence in stories and advertising, it pushed
other publications to open their pages... The curtain is falling on the Johnson
empire just as historians have begun to recognize the company’s enduring contri-
bution to the national culture.
The New York Times

NIRANJAN RAJADHYAKSHA Cathay Pacific must face up to safety issues

is a member of the academic board of the
Meghnad Desai Academy of Economics
A fter the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued a severe risk
warning to Cathay Pacific Airways in Hong Kong, the airline said Saturday that
a pilot charged with rioting had been removed from duties on 30 July and two staff
members were sacked for misconduct. However, these actions can only be seen as
a small step taken by Cathay Pacific in the right direction. The airline’s sincerity
remains to be tested by time. Liu Chung-yin, a 30-year-old pilot with Cathay Pacific,
was arrested on 28 July during a violent demonstration in Hong Kong on riot char-

M
ost mental models about the
Chinese economy are quite
understandably based on the
spectacular transformation of
that country over the past four
decades, from a miserably poor
country to a powerhouse that could challenge
American dominance of the global system. It is a
record with no parallel in history.
The development model was something like
this. China recorded high rates of economic
growth, saved nearly half its national income,
relentlessly focused on capital accumulation,
powered an export engine to overcome a limited
domestic market, welcomed foreign direct invest-
ment, plugged into global supply chains and kept
its public finances more or less in order.
It also gamed the multilateral trading system to
capture markets as well as absorb new technology
that would raise productivity, which means that the
grand American gamble in the 1990s to get China
into the international economic system so that it
would eventually become a liberal capitalist econ-
omy has failed. The ongoing trade war is a belated
recognition that the gambit has not worked.
China was a free trader in theory, but mercantil-
ist in practice. The journey was obviously not with-
out bumps in the road—including episodes of
inflation and financial fragility. The overall record
is of staggering success, which even its worst critics
cannot deny. However, there are now growing
signs that the China of the immediate future will
not resemble the China of the immediate past.
A new report by the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) on the Chinese economy was released
last week. It makes for interesting reading. Much of
the analytical focus of the report is obviously on
the current challenges faced by the second largest
economy in the world. The view ahead is also
important. Here are four big transitions that Indian
policy makers should focus on.
First, it is well known that China is in the midst of
a secular slowdown. The days of sustained double-
digit growth are over. The IMF says that the Chi-
nese economy will be expanding at 5.5% by 2024. A
forthcoming working paper by M. Zhu, L. Zhang
and D. Peng estimates that Chinese economic
growth will slow to 4% by 2030. Some private
sector economists say that China could end up
growing at half that rate if the strategic squeeze
being applied by the US right now is successful.
Second, the drivers of Chinese economic growth
are rapidly changing. Domestic consumption is
becoming more important in the growth mix while
domestic investment is losing ground. The exter-
nal trade story is likely to change dramatically,
with China slipping into a minor current account
deficit by 2024. In other words, the excess of
domestic savings over domestic investment will
disappear. China will continue to have a trade sur-
plus in industrial goods, but that will be cancelled
by a growing trade deficit in services.
Third, China is battling financial fragility. The
effect of successive credit expansions to keep eco-
nomic growth on target after the 2008 financial
crisis is now showing. The IMF says that true fiscal
deficit is now around 11% of gross domestic prod-
uct, if off-balance-sheet borrowing for investment
is taken into account. The credit splurge means
that important parts of the Chinese economy are
over-leveraged—the government, the corporate
sector and households. There have also been
episodes of large capital outflows from China,
although these have moderated of late.
Fourth, there is already mounting evidence that
Chinese manufacturing is moving up the global
value chain. The widespread belief that China is
still trapped in the lower end of the manufacturing
value chain is not quite true. Hiau Looi Kee of the
World Bank and Heiwai Tang of the University of
Hong Kong have shown in their recent work based
on enterprise data that China has expanded its
domestic base in the intermediate input sectors,
leading to an increase in domestic value addition in
exports. The IMF notes that the share of hi-tech in
China’s industrial value added was 43% in 2015,
comparable to richer countries such as Belgium
and Spain.
These are just four illustrative examples to show
that China is in the midst of a profound change in
its economic model. Such transformations are
rarely smooth. The tiger economies of East Asia
had to undergo gut wrenching pain during the
1997 Asian financial crisis before they could
change direction. The difference is that they were
minnows in the global economy compared to what
China is today.
China has so far beaten back at least a decade of
forecasts about its imminent collapse. So what it
does over the next few years matters a lot. This is
where the trade war with the US comes in. The US
sees this as an opportunity to push back a country
that is likely to emerge as its main geopolitical
rival. The trade war is actually not about trade
alone, but issues such as intellectual property
protections, the foreign investment regime,
dominance of newer technologies such as Artificial
Intelligence, cyber security and much more.
It is an opening salvo in a deeper geostrategic
battle. The question is: How does India take
advantage?
ges with 43 other protesters. Liu was later released on bail and allowed to fly out
of Hong Kong.
Cathay Pacific has dealt with three of its employees, but only under CAAC pres-
sure. It is not guaranteed that Cathay Pacific will really operate in the correct direc-
tion in the future. To push some institutions in Hong Kong to maintain profession-
alism, many Chinese mainland people believe it is necessary for the mainland to
pressure them using various levers... To act according to various norms is Cathay
Pacific’s obligation. It is hoped that the airline could make constructive efforts to
regain the trust of mainland people.
Global Times, China
AI-enhanced noses: something smells off
W e have long enhanced our frail senses with prostheses. But while human
vision has been improved with lenses, touch with prosthetic limbs, and hear-
ing with microphones, taste and smell have proved trickier to upgrade. But not
impossible. News that an artificial tongue developed at the University of Glasgow
could be used to detect poisons or counterfeit whiskies typifies how much work
is being done to develop Artificial Intelligences that would taste and smell more
sophisticatedly than mere humans. The superbly named startup Cyrano Sciences,
for instance, is commercialising an electronic nose invented at the California Insti-
tute of Technology to not just enhance human olfaction, but also possibly to replace
sniffer dogs in the detection of drugs and bombs... The US food business McCor-
mick & Company and IBM are trying to develop an AI application that uses data to
learn about users’ taste preferences and produce new, appealing flavour combina-
tions for them.
Quite apart from the practical advantages for sniffer dogs and counterfeit detect-
ors, there are philosophical problems about AI doing our tasting and shaping our
tastes. Napoleon said that life never appeared so rosy as when viewed through a
glass of Chambertin. What machine could feel such pleasure, for all it might predict
it? A world too far digitized will be robbed of much of its savour.
The Guardian, UK
Lower GDP growth calls for aggressive action
A lthough gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the second quarter was
expected to be modest for some obvious reasons, the official announcement
Thursday that the economy grew by just 5.5% was an unpleasant surprise and
should be viewed with concern. The second quarter result was lower than the 5.6%
GDP growth recorded in the first quarter of the year, and was much lower than the
6.2% expansion in the second quarter of 2018... The slower second quarter growth
was attributed to a number of factors. The delayed implementation of the 2019 bud-
get and the pre-election ban on spending for new projects were said to be the key
causes of lower growth. Other factors such as the lingering effects from the recent
El Niño and the impact of interest rate hikes late last year, as well as growing global
instability were also cited as reasons for slower consumption and lower-than-ex-
pected growth.
At this point, the economy will have to grow by an average of 6.45% over the next
two quarters to reach the lower bound of the government’s 6 to 7% target range...
To restore consumer and business confidence and spur faster growth, the govern-
ment should spell out a specific plan of action. After all, if businesses and consum-
ers—who are broadly supportive of the administration—know what it is, they can
contribute to [its] success.
The Manila Times

