Rajan keeps policy rate unchanged on fears of food inflation

Photo: Cravebits

Mumbai  April 7, 2015: Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan today kept policy rate unchanged awaiting clarity on impact of unseasonal rains on food inflation even as he wanted banks to pass on benefits of previous two rate cuts. 

The repo rate, at which RBI lends to the banking system, will continue to be at 7.5 per cent and the cash reserve ratio, which is the amount of deposits parked with the central bank, will remain at 4 per cent. 

"Transmission of policy rates to lending rates has not taken place so far despite weak credit off take and front loading of two rate cuts. With little transmission, and the possibility that incoming data will provide more clarity on the balance of risks on inflation, the Reserve Bank will maintain status quo," he said in the first bi-monthly policy review for 2015-16. 

Unseasonal rains and hailstorm have impacted rabi crops across North and Western India, raising fears of spike in food prices. 

Rajan, who has surprised with two rate cuts of 0.25 per cent each outside the scheduled review meetings this year, however, affirmed his commitment to the accommodative stance, but added that policy moves will be shaped by incoming data and added that transmission of rate cuts by banks will be his top-most priority. 

Apart from the transmission, other factors like food prices will also be monitored closely, he said, adding that the impact of the recent unseasonal rains will also be monitored closely. 

"Reserve Bank stays vigilant to any threats to the disinflation that is underway," he said, expecting that the price rise situation has so far faired according to its estimates.

Courtesy: Business Standard

DO YOU KNOW?

The Indian gem and jewellery sector may be encouraged with procuring finances, if ABN AMRO Bank’s proposal to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in India, materializes. The Bank has applied to the Reserve Bank of India for setting up its operation in India, and has received an in-principle’ approval for the same, reports say. The Bank intends to primarily serve the Indian gem and jewellery sector with this office, reports add.

If this happens some of the listed entities in this space, viz: Gitanjali Gems Ltd (Rs.43.20), P C Jewelers Ltd (Rs.330.60), Renaissance Jewelry Ltd (Rs.81.60), etc would be one of the greatest beneficiaries. 

Besides, on going marriage season and upcoming festive season is likely to boost the sales of the Jewelry companies. 

Also, there were recent media reports that, India’s organised gems and jewellery retail market has started to grow at a much faster pace in recent years; than the unorganised one, since gold trade was liberalised with the scrapping of the gold control Act in 1990.

While the overall retail gems and jewellery sector is growing 10% annually, the organised retail segment is expanding 30-40% in recent years, said Balram Garg, managing director at PC Jeweller, citing an internal study. Gold jewellery makes up for 80% of the Rs.3,00,000-crore gems and jewellery market of the country. Currently, the organised segment accounts for 22%, while the unorganised one, primarily comprising local and independent stores, makes up for 78% of the retail gems and jewellery market.

Meanwhile, Gitanjali Gems reported 17-fold jump in its net profit at Rs.39.43 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 as compared to Rs.2.31 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income of the company increased by 48.07% at Rs.1872.41 crore for Q3FY15 as compared Rs.1264.54 crore for the corresponding quarter previous year.

On the consolidated basis the company’s net profit rose 90.27% to Rs.96.01 crore for the Q3FY15, as compared to Rs.50.46 crore in Q3FY14. The total income increased 30.62% to Rs.3604.69 crore in the quarter under review as compared to Rs.2759.6 crore in the corresponding quarter previous year.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 35.27% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 14.04% and 50.70% respectively

On the other hand if the food inflation starts to move up then the stocks of agri-commodities could benefit. Unseasonal rains and hailstorm have impacted "Rabi Crops" across North and Western India, raising fears of spike in food prices. 

I have already recommended the speculative counter, Genera Agri Ltd (Rs.4.50) with a target of Rs.10 and Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd (Rs.63.65) for a target of Rs.71.

Now if the food inflation starts to push up the CPI or WPI then also Jewelry stocks would gain. 

Top 10 QIPs in FY15 

Relative transparency in QIP valuation, however, doesn't eliminate chances of a loss for investors. About a quarter of the QIPs issued in FY15 are underwater, with the issuer (company) stock price below the issue price. 

This ratio is about half if the issues are considered on the basis of the funds raised. Of about Rs.29,000 crore raised by India Inc through QIPs in FY15, about Rs.15,000 crore worth of issues are trading below the issue price. The biggest losses for investors were in the infrastructure sector.

Some of the best bets for QIP investors are J Kumar Infra (stock price up 127% from the issue price), ITD Cementation (up 119%), Ashok Leyland (up 106%), YES Bank (54%) and Idea Cellular (up 41.2%).

Experts blame this on opportunistic fund raising by many companies. "Last financial year, two kinds of companies raised capital - those that were highly indebted and needed capital to sustain operations and those with a good track record, which used the rally to raise capital to fund growth. The first group disappointed investors, while latter offered a win-win to all," says Nitin Jain, head (capital markets), Edelweiss Financial Services.


Infrastructure developers such as Jaiprakash Associates, GMR Infra, KSK Power Ventures, Jyoti Structures and Supreme Infra fell in the first category. They took advantage of the market euphoria about infrastructure growth, following the National Democratic Alliance government coming to power at the Centre in May last year. But the euphoria gave way to losses when growth and earnings growth fell short of expectations. The stock prices fell sharply, as investors moved to quality stocks.

