After Jio Mukesh Ambani Bets Big on Internet Video Streaming Market

Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani who has disrupted the mobile telephony market with Reliance Jio, is set to take on Internet and video streaming giants like Google, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Spotify.

According to an article in the winter 2019 issue of Foreign Policy magazine, "the second stage of Ambani's plan is more ambitious" after creating a mega base of 28 crore Jio subscribers with ultra-cheap data plans and sending rival telecom operators into a tizzy.

"Jio's real competitors aren't local cellular providers, such as Airtel or Vodafone India; instead, insiders say Ambani has long had his eyes set on competing with Google, Netflix, Spotify, and Facebook," read the article.

Jio services now include attractive lifestyle products a streaming TV service with hundreds of channels, a digital payments system, a music library, a health care app, a connected home system, a messaging platform.

"Each of these could reach Jio's growing customer base in a multitude of Indian languages," the article added.

Reliance Jio Infocomm last week reported a 65 per cent increase in its standalone net profit for the October-December 2018 period.

Its standalone net profit stood at Rs 831 crore in the third quarter of the financial year 2018-19, against Rs 504 crore reported in October-December 2017-18.

"The journey of Jio has been truly remarkable and has surpassed all expectations.

"The Jio family is now 280 million strong and growing on one of the world's largest mobile data networks, in line with our vision of connecting everyone and everything, everywhere always at the highest quality and the most affordable price," said Ambani.

For Jio, average data consumption per user per month was 10.8GB and average voice consumption was recorded at 794 minutes per user per month.

Video consumption drove most of the usage, increasing to 460 crore hours per month and this is the next growth area Ambani has firmly set his eyes on.

According to a latest survey by global digital content delivery platform Limelight Networks, Indian viewers are now watching online video content for an average of eight hours 28 minutes each week, more than the time they spend viewing TV every week.

The amount of time Indian viewers spend watching online videos is far higher than the global average of six hours and 45 minutes each week in 2018 which itself marks a 58 per cent rise from the 2016 figure.

Through online channels, Indian viewers largely watch movies, followed by news, TV shows and sports.

Asserting that the data is the "new oil and wealth" in the new world, Ambani in his speech at the India Mobile Congress last October said that Reliance Jio's broadband offering can place the country among the top three nations in fixed broadband from a low rank of 135 currently.

Ambani said that India can be transformed when people get "Pehla TV, pehla camera, pehla Internet and pehla Artificial Intelligence (AI) at just Rs 100 per month".

"Every phone in India will be a 4G-enabled phone and every customer will have access to 4G connectivity," he added.

Source: https://www.dailypioneer.com/2019/business/after-jio--mukesh-ambani-bets-big-on-internet--video-streaming-market.html

Delhi's air quality severe due to reduced wind speed

Delhi's air quality deteriorated further on Thursday — to severe category — due to reduced wind speed that prevented the dispersion of pollutants, authorities said.

According to Central Pollution Control Board data, the overall air quality index (AQI) in the city was 434, which falls in the severe category.

An AQI between 100 and 200 comes under the moderate category, 201 and 300 is considered 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', while that between 401 and 500 is 'severe'.

The air quality was severe till Sunday but with improved wind speed of 20 km/hr, it significantly improved and was recorded in the 'poor' category until Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the air quality again deteriorated as the wind speed dropped and was recorded in the very poor category.

On Thursday, as many as 29 areas recorded 'severe' air quality and three 'very poor' air quality, CPCB said.

In the National Capital Region, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Noida and Greater Noida recorded 'severe' air quality while Gurgaon recorded ' very poor' air quality, it said.

The overall PM2.5 level — fine particulate matters in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers — in Delhi was 365, while the PM10 level was 540, it said.

The Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (SAFAR) said the overall AQI over Delhi was recorded in the severe category.

"Other weather conditions remain more or less same except that wind speed decreased from 5.3kmph to 2.5kmph. Since the speed drop is substantial, it has slowed down the dispersion significantly," SAFAR said.

Source: https://www.dailypioneer.com/2019/top-stories/delhi-s-air-quality-severe-due-to-reduced-wind-speed.html

NMC seals 100 units for violating plastic waste norms

North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC) has sealed more than 100 units in last one week for violating norms and dealing in plastic waste.

A senior NMC official said these units were engaged in plastic waste trade and being run illegally and causing air pollution by emitting poisonous gases.

