Today's Hot Stories - April 21, 2014
10 Headlines for Today
(1) Why the rush on Lokpal appointments, asks BJP
(2) Sherpas consider boycott after Everest avalanche
(3) Ferry crew actions ‘murderous’: S Korean President
(4) TCS, Mitsubishi sign agreement; to merge IT units
(5) Toyota, union told to restore normality at plants
(6) Daikin eyes stronger play in entry-level AC segment
(7) Sindhu, Srikanth lead Indian charge at Asian Badminton Championship
(8) Maxwell and Miller deliver the goods again
(9) BCCI names panel to probe IPL betting
(10) 16-year-old survives flight over Pacific in jet wheel well
5 Stories for Today
(1) Purana Quila treasures draw visitors from near and far
(2) US Vice-President Joe Biden heads to Ukraine after violence erupts
(3) Recovery round the corner?
(4) Pfizer mulls $100 billion bid for AstraZeneca: Report
(5) New govt may raise agricultural credit target in budget
(1) Purana Quila treasures draw visitors from near and far
The Archaeological Survey of India’s decision to extend the exhibition of rare antiquities at the ongoing excavation site at Purana Quila here by another day on Saturday drew a multitude of heritage lovers, who got a peep into the exquisite craftsmanship of a bygone era.
For budding archaeologists, the excavation was a kind of live demonstration and enabled them to understand that digging for never-seen-before objects of art has to be done cautiously and scientifically. And they realised that archaeologists and labourers have to work collectively for the excavation to become successful.
According to a first-year student of Delhi University Mandeep Singh, it was a wise decision to convince his friends to travel from Noida to the Purana Quila site on Mathura Road.
“While travelling in the metro, I was apprehensive whether we will be able to see something unique or not. But all my apprehensions disappeared when I stepped into the ancient fort. We saw live demonstration by experts and labours, who worked as a team to dig out rare statues and artefacts. Our interaction with the officials present at the site was fruitful too. We might enrol at a good archaeology institute and become professional archaeologists.”
Class XI student and Nizamuddin resident Mahmood Ansari said public display of artefacts unearthed during the two-month-long excavation was a testimony to the fact that the decision to embark on an excavation exercise was a wise one, considering that the ASI excavation at Unnao came to a naught.
“While at Unnao, the ASI was left embarrassed as it could not discover the 1,000 tonnes of gold, silver or iron ore purportedly lying buried under the ruins of Raja Ram Baksh Singh’s fort in Daundiya Kheda village, at the Purana Quila site the decision to excavate was a sensible one as over 100 antiquities, copper coins and other mesmerising objects from the Gupta, Kushana and Sunga periods have been discovered.”
Manoj Saxena, a student of ancient Indian history and archaeology at Kumaon University in Nainital, said he had come to the Capital to visit his relative. “I came to know about the exhibition at the Purana Quila site had been extended while reading The Hindu. Since I understand the excavation process, I decided to come and observe. I discussed with the team of experts from the ASI, who are keen to discover the painted grey ware pottery.”
It was literally a dream-come-true for Urvashi Batra, a student of history at Delhi University, to see the statue of Vishnu, human and animal figures, bangles and other rare material discovered so far.
“Since I understand the significance of quite a few objects on display here, seeing them in front of me made my heart beat faster. Hats off to the team which has worked hard to discover the rare objects we read about in history books.”
Source: The Hindu
(2) US Vice-President Joe Biden heads to Ukraine after violence erupts
US Vice-President Joe Biden is heading to Ukraine to meet with leaders of the turbulent country.
Biden's visit comes a day after violence erupted in eastern Ukraine, despite an agreement last week aimed at easing tensions. A shootout at a checkpoint manned by pro-Russia insurgents left at least three dead and Ukrainian and Russian officials trading accusations of blame.
Biden expects to arrive on Monday in Kiev. On Tuesday he plans to meet with the acting Ukrainian prime minister and president. He also is scheduled to meet with legislators and democracy activists before returning to Washington on Tuesday night.
Biden's office says discussions will cover international efforts to strengthen Ukraine's economy and energy security and help with constitutional reforms, including next month's presidential election.
Source: Hindustan Times
(3) Recovery round the corner?
Auto industry believes that weak demand cycle has bottomed out
As election fever reaches its peak, there is a new mood of hope in the automobile sector over a demand recovery after two straight years of slump.
Passenger vehicle (PV) sales are expected to see a moderate growth this year. Two wheelers are expected to sustain the growth momentum. In medium and heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV) segment, there is a positive signal from the firming up of freight rates during the last quarter of 2013-14.
So, has the turnaround begun? Well, recovery may be in the anvil, but joy will be still some time away. The outlook seems to have shifted from bleak to a positive scenario in the wake of recent sales trends as well as high expectations from the new government. The auto industry believes that the negative trend is vanishing from the radar and it would enter into positive territory in the coming quarters. There is overall optimism that real recovery may start from second quarter post formation of a new government.
Caught in the grip of the longest ever down cycle, the commercial vehicle industry has been the worst hit with total volumes contracting by 20.2 per cent in 2013-14. The medium and heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV) segment has been particularly bearing the brunt of subdued industrial activity with a de-growth of 25 per cent.
However, M&HCV volumes have been growing on a month-on-month basis for almost past two quarters. Freight rates have also firmed up during January-March 2014 period. Though there is mixed feeling on the recovery front, the industry is now believing that the weak demand cycle appears to have bottomed out.
Tata Motors’ Executive Director-Commercial, Ravi Pisharody says that the company is cautiously optimistic about an upward trend in freight rates: “Although there has been an increase in freight rates over the last couple of months, there really hasn’t been an uptake in CV sales, though our production plans are constantly calibrated in tune with the reality.”