GUEST VIEW

The problem of excessive purchasing power in politics

buyers. As early as January 2019, the Opposi-
VIKAS KUMAR & POONAM SINGH tion Congress expressed alarm at the non-
availability of chartered planes. According to
a March 2019 report in The Economic Times,
there were 275 registered civilian helicop-
ters in the country, of which only 75 were
Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party
(NDPP) rolled out the most expensive news-
paper ad campaign in Nagaland’s history
that stood out for its scale as well as for test-
ing the limits of the Election Commission’s
guidelines. Writing for The Hoot, Vikas
tion campaign, namely, the front page of
newspapers was almost exclusively accessed
by the party with deeper pockets.
Conventional remedies include
approaching the Election Commission,
which can only regulate the quantum of
party is not an enterprise as defined in Sec-
tion 2(h). The Competition Commission has
in the past rejected cases involving a defen-
dant that is not an enterprise. For instance,
the prima facie order in case of Rajat Verma
Vs PWD Haryana & Others ruled that the lat-

A
recent report by the Association for
Democratic Reforms (ADR) suggests
that over the period 2016-18, one
political party received more than 90% of all
corporate donations. The consequences of
this skewed distribution include unequal
access to chartered planes and front pages of
newspapers for election advertisements. A
available for commercial hire. The report
added that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
had hired almost half of those.
The fact that the Opposition complained
about the non-availability of chartered
flights long before the election schedule was
declared suggests that the BJP had monop-
sony power, i.e. it was a dominant buyer.
Kumar examined advertisements that resources used but not how they are used, or ter was not an enterprise, which was over-
appeared in The Morung calling for a new law gov- turned on appeal. It is time the Commission
Express and Nagaland Post, erning election funding, reviewed the definition of an enterprise to
the two leading English Rival parties which is unlikely to find address the anti-competitive market behav-
dailies of Nagaland. On favour with dominant par- iour of entities that are not enterprises in the
each day between the last could try ties. Parties could possibly conventional sense, yet their activities not
day for withdrawing nomi- also approach the Compe- only affect other players in the market but
nations and the last day for
complaining to tition Commission of India also generate negative externalities for third

teach economics at Azim

Premji University, Bengaluru,
and National Institute of
Industrial Engineering, Mumbai,
respectively
level-playing field requires a more equitable
distribution of the means to campaign, or
regulation against the misuse of such an
asymmetry.
The chartered air travel industry serves
customers on a first-come first-served basis
and, understandably, tried to cash in on the
once-in-half-a-decade opportunity of this
year’s parliamentary elections. Its services
are a critical input for election campaigns,
given the size of the country and the limited
number of star campaigners. In the short
run, supply cannot increase in response to
excess demand. A dominant buyer with
access to funds and a first-mover advantage
can potentially foreclose the market to other
This had a direct adverse effect on the other
buyers, who were at a competitive disadvan-
tage in reaching voters. There is also an indi-
rect impact on a third party outside this mar-
ket, i.e. voters, insofar as they could not
properly assess the alternatives offered by
other political parties whose star campaign-
ers were unable to reach them.
Our other example comes from the Feb-
ruary 2018 assembly elections in Nagaland.
Until 1 February, it was not clear if its state
polls would be held because of a civil society
campaign to postpone them. Most parties
declared their candidates just ahead of 7
February, the last date for filing nomina-
tions. Days later, an alliance of the BJP and
campaigning (12-25 Febru-
ary), Morung carried ads of
the Competition
the BJP-NDPP alliance on
its front pages, including
Commission
three full-page, seven half- against ‘buyer
page, and four quarter page
ads. Nagaland Post carried dominance’
three full-page ads on page
two and 11 half-page ads of
the alliance on its front pages. The alliance
also placed ads on other pages of these news-
papers. In contrast, the Naga People’s Front
released full-page ads between 20 February
and 25 February on pages 11 and 12 of the
Morung and pages five and seven of Naga-
land Post. Once again, a critical input to elec-
under Section 3(4)(b) of the
Competition Act 2002 that
prohibits agreements
involving “enterprise or
association of enterprises
or person or association of
persons” such as “exclusive
supply agreement” that
foreclose competition by
restricting other potential purchasers from
accessing the product or service in question,
and also Section 4(2)(c) that prohibits the
abuse of dominance by an “enterprise or
group” resulting in denial of market access
to competitors. The proposed approach can
be opposed on the ground that a political
parties outside this market.
The proposed approach does not treat the
greater ability of a political party to raise
resources as problematic in itself. Parties dif-
fer in their ability to raise and use funds. The
government should not curb the freedom of
individuals and corporate groups to contrib-
ute to a party of their choice. However, there
is a need to check the misuse of a dominance
that denies other parties access to critical
non-substitutable campaign inputs and
eventually restricts voters’ access to infor-
mation on alternatives, which subverts the
purpose of elections. Skewed distribution of
resources within parties is also harmful, but
that requires a separate discussion.
16 WEDNESDAY, 14 AUGUST 2019
NEW DELHI POLICY

P O L I C Y 1 0 1
ANIRUDDHA CHOWDHURY/MINT

How the new Motor

Vehicles Act puts us
on the road to safety
The new legislation addresses a gamut of issues impacting road safety
The new law addresses the larger landscape for a safer, The Centre will support steps to improve the use of existing
compliant, road and transportation system. PRABHAS ROY/HT m MINT GRAPHITI infrastructure by capacity maximization measures.
Shreya Nandi

Awareness among all shreya.n@livemint.com

NEW DELHI
Deadly drive
A sharp increase in the vehicle population has increased the number of
fatalities and injuries due to road accidents.
It’s a late beginning
stakeholders key to
I but the route has
n recent times, rarely would there
have been changes in legislation Road accidents by traffic rules violation in 2017
touching each and every stage of Overspeeding Driving on Drunken Use of mobile Jumping No violation
life. Whether it is about making it wrong side driving phone red light and not known

safer roads in India mandatory for a child younger than

four years, to wear a helmet, or making
guardians responsible for a juvenile
29,148 14,071 8,526 6,324 been well charted
Number of TOTAL
driving a vehicle, or increasing penalties accidents 327,448 79,394
464,910
Piyush Tewari manifold for offences such as drunk and Sewa Ram
dangerous driving, over-speeding, driv- 9,527 4,776 3,172 1,826 29,999