The action was taken by the zonal officials in villages such as Tikri Kalan, Mundka, Hirankudna, Neelwal, Nangloi, Kamruddin Nagar, Nilothi, Ghewra, Savdha and Madanpur Dabas where these units were found violating the laid down norms, he said.

The civic body also recovered and lifted more than 9,000 metric tons of plastic waste that were sent to ‘Waste to

Energy plant’ situated at Narela-Bawana for further processing.

The official added action against defaulting units was taken to contain the pollution level.

The Corporation has also issued an advisory to factory’s owners requesting them to follow the norms and regulate their waste as per the provisions of the rules and guidelines issued by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The official said the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) has provided a list of such polluting units running in residential areas. There are over 10,000 such units operating from such areas and action was taken after a list of these units were provided by the DSIIDC, he said.

The official further said that in an intensive survey carried out in different residential areas by the north corporations, thousands of polluting and non- polluting units for producing plastic bags, rubber or chemicals and others found running in non-conforming areas such as Karol Bagh, Mundka, Kamruddin Nagar, Nilothi, Swarn Park and Tikri Kalan. Action has been taken against many of them and the remaining would be sealed soon, he said.

In a similar action, the civic body had sealed 516 factories in November last year for running illegally and polluting the air by emitting poisonous gases and violating various others laid-down norms.

Source: https://www.dailypioneer.com/

Indra Nooyi being considered to lead World Bank

India born Indra Nooyi, the former CEO of global beverage giant PepsiCo, is being considered by the White House for the new World Bank president, according to a leading American daily.

Nooyi, 63, stepped down as PepsiCo's chief last August after leading the company for 12 years.

She "has been courted as an administration ally by Ivanka Trump, the president's eldest daughter who is playing a role in the selection of a nominee," the The New York Times said.

The report, which cited several people familiar with the process, said the decision-making process for the top post at the World Bank is "fluid and in its initial stages and early front-runners and candidates often fall off the radar, or withdraw from consideration, before the president (Donald Trump) makes his ultimate pick".

It is unclear whether Nooyi would accept the nomination if chosen by the Trump administration.

The first daughter, who has tweeted that she views Nooyi as a "mentor + inspiration", has floated her name as a potential successor.

World Bank's current president Jim Yong Kim had earlier this month announced that he would step down from his post in February to join a private infrastructure investment firm. His unexpected departure came nearly three years before the end of his term.

The NYT report said that the process of choosing Kim's successor is being overseen by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and Ivanka, whose role in the process was announced by the White House Monday.

Ivanka's "role in the process drew some criticism from ethics watchdogs Monday, which said it could pose a conflict of interest for the president's daughter to be involved in international economic matters when she has not completely divested from her assets," the report said.

The group was expected to begin the interview process Tuesday, in order to present President Trump with recommendations for a nominee.

Nooyi joined Trump's business council, which was disbanded after many chief executives quit following the president's comments blaming "many sides" for white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, in August 2017.

The report, however, added that negative comments made by Nooyi after the 2016 election, during which she did not publicly endorse any candidate, are seen as a potential roadblock to her nomination.

Following Trump's win, she said at the NYT's DealBook conference in 2016 that "Our employees are all crying. And the question that they're asking, especially those who are not white: 'Are we safe?' Women are asking: 'Are we safe?' LGBT people are asking: 'Are we safe?' I never thought I'd have had to answer those questions".

A spokesman for PepsiCo had told Fortune magazine that "Mrs. Nooyi misspoke. She was referring to the reaction of a group of employees she spoke to who were apprehensive about the outcome of the election. She never intended to imply that all employees feel the same way".

Other candidates being considered for the position of World Bank head are under secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs David Malpass and president of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation Ray Washburne.

The US president cannot install the World Bank leader, who must be approved by the bank's board, but has traditionally placed his nominee in the job.

Trump has already faced harsh criticism for appointing his daughter as a senior White House advisor.

Ivanka is a successful businesswoman, fashion designer, author and reality television personality. She has her own line of fashion items, including clothes, handbags, shoes, accessories which are available in all major US departmental stores.

Source: https://www.dailypioneer.com/2019/top-stories/indra-nooyi-being-considered-to-lead-world-bank--report.html

GST Exemption Limit Doubled to Rs 40 Lakh

In a “massive relief” to small businesses, the GST Council on Thursday doubled the limit for exemption from payment of goods and services tax (GST) to Rs 40 lakh and announced that the higher turnover cap of Rs 1.5 crore for availing composition scheme of paying 1 per cent tax will be effective from April 1.