He admitted that the biggest concern for the CV industry is the challenging macro-economic environment in the country.
However, Vinod Aggarwal, CEO of VE Commercial Vehicle felt that the CV cycle has bottomed out and there was a lot of positive mood building up in the system. “If you look at the heavy-duty trucks segment, drop levels have started coming down. Q1 of 2014 saw a drop of just 10 per cent as compared to a drop of 38 per cent in Q1 of 2013 (over Q1 of 2012),” he said adding, “there was, interestingly, rise in sales of tractor-trailers. So, some of the segments are growing and with a new government at the Centre, the CV industry should see improvements going forward. Also, freight rates have firmed up, indicating absorption of excess capacity in the system.
“When recovery happens in CV industry, it is heavy-duty that first gets to see the signals and improvements in volumes. Going by the current trend, there are some recovery signals in the heavy segment and we hope medium and light categories will follow suit in the coming quarters,” said Mr.Aggarwal.
But Ashok Leyland’s Managing Director Vinod Dasari is still cautious about the recent positive signals and stated “it is too early and we have to wait till the election gets over,’ adding “But, I hope the slump cycle has bottomed out.”.
Analaysts feel that M&HCV sales would start showing signs of recovery from second half of the current fiscal. “The extent of improvement will be muted as surplus in the trucking system, sharp rise in repossession of vehicles over the past few quarters and drop in prices of second-hand vehicles would act as deterrent for new CV demand. We expect M&HCV sales to grow marginally in 2014-15 with growth largely skewed in favour of H2,” said Subrata Ray, Group Vice President, Icra.
In the PV segment, there have been a few winners despite sinking volumes of cars and utility vehicles. PV volumes shrank six per cent at 2.5 million units. The overall dull demand environment on account of prolonged high inflation, pricey fuel and high interest rates deterred customers from buying cars, particularly first time buyers.
Car and UV sales plummeted by five per cent each at 1,786,899 units and 525,942 units in 2013-14. But PV makers continued with their plans of rolling out new models or variants. In 2013-14, 11 new models and many variants were rolled out. Despite lukewarm market response to many of them, industry doesn’t seem to be showing signs of compressing its new products launch pipeline. “It is a reflection of the strong competitive character of the PV industry as also the strong medium-term growth opportunity offered by the large-sized PV market,” Mr. Ray said.
IThe new launches helped some as the rising income levels spawned more number of affluent Indians who have developed lower sensitivity to factors such as inflation. Interestingly, luxury car sales’ march continues while mass car market is battling. During the Q1 of 2014, the top two brands Audi and Mercedes-Benz recorded their best-ever quarterly volumes and are confident of sustaining double digit growth curve. The two iconic British brands Jaguar and Land Rover are also seeing momentum. “In fact, the growth would have been far higher had the corporate/business segments done well — a large number of users of luxury cars get them as a part of their compensation,” said Kumar Kandaswamy, senior director, Deloitte India.
Two wheelers are to continue their joy ride backed by a strong rural demand for motorcycles and increasing popularity of automatic scooters. The segment ended 2013-14 with positive growth. Though there is finally a measure of positive sentiment, the auto industry is anxiously hoping that the elections will throw up a stable government. And that will be the key to understanding whether these recovery signs are for real or just a mirage.
Source: The Economic Times
(4) Pfizer mulls $100 billion bid for AstraZeneca: Report
US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has approached British rival AstraZeneca to propose a 60 billion pound ($101 billion) takeover, the Sunday Times reported on Sunday.
The paper said, citing senior investment bankers and industry sources, that informal conversations about a deal had taken place between the two firms but that no talks were currently under way after AstraZeneca resisted the approach.
AstraZeneca is Britain's second-biggest pharmaceuticals group with a current market valuation of around $80 billion, compared with Pfizer, which is valued at $193 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Earnings at AstraZeneca fell 6% in the fourth quarter of 2013, and the drugmaker has said it expects them to keep falling in 2014 as generic competition to Nexium, its popular heartburn and ulcer drug, takes a big bite out of US profits from late May.
AstraZeneca has suffered a dry period in drug discovery in recent years and badly needs to find new medicines to replace blockbusters such as Nexium and Crestor, a treatment for high cholesterol that will lose patent protection in a few years.
Pfizer is facing similar issues with patent expirations on top-selling drugs such as Viagra and anti-cholesterol treatment Lipitor.
Pfizer's last big acquisition was in 2009, when it bought US rival Wyeth for $68 billion.
Officials at neither AstraZeneca nor Pfizer could immediately be reached for comment.
Source: The Times of India
(5) New govt may raise agricultural credit target in budget
The new government is likely to come under pressure to further increase agriculture credit target to maintain high farm growth, which is an essential pre-condition for a wider economic revival.
While finance minister P Chidambaram had set a target of Rs. 8,00,000 crore for 2014-15 in the Interim Budget, sources said there could be "some" further rise in the target in the full budget, which will be presented once the new government comes to power.
"There could be a possibility that the target is increased a little in the full budget as it is a critical political issue and whichever party comes to power would try and uphold this issue," an official source who refused to be identified said.
The UPA government has been increasing agriculture credit target every year.
While the credit target for 2013-14 was Rs. 7,00,000 crore, banks exceeded the same.
"The focus on agriculture and bank credit towards has been one of the pillars of the current government and a key reason for the UPA to get back to power in 2009… the agriculture credit lending pattern therefore is likely to continue," the source added.
The problem will arise in case there is inadequate rainfall this year, which in turn would lead to an increase in non-performing assets of public sector banks.
The government has targeted a growth rate of 4% for the farm sector under the 12th Plan.
Source: The Indian Express
Disclaimer: All news stories and content sourced from freely available material on the internet. All sources are acknowledged.
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