Source: Business Standard

DO YOU KNOW?

IVRCL Ltd pledged 100% of promoter holdings, while others like Alok Industries have pledged 99.77% of promoter holdings, and 99.72% of promoter holding in Essar Ports has been pledged. According to a report published by the Business Standard Research Bureau promoters of 13 companies pledged more than 90% of their holdings in the December, 2014 quarter.

According to Kotak Institutional Equities, the highest increase in promoters’ pledged holdings was seen in IVRCL Ltd, Edelweiss Financial Services, Reliance Infrastructure, IL&FS Transportation, Sadbhav Engineering and Rasoya Proteins. 

Promoters who decreased their pledged holdings included Orchid Chemicals, Ballarpur Industries, Gati, Strides Arcolab, Lakshmi Vilas Bank, Radico Khaitan and Jyothy Laboratories.

Promoters of Stride Arcolab completely revoked their pledged holdings during the quarter. 

Sebi slaps Rs 30 cr fine on PVP Ventures, its director

[Editor: ......but I feel it will be of no use, as this unscrupulous CMD, will siphon the same fund from PVP Ventures Ltd creating further problems for the shareholders. SEBI should have some other mechanism to stall this wanton loot. Now, while PVP Ventures Ltd has performed very badly in the bourses (and also in terms of Balance sheet) even in this raging BULL Market; in between PVP Square Mall came up in Vijayawada funded by some of the promoters of PVP Ventures Ltd. Doesn't it look a bit strange?]

Photo: First Post

Market regulator Sebi on Friday slapped a fine of over Rs 30 crore on PVP Global Ventures  and its promoter and director Prasad V Potluri for allegedly indulging in insider trading and not complying with disclosure norms. 

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), in its order, has imposed a penalty of Rs 15.15 crore each on PVP Global Ventures (formerly known as PVP Energy) and Potluri. PVP Global Ventures, a wholly owned subsidiary of PVP Ventures, and Potluri (who is also Chairman and Managing Director of PVP Ventures) indulged in insider trading activities. 

It was alleged that Potluri had traded in the scrip of PVP Ventures on behalf of PVP Global Ventures, while in possession of Unpublished Price Sensitive Information (UPSI) pertaining to negative financial results. PVP Global Ventures failed to make disclosure regarding sale of more than two percent stake in PVP Ventures to the company and stock exchanges within two days of transaction, thereby violating SAST (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulation. Potluri, in charge and responsible for the conduct of PVP Global Ventures, failed to get the company to make disclosure regarding the transaction. 

In a separate order, Sebi has slapped a total fine of Rs 8 lakh on nine entities --Jagat Mohan Aggarwal and Bharat Bhushan Agarwal, Pradeep Aggarwal, Ram Piari, Ajay Kumar Goel, Kiran Goel, Saru Aggarwal, Suchita Aggarwal and Bharat Bhushan Aggarwal- HUF--for violating Takeover Regulations in the matter of Pioneer Agro Extracts Ltd . 

Courtesy: Moneycontrol.com

Energy segment would provide a big delta: GMR Infrastructure

Photo: Live Mint

03 Apr, 2015:  "The energy segment would provide a big delta since 3000 MW of coal based assets would be operational in FY16 and onwards. Also, Gas based projects would re-start and would provide fillip to profitability," GMR Infra official said in an interview with myiris.com.

Excerpt from interview Myiris had with the company management:

1. Recently CCEA approved import gas to fuel idle power plants in the country. How big and important this announcement is for GMR Infrastructure (Q,N,C,F)* and overall industry?

The Policy is a welcome step for the industry and for GMR infrastructure. This would result into ~1400 MW of the gas based projects becoming operational with a PLF of atleast 30%. For the company, it would be beneficial as this would make the operational two projects profitable and the third project would be able to service its debt and fixed expenses.

2. GMR Infrastructure announced Rs 14.02 billion Rights issue program. In January, Delhi International Airport has raised USD 289 million via bond issue. Could you through some light on how the funds will be used for the company's operations? What are benefits the company expects from new funding? 

Rights Issue is another step to deleverage balance sheet where in ~90% of the issue proceeds would be utilized to reduce corporate debt. The fund raised through the bond issue in Delhi Airport was utilized to replace the existing External Commercial Borrowings (ECB). This benefitted the company through lower interest cost and annual repayments will be replaced by a bullet maturity after 7 years.

3.  GMR Airports recently picked up additional 10% stake in DIAL for USD 79 million from Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB). Why this acquisition is important for GMR? Do you have any plan to increase stake in DIAL further? 

The Company has a long relationship with Malaysian Airport Holdings Berhad in our airport business. The acquisition has largely been precipitated by the desire of MAHB to exit and our intent of consolidation of stake in the prime airport of India. The acquisition is subject to approval of Airports Authority of India (AAI) and other customary approvals. GAL currently holds 54% equity stake in DIAL and post proposed acquisition of the entire stake of Malaysia Airports, the stake will increase to 64%.

4. GMR Infrastructure operates in three broad segments - Airports, Power and EPC. According to you, which segment will be the key driver for the company in the next couple of years? 