O T
n 20 June a dilapidated, overcrowded public bus
skidded off a hilly Himachal road and crashed into a
gorge, killing 44 people and injuring 34. Had the bus
been in a better condition, with just the permitted number of
passengers and, if crash barriers were in place at the point of
drop, the lives could’ve been saved. Unfortunately, road safety
has not been taken seriously for decades despite the loss of
lives every year. The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019,
passed by the Union government is about to change that.
ROAD TO SAFETY
Every year 150,000 lives are lost, and nearly 1 million people
are seriously injured in road crashes. India has maximum road
crash fatalities in the world. Majority of these crashes are a
combination of driver error, limited vehicle safety practices,
and poor road infrastructure. It also comes at a huge
economic cost. According to government estimates, India
loses 3% of its gross domestic product (GDP), or `4.8 trillion
each year due to road crashes. The road safety legislation was,
therefore, much awaited to arrest the huge loss of human
capital and the economic fallout. The new law not only
imposes stringent punishment for violations, but also
addresses a safer, road and transportation system. For
instance, road contractors have been brought into the ambit
of the law and will be held accountable should mishaps occur
due to poor road design, engineering or maintenance.
Licensing and engineering reforms
To make our have got a significant push to
roads safer, address poor driving behaviour.
Several measures for the safety of
dedicated children have been introduced. The
efforts must be Act also gives legislative backing to
made to create the Supreme Court-instituted Good
awareness Samaritan Law. Proper
implementation of the new law will
have a transformative effect, and
state governments must ensure its success.
THE DIGITAL ROUTE
Putting the law into practice will be a significant challenge.
Issues ranging from corruption in collection of fines, to
capacity constraints, to getting the states to take ownership
for the law’s implementation will need to be addressed.
Thanks to statutes, such as Section 136A of the new law,
districts now have statutory backing to invest in electronic
enforcement. Such digital initiatives have already been
implemented successfully in some parts of the country. Navi
Mumbai in Maharashtra, for instance, installed high-
resolution cameras at all traffic junctions relaying violation
feeds to a hi-tech control room, which in turn directly sends
out challans to errant motorists. Similarly, in Kolkata, traffic
police personnel now wear body cameras and ensure that
bribery is eliminated from enforcement sites. Kolkata has
since seen a significant drop in traffic fatalities.
OWNERSHIP AMONG STAKEHOLDERS
The new law will come into force throughout the country and
across the 725 districts concurrently, but to achieve the long-
term objective of safer roads, dedicated efforts must be made
to create awareness not just among motorists, but also among
the police, local administration and judiciary. An ideal way to
build awareness would be to launch a nationwide Surakshit
Bharat Abhiyan, a campaign to educate all stakeholders about
the far-reaching benefits. It is only when all sections of the
society take ownership for safer roads that we will see a
fundamental transformation in our approach to road safety –
and Indian roads will be a much safer place.
Piyush Tewari is founder of SaveLIFE Foundation, a non-
profit organization committed to saving lives on roads in India.
ing without permit, the Motor Vehicles
(Amendment) Act, 2019 will impact
everyone.
As far as road safety is concerned, dis-
cipline is imperative. If implemented in
spirit, the law can change road habits of
all by not only imposing stiffer penalties
for breaking rules, but also trying to
inculcate a sense of responsibility
among the citizens to abide by them.
For instance, not giving way to emer-
gency vehicles such as ambulance or
fire brigade can now attract penalties of
as high as ₹10,000.
A sharp increase in the vehicle popu-
lation has increased the number of fatal-
ities and injuries from road accidents. In
2017, there were more than 147,913
road-accident related deaths, up from
146,133 in 2014. Among categories of
vehicles, two-wheelers accounted for
almost 34% of total road accidents and
29% in terms of fatalities, official data
showed. Besides, national highways
that comprise 2% of India’s total road
network, accounted for over a third of
accident-related deaths in 2017. The
recent changes in the motor vehicles
law could not have come at a more
opportune time, with India being signa-
tory to the Brasilia declaration on road
safety and committing to halve the
number of fatal road accidents by 2020.
After a long wait of three years, the
Parliament earlier this month passed
the proposed amendments to the Motor
Vehicles Act, after which it received the
President’s assent on 9 August.
The amendments in the 30-year-old
motor vehicles law is much needed as
India needs to keep up with innovation
in technology and the automobile sec-
tor, amid rapid urbanization that is lead-
ing to road congestion in the cities.
Among other provisions, the law pro-
poses cashless treatment for victims in
the ‘golden hour’ or the first hour of fatal
Congratulating every citizen on the
passing of the Motor Vehicles
(Amendment) Bill, 2019, which will
pave the way to safer roads.
NITIN GADKARI
Minister for road transport and highways
accidents when victims are most likely
to be saved by medical treatment.
Besides, citizens who come forward and
rescue accident victims will not be har-
assed. Obtaining a driving licence (DL)
will not be easy if a person lacks ade-
quate skills as driving tests are expected
to become technology-driven by reduc-
ing human interface to curb corruption.
Currently, the test of obtaining a
he past two decades have witnessed a huge rise in road
People 98,613 147,913 accidents, fatalities and other safety concerns in India. A
killed government committee estimated that road accidents
30,124 11,766 7,830 5,977 rose by about 50% between 2005 and 2015. However, it was
only in 2014 that the National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP)
People 343,083 72,185 470,975 committee proposed a new legislation, incorporating all
injured modes of transportation, multi-modal integration, road
safety, etc. Following that, the Road Transport and Safety Bill
Road-related death and injury accidents in 2015 was drafted in 2014. Finally, it was redrafted with the Motor
(per 100,000 population) Vehicles Amendment Bill in 2019. The bill suggests a new
National Transportation Policy, which may replace the exist-
Injury accidents Killed ing National Urban Transport Policy, 2014. The inclusion of
Australia 286 (2011) 5 rural India and hilly regions within the scope of the Bill will
Canada 330 5 allow a gradual reduction of rural/hilly region road accidents.
China 14 4 The central government may develop a National Transporta-
Denmark 50 3 tion Policy, in consultation with state governments along with
Finland 94 5 safety experts in transportation.
France 85 5 The Centre will support steps to improve the use of existing
Germany 374 4 infrastructure by capacity maximization measures. Equitable
India 38 11 road space should be implemented to reduce safety concerns.
Israel 145 4 The safety concerns of cyclists and pedestrians have to be
Japan 422 4 addressed by encouraging the construction of segregated
Korea 2,238 9 rights of way. Significant investments are needed to satisfy
Mauritius 217 (2013) 3 the above requirements. Safety of commuters requires that
Mexico 8 3 roads are audited periodically. A database for accidents
10
should also be built up by each town and city, and updated
Myanmar 30
regularly. Rescue services should be
New Zealand 213 7
Norway 88 2 Safety of organized for quick relief.
commuters An urban road transport safety
Poland 87 8
board should be set up at the state
Portugal 344 6 requires that level to deal with safety issues in a
Russia 128 16 roads are comprehensive, scientific and sys-
Singapore 143 (2014) 3 audited tematic manner. The provision can
UK 215 3
11
periodically be set up for identifying road safety
US 545 audit agencies to support the cause.
Source: Ministry of road transport and highways
The agencies may be private, semi-
NAVEEN KUMAR SAINI/MINT
private or government-backed transport based firms, insti-
tutes or research centres. They can provide training to indi-
driver’s license is manual, with be a significant step to catch traffic rule viduals from different government institutions and authori-
untrained people often managing to violations. ties to execute the audits.
obtain a license. In addition, there are “There are high chances that the per- A unified driving licencing and vehicle registration system
several cases of a single person having son will be caught if there is technol- will come into existence. To prevent duplication, a biometric-
more than one or a fake driver’s license. ogy,” Bhatt said referring to use of close based easy and transparent system can be used. It proposes
This in turn leads to more untrained circuit cameras on roads. “Violating private sector participation and the use of automated driving
drivers on the roads, resulting in a large traffic rules must act as a deterrent. So, trials to improve capacity of drivers across the country. For
number of road accidents, fatalities and the frequency of getting caught (for vio- the safety and security of women and commuters in general,
severe injuries. lating traffic rules) has to increase,” he state transport undertakings and special purpose vehicles
said. operating public transit in all cities should deploy only police-
The motor vehicles law also has strin- verified drivers and conductors.
gent rules for cab aggregators, vehicle The bill also encourages to promote safer vehicles and
manufacturers and penalties for road technology. This will allow greener modes of transport for
contractors for faulty road designs, Indian roads. Advancement and campaign for electric and
along with the vision of transforming hybrid vehicles can be a huge step towards sustainable trans-
the country’s road transport system. port choice for personal needs. Currently, India doesn’t have
Road transport and highways minis- enough infrastructure for environment-friendly modes on
ter Nitin Gadkari said he wants to create roads, irrespective of rail-based public transport modes.
a public transport system that is mod- It will make the online system simple to transfer vehicles
ern, urbane and improves the travel across countries. Integration of vehicle database throughout
experience for commuters even in rural India ensures that anyone transferring from one state to
The key impact of the imposition of areas. another often gets benefits. A national-level data depository is
the new law would be on implementing Towards this, the law provides a pro- also obligatory for aggregating the data related to roads, acci-
the enhanced penalties on errant driv- vision for a national transport policy, dents, vehicles, users/drivers and other infrastructure to reg-
ers. Some, however, point out that wherein the Centre, in consultations ulate the existing and future requirements and capacity.
stiffer penalties can also increase cor- with states, will develop a medium and The government needs to ensure better ways to implement
ruption as there is always a chance of long-term policy framework for all and enforce the new rules and regulations to its fullest. There
escape by bribing the traffic police. forms of road transport, work towards is no point of making a bill that requires huge amount of risks
Amit Bhatt, director of integrated an integrated multimodal transport sys- in enforcement, if the government fails to make it practical.
transport at WRI India, a research orga- tem, and promote innovation, competi- Sewa Ram is professor (transport planning) at School of
nization, said the use of technology will tion and seamless mobility. Planning and Architecture, Delhi.

