SITHARAMAN ANNOUNCES RS 30,600 CRORE GOVT GUARANTEE FOR ‘BAD BANK’

The government has approved extending a guarantee of Rs 30,600 crore to the National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) to help clear the banking sector’s stressed assets of around Rs 2 lakh crore in a time-bound manner. A total of Rs 90,000 crore of stressed assets, against which banks have made 100 per cent provisions in their books of accounts, will be transferred to NARCL in the first phase.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said most of the big-ticket NPAs will be transferred to NARCL, thereby cleaning up banks’ balance sheets and freeing up growth capital for them to support economic activity. “…this will result in banks’ balance sheets and books being cleaner, transparent, they will now be able to stand on their own and do business. They have proved it because banks are going out and raising resources (from the market),” she said.

Banks that transfer their stressed assets will get 15 per cent of the value in cash and 85 per cent as tradable security receipts. The government guarantee will cover the gap between the face value of the security receipts and realised value of the assets when eventually sold to the prospective buyers.

In anticipation of the announcement, NIFTY PSU Bank index rose 5.43 per cent Thursday, with PSU banks’ shares jumping up to 13.86 per cent at the NSE.

‘PEOPLE NEED TO PAY TO ENJOY GOOD SERVICES’: NITIN GADKARI ON TOLLS ON HIGHWAYS

“Agar air-conditioned hall mein karyakram karna hoga toh kiraya dena hoga. Phokat mein karna hai toh maidan pr baith kar bhi shaadi ho sakti hai (If you want to use an air-conditioned hall, you have to pay for it. Otherwise, you can arrange a marriage on a field as well),” the Union Road Transport and Highways minister said when asked whether toll charges along expressways would make travel costly.

Gadkari said that with quality expressways decreasing travel time significantly, the cost of fuel for journeys would also be much lesser. “The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will decrease travel time to 12 hours. A truck takes 48 hours to reach Mumbai from Delhi. But on the Expressway, it will take only 18 hours. So, a truck will be able to undertake more trips, which would in turn mean more business,” Gadkari said.

The 1,380-km-long eight-lane expressway will touch six states and is scheduled to be completed by January 2023. “The future vision is that drones will be used and there will be helipads on this road for people and cargo. This would also facilitate air ambulances. We will make use of all such technology on this road,” Gadkari said, adding that in future, he wants to build electric highways along the expressway as well.

Talking about how the new roads would cut down travel time, he said, “Delhi to Katra (for Vaishno Devi shrine) will take six hours, Delhi to Chandigarh two, Delhi to Amritsar four, and Delhi to Dehradun two.”

GOVT CAUTUION OVER COVID SPREAD AS FESTIVALS NEAR

As the festival season approaches, the government on Thursday cautioned against a spike in coronavirus infections and stressed that the call of the hour is vaccine acceptance, maintenance of COVID-19-appropriate behaviour, responsible travel and responsible festivities.

Noting that there is an overall stabilisation in COVID-19 cases, it urged people to be careful in the coming two-three months to retain the gains achieved in the pandemic management so far.

ICMR Director Dr Balram Bhargava said, "Festivals are in the anvil and sudden increase in population density creates a very conducive environment for viral spread. If there is sudden increase in population density anywhere then the virus finds it very useful to spread so the call of the hour is vaccine acceptance, maintenance of Covid-appropriate behaviour, responsible travel and responsible festivity."

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said Kerala reported 67.79 per cent of India's total COVID-19 cases last week and that it is the only state with more than 1 lakh active cases.

The government said 20 per cent of India's ADULT population have received both doses of COVID-19 vaccine and 62 per cent have got at least one dose.

The average daily vaccination in the first 15 days of September has been 74.40 lakh per day, Bhushan said.

