Current News 9 October 2013

Current News 9 October 2013
AIAI enters into pact with Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Industry lobby All-India Association of Industries, AIAI today said it has entered into an agreement with the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry to promote trade between the two countries.

The memorandum of understanding signed in Mumbai today aims to enhance trade and investments between the two nations.

It also seeks to increase joint ventures, collaborations and technology transfers through an exchange of business proposals.

European lawmakers approved sweeping new regulations governing the multi billion-dollar tobacco market 

Iincluding bigger warnings on cigarette packs and a ban on menthol and other flavorings in a bid to further curb smoking. They stopped short, however, of tough limits on electronic cigarettes.

European Parliament vote in Strasbourg came after months of bitter debate and an unusually strong lobbying campaign by the tobacco industry, which decries the regulations as disproportionate and limiting consumer freedom. The Parliament dismissed many of the industry's arguments, but agreed on watered-down versions of sensitive legislation.

The lawmakers voted to impose warning labels _ with the inclusion of gruesome pictorials, for example showing cancer-infested lungs _ covering 65 percent of cigarette packs, rejecting a measure for blank packaging instead.

Current warning labels cover 30-40 percent of packages.

The European Parliament also voted to ban menthol _ though not until 2022 _ and some other flavorings, favoring those who argued that fruity or other pleasant aromas entice novices to smoke. They rejected a ban on slim cigarettes.

Philip Morris, with $8.5 billion of sales and 12,500 employees in Europe, also claimed the regulation could result in up to 175,000 job losses and lost tax revenues of 5 billion euros ($6.8 billion) per year. The company didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday's vote.

Tata Power buys 39 MW wind energy farm in Gujarat

Tata Power has inked a deal to acquire AES Saurashtra Windfarms, a subsidiary of US-based AES Corp, which owns a 39.2 MW wind energy farm in Gujarat, Tata Power said Tuesday.

The purchase was made through the Tata Power subsidiary, Tata Power Renewable Energy, for an undisclosed amount.

The project (wind energy farm) which is fully operational since January 2012 has executed a power purchase agreement with GUVNL (Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd) for sale of the electricity at a tariff of Rs. 3.56/kWh for the duration of the project,"

With this acquisition, Tata Power's total generation capacity now stands at 8,560 MW of which 437 MW capacity is from wind energy.

Tata Power is committed to generating 20-25 percent of its total generation capacity from clean energy sources and is proud to have signed this share purchase agreement to acquire 39.2 MW operational wind farm.

               
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan aims to build  markets for $1-trillion core sector investments

Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan aims to build sophisticated financial infrastructure in three years that will facilitate trillion-dollar core sector investments, for sustained economic growth.

Rajan said in an interview. "We have to give savers a good deal, be it outside savers or domestic savers. That match between savings and investment has to come about.

Despite anaemic economic growth, monetary policy should aim at bringing down inflation expectations. Growth with low inflation will strengthen the economy, Rajan said.

Many investors expect Rajan to raise the benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points on October 29.

October 29 is the date of RBI's next rate-setting meeting. On September 20, Rajan had raised the repo rate — the rate at which RBI lends to banks — by 25 basis points to 7.5%.

Canara Bank, Apollo Munich in bancassurance tie-up

Canara Bank and Apollo Munich Health Insurance (AMHI) have entered into a bancassurance tie-up. This is the first such tie-up for the insurance company in its six years of existence.

Bancassurance is distribution of insurance products through a bank’s network.

With this tie-up, AMHI products will be distributed in over 4,200 branches of Canara Bank, which will act as a corporate agent for selling these products.

Canara Bank will also utilise it business correspondents’ network to take health insurance to unbanked areas, R.K.Dubey, Chairman and Managing Director of the bank, said.

Antony Jacob, Chief Executive Officer, AMHI, had in July this year said that the company was looking seriously at a bancassurance tie-up to improve distribution.

50 DTH educational channels coming soon

Fifty Direct-To-Home educational channels would be launched soon, which would be more interactive and different from the existing programmes on air including Gyan Darshan.

