Daily News (In Short)-28-August-2015

#* Sensex climbs 350 points as Sept series begin on positive note

The benchmark BSE Sensex rallied over 350 points to 26,582.13 in early trade on Friday on continued buying by investors as the September series in the derivatives segment began on a strong note.
The Nifty of National of Stock Exchange regained the 8,000-mark by rising 113 points.
The 30-share Sensex, which had gained 516.53 points in yesterday's session, rose further by 350.94 points or 1.33 per cent to 26,582.13 points.
Led by realty, metal, IT and oil & gas, all the sectoral indices of BSE are in the positive zone.
The NSE Nifty reclaimed 8,000-mark by climbing 113.00 points, or 1.42 per cent at 8,061.95.
Brokers said widening of positions by participants, following beginning of the September month F&O series and a firming trend at other Asian markets following overnight gains on the US markets after strong economic data, buoyed trading sentiments. Besides, sustained buying by domestic financial institutions also supported the rally, they said.
Among other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei gained 2.77 per cent,Shanghai Composite index rose 2.17 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 1.66 per cent in early trade. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 2.27 per cent higher in yesterday's trade.

#* RBI more likely to cut rates in September, GDP growth steady - Reuters Poll

REUTERS - There is a better than even chance that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will cut interest rates at its policy meeting on Sept. 29 thanks to inflation striking a record low, according to a Reuters poll, marking a shift in expectations from earlier.

The median from survey of 21 economists showed a 60 percent chance that the central bank would cut its policy repo rate from 7.25 percent at the next meeting, whereas a previous poll in July had shown a move was more likely in the final three months of the year.

Since then, India has released consumer price data for July that showed retail inflation at a record low of 3.78 percent, giving the RBI more room to ease policy.

Keen to inject more momentum in the economy and encourage investment, the government and business community have urged the central bank to lower interest rates, though RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has stressed that he wants to see low inflation on a sustained basis.

"We have fuel disinflation making a comeback all over again. Crude prices are back down," said Vishnu Varathan, senior economist at Mizuho Bank.

Varathan noted the price of onions, a staple ingredient in Indian cooking, was beginning to rise, putting upward pressure on food inflation.

But, he said the RBI would find it harder to cut interest rates later in the year, if the U.S. Federal Reserve delays raising interest rates, which it is expected to do.

The RBI left interest rates unchanged at its last policy review on Aug.4, having already cut them by 75 basis points this year as a slump in global commodity prices brought inflation under control. By holding rates steady, Rajan went against the majority on an advisory panel, who had recommended a reduction.

India is due to release economic growth data for the April-June quarter on Monday.

The median forecast given by 27 economists put year-on-year growth at 7.4 percent for the quarter, slowing from 7.5 percent in the January-March period.

Whereas the headline figure looks healthy, many economists have treated the data series with caution since the statistics department revised its methodology for measuring gross domestic product earlier this year.

Other indicators and on-the-ground evidence suggest the economy is struggling, and there is growing impatience with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to implement more policies that can galvanise growth.

The government is trying to introduce a nationwide goods and services tax to create a more unified market in a country where levies can differ from state to state.

Twelve of the 21 economists polled doubted whether the government could roll out the tax before the next fiscal year begins in April.

#* Pakistan, India open diplomatic ‘terror-war’ front

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan on Thursday said it has asked its ambassadors around the world to inform host countries about India’s sponsoring terrorism in the country, hours after New Delhi opened a diplomatic onslaught by “apprising Australia about Pakistan-sponsored terrorism” on its soil.

“Pakistan’s ambassadors stationed abroad have been instructed to inform their host countries regarding India’s involvement in promoting terrorist activities in Pakistan,” Foreign Office Spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said in a weekly briefing.

“Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to UN has also taken the international organisation into confidence over recent developments between India and Pakistan, including cancellations of National Security Adviser (NSA) talks,” he added.