KEY COVID NUMBERS

Current Active Cases Countrywide: 3,32,451

New Cases in last 24 hours: 34,640

Recovered in last 24 hours: 37,878

Change in no. of Active cases in last 24 hours: -3,556

No. of deaths in last 24 hours (Total Covid Deaths so far): 318 (4,44,278)

Daily Tests (Tuesday): 16,45,933

Daily Positivity Rate (Proportion of Positives among total Tested): 1.8%

Percentage of Population Vaccinated (At Least One Dose / Two Doses): 43.4% / 14.0%

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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A STAB IN THE BACK: FRANCE ON AUKUS

Hours before the US, UK and Australia signed a new trilateral security alliance for the Indo-Pacific in an attempt to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the region, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inform him about the pact that was going to be announced.

Unveiling the ambitious security initiative, US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, in a joint statement, said their move will promote stability in the Indo-Pacific and support their shared values and interests.

The pact, termed AUKUS (Australia, UK and US), is expected to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines in a bid to counter China’s growing power in the strategically vital region.

France —which was not notified of the alliance between the three countries — expressed its unhappiness over the deal, calling it a “stab in the back”. France is irked that the AUKUS pact effectively puts the curtains on the 65 billion USD submarine deal that Australia had signed with it in 2016.

Reacting sharply to the pact between the three countries, French Foreign Minister Jean Yves Le Drian said, “We had established a trusting relationship with Australia, and this trust was betrayed…I am today very angry and very bitter about this break-up. This is not acceptable between allies.” “What concerns me as well is the American behaviour. This brutal, unilateral, unpredictable decision looks very much like what Mr Trump used to do. Allies don’t do this to each other [especially when] they want to have coherent Indo-Pacific approaches. It’s rather insufferable,” he said.

In New Delhi, the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi, did not comment on the new AUKUS partnership, which comes just days before the first in-person Quad leaders’ summit in Washington DC next week.

A MONTH LATER, TOP AFGHAN LEADERS REMAIN IN SHADOWS

A month after Sunni Pashtun Islamists militarily took over Kabul, there is uncertainty and confusion within the Taliban government with US designated global terrorist and Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani remaining in the shadows and visiting Quetta earlier this week.

Kabul watchers say that the main players of Taliban, particularly self-declared Emir-ul-Momin Haibatullah Akhundzada’s whereabouts are not clear as he has not been seen in public either in Kandahar or in Kabul. While deputy prime minister Mullah Baradar is in Kandahar nursing his angst at being politically humiliated by both Haqqani and Defence minister Mullah Yaqoob Omari, the latter two are also lurking in the shadows.\ Baradar has released a video message to counter rumours about his whereabouts. “There had been news in the media about my health and death. Wherever I am at the moment, we are all fine,” Baradar said in the video clip.

“Haqqani’s visit to Quetta over the weekend shows that the crown prince of terror is still worried about his physical safety in Kabul due to over the horizon capabilities of US Central Command as well as the resistance still led by Amrullah Saleh,” said a senior official. Haqqani has a bounty of $10 million on his head as declared by the FBI.

To add to political instability in Afghanistan is the regrouping of al Qaeda forces as publicly declared by a top CIA official. Al Qaeda has filial ties and symbiotic relationship with Taliban even though they belong to opposing schools of Islam with former a Wahhabi-Salafi group and the latter a Deobandi group.

THE REST

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GOVERNMENT SLAMS NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE ON COVID-19 RESPONSE

 The government called the recent New York Times article on India's COVID-19 response a "provocative, attention seeking" piece that comes at a time when the country is doing well in tackling the pandemic.

The article claimed that the "ICMR tailored its findings to fit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's optimistic narrative despite a looming crisis".

Responding to a question at a press briefing, ICMR Director General Dr. Balram Bhargava said, "This is a provocative, attention seeking article published at a time when India is doing good and our vaccination is excellent and it is diverting attention. All the issues raised are dead ones and probably do not merit any attention."

"We greatly value journalistic and editorial freedom and at the same time we must also realise that all of us— Union government as well as the State governments are fully engaged in fighting a pandemic and all our energies and time is devoted to that," Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said. "We cannot afford to be diverted by things that can be addressed at a later day which are not a priority from the public health point of view," Mr. Bhushan said.