EPFO looking for early redemption Consulting allies on Asian missile deployment, says US
of DHFL bonds worth ₹700 crore AP
feedback@livemint.com
sultation with our allies— this
is not a US unilateral decision.”
trol agreements in doubt,
Thompson said the move had
FROM PAGE 1 Banasure said the senior lions of organized sector BEIJING US mutual defence treaty allies brought a “positive response
administration of the home employees and invests 85% of Japan, South Korea and Aus- from partners and allies glo-

ing anonymity.
DHFL did not respond to an
email seeking comment. A
company executive on condi-
tion of anonymity said that all
promises made will be hon-
oured.
On 6 August, DHFL said a
board-appointed panel had
approved a debt resolution
plan that seeks a moratorium
on repayments but spares
creditors from having to take
haircuts on principal pay-
ments. On 11 August, news
agency PTI reported, citing
unidentified people, that
DHFL sought ₹15,000 crore
immediate funding from
banks for on-lending.
financier has given EPFO a
written promise to pay back
the entire amount. He, how-
ever, added that the health of
the company may get better
post December.
“The finance investment
and advisory committee (of
EPFO)… decided that in case of
DHFL, all out efforts be made
to ensure... early redemption.
However, if the same is not
deposited (by end September),
then necessary action as per
laid down law and procedure
should be initiated,” said an
EPFO document, a copy of
which was reviewed by Mint.
EPFO is the custodian of the
retirement savings of the mil-
A
the annual accrual in debt
products and 15% in stocks via
exchange-traded funds. It pays
interest to its subscribers
based on its returns. For
2018-19, EPFO had raised the
interest rate on provident fund
deposits to 8.65%, a 10-basis
point increase from the previ-
ous year.
However, the finance minis-
try has not yet approved the
decision and has sought clari-
fications on whether EPFO
can actually pay at an 8.65%
rate in 2018-19. A labour min-
istry official said it has
explained to the finance min-
istry that the 8.65% payout is
not a problem for 2018-19.
senior US diplomat
says Washington is
consulting with its
allies as it proceeds with plans
to deploy intermediate-range
missiles in Asia, a move China
says it will respond to with
countermeasures.
Washington has said it plans
to place such weapons in the
Asia-Pacific following the US
withdrawal from the Interme-
diate-Range Nuclear Forces
(INF) Treaty. The US accused
the other treaty signatory,
Russia, of cheating by devel-
oping weapons systems
banned under the treaty.
However, many analysts say
Washington has long sought
tralia are considered the prime
missile base candidates,
although Beijing has warned
that any nation that accepts
such an arrangement will face
retribution, likely in the form
of an economic boycott or sim-
ilar sanctions.
Although China maintains a
US plans to place intermediate-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific large stock of intermediate-
following its withdrawal from the INF Treaty. range missiles, it says those are
unable to reach the US home-
to deploy intermediate-range governments would decide land, while missiles deployed
missiles to counter China’s whether or not to host such by the US in Asia would be
growing arsenal. missiles. within striking distance of
In a conference call on “That’s a sovereign decision mainland China.
Tuesday, state department to be made by the leaders of While the US decision to
under secretary for arms con- those governments,” Thomp- leave the Intermediate-Range
trol and international security son said. “Any decision made in Nuclear Forces Treaty has
affairs Andrea Thompson said the region will be done in con- placed the future of arms con-
bally, not only tied to the Indo-
Pacific but our NATO partners
as well.” She also said Wash-
ington hopes Beijing will join
in discussions with the US and
Russia on a nuclear arms limi-
tation pact after the current
agreement, known as New
START, expires in 2021. China
has said it has no intention of
entering into any such trilat-
eral negotiations.
“Part of being a responsible
actor ... you need to have trans-
parency and responsibility. So
we encourage China to come
to the table as well,” Thomp-
son said. “The world demands
it. That’s what responsible
nations do.”
 POLITICS WEDNESDAY, 14 AUGUST 2019
NEW DELHI 17