The Council also allowed Kerala to levy a 1 per cent calamity cess on intra-state sale of goods and services tax for a period of up to two years to mobilise revenues to meet the cost of rehabilitating parts of states that were ravaged by floods last year.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the taxpayers with an aggregate turnover of Rs 40 lakh would now be exempted from the GST. For the north eastern states, the exemption would now be Rs 20 lakh. Currently, businesses with a turnover of up to Rs 20 lakh is exempt from GST registration, while the limit for hilly and north eastern states is Rs 10 lakh.

Sources said the annual revenue loss on account of doubling exemption limit to Rs 40 lakh, considering that all states implement it, is Rs 5,200 crore.

Jaitley said the GST Composition Scheme, under which small traders and businesses pay a 1 per cent tax based on turnover, can be availed by businesses with a turnover of Rs 1.5 crore, against the earlier Rs 1 crore, with effect from April 1.

Also, service providers and suppliers of both goods and services up to a turnover of Rs 50 lakh would be eligible to opt for the GST composition scheme and pay a tax of 6 per cent.

The twin decision under the composition scheme would have an annual revenue impact of about Rs 3,000 crore.

“The GST Council in its 32nd meeting today accorded massive relief for MSME sector,” Jaitley tweeted.

On GST rate for real estate, the council has decided for form a seven-member group of ministers after differences of opinion emerged at the meeting, he said, adding there were diverse views on lottery. A ministerial panel will look into it as well.

Businesses opting for the composition scheme would have to file just one tax return annually but pay taxes once every quarter. Also free accounting and billing software will be made available to small assessees up to Rs 1.5 crore turnover.

Jaitley said: “A very large part of GST comes from formal sector and large companies. Each one of these decisions is intended to help the SMEs. You have given them various options. If they are in services sector, they can get 6 per cent compounding, if they are in manufacturing and trading up to Rs 1.5 crore they can get 1 per cent compounding. They can make use of exemption of up to Rs 40 lakh”.

The finance minister said there would be two thresholds Rs 40 lakh and Rs 20 lakh for exemption from registration and payment of the GST for the suppliers of goods, with the facility that one can ‘opt up or opt down’ depending on revenue.

“Few states had a view that if the turnover threshold is hiked to Rs 40 lakh, their assessee base gets eroded. So if they inform the Secretariat within a week then they would be given the option to opt down. Puducherry has kept this option. This is a onetime exception and does not affect businesses with inter-state supplies,” Jaitley told reporters.

Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey said even though currently the exemption limit is Rs 20 lakh, but still there are about 10.93 lakh taxpayers who are below Rs 20 lakh but are paying taxes.

Source : https://www.dailypioneer.com/2019/business/gst-exemption-limit-doubled-to-rs-40-lakh.html

Alok Verma Resumes Office After 77 Day Forced Leave

CBI Director Alok Verma joined office Wednesday, 77 days after he was sent on forced leave by the central government through a much-criticised late-night order on October 23, 2018, which was set aside by the Supreme Court.

The October order sent Verma and his deputy Special Director Rakesh Asthana, booked by the agency on corruption charges, into exile in a first-of-its-kind move by the government in the agency's history.

In sending Verma on leave, the government overlooked the immunity given to the CBI director by the Supreme Court ensuring a two-year minimum tenure to protect the incumbent from any political interference.

The government tried to justify its decision, saying it became necessary amid an unprecedented feud between the two senior-most officials of the agency who had levelled charges of corruption on each other, an argument rejected by the apex court Tuesday.

The government had given charge to then Joint Director M Nageswara Rao who was later promoted as additional director in the agency.

Verma had challenged the move in the Supreme Court which clipped the powers of Rao as director in-charge and barred him from taking any major policy decision till a final order comes from it.

In its order Tuesday, the Supreme Court set aside Verma's forced leave but restrained him from taking any major policy decision till the CVC probe into corruption charges against him is over.

In the absence of any clear definition of "major policy" decisions, the grey area exists as to what extent Verma's powers will be limited.

The apex court said any further decision against Verma, who retires on January 31, would be taken by the high-powered committee which selects and appoints the CBI director.

The Supreme Court in Vineet Narayan judgment had fixed a minimum tenure of two years for the CBI director to give him immunity from any political interference. Later, through Lokpal Act, the process of selecting the CBI director was handed over to a selection committee.

The selection committee comprises the prime minister, the leader of opposition and the chief justice of India.

Source : https://www.dailypioneer.com/2019/top-stories/alok-verma-resumes-office-after-77-day-forced-leave.html