The spokesman told the media that the talks were cancelled due to India’s preconditions which Pakistan did not find acceptable.
He added that currently there is no proposal under consideration for a meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

On the other hand, in a meeting of India-Australia Joint Working Group on counter terrorism, the Indian delegation gave a “briefing to the Australian side on Pakistan’s complicity in various terror activities” in the country and failure to rein in them.

The Indian side, according to media reports, alleged that the three terrorists who had carried out attacks in Gurdaspur that claimed seven lives on July 27 had come from Pakistan.
They were also claimed that a terrorist arrested in Udhampur belongs to Laskhar-e-Taiba and hails from Faisalabad in Pakistan.
A briefing was also given to the Australian side about the alleged existing terror infrastructure along the border in Pakistan.

Indian media reports said New Delhi was planning to confront Islamabad with all the evidence on Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in India.
NSA Ajit Doval was supposed to give a dossier to his counterpart Sartaj Aziz about the failure of Pakistan in probing the 26/11 Mumbai attack case.

Pakistan has already strongly rejected all these Indian allegations and has been calling Indians to provide proof to help try culprits, if any.
But, India has been coming with mere allegations and it even did not provide solid evidence in Mumbai case.
New Delhi has also been shirking from sharing progress on Shamjota Express bombing in which Hindu extremists killed scores of Muslims.

Pakistani foreign office in Thursday’s briefing also said that the country has issued a travel advisory for Pakistanis to avoid travelling to Middle Eastern and African countries as they are confronting an internal strife by non-state actors.

The spokesperson told the media that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is expected to visit United States this year on the invitation of US President Barrack Obama and dates for the visit were still being worked out.
He said Pakistan and US enjoy excellent relations and they discuss all issues including cooperation in the defence field.

#* 'Eminently fallible, yet irrevocably final': Majority in Law Commission oppose death penalty

A Law Commission consultation process on a report on whether to retain the death penalty in India saw a majority opposing capital punishment.
However, at least one member and an ex-officio member of the Law Commission are learnt to have expressed their reservations on the report.
Representational image. Image courtesy: ReutersRepresentational image. Image courtesy: Reuters
The Indian Express has reported that a draft report calls for the speedy abolition of the death penalty, with an exception for cases where the accused is convicted in a case related to terrorism. The Commission in the draft report has said that the death penalty is "eminently fallible, yet irrevocably final", according to The Indian Express.
Sources privy to the development said at least one member and one of the two ex officio members have expressed their reservations. But a final view is likely to emerge when the final draft report is adopted in the next couple of days.
The Commission, chaired by Justice (retd) AP Shah is likely to submit its report to the Supreme Court this week. It is working overtime to complete the report as its three-year term is coming to an end on 31 August.
Justice (retd) SN Kapoor, Justice (retd) Usha Mehra and Mool Chand Sharma are the members of the panel. Law Secretary PK Malhotra and Legislative Secretary Sanjay Singh — both from the Law Ministry — are the ex officio members.
The Law panel will submit its report to the Supreme Court "sometime" next week on whether India should continue with death penalty or abolish it. A copy will also be handed over to the Law Minister as any call on changes in penal provisions will be taken by Parliament.
The report assumes significance as it comes days after a debate was generated over the hanging of 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict Yakub Memon.
The Supreme Court, in  the cases 'Santosh Kumar Satishbhushan Bariyar vs Maharashtra' and 'Shankar Kisanrao Khade vs Maharashtra', had suggested that the Law Commission should study the death penalty in India to "allow for an up-to-date and informed discussion and debate on the subject".

#* Google Rebuts Europe on Antitrust Charges

Google on Thursday rejected claims from the European Union’s top antitrust official that the company favored some of its own search results over those of rivals, saying there was significant competition in the region’s online search market and that the company’s services increased choice for local consumers.

The company’s response, which was submitted to the European Commission Thursday afternoon, is the latest chapter in a long investigation into the Silicon Valley technology giant, which would face fines worth billions of dollars if it is found to have broken the European Union’s antitrust rules.