Kashmir struggles to cope SC refuses to reopen

reverification process
with communication curbs as NRC deadline nears
Japnam K. Bindra &
Shaswati Das
Thousands unable to access basic services and reach out to families due to lockdown NEW DELHI

SDF founder Pawan Kumar
Chamling, however, did not
join the saffron party. PTI
T
he Supreme Court on
Shaswati Das Tuesday struck down a
shaswati.d@livemint.com bid by the Central and
SRINAGAR/PATTAN Assam governments to pause
the process of compiling a

K
BJP is now ashmir entered the
eighth day of a total Jaitley still
in ICU,
National Register of Citizens
(NRC), refusing to reopen the
communication lock- reverification exercise.
main Oppn in down on Tuesday, with
thousands unable to
critical but
haemodyna
mically
With nearly 200,000 peo-
ple staring at the possibility of
Sikkim with access basic emergency services,
run their businesses or reach out to
stable
bit.ly/2KwR1ou
disenfranchisement, the Cen- The list of those excluded
tre has been trying to postpone from the final Assam NRC
10 SDF MLAs their families. Worse, local authori-
ties are unsure when the blackout
the 31 August completion should be published only
deadline to “maintain fairness” online on 31 August, SC said. PTI
will be lifted. of procedure, it told Parlia-
joining its fold The move to seal all forms of
communication —including land-
ment last month. born after 3 December 2004
The Supreme Court on will not be included in the
lines, mobile networks, broadband Tuesday refused to reopen the NRC if any of the parents is a
Gyan Varma services and public transport —was NRC process in Assam for “doubtful voter” or has been
gyan.v@livemint.com touted as a pre-emptive measure to sample reverification, turning declared a foreigner by the tri-
NEW DELHI prevent violence following the down a plea by the Central and bunal or is contesting a case in
scrapping of special status and Assam governments. The gov- the tribunal.

T
he Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) on Tuesday
opened its account in
the Sikkim legislative assem-
bly, with 10 out of the 13 MLAs
of the Sikkim Democratic
Front (SDF) in the House join-
ing the party.
SDF founder and former
Sikkim chief minister Pawan
Kumar Chamling, however,
was not among those who
joined the BJP.
The SDF, having been in
power in the state for five con-
secutive terms since 1993, lost
to the Sikkim Krantikari Mor-
cha (SKM) in the May 2019
assembly elections, with the
SKM winning 17 out of the 32
seats.
“All 10 MLAs of SDF have
joined BJP and this is the first
time that almost an entire leg-
islative party has joined
another political party. We
have requested senior leaders
of the BJP to come to Sikkim
and help us in the growth of
the party,” said Dorjee Tsher-
ing Lepcha, a senior SDF
leader, who joined the BJP.
Lepcha said the MLAs were
hopeful that the BJP under
the leadership of Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi will
bring development to the
border state. “We want the
BJP to form government in
Sikkim and our primary focus
will be to increase the grass-
roots presence of the BJP in
the state. This will help us
strengthen the organizational
network of the party,” he
added.
reorganization of the erstwhile ernments had sought permis- The court made it very clear
state. sion for reverification in order that the list of those excluded
“Restrictions are being eased out to wean out wrongful inclu- from the final Assam NRC
in a phased manner in the Valley sions and exclusions, espe- should be published only
and the situation in the Jammu Srinagar’s Shri Maharaja Hari Singh hospital wore a deserted look over the last few days. SHASWATI DAS/MINT cially in districts bordering online on 31 August. Further, it
division has been restored,” the Bangladesh such directed that hard
Union home ministry announced nurses said. Pharmacists and other “Some of us have started going to plying as well. There is nobody to as Kokrajhar and Centre and Assam copies of the sup-
on Tuesday. staff have not showed up at the hos- the outskirts of Srinagar in the give a lift also because there is a cur- Dhubri. had sought plementary list of
But more than a week on, resi- pital since 5 August and routine ambulance because the police few,” said Noor Ahmad who lives in With the NRC permission for inclusions should
dents are struggling to cope with a surgeries have been stopped. don’t stop the ambulance for Baramulla. list set to be reverification to be provided to the
world without communication. “Our staff comes from different checking. We get dropped over There is a frenzy when the lone released at the concerned dis-
remove wrongful trict officers. It
Srinagar’s Shri Maharaja Hari areas of Srinagar and some from there and then walk to wherever we ATM in a district or a locality gets a end of the month,
Singh (SMHS) hospital wore a Baramulla and Shopian. They can’t need to,” said Wasim Javed, who is fresh supply of cash. the Centre has inclusions and also held that the
deserted look over the last few days, come because there is no public waiting to leave for his home-town, “One of us keeps watch and then started the exer- exclusions orders passed
despite the fact that all essential transport available anymore. Nei- Sopore. we knock door-to-door when the cise of ensuring under the Illegal
services are running—at least in ther can they contact us. We have Unlike Javed however, people ATM is open. It’s like demonetiza- that detention Migrants (Deter-
theory. The ambulance tion again for us because the centres for illegal immigrants mination by Tribunal) Act
service is barely being used ESSENTIAL SERVICES BADLY HIT queues have hundreds of provide all basic amenities, should be challenged in the
and the inflow of patients is people and only a limited including electricity, drinking Gauhati high court.
down to a trickle. MOBILE networks, HOSPITALS have AMBULANCE RESTRICTIONS supply of cash. So we inform water, hygiene, accommoda- The bench held that like
“Who can contact us? broadband services, seen a slow influx of
landlines and public
services in several
patients and are also hospitals are
are being eased out
in a phased manner
our close people by word of tion with beds, sufficient toi- Aadhaar data, the Assam NRC
Even if someone needs an transport have been running short of doubling up as in the valley, says mouth when the money lets with running water, and data should also be secured by
ambulance, how will they sealed since 5 Aug medical supplies public transport home ministry comes,” said Mehmood communication and kitchen an appropriate regime, adding
reach us? Yesterday (Fri- Khan, a resident of Batama- facilities. that the exercise would not be
day), the parents of a girl loo, in Srinagar. There are currently six reopened on the basis of legal
who had hurt herself critically medicines to last us one week and coming to Srinagar from other “Since we are not allowed to detention centres across challenges raised before it.
came walking all the way because after that we have to see what to do areas have not been so lucky. communicate in groups, we now Assam, and the state govern- “We will not be bothered
there was no way to reach the hos- because we can’t contact our seller “I started walking from Baram- knock door to door and pass on a ment has been scrambling to about what others say about
pital,” said Dr. Shabbir Ahmad at either,” said Shamima Khan, a ulla at 4am and I have just managed message if we need to. But if there is set up 10 additional centres. our orders and judgements.
SMHS hospital. nurse. to reach Pattan because I have to an emergency with our families On Tuesday, a bench com- We will continue to oversee
The hospital—the oldest govern- Ambulance services in several reach Srinagar. I can’t contact any- elsewhere, we will not know,” said prising Chief Justice Ranjan NRC finalized as per sched-
ment-run one in Srinagar —will run hospitals are doubling up as public one in Srinagar to come and pick Mehboob Ali, who lives near Srina- Gogoi and Justice R.F. Nari- ule,” said Gogoi.
out of medical supplies in a week, transport. me up and all buses have stopped gar’s Nowhatta area. man also stated that those japnam.b@livemint.com
Gadgil panel report on rapid erosion of Western Ghats back in focus amid floods
Srishti Choudhary Godavari, Krishna and Cau- conditions improve. ronmental clearance. ments consequent to dam con-
srishti.c@livemint.com very. No more new hill stations, no It even recommended issu- struction. “Idukki dam is a clas-
NEW DELHI The recommendations, change of land-use from forest ing a moratorium on ongoing sic case wherein the entire
which have been ignored by to non-forest use, or public to projects such as dams and catchment was encroached