NITI Aayog Member (Health) Dr. V.K Paul condemned the article. "We actually condemn this type of distorted out of context reporting. This is not desirable and it should not happen," he said.

GUJARAT’S ‘OPERATION CLEAN’: NO MINISTER FROM RUPANI CABINET IN NEW GOVT

In his first cabinet expansion since taking oath as Gujarat’s new chief minister on 13 September, Bhupendra Patel inducted 24 ministers in his cabinet, who took oath during a ceremony held at the Raj Bhavan Thursday.

Patel, however, dropped all former ministers who were part of last CM Vijay Rupani’s cabinet, in a move that is being tagged as “Operation Clean” by many.

While the dropping of the senior ministers has fanned resentment among many in the party, the strategy of “no repeat” is not new to the BJP’s politics in Gujarat.

Ahead of the 2005 municipal elections in the state, when PM Narendra Modi was the chief minister, he had denied tickets to all existing members and brought in fresh faces. The only exception to this experiment then had been the Ahmedabad municipal area.

With news of no senior ministers being included in the new cabinet doing the rounds since Wednesday, several ministers and their supporters had already started protesting in Saurashtra, north and south Gujarat.

WILL TAKE STRICT ACTION AGAINST THOSE BEHIND ‘TOXIC CAMPAIGN’: PINARAYI VIJAYAN

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday warned of strict action against anyone trying to create unrest and hatred in society.

“Those who indulge in a toxic campaign would be dealt with ruthlessly, ‘’ the Chief Minister said after a high-level meeting convened in the wake of the controversy over bishop Joseph Kallarangatt’s claim that narcotic jihad in Kerala targets people from non-Muslim communities.

The statement had triggered protests and has led to polarisation of opinion in Kerala.

At the meeting, Vijayan directed police to take action against forces trying to create fissure in the society. He said Kerala has a strong secular tradition and a history of religious bonhomie. “Certain quarters are making deliberate attempts to shatter that tradition and the nature of the state. Strong action would be taken against such attempts,’’ he said. Vijayan said there are forces engaged in toxic campaigns on social media, aimed at communal division in society. He said the government will take steps to curb such campaigns.

Meanwhile, Opposition Congress leaders on Thursday started visiting Muslim and Christian religious leaders to ease tension between the communities. The move of state Congress president K Sudhakaran and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheesan came after the state government did not respond to the party’s demand to convene a meeting of religious leaders.

HARSH MANDER’S TURN TO FACE ED MUSIC

The Enforcement Directorate yesterday conducted raids at three premises linked to Harsh Mander, a bureaucrat-turned activist and former member of Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council during the UPA regime, in connection with a money laundering case.

The ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on an FIR registered by the Delhi Police against Mander and his NGO, Centre for Equity Studies (CES).

The ED teams were looking at financial and banking documents of the two NGOs linked to Mander, they said.

An official statement by the CES board said this was “a continuation of harassment and coercion of the CES and Harsh Mander for being outspoken and passionate defender of human rights”. “Over the last several months, the organisation has been subjected to raids, investigations and inquiries by different government agencies, including the Delhi Police and NCPCR,” it said. Sources said Mander and his wife left for Germany a night before, for a nine-month fellowship.

BHARTI AIRTEL CHAIRMAN SUNIL MITTAL DIALS VODA, JIO TO STRIKE SYNERGY NOTE

A day after the Centre announced a relief package for the telecom sector, Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal sent out a message of synergy, telling reporters that he had spoken to Vodafone Group CEO Nick Read about the need to invest more and that there was a conversation with Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani as well on all telcos working together.

Acknowledging that Bharti Airtel would avail the moratorium of dues offered by the government, Mittal said the company would redirect the cash flow to aggressively build networks.

On his discussion with Ambani after the government announcement, Mittal said they spoke about the need for synergy between the telecom players. “Time has come for three plus one operators to close ranks and work as a team for building telecommunications rather than being fierce competitors. We will compete, but just like in other industries like steel, build the eco system together,” he said. Bharti Airtel has competed aggressively with Reliance Jio—which disrupted the Indian telecom market stalling meaningful tariff hikes for years.