The Energy Segment would provide a big delta since 3000 MW of coal based assets would be operational in FY16 and onwards. Also, Gas based projects would re-start and would provide fillip to profitability. 

5. Narendra Modi led Indian government has announced several initiatives and policy measures to boost economy over past 10 months. Have you seen any positive changes on the ground that could help the company in the couple of years?

In the last few months, the government has taken a lot of welcome steps to improve the performance of the infrastructure sector. Some of the policy measures benefiting the company are the (a) recently completed coal block auctions in which the company won 2 coal mines, (b) recently approved policy to import gas to fuel idle gas based power plants and (c) Southward movement of interest rates consequent to fall in inflation.

6. Fiscal 2015 will be closed in next few days. Could you walk us through your journey over last one year?

> Raised Rs 15 bn through QIP and allotted 180 million warrants to promoters 

> Rights Issue at GMR Infra  -  to raise ~Rs 14 billion by issuing additional 93.46 crore shares at Rs 15 a share.

>  Delhi Airport raised ~USD 289 million through a bond issue. The issue was oversubscribed by ~16 times

> Won the fully operational Talabira coal mine (Schedule - 2) and Ganeshpur coal mine (Schedule - 3)

> EMCO - Refinancing of project loan completed. Would lead to lower interest rate and higher moratorium, thereby aligning project Cash Flow to debt repayment

> Taken over the Mactan-Cebu international airport in Phillipines in JV with Megawide Construction Corporation

> Male Airport arbitration - Tribunal has summarily rejected all arguments made by GoM, and has now declared its ruling that the unilateral termination of the concession agreement by GoM was illegal and repudiatory. Company has filed for compensation worth USD 803 million apart from damages for loss of reputation.

> Operationalised Kamalanga fully.

> Completed 95% of Chattisgarh project 

7. For financial year 2016, how do you see company's performance in terms of revenues and profit on both consolidated and segment to segment basis? 

We do not provide any guidance on the financial numbers.

Source: IRIS

Jaiprakash Power gets RBI nod for rescheduling bonds worth $200 mn 

Earlier this year, the company had informed its bondholders that it will not be able to meet repayment obligations for the bonds maturing on 13 February.

March 31 2015; Debt-laden Jaiprakash Power Ventures Ltd has delayed repayment of foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) worth of $200 million by a year, following approvals from bondholders and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). 

Earlier this year, the company had informed its bondholders that it will not be able to meet repayment obligations for the bonds maturing on 13 February. On 12 February, the company entered into a so-called interim standstill and voting agreement with some of its bondholders up to 27 February to get more time to formalize a rescheduled payment agreement. 

This agreement was later extended and would be effective till 30 April. 

Following these agreements, Jaiprakash Power convened a meeting of bondholders on 30 March in Singapore to consider the rescheduling of the company’s redemption obligaitons in respect of bonds including the extension of maturity (rescheduling) date. 

“The terms of the rescheduling were put to a vote at the meeting (in Singapore) and approved by bondholders holding 93.48% of the outstanding principal amount of the bonds,” Jaiprakash Power said in a statement. 

The central bank approved the rescheduling on Tuesday, Jaiprakash Power said. 

Further to the approval of bondholders, Jaiprakash said a so-called supplemental trust deed was executed on 31 March 2015 to give effect to the rescheduling, “including extending the maturity date of the bonds to 13 February, 2016 and putting in place an instalment-based redemption during the extended tenor, including that the company will pay $25 million on 31 March, 2015 and will pay a further $75 million upon receipt of the proceeds of the sale of its Baspa-ll power project and Karcham power project. 

In November, JSW Energy Ltd agreed to buy Jaiprakash Power Ventures’ two hydropower assets, Baspa-II Hydro-electric project and Karcham Wangtoo Hydroelectric project for Rs.9,700 crore. Debt for the Jaypee group is seen at around Rs.60,000 crore, of which Jaiprakash Power Ventures alone had debt of Rs.17,887.72 crore at the end of the September quarter. 

In the last two years, the group has been selling assets to reduce debt. In a recent deal, Aditya Birla Group’s Ultratech Cement Ltd agreed to buy Jaiprakash Associates’s two cement plants in Madhya Pradesh for Rs.5,400 crore. 

India’s banking system was weighed down by Rs.2.69 trillion of bad loans as of 30 September as two years of sub-5% economic growth, coupled with delays in securing statutory approvals and completing land acquisition stalled many big-ticket projects, hurting companies’ ability to generate cash flows and repay loans on time. 

Many corporate borrowers sought to restructure their debt, which typically means longer repayment cycles and lower interest rates and creditors sacrificing a part of the principal amount. 

As of 30 September, RBI’s corporate debt restructuring cell had approved restructuring of Rs.3.67 trillion of corporate debt since it was formed in the early 2000s. 

Of this amount, Rs.2.62 trillion of debt was still being actively recast; the rest was owed by borrowers who had either completed their CDR exercises successfully or had failed to do so.