Lepcha said the people of
the state, especially the youth
and first-time voters, want the
BJP to grow in Sikkim.
Speaking to reporters in
Delhi, BJP general secretary
Ram Madhav said that the
SDF had won 15 seats in
assembly elections, but since
some candidates contested
more than one seat, the party
has 13 MLAs out of which 10
have joined the BJP.
“SDF was in power in Sik-
kim for 25 years and now most
of the MLAs of the legislative
party have joined the BJP. We
will fulfil the responsibilities
of an Opposition party in Sik-
kim and strengthen the orga-
nizational base of the party,”
said Ram Madhav, who is also
in-charge of the party’s affairs
in the North-east.
N
early eight years ago,
noted ecologist Mad-
hav Gadgil had warned
about the impending natural
disasters threatening coastal
states, unless critical steps were
taken to conserve the ecologi-
cally fragile Western Ghats.
In a 552-page report, the
Western Ghats Ecology Expert
Panel, commonly called Gadgil
Commission, suggested shift-
ing from large-scale cultivation
of single commercial crops on
steep slopes, which was leading
to soil erosion and increased
run-off, and controlling mas-
sive encroachment and defor-
estation in the catchment areas
of major rivers.
Spread across six states,
Western Ghats is a treasure
trove of biodiversity and source
of major rivers, including
state governments, are back in
focus as the states face mon-
soon fury with floods and land-
slides killing hundreds across
Kerala, Karnataka and Maha-
rashtra.
Most sites where landslides
took place, in fact, fall into the
zones which would otherwise
have been marked ecologically
sensitive, had the key recom-
mendations of the report been
adopted.
Referring to the region, as
the “Protector of the Indian
Peninsula”, the report had
raised alarm on the rapid ero-
sion of natural capital for man-
made capital in the Western
Ghats, which has led to “exces-
sive, unnecessary environmen-
tal damage”.
One key proposal was to des-
ignate the entire Western
Most of the sites where landslides took place fall under the zones
marked ecologically sensitive by the Madhav Gadgil report. AFP
Ghats as an Ecologically Sensi-
tive Area (ESA), and then assign
three levels of sensitivity to the
regions. These were Ecologi-
cally Sensitive Zone 1 (ESZ1),
Ecologically Sensitive Zone 2
(ESZ2) and Ecologically Sensi-
tive Zone 3 (ESZ3) depending
on the topography, climatic
features, hazard vulnerabilities,
ecological resilience and origin
of rivers, among other factors.
The idea was to ensure sus-
tainable development in these
areas by focussing on conserva-
tion of the ecosystem. The
panel recommended controls
on mineral extraction and min-
ing and stated that no new min-
ing licences be granted, until
private ownership and no more mines that can impact water along with dam construction,”
inter-basin diver- resources, until a it stated.
sions of rivers in EARLY Western Ghats It also raised concerns over
the Western Ghats WARNINGS Ecology Authority large-scale shift to cultivation
were some of the was set up for of soil-eroding monoculture
other recommen- THE Gadgil panel proper scrutiny and plantations of tea, coffee, car-
dations. had recommended decide on whether damom, rubber, banana, pine-
controls on mineral
“Develop sus- extraction and to allow them to apple and timber on steep
tainably and con- mining progress or not. slopes, leading to increased
serve thought- “Most of the riv- surface run-off and low seep-
fully,” highlighted IT recommended ers in the Western age deep into the soil. “A policy
against building new
the report, which large-scale dams Ghats are either shift is urgently warranted cur-
was submitted to and inter-basin dammed or tailing the environmentally
the then ministry of diversions of rivers diverted. West- disastrous practices and
environment and flowing rivers have switching over to a more sus-
forests in 2011. been virtually made tainable farming approach in
It recommended against into east-flowing rivers by vio- the Western Ghats,” it stated.
building new large-scale dams lating all natural laws,” it stated. It also recommended
in Ecologically Sensitive Zone The report also highlighted decommissioning of dams and
1. Since both the Athirappilly that many of the reservoirs, thermal projects that have
project in Kerala and Gundia especially in the steep valleys, crossed their viable life span
hydel project in Karnataka fall are silting up prematurely due (for dams, the threshold is
in this zone, these projects to the massive encroachment 30-50 years) in a phased man-
should not be accorded envi- and deforestation of catch- ner.

the people said.