Margrethe Vestager, the Europe Union’s antitrust chief, laid out charges against Google in April, highlighting how the region’s authorities believe that Google has abused its dominance in web searches to benefit some of its own services. The company holds a roughly 90 percent share in Europe’s search market, compared with around 65 percent in the United States.

Ms. Vestager, a Danish politician who has been in the post for less than a year, has also said that the European Union is investigating Google over the dominance of its Android smartphone software, which is used by almost three-quarters of Europe’s smartphone users, according to the data provider IDC.

In a blog post on Thursday, Kent Walker, Google’s general counsel, rebuffed accusations that the company’s activities had reduced online competition.

He said that multiple rivals — including big American companies like Amazon and eBay — continued to compete against Google for online search requests. He added that instead of reducing competition, Google sent roughly 20 billion referrals to other Internet companies in Europe over the last decade, leading to a 227 percent increase in web traffic to those sites.

Mr. Walker also said Google’s searches provided individuals with tailored — and specific — results for their online queries. Any attempt to alter how the company offered its search results could harm the quality and relevance of these queries, he warned. He did not comment about Europe’s investigation into Android.

“We believe that the statement of objection’s preliminary conclusions are wrong as a matter of fact, law and economics,” said Mr. Walker, in reference to the European Commission’s official charge sheet, or statement of objections.

#* Provide package for Patels without disturbing present OBC structure: Congress

Congress on Thursday said it favoured a “suitable package” for the agitating Patels in Gujarat but one that does not disturb the share of other communities which get reservation under the OBC category.
“We are of the view that the 27 per cent of the OBC quota decision that is being implemented for the past few decades should not be disturbed. We sympathise with the demand of the Patel community,” Congress General Secretary Gurudas Kamat told reporters here.
Without disturbing communities that come under the OBC category, Kamat said a solution should be found by the government by talking to leaders of the community.
Kamat, who is in-charge of party affairs in Gujarat, said the party wanted a “suitable package – economic or otherwise” so that the agitating Patel community felt satisfied.
The AICC General Secretary said that the party has been constantly in touch with the state leadership since the agitation over the issue of reservation broke out.
An uneasy calm prevailed in Gujarat today after two days of violence during the OBC quota stir of Patel community even as death toll rose to 10 and a defiant Hardik Patel vowed to intensify the agitation.

#* Veterans to boycott 1965 war events after OROP talks collapse

Retired military personnel upset by the lack of a breakthrough on the issue of one rank one pension (OROP) have decided to boycott the government’s celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of India's 1965 war with Pakistan.
 
Talks between the veterans and the government ended inconclusively on Thursday night, and a group of former military personnel walked out of a meeting held to decide a new pension package.

Army chief Gen Dalbir Singh met representatives of the veterans at his South Block office on Thursday but there was "no forward movement", they later said.
The government’s celebrations began on Friday with President Pranab Mukherjee, the supreme commander of the armed forces, paying tribute to fallen soldiers at the Amar Jawan Jyoti, a memorial at India Gate in central Delhi.
 
Veterans of the 1965 war said they would gather at Jantar Mantar to observe the golden jubilee and boycott the official function because the government has not yet implemented OROP.

#* Greek Judge Appointed Caretaker Prime Minister Ahead of Elections

ATHENS:  Greece's top Supreme Court judge was sworn in as caretaker prime minister on Thursday to lead the country to elections next month, ending a week of political deadlock after leftist leader Alexis Tsipras resigned.

Vassiliki Thanou, an opponent of austerity who has argued against wage cuts for judges and court officials, and her new interim government will remain in place at least until parliamentary elections are held, expected to be on Sept. 20.

"I'm especially happy because I'm receiving the first woman prime minister in the history of the Greek democracy, and this is an important step," Tsipras told Thanou at a handover ceremony at the prime ministerial mansion.

Her appointment ends a week of fruitless negotiations as top opposition party leaders took turns at trying to form a government, exercising a constitutional right that takes effect if a prime minister resigns within a year of being elected.