Courtesy: Live Mint

GMR Infrastructure Ltd: Rights Issue

GMR INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED informed about Rights Issue of Equity Shares, the details of which are given below:

• Ex-Date: 11-03-2015
• Record Date: 12-03-2015
• Ratio: 3:14 @ Rs.15/- per share
• Last Date of Application: 07-04-2015 (before 3:00 P.M)

GMR Infrastructure Ltd in order to raise  Rs.1,400 crore came out with a rights issue, the subscription for which kicked off on 24.03.2015 & will continue till 08.04.2015.  Eligible equity shareholders will get three equity shares for every 14 equity shares held in the company as on March 12, 2015. 

The offer price is fixed at  Rs.15 which is 12-13% discount to its last closing price of Rs.16.85. It has already secured Rs.1,250-crore funding from its parent company GMR Holding. 

Meanwhile, there were media reports that GMR Infrastructure will acquire shares from investors in its subsidiary GMR Airports as the company looks to consolidate its holdings.

GMR is a diversified group with presence in airports, power and other sectors.

In a regulatory filing, GMR Infrastructure said it has "decided to exercise the Call Option requiring the respective investors to transfer the Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS) of GMR Airports Ltd to the company".

Valuation: The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs.0.23 per share as per the quarter ended December 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is 73.24. The latest book value of the company is Rs.16.45 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.02.

GMR Infrastructure’s consolidated debt as on March 31, 2014 was Rs.45,000 crore. It will come down as 90% of the rights issue proceeds will be used to repay debt.

The promoters have already secured funds to subscribe to their share of the rights issue. With the capex phase behind and the last large power project (1.4 Gw Chhattisgarh power plant) to be operational shortly, GMR’s cash flow is set to improve in the coming days.

Over the past few years, GMR has been focusing on strengthening its balance sheet. It began with hiving off assets and it is now infusing equity.

According to analysts, such de-leveraging will bolster operational improvement through commissioning of under-construction projects.

In the past 18 months, through strategic divestment, the company has released equity worth Rs.3,834 crore and reduced its liabilities by Rs.6,180 crore. The company’s capex is now close to end and its assets have now moved from construction to operational phase.

There were also recent media reports that GMR Infrastructure plans to raise Rs.4,000 crore over the next one year through divestment of assets and share sale to reduce debt and ease cash flow.


The loss-making infrastructure company plans to divest projects, monetise land assets and sell stake at holding company level to raise funds. It has put a freeze on capital expenditure for the next 2-3 years. 

The lead bankers for the rights issue are JM Financial, Axis Capital Holdings, ICICI Securities and SBI Capital Markets.

WINNING STROKES: THINK DIFFERENT

Yesterdays' recommendation Jindal Saw Ltd today moved to Rs.66.40 in the BSE before closing at Rs.65.95 up 11.87%. The stock is heading towards Rs.72-76 in the coming days. 
Gotanjali Gems Ltd today moved to Rs.41.75 intra-day before closing at Rs.41.30 in the BSE up 4.42%. India's gems and jewelry sector has been one of the fastest growing industries globally. The sector has contributed 6 - 7% to India's GDP and provides gainful employment to around 2.5 million people. 

Today GMR Infrastructure Ltd closed above Rs.15.70, which is positive for the bulls. Meanwhile, the company recently announced that GMR Airports Limited (“GAL”), a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure Limited, on March 24, 2015 entered into an agreement to acquire 24,50,00,000 shares of face value of Rs.10 each, representing 10% equity stake in Delhi International Airport Private Limited (“DIAL”) from Malaysia Airports (Mauritius) Private Limited (“Malaysia Airports”) for a consideration of USD 79 million. DIAL is a special purpose vehicle formed to carry out development, operation and management of Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi (“Delhi Airport”). GAL currently holds 54% equity stake in DIAL and post proposed acquisition of the entire stake of Malaysia Airports, the stake will increase to 64%.  The scrip will slowly move towards Rs.22 in the coming days. 

Karuturi Global Ltd (Rs.1.63) is consolidating around Rs.1.59--1.70, before taking a major stride. According to my close sources, there would be an improvement in both its topline and bottomlines in the next 12 months. 

Jaiprakash Power Ventues Ltd which closed at Rs.10.22, should cross Rs.14-15, in the next 3-4 months time frame. It is a must buy for every investor. 

Today a buy (call) was given on Nifty, to the Paid Group members with a target of 8600. The Sensex closed with a gain of 517.22 points, while the Nifty closed at  8,492.30 up 150.90 points.  Today, DIIs were net of buyers of Rs.651.67 Cr of shares, while FIIs shares worth worth Rs.240.34 Cr. Those who have not sold their Nifty futures' open positions, can keep holding with a SL at 8410. 

DO YOU KNOW?

A well known investment weekly has given a buy recommendation on Jindal Steel and Power Ltd at Rs.157. This makes a case to buy the shares of Jindal Saw Ltd (Rs.58.95) as both the shares, move in rhythm. 

Moreover, the said publication, also recommended Srikalahasthi Pipes Ltd, the erstwhile, Lanco Industries Ltd, the pig iron,  iron casting & spun pipes and cement manufacturing company at Rs.131; in this week's edition.

Meanwhile, there were recent media reports that Jindal Tubular (India) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jindal Saw Ltd has agreed to operate and maintain certain identified facilities of PSL Limited--this is a short term arrangement for one year which may be extended or modified, based on meeting of certain covenants and mutual acceptance at the appropriate time.