m SHORT TAKES “Nal se Jal” is the flagship scheme of the Union government for
RBI to issue revised norms for Trump says tariffs on China aren’t
which the newly-created Jal Shakti Ministry will work with the housing finance companies increasing domestic prices
states to implement it. As per the plan, an estimated over 150 mil-
India, Russia seek to meet $30 bn lion of the 185 million rural households will be provided with tap
ANIRUDDHA CHOWDHURY/MINT
London: US President Donald
AP

bilateral trade target by 2025
HT
New Delhi: India and Russia have
called for boosting economic ties to
meet the bilateral trade target of $30
billion by 2025, the commerce ministry
said on Tuesday.
Russia’s deputy prime minister Yuri
Trutnev and commerce minister Piy-
ush Goyal urged firms of both countries
to come up with concrete project pro-
posals, during a business session in Vladivostok, Russia. PTI
Centre firms up plan for providing
tap water to all rural households
New Delhi: The government has firmed up its plan to provide tap
water to every rural household by 2024 under the Jal Jeevan Mis-
sion, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. An official
announcement to this effect could be made in the next few days,
water, they said. PTI
Govt issues guidelines for ₹1 trillion
partial credit guarantee for NBFCs
New Delhi: The finance ministry on Tuesday issued guidelines
for rolling out its budget announcement of offering ₹1 trillion par-
tial credit guarantee to public sector banks purchasing high-rated
pooled assets of financially sound non-banking financial compa-
nies (NBFCs). Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced
PRADEEP GAUR/MINT the scheme in her FY19-20 bud-
get to ensure that financially
sound NBFCs continue to
receive bank funding.
The new norms said that the
NBFC’s assets should have a
minimum rating of AA or equiv-
alent at fair value prior to the
partial credit guarantee by the
Centre.GIREESH CHANDRA PRASAD
Trump decried China’s “mas-
sive” intervention to suppress
the yuan, portraying the US as
the beneficiary of his tariffs on
Chinese imports and signalling
the policy isn’t pushing up
domestic prices.
“Through massive devalua-
tion of their currency and pumping vast sums of money into their
system, the tens of billions of dollars that the US is receiving is a gift
from China,” Trump said on Twitter Tuesday. BLOOMBERG
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday said
that housing finance companies (HFCs) will be treated as
non-banking financial companies, adding that it will release ‘5-star hotels must give explanation
a revised norms for these entities. HFCs shall continue to
for overcharging on bananas, eggs’
comply with National Housing Bank’s (NHB’s) directions till
RBI issues a revised framework.
Moreover, NHB will continue to carry out supervision of New Delhi: Five-star hotels charging exorbitant rates for food
HFCs and they will continue to submit various returns to items like bananas and eggs is an unfair trade practice, food and
NHB. The grievance redressal mechanism with regard to consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Tuesday.
HFCs will also continue to be with the NHB.SHAYAN GHOSH The Centre will within three months frame rules and set up an
authority to implement the Consumer Protection Act, he said.PTI
 NEW DELHI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE* VOL. 13 NO. 194 Rs 5.00 IN DELHI-NCR; Rs 6.00 OUTSIDE DELHI-NCR. PRICE WITH HINDUSTAN TIMES Rs 9.50 (FOR DELHI & NCR)

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SC: J&K situation sensitive, govt TWITTERVERSE

needs time to lift restrictions

Rahul Gandhi
@RahulGandhi
NRC: SC refuses to I left Wayanad with
reopen process Court says it will wait for normalcy to return in the erstwhile state, adjourns hearing on plea for 2 weeks pride for the people I
SC refused to reopen represent. The display
NRC process in Assam of bravery and dignity in
for sample reverification Japnam K. Bindra The bench decided to grant the face of tragedy is
as deadline inches japnam.b@livemint.com time to the government and stated truly humbling. It is an
closer. See Page 17
NEW DELHI that a real picture of the situation honour to be your MP.
in J&K has to be placed before the

New law addresses
road safety issues
The Motor Vehicles Act
addresses a gamut of
issues impacting all as far
as road safety is
concerned. See Page 16
10 SDF MLAs join
BJP in Sikkim
BJP on Tuesday opened
its account in Sikkim with
10 MLAs of SDF in the
House joining the party.
See Page 17
Revised RBI rules
for HFCs
RBI said Tuesday HFCs
will be treated as non-
banks and it will release
revised norms for these
entities. See Page 17
T
he Supreme Court on
Govt seeks Tuesday refused to
bids for
direct the Central gov-
Pawan Hans
by 22 ernment to lift restric-
August tions in Jammu and
Kashmir and granted the Centre
bit.ly/2N6o4k
O more time to withdraw the curbs
as the situation is “very sensitive”.
A bench headed by Justice Arun
Mishra was hearing a petition filed
by political activist Tehseen Poon-
awalla. The bench, comprising
judges M.R. Shah and Ajay Ras-
togi, said it will wait for normalcy
to return, while adjourning the
case for two weeks.
Senior counsel Menaka Gurus-
wamy, appearing on behalf of
Poonawalla, sought directions to
reopen schools and hospitals, and
to allow police stations to function
normally. Guruswamy strongly
argued against the blocking of tel-
ephones and other modes of com-
munication in J&K.
“We have to ensure that the law
and order situation in J&K is main-
tained,” attorney general K.K.
Venugopal told the bench,
recounting the events of 2016 after
the killing of terrorist Burhan
Wani when a lot of casualties were
reported in J&K. He added that it
took around three months to bring
normalcy at that time.
Venugopal said 44,000 people
bench before it can pass any order.
The bench was also very critical
of the petition filed by Poonawalla.
“Even the petitioner may not
know the truth. It is a very badly
drafted petition.”
The petitioner was directed to
be prepared with complete details
of the situation on the next hear- Arvind Kejriwal
ing. @ArvindKejriwal
The petition was mentioned for Delhi Jal Board is work-
the first time on 8 August but the ing hard to ensure the
court refused an early hearing. water u get in ur taps is
The petition sought directions to potable and u shud not
release political leaders kept need an RO to purify it.
under house arrest, unblock inter- We’re working to ensure
net services and appoint a judicial u get 24 hr supply.
commission to assess the ground
A file photo of Srinagar during the recent curfew. The Supreme Court stated that a real picture of the situation situation.
in Jammu and Kashmir has to be placed before the bench before it can pass any order on the matter. AP On 8 August, advocate Suhail
Malik pleaded on behalf of Poona-
have been killed by extremists tial? How long would you continue restrictions would be removed walla and sought immediate direc-
since 1990, and that people from with this?” the Supreme Court soon, depending on the situation tions for withdrawing “curfew/
across the border had been guid- asked. in each district. restrictions” and other measures,
ing and giving “The govern- including blocking of phone lines,
instructions to NORMALCY SOON, ASSURES CENTRE ment also wants internet and news channels. He
them. The meas- normalcy...we said people need to talk to their Sitaram Yechury
ures have been THE petition sought CENTRE said the DISTRICTS are being have a statement family and have the right to find @SitaramYechury
taken to prevent directions to reopen restrictions were reviewed by DMs and from the attorney out about their well-being in the
schools and imposed to prevent restrictions would be This govt has managed
an escalation of hospitals in J&K, and an escalation of removed soon, said g e n e r a l , ” situation prevailing there. He said
tension, he said, restore normalcy tension in the Valley the attorney general observed Shah. he was not expressing any opinion to pull the wheels off
assuring that the “In cases like on Article 370 and the presidential the Economy. No PR or
restrictions would these, all pros and order but contended that the wildlife films can cover
up for the havoc this is
be lifted soon. Venugopal replied that districts cons have to be considered. Who restrictions violate the fundamen-
“Are you reviewing the situa- magistrates are reviewing the situ- will be responsible if something tal rights guaranteed under Article causing in people’s lives.
tion, are these restrictions essen- ation in each district and that really bad happens tomorrow?” 19 and 21 of the Constitution.