"These channels will air programmes which will be live and not pre-recorded. The new initiatives will be one of the largest anywhere in the world of its kind," Higher Education Secretary Ashik Thakur .

The Ministry has spent more than one billion dollars for ICT. Over 400 universities and twenty thousand colleges have been linked with bandwidth and has a great potential to increase its usage.

National Bank of Abu Dhabi gets Indian IT solution

The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), one of the largest banks in United Arab Emirates, has put in place an Indian IT solution that would enable real-time analysis and enrichment of revenue streams, its developer said Tuesday.

The enterprise IT solution by Kerala capital headquartered SunTec, a leading provider of revenue management and business assurance solutions, is the first to be implemented in the Middle East market.

The solution will enable "financial services companies and digital and communications services create personalised offerings and achieve superior customer experience management".

SunTec is a partner of the world's leading service providers like VISA, HSBC, ING and Standard Bank

Tata Power to set up coal-fired plant in Myanmar

Tata Power has forayed into Myanmar and has begun feasibility studies to set up a coal-fired power station there.

The project is expected to be commissioned in 2019-20. This would be the first project by the Tata Group Company in the South-East Asian nation.

Tata Power has executed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Myanmar for setting up an imported coal-based power plant.

The Rs 19,399-crore Tata Power is aggressively looking to expand its portfolio overseas. At present, it is building hydro electric projects in Bhutan, Georgia and Zambia. The firm is also developing two wind power projects in South Africa.

In Myanmar, the power plant is proposed to be located in Ngayok Kaung, Ayeyarwaddy region, and would have captive coal berthing arrangements.

Karan Thapar Chosen for IPI-India Award

Karan Thapar, television journalist chosen for the International Press Institute (IPI) – India award for excellence in journalism 2013 on 8 October 2013 for his interviews on the Devil's Advocate programme on CNN IBN.

He was selected by a distinguished jury of editors and publishers headed by the former Chief Justice of India, A. S. Anand. The members of the jury included IPI-India Chairman and The Hindu Editor N Ravi, PTI Editor-in-Chief M K Razdan, Business Standard Chairman and Chief Editor T N Ninan and Malyala Manorama Senior Assistant Editor Riyad Mathew.

Previous winners of the International Press Institute award include The Indian Express, NDTV, Outlook, Tehelka, Tribune and The Week

The International Press Institute is a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists. 

About Karan Thapar

i. Karan Thapar is an Indian television commentator and interviewer.
ii. He is conducting programmes like Devil's Advocate, The Last Word on CNN-IBN and India Tonight on CNBC TV 18.
iii, He also wrote books like Face To Face India - Conversations With Karan Thapar, Sunday Sentiments, Wisdom Tree, More Salt Than iv. Pepper - Dropping Anchor With Karan Thapar, Harper Collins,

ICC World T-20 qualifier 2013 to be held in Abu Dhabi

The International Cricket Council has announced that the final stages of the ICC World Twenty 20 Qualifier 2013 will be held at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

The double-header qualifying finals on the last two days of the tournament on 29th and 30th November will be played at 2 pm and 6 pm respectively. 

The ICC World Cup T-20 has 16 teams, split into two groups of eight who will compete for six available spots in the ICC World Twenty 2014 in Bangladesh. 

Indian Cyclist Deborah Won Two Gold Medals at ACC Track Asia Cup

 Indian cyclist Deborah on 7 October 2013 won a gold medal in the women’s junior individual sprint at Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC) Track Asia Cup in Thailand.

Teen cyclist Deborah from Andaman Nicobar Island had earlier grabbed gold in 500m Time Trial event.

Pallam Raju skips Union Cabinet meeting

Union HRD Minister M.M. Pallam Raju, who has tendered his resignation over the Telangana issue, on Tuesday skipped the Union Cabinet meeting.

Mr. Raju along with three other Union Ministers from the Seemandhra region had on Monday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, requesting him to accept their resignations, but got no assurance from the latter.