When asked whether too much synergy between the three private players may lead to cartelization, he said, "The synergy is not in terms of fixing tariffs but in terms of bringing better technology to the Indian consumer." He said in 25 years, the tariffs were close to each other and the market was highly competitive…. ‘’If one telco dropped prices, there was no choice but to be close to it.’’

SBI CUTS HOME LOAN INTEREST RATE TO 6.7%

The State Bank of India on Thursday announced various festive offers for prospective home loan customers, including a credit score-linked home loans starting at 6.70%, irrespective of the loan amount.

Earlier, a borrower availing a home loan above Rs 75 lakh had to pay 7.15% interest. With the introduction of the new offer, a borrower can now avail home loan for any amount at a rate as low as 6.70%, the bank said.

WAS BUSY WITH WORK, DIDN'T KNOW WHAT RAJ KUNDRA WAS UPTO: SHILPA

Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty in a statement to Mumbai police claimed she was not aware of her husband Raj Kundra's activities as she was busy with her work, according to a supplementary chargesheet filed by the city police in a court in connection with a case pertaining to pornographic films.

Shetty's statement is part of the nearly 1,500-page chargesheet filed before a Mumbai magistrate court on Wednesday by the police against Kundra, 46, and his associate Ryan Thorpe.

The case against Kundra, arrested in July this year, is related to alleged creation of pornographic films and publishing them through some apps.

According to the chargesheet, Shetty told the police that she did not know anything about the HotShots and Bollywood Fame apps, allegedly used by the accused for uploading and streaming obscene content.

A lot of evidences against Kundra came to light after technical analysis, statements of witnesses and from documents confiscated from his office.

VIRAT KOHLI TO STEP DOWN AS INDIA'S T20I SKIPPER AFTER 2021 WORLD CUP

India skipper Virat Kohli has decided to step down from T20I captaincy after the ICC T20 World Cup in November this year. Kohli explained his decision to leave the T20I captaincy in a statement on Twitter. The India skipper said he needs to give himself space in order to play all three formats for the country.

"I have been fortunate enough to not only represent India but also lead the Indian Cricket Team to my utmost capability. I thank everyone who has supported me in my journey as the Captain of the Indian Cricket Team," Kohli said in a statement. "I couldn't have done it without them -- the boys, the support staff, the selection committee, my coaches, and each and every Indian who prayed for us to win.

Kohli said he arrived at his decision after discussing with head coach Ravi Shastri and opening batsman Rohit Sharma. "Of course, arriving at this decision took a lot of time. After a lot of contemplation and discussions with my close people, Ravi bhai and also Rohit, who have been an essential part of the leadership group, I've decided to step down as the T20 Captain after this T20 World Cup in Dubai in October," said Kohli.

The T20 World Cup will get underway from October 17, with the final to be played in Dubai on November 14.

INDICATORS

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GBP 0.72 /US$, Euro 0.84 /US$, Jap.Yen 109.51 /US$, Aus$ 1.36 /US$, Sing 1.34 /US$, Bang Taka 83.70 /US$, Can$ 1.26 /US$, Mal Ring 4.15 /US$,

Pak Re 168.23 /US$, Phil Peso 49.88 /US$, Russian Rouble 72.41 /US$, NZ$ 1.40 /US$, Thai Baht 33.00 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 26.54 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 47,814

Dollar Index 92,88, Brent Crude 75.56 BDI 4,215

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,757 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,678 / 4,578, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 67,800

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The reward for conformity was that everyone liked you except yourself. - Rita Mae Brown

OFF TRACK

A politician decides it is time to do some public relations at a nursing home. He begins his tour down the main hallway and passes by a little old man who doesn't seem to notice him.

Sensing this, the politician backtracks to the resident and asks, "Do you know who I am?"

The little old man looks up from his walker and says, "No, but if you go to the front desk, they will tell you your name."