Besides, Jindal Saw Ltd has recently sent a press release that Jindal ITF Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (i.e. Jindal Saw Limited) has approved an internal re-structuring of its operations by way of demerger and vesting of its infrastructure business undertaking into JITF Urban Infrastructure Services Ltd, another wholly owned subsidiary of the Company and its waterways business undertaking into Jindal Shipyards Limited, again a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company by way of court sanctioned composite scheme of arrangement U/s 391, 394 and other applicable provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 and under applicable provisions of the Companies Act, 2013. The effectiveness of the scheme is subject to requisite approval by the shareholders, secured and unsecured creditors and sanction by the Hon'ble High Court of Judicature at Allahabad. 

Last week, the shares of Jindal Steel and Power jumped over 6% to hit intraday high of Rs.160 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the Delhi High Court said that government's decision to cancel the bid of Jindal Power Ltd (JPL) for two Chhattisgarh coal mines by annulling the tender process and allotting them to Coal India Ltd (CIL) is "prima facie wrong".

"This does not smack of fairness. Prima facie we feel that it is wrong," a bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva said in response to Additional Solicitor General (ASG) P S Narasimha's argument that the Coal Ministry had the right to take the decision.

"The more we look into it, the more we feel there should be an interim order. We are not impressed," the court said in response to the ASG's arguments opposing any interim order.

The court also gave adverse observations on one of the reasons given by the Coal Ministry to annul the tender process that comparing the price fetched in auction of other mines for power sector, the highest bid for Gare Palma IV/2 and IV/3 in Chhattisgarh did not reflect fair value.

"This is like comparing apples to oranges," the bench said in response to the argument and added that the Ministry's decision to annul the tender and then allot mines to CIL "does not leave a good taste in the mouth".

Karuturi Global consolidated quarterly net rises 31.35% 

Karuturi Global Ltd saw a substantial rise in consolidated net profit for the quarter ended December 2014. 

During the quarter, the profit of the company rose 31.35% to Rs.103.11 million from Rs.78.50 million in the same quarter last year.

Net sales for the quarter however declined 61.32% to Rs 569.81 million, compared with Rs.1,473.06 million for the prior year period.

Medium term investors, should buy the shares of Karuturi Global Ltd (Rs.1.60) in all declines; for some superb returns in the coming quarters. 

Naivasha’s Karuturi seals debt buyout deal, planning comeback 

NAIVASHA, March 27, 2015: Deposed Indian flower firm is planning a major comeback to Kenya next month, after entering a debt deal that would enable it retake its vast farms currently under control of its creditor CFC Stanbic Bank. 

Ramakrishna Karuturi
Photo: The Economic Times

Karuturi, accused of evading over Sh1 billion in taxes in Kenya, has convinced one of India’s biggest lenders Axis Bank to bail it out. The flower grower billed as the World’s largest cut rose supplier at over a million stems a day, has had a tough run punctuated by employee unrest at its Naivasha farms and land grab claims in its Ethiopian sister operation. 

Managing Director Ram Karuturi last week told an Indian investment analyst that his board had successfully restructured the company’s debt to pave way for the retake of the Kenyan business. “ Karuturi Global will settle the dues and get the farm back; Axis Bank has agreed to take over the outstanding to be paid to CFC,” the analyst identified as Vijay reported following a meeting with Mr Karuturi. 

Steve Luseno, Karuturi’s lawyer based in Nairobi, confirmed the fresh bailout and that the officials of Axis Bank had even visited the Naivasha farm to assess its viability, adding the officials had also met up with CFC bankers, a position we could, however, not confirm immediately. 

“We are certain that the new deal will have CFC hand back control of the farm to Karuturi, within weeks,” Luseno told the Standard on phone. The company had its annual general meeting Friday last week, where Man Mohan Agrawal - a former executive of Axis Bank was appointed as a non-executive director.

A return for Karuturi will be a significant milestone for the company which lost the Kenyan operation last year to local and international lenders and suppliers, including CFC Stanbic Bank. Before the lenders brought in receiver managers, Karuturi had experienced significant cash flow problems with staff going without salaries. 

BAD BLOOD 

But Karuturi’s possible return, following its annual general meeting in Bangalore India last week, could be a major turning point given the bad blood that preceded the exit. 

CFC appointed Ian Small and Kieran Day as joint receiver managers as it sought to recover its outstanding loans. 

Karuturi has since claimed that the receiver managers were running down the firm with an aim of eventually selling it on the cheap. Just last week, Karuturi accused its other debtor ICICI, through Receiver Manager Lolluri Kamasastry, of demolishing Sh270 million-worth house on the flower farm in a bid to damage the company’s brand equity. 

In a separate suit also playing out in court, Karuturi has accused CFC of seeking to dispose of the flower business rather than continuing operations to recover its outstanding loans. 

Now, Karuturi has threatened to institute a forensic audit on the operations of the flower farm covering the 16-months period when the business was under receivership. Karuturi Global will get a forensic audit done by one of the top consulting firms, Mr Karuturi is quoted to be saying.

Courtesy: Standard Digital

Rabies is almost 100% Fatal: Keep away from un-vaccinated Dogs, Cats, Bats, Horses, etc. 