‘Trump’s proposal to RED FORT TURNS INTO A FORTRESS Poll body discusses delimitation
mediate on Kashmir is in J&K after state’s reorganization
no longer on the table’ Anuja
anuja@livemint.com
and Kashmir administration,
the official quoted above said.
NEW DELHI The Jammu and Kashmir
Reorganisation Act, 2019, pro-
Elizabeth Roche

T
he Election Commission vides for increasing the num-
elizabeth.r@livemint.com of India on Tuesday held ber of assembly seats in the
NEW DELHI an internal meeting on newly formed Union territory
addressing the reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir from

I
n a sign that Indian diplo- of Jammu and Kashmir into 107 to 114. Delimitation is the
macy is blunting Pakistan’s two Union territories—Jammu process of fixing limits or
efforts to internationalize and Kashmir, and Ladakh. boundaries of territorial con-
the Kashmir dispute, India’s Besides updating senior offi- stituencies in a country or a
ambassador to Washington cials on the provisions of the Chief election commissioner province with a legislative
Harsh Vardhan Shringla has bill abrogating Article 370, the Sunil Arora. PTI body.
said that US President Donald EC also discussed the pending Ladakh will be a Union terri-
Trump’s offer to mediate Harsh Vardhan Shringla, delimitation exercise. deal with the issue after receiv- tory without a legislative
between India and Pakistan is India’s ambassador to Though the home ministry is ing the notification, said a sen- assembly.
no longer on the table. Washington. yet to provide any formal ior EC official. One person familiar with the
Shringla also said that instruction or information on The EC is likely to hold a development said that the issue
Trump’s offer of mediation ton’s decades-old policy has the reorganization and delimi- series of meetings once it gets a of delimitation will be “deliber-
was dependent on both India been to encourage India and A policewoman keeps vigil near the Red Fort in New Delhi on Tuesday. The government has tightened tation of Jammu and Kashmir, formal intimation from the ated upon and then necessary
and Pakistan accepting it and Pakistan to resolve differences security in the capital ahead of India’s 73rd Independence Day celebrations. PRADEEP GAUR/MINT the EC discussed how it will home ministry, and the Jammu action will be taken”.
India had rejected the offer bilaterally. New Delhi insisted
saying that the matter would that Modi had made no such
be settled bilaterally, accord- request and that all issues
ing to a PTI report from Wash- including the Kashmir dispute
ington overnight Tuesday. would be sorted out bilater-
“President Trump has made ally. A few days later, Trump
it very clear that his offer to toned down his initial offer of
mediate on Jammu and Kash- talks stating instead that he
Clashes break out at Hong Kong airport even as UN urges restraint
mir is dependent on both India would “certainly intervene”
and Pakistan between India Tom Westbrook & port with luggage trolleys and They present President Xi Jin- to travellers, explaining their
accepting it. Trump’s offer of and Pakistan on Claire Jim other objects. ping with one of his biggest aims.
Since India has mediation was Kashmir if both Hong Kong’s Airport challenges since he came to “Sorry for the inconven-
not accepted the dependent on countries wanted HONG KONG Authority said operations at power in 2012. ience, we are fighting for the
offer of media- India and Pakistan him to. Trump the airport had been “seriously Hong Kong legal experts say future of our home,” read one

P
tion, he (Presi- added that it was rotesters clashed with disrupted” and that departing Beijing might be paving the protest banner at the airport.
accepting it and
dent Trump) has up to India and police at Hong Kong’s passengers had been unable to way to use anti-terrorism laws “I think paralyzing the air-
made it clear that India had rejected P a k i s t a n to international airport on reach immigration counters. to try to quell the port will be effec-
this is not on the the offer: Shringla resolve the Kash- Tuesday evening after flights Hong Kong’s stockmarket demonstrations. Legal experts say tive in forcing
table anymore,” mir issue but he were disrupted for a second fell to a seven-month low. The clashes at the Beijing might be Carrie Lam to
Shringla said in stood ready to day, plunging the former Brit- Ten weeks of increasingly airport followed paving the way to respond to us ... it
an interview to a US-based assist if the two South Asian ish colony deeper into turmoil. violent clashes between police an unprece- use anti-terrorism can further pres-
news broadcaster Fox News. neighbours wanted his help. The scuffles broke out in the and protesters have roiled the dented airport sure Hong Kong’s
laws to try to
On 22 July, Trump sprang a This came after New Delhi evening between police and Asian financial hub as thou- Riot police disperse protesters during a demonstration after a shutdown on economy,” said
surprise when he said that he lodged a protest with Wash- protesters, after an injured sands of residents chafe at a woman was shot in the eye at the Hong Kong airport. REUTERS Monday. quell the Dorothy Cheng,
would like to mediate between ington. person was taken out of the perceived erosion of freedoms Again on Tues- demonstrations 17.The weeks of
India and Pakistan, and that In a meeting with US Secre- main terminal by medics. and autonomy under Chinese tional law. ricades. day, thousands of protests began as
his offer was based on a tary of State Mike Pompeo on Several police vehicles were rule. “Take a minute to look at “Can we bear to push it into black-clad pro- opposition to a
request from Prime Minister 2 August in Bangkok, on the blocked by protesters, and riot The United Nations High our city, our home,” chief the abyss and see it smashed to testers jammed the terminal, now-suspended bill that
Narendra Modi. Trump’s com- sidelines of a South-East Asian police moved in, pushing Commissioner for Human executive Carrie Lam said, her pieces?” chanting, singing and waving would have allowed suspects
ments came in the presence of foreign ministers’ meet, some protesters back and Rights urged Hong Kong to voice cracking, at a news con- China this week con- banners. Floors and walls were to be extradited to mainland
Pakistan’s Prime Minister India’s foreign minister S. Jais- using pepper spray at times exercise restraint and investi- ference in the government demned some protesters for covered with missives penned China, but have swelled into
Imran Khan who was on a visit hankar said any discussion on amid heated scenes. gate evidence of its forces fir- headquarters complex, which using dangerous tools to by activists and other artwork. wider calls for democracy.
to the US. Trump’s offer Kashmir would take place only Protesters also barricaded ing tear gas at protesters in is fortified behind 6-foot attack police, calling the Initially, the scene was peace- feedback@livemint.com
stunned India given Washing- between India and Pakistan. some passageways in the air- ways banned under interna- (1.8-m) -high water-filled bar- clashes “sprouts of terrorism”. ful as knots of protesters spoke REUTERS