The process dragged on for a week as the main conservative opposition and then the far-left Popular Unity party both used their allotted three days in full despite having no chance of success, hoping to delay the election.

The conservatives said everything had to be done to avoid a new round of elections that Greece did not need. The country has to implement a new round of austerity measures and reforms agreed with its creditors as part of its 86 billion-euro bailout, and also deal with an unprecedented inflow of migrants.

"The caretaker government's duties are mainly holding the elections in a fair and smooth fashion. Given the circumstances, however, I believe this government will be called upon to tackle critical issues such as, for example, the immigration issue, and, maybe, some others," Thanou told Tsipras at the handover ceremony.

The names of Thanou's ministers will be officially announced on Friday. Greek media said the role of interim finance minister would go to George Chouliarakis, a senior official in Greece's debt negotiating team.

Popular Unity leader Panagiotis Lafazanis - whose rebel far-left faction broke away from Tsipras's Syriza party last week, taking a sixth of its lawmakers with him - used his three days to air his anti-bailout message before handing back the mandate on Thursday.

Tsipras remains hugely popular in Greece despite making a U-turn to accept the bailout programme, and opposition parties feel a longer campaign period offers a better chance of denting his popularity as austerity cuts start kicking in.

No Cooperation

Syriza is expected to once again emerge as the biggest party in parliament when the snap election is held. But Tsipras is not expected to secure an absolute majority, forcing him to find a coalition partner, failing which a second round of elections could be held.

In an interview with Alpha TV on Wednesday, Tsipras stood by previous comments that his party would not cooperate with New Democracy and the Socialist PASOK, which took turns ruling Greece for decades before Syriza swept to power this year.

He also ruled out a tie-up with the new, centrist and strongly pro-euro To Potami party, effectively making his current coalition partner - the right-wing Independent Greeks - his only potential ally.

"Our differences are very significant," Tsipras said. "I believe all these three parties express the old party system. Certainly, I will not be the prime minister."

The comments prompted criticism from opposition figures on Thursday, who accused Tsipras of blackmailing voters with the dilemma of either choosing him or facing a political deadlock.

"Yesterday Mr. Tsipras made a huge provocation, saying to citizens whatever you vote I will not cooperate," Stavros Theodorakis, leader of To Potami, told Mega TV.

"In other words what? Elections again in October, if the Independent Greeks do not make it to parliament?"

#* Amid Chinese crisis, India viable investment destination: India First Group CEO 

The current Chinese crisis offers a renewed opportunity for development and economic growth to India which stands out as a viable investment destination, the CEO of a group that aims to boost Indo-US ties has said.
Ron Somers, a long-time India watcher who drove business community’s relationship between the two countries for years, believes there is a renewed confidence arising of India and the current Chinese crisis offers an opportunity for development and economic growth.
“There is a renewed confidence arising across all of India– indeed, across the entire region – due to the commanding leadership being projected by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Somers, CEO and founder of India First Group, said in an interview.
Based in Washington DC, India First Group is a strategic advisory firm assisting US companies as they invest in India and assisting Indian companies as they invest in North America. Before establishing India First Group, Somers was president of the US-India Business Council (USIBC).

#* Aurobindo Pharma gets USFDA nod for hepatitis B drug

Aurobindo Pharma has received approval from the US health regulator to market generic Entecavir tablets, used to treat hepatitis B, in the American market.
The company has received final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Entecavir tablets in strengths of 0.5mg and 1mg, Aurobindo Pharma said in a statement.
The Hyderabad-based firm’s approved abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) is therapeutically equivalent to Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Baraclude tablets.
Entecavir tablets are indicated for treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus infection of the liver.
According to IMS data, the product has an estimated market size of USD 294 million for the 12 months ending June 2015.
“This is the 44th ANDA to be approved out of Unit VII formulation facility in Hyderabad for manufacturing oral non-antibiotic products,” the company said.
The company has now a total of 209 ANDA approvals from the USFDA.
Aurobindo Pharma shares were trading at Rs 744 apiece on BSE, up 2.90 per cent from previous close.

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