Photo Editor: Suman Mukherjee

Mumbai (Bombay) Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Navi Mumbai (New Bombay) are the Heavens for stray dogs and cats.  This has put the lives of common citizens in jeopardy, with successive state governments virtually doing very little to stop this menace. 

Many people object to killing these animals rather than sterilizing them, to limit their population; giving various arguments. This is one of the major problems, faced by the BMC, to make the streets free of stray dogs and cats. 

You can see that Australia is almost RABIES FREE,
while look at the Asian and African Countries.....!!

I think you know that dogs have a major religious significance among the Hindus in Nepal and India, particularly in Mithlanchal, North Bengal and Sikkim. The dogs are worshiped as a part of a five-day Tihar festival that falls roughly in November every year. In Hinduism, it is believed that dogs guard the doors of Heaven and Hell. This makes the task of their elimination, even more difficult; as their is a religious sentiment attached to them.... 

But, I do not find any reason why the Stray dogs and cats should not be summarily killed to safeguard the human population!! What is the benefit of having a stray dog barking the whole day and sometimes biting, without any notice?

By the way, when innocent Chickens (hens and cocks), Goats, Sheep, Buffalos, etc are butchered by half-slitting their throats, then what happens to these "Conscience Keepers" called "Animal Lovers"? If they cannot stop people from eating meat of animals, murdered in such a pathetic way, then what is the harm to kill these 4-legged-living-time-bombs?

In Mumbai, after lot of complaints and push, at last the  Devendra Gangadharrao Fadnavis government has decided to set up temporary sterilization centres in every node to curb population of stray dogs. 

But I feel that instead of spending time on such soft measures, the government should bring in an amendment to kill the stray ones, so that the lives of the people are safe in Mumbai and other Indian cities. 

Meanwhile, the Honourable Supreme Court, last month agreed to examine whether municipal bodies can kill stray dogs merely on a complaint that they have become a "nuisance" to the public. A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Prafulla C Pant said that it will look into the contradiction in animal welfare laws on what constitutes 'nuisance'. 

Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act says that if it receives a complaint that a dog has become a source of nuisance to the public, they can seize the offending animal and put it to sleep permanently. But you know India has lot of archaic laws and one of them  formulated under the central law - Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960 - does not allow this. The 1960 law only permits the extermination of rabid, terminally-ill or mortally wounded dogs, and not nuisance-causing dogs. 

The court was hearing a bunch of petitions filed by an organization called People for Elimination of Stray Animals, seeking killing of stray dogs and by animal's right activists for protecting stray animals. 

NDA govt presses ahead with reform agenda 

[Editor: I know that, if this bill becomes an act, then it will give a solid push to the infrastructure of India. However, I am sure that if NDA were in opposition, then they would have done the same thing, what some of opposition parties are doing now. This is the nature of "DIRTY POLITICS", being played in India. It true but a sad fact that none of the Political Parties are concerned about India or Indians; they are more busy discrediting the other, so that they can rule for longer durations. 
We should understand that "Politics is a business". And the political parties in India would do anything which will boost their "business"--this has nothing much to do with the development of a state or the country] 

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government on Friday decided to prorogue the Rajya Sabha, where it is battling strident resistance by opposition parties against the land acquisition bill, and extend an executive order in a signal of its resolve to push forward its reform agenda. 

“The cabinet committee on parliamentary affairs recommends proroguing the Rajya Sabha with immediate effect,” parliamentary affairs minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said after a meeting of the committee. 

The step will allow repromulgation of the 31 December ordinance on land acquisition, which will give time to the government to take up the bill for passage at a later date. The ordinance is due to lapse on 5 April. 

Mint was the first to report on 23 March that the government would repromulgate the land ordinance. 

The NDA is in a minority in the Upper House where the Congress and other opposition parties have staunchly resisted the amended land acquisition bill that they say is anti-farmer because it makes it easier for businesses to acquire land. 

Changes introduced in the legislation by the government do away with the need for developers of projects related to defence, rural electrification, housing for the poor and industrial corridors to acquire the approval of a majority of affected landowners. 

Nor would they need a social impact study involving public hearings, as prescribed in the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. 

Parliament in its budget session is on a month-long recess. For issuing an ordinance when Parliament is in session, at least one of the Houses has to be prorogued.

“There have been five instances when one House was prorogued and bills have been repromulgated,” said a minister who was part of the decision-making process. 

“The first instance was in 1957 when Lok Sabha was in session and Rajya Sabha was prorogued. There have been other instances in 1964, 1987, 1994 and 1996. The government will now have to repromulgate the land acquisition ordinance and bring it in Parliament later.” The minister didn’t want to be named. 

The original Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2013, was passed by both Houses of Parliament and notified on 1 January 2014. It was shepherded by the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government to replace a law dating back to 1894. 

A key provision of the 2013 law was seeking the consent of 80% of farmers for private acquisition of land and 70% for public-private partnerships. It also sought a social impact study involving public hearings. 

Meanwhile, two people in the rural development ministry said on condition of anonymity that the central government was mulling when to re-issue the ordinance—before or after 5 April. 

The text of the re-promulgated ordinance is likely to be the same as the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015, approved by the Lok Sabha on 10 March and the cabinet on Wednesday. 

The government sought cabinet approval for the bill again this week as it had incorporated nine amendments aimed at blunting opposition criticism that the bill was anti-farmer. 

The amendments include mandatory employment for at least one member from each family displaced by land acquisition. Another provides for the government to ensure that the land acquired is the bare minimum required for a project and a third calls on the government to undertake a survey of wastelands. 

Rural development minister Chaudhary Birender Singh had on Wednesday indicated that the government would make another effort to forge consensus on the land bill. 

“We will get in touch with the opposition parties so that a consensus is arrived at, which is in the country’s interests and farmers’ interests. We are hopeful that we will be successful and the Act with new amendments will take the shape of a law,” PTI quoted the minister as saying. 

The minister also indicated that the government was likely to yield on the consent clause that the 2015 bill does away with.

“But we want to take farmers on board for this. I don’t think 70-80% will be possible. If consensus is there (with other parties), we may think of lowering it to 50-60%, but the consent should be of the landowners and not those who may be occupying that piece of land,” the minister had said last week. 

Meanwhile, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Friday rejected the offer of an open debate on the land bill issued in a letter by transport minister Nitin Gadkari on 19 March. 

“Proposition of a post-facto debate after unilateral imposition of anti-farmer law is mockery of building partisan consensus,” Gandhi said in her response to Gadkari. 

Slamming the government for depicting critics of the land bill as anti-national, she asked the government to “rise above its narrow-minded politics”. 

The government needs to coordinate with opposition parties to get the land acquisition bill passed in the Rajya Sabha, said Sanjay Kumar, a political analyst and director of Delhi-based Centre for the Study of Developing Societies. 

“This step of the government will destroy the cordial relation between the government and opposition parties. It may not be a clever move,” he said. “Talking to farmers will not get the bill passed in Parliament, it will only get passed by the members of Parliament. Even if farmers listen to the Prime Minister and start to support him on the bill by not protesting, this process will take a very long time and it will not be an easy task.”

Courtesy: Live Mint

Immigration official at Delhi airport suspended for sexually harassing Bengaluru woman

[Editor: I am no way related to Mr.Vinod Kumar, but decided to put this news report on my main blog and not the Current Affairs blog, because the matter is pretty serious for Indian Men (or for any sane Indian citizen). Why? It is because no on knows what is the  name of the women, because the media always gives one-sided coverage for such incidents. If the name of the  man can be given, then the name of the women should also be revealed otherwise, the things do not become gender neutral. Also, it is not known whether the women in question is trying to character assassinate Mr.Vinod or not because the matter is subudice. Now look at the following disgusting comment: "First I would like to apologise (to her) on behalf of Indian government, though I am just a part of it, a small cog in the very big wheel. But the entire incident which has happened is shameful and the officer should be suspended," NCW chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam said. 
Now she has apologized without even trying to find out whether this indent actually took place or not. Moreover, this lady, Lalitha Kumarmangalam, has already pronounced the verdict, even though the trial has not taken place in any court of law!! Am I right? 

Now tell me if such persons become the head of dangerous-gender-biased-men-hating organizations like National Commission for Women (NCW), then does it not violate the basic principles on which India was created?

In absence of National Commission for Men, how is this gender based organization allowed to exist in India? But then you know the quality of the majority Indian politicians!! 

Also see how the media has presented the news. In the photo it is said, "Questions the officer asked", but they were culled out from the complaint filed by her father-in-law; which may be true or false. Isn't it? What can you say for such biased reporting by one of the leading newspapers like Hindustan Times? The time has therefore, come for the intelligentsia to fight against such shameful media presentation and the equally pathetic comments from the NCW chief. Remember if you do not protest such misrepresentation by the vested groups (and NCW is a government body), tomorrow it might happen in your homes]

New Delhi/ Bengaluru| Mar 28, 2015: The home ministry suspended an immigration officer at Delhi’s international airport on Friday after a woman accused him of harassing her during immigration check while she was en route to Hong Kong from Delhi on March 18.

The suspension came after the woman went to the media with her story as a complaint she emailed to the officer’s superiors on March 23 went unaddressed.

While reviewing her passport, the officer, Vinod Kumar, allegedly asked the woman several inappropriate questions, including if she slept with other men when her husband was at work and if she wanted to have her third child with him.

He proceeded to follow her up an escalator at the airport, the woman told reporters in Bengaluru on Friday.

After giving her pursuer the slip, the woman caught her flight but returned on March 23 with her husband and attempted to file a written complaint with Kumar’s senior at the Bureau of Immigration in Delhi.

The senior officer was uncooperative and refused to accept the complaint. He asked her to send him an email instead. Kumar also emerged on the scene and a verbal spat ensued. The woman emailed her complaint the same day. She said she waited until recently for authorities to take action, but when that did not happen, she approached the media.

The Union home ministry has suspended Kumar on charges of sexually harassing and stalking the woman.

“Immigration assistant Vinod Kumar has been placed under suspension and a departmental inquiry has been ordered against him,” said a home ministry spokesperson.

According to home ministry officials, the complainant has also been asked to lodge an FIR against the accused.

NCW condemns incident

The National Commission for Women (NCW) chief condemned the incident and apologised on behalf of Indian government.

"First I would like to apologise (to her) on behalf of Indian government, though I am just a part of it, a small cog in the very big wheel. But the entire incident which has happened is shameful and the officer should be suspended," NCW chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam said.

"How could he ask such questions when there is a format in place. This immigration officer must be taken to task. He should be suspended," she added.

The Commission also took suo motu cognizance of the matter and Kumaramangalam said she would write to revenue officials in Bengaluru and the immigration authorities recommending action against the officer.

Courtesy: The Hindustan Times

In boost to East Asia policy, Modi to tour China, Mongolia, S Korea

[Editor: Narendra Modi's world tour on Poor Tax Payers' money continues. However, nothing much on the ground is happening, except tall talks and empty rhetorics. The Narendra Modi government is infact running most of policies of the UPA government; many of which they opposed when the BJP was in opposition]

Mar 28, 2015: After his foray into the US, Australia, Europe and Indian Ocean countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set his sights on the strategically-important East Asia region, dominated by China, which is also a geopolitical rival to India.

Modi will undertake a three-nation tour of China, Mongolia and South Korea from May 14 to 19. According to officials, the visit is aimed at giving a boost to the East Asia policy, aligning it with Make in India initiatives and bringing momentum to the country’s foreign policy in the strategically significant region.

In Beijing, where Modi is set to arrive to a rousing welcome, the focus will be on boundary issues. Both countries have an unsettled boundary of 3,488 km that often acts as an irritant to the ties.

The thrust will be on resolving the boundary question at an early date, rather than sticking to the familiar template of maintaining peace and tranquility along the border as the sole task, officials told HT.

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which is seen as a counter to the US, Japan dominated Asian Development Bank, is likely to announce funding for infrastructure projects in India during the visit of PM Modi. He had played a leading role in India becoming a founding member of the bank.

“The bank will bring investment into the region while maintaining supplementary relationships with existing multilateral development banks,” said an official.

His visit to South Korea has a definite Make in India angle to it. India is keen on getting investment and going for joint manufacturing in areas where South Korea has a technological edge. 

In the manufacturing sector, South Korean companies including Samsung, LG and Hyundai that have strong presence in India. “Infrastructure is another area, where South Korea is keen to invest,” said a source.

Mongolia and India are keen to move forward on the MoU for Uranium supply that the two countries had entered in 2009. Mongolia is keen on Indian helping the country in cyber security. Help in border patrolling is another area where the two countries will be stepping up the ties.

Courtesy: The Hindustan Times

Fixed cost recovery can be a mirage for power sector coal block winners 

[Editor: I have told this long back, through my numerous Facebook posts, that if the government of any country loots the power companies, in the name of auction, then the consequences would be too hard. This is a natural fall-out of wrong-governance, by Narendra Modi & Co. Anway, now I want to know the views of those in the media who were tom-toming about the low cost of power] 

TUE, MAR 24 2015: Aggressive bids by power generation firms for coal blocks have got investors worried. Rating agency Crisil Ltd’s calculations show that for coal block winners who had bid the highest and have a combined capacity of 10,000 megawatts (MW), there will be cost under-recovery totalling Rs.1,350 crore in the next fiscal year. Variable cost under-recovery is estimated at around 65 paise per unit. The under-recoveries of some power companies are estimated to be even higher. 

For Jaiprakash Power Ventures Ltd, it is pegged at 97 paise per kilowatt hour (kWh) and for Essar Power, which won Tokisud North coal block, it is likely to be more than Rs.1 per kWh. The impact varies depending on power purchasing agreements (PPAs). 

Companies which are yet to tie up their capacities will be on a better footing simply because their fuel security improves and they stand a chance of negotiating the contracts on beneficial terms.

“We believe this (coal mine win) is positive for GMR only because it currently does not have a PPA for the project and it has the flexibility to load it up on to the fixed cost while participating in the case 1 bids under section 63,” an Antique Stock Broking Ltd note said. 

Section 63 determines tariff through bidding process. But that is easier said than done. As widely feared, if the government caps the fixed cost and does not allow cost escalation to go through, then the companies will have a tough time recovering them. Another factor is competition. 

The weak financial condition of state electricity boards, the biggest buyers of electricity in India, means they are not keen on signing many PPAs. With ample idle capacities, higher competition will limit tariffs, weighing on cost recovery. 

“As per our estimates, 22-25GW (gigawatts) of power projects—both operational and expected to be commissioned by 2016-17—are untied and will compete for new PPAs. State discoms, however, have signed just about 8.5GW of long-term PPAs in the last 3 years because of stretched financials, large capacity of existing PPAs, and sluggish power demand. 

This will restrict any sharp increase in fixed tariffs,” Rahul Prithiani, director, Crisil Research said in a statement. One GW equals 1000MW. Not surprisingly, investors have been circumspect. 

The S&P BSE Power index which has been trailing the broader markets for a year before the coal block auctions continues to underperform the benchmark index (S&P BSE 500). CESC Ltd has lost 14% from the pre-auction levels. While Jaiprakash Power Ventures losses are insignificant at 1.6%, GMR Infrastructure Ltd is down 17% from 13 February. 

The writer doesn’t own shares in the above-mentioned companies.

Courtesy: Live Mint