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Britain&#39;s biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will hire 5,000 staff as it boosts its skills in autonomous and electric technology, a welcome business endorsement as Prime Minister Theresa May starts Brexit talks after a botched election.

JLR, which employs more than 40,000 people globally, said it would hire 1,000 electronic and software engineers as well as 4,000 additional personnel including in manufacturing, most of whom will be based in Britain.

The recruitment process will take place over the next 12 months, just as Britain begins talks to leave the European Union, which carmakers have warned must result in a deal which retains free and unfettered trade to protect jobs.

The carmaker, which is owned by Tata Motors, will build its first electric vehicle, the I-PACE, in Austria but has said it wants to build such models in Britain if conditions such as support from government and academia are met.

Automakers are racing to produce greener cars and improve charge times in a bid to meet rising customer demand and fulfil air quality targets but Britain lacks sufficient manufacturing capacity, an area ministers have said they want to build up.

JLR, which builds just under a third of Britain&#39;s 1.7 million cars, has said half of all its new models will be available in an electric version by the end of the decade, requiring new skills among its staff.

Sunday&#39;s announcement comes as May is still trying to seal a deal with Northern Ireland&#39;s Democratic Unionist Party to support her government a week and a half after unexpectedly failing to win an outright majority at a national election.

The news is a welcome bright spot as the prospect of greater political uncertainty before Monday&#39;s start to Brexit talks has seen business confidence tumble in recent days, according to surveys and business groups.

JLR, which employs more than 40,000 people globally, said it would hire 1,000 electronic and software engineers as well as 4,000 additional personnel including in manufacturing, most of whom will be based in Britain

Britain's biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will hire 5,000 staff as it boosts its skills in autonomous and electric technology, a welcome business endorsement as Prime Minister Theresa May starts Brexit talks after a botched election. JLR, which employs more than 40,000 people globally, said it would hire 1,000 electronic and software engineers as well as 4,000 additional personnel including in manufacturing, most of whom will be based in Britain. The recruitment process will take place over the next 12 months, just as Britain begins talks to leave the European Union, which carmakers have warned must result in a deal which retains free and unfettered trade to protect jobs. The carmaker, which is owned by Tata Motors, will build its first electric vehicle, the I-PACE, in Austria but has said it wants to build such models in Britain if conditions such as support from government and academia are met. Automakers are racing to produce greener cars and improve charge times in a bid to meet rising customer demand and fulfil air quality targets but Britain lacks sufficient manufacturing capacity, an area ministers have said they want to build up. JLR, which builds just under a third of Britain's 1.7 million cars, has said half of all its new models will be available in an electric version by the end of the decade, requiring new skills among its staff. Sunday's announcement comes as May is still trying to seal a deal with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party to support her government a week and a half after unexpectedly failing to win an outright majority at a national election. The news is a welcome bright spot as the prospect of greater political uncertainty before Monday's start to Brexit talks has seen business confidence tumble in recent days, according to surveys and business groups.

In Brexit boost, Jaguar Land Rover to hire 5,000 staff

Retail prices of petrol and diesel will be revised daily from today countrywide. The prices of petrol and diesel have already been slashed by Rs 1.12 and Rs 1.24 respectively, which comes into effect from 6 am(local time) today.

The government&#39;s decision to revise fuel prices daily is intended to make the retail prices more reflective of the current market conditions and minimising the volatility in the retail price of petroleum products. It is also expected to make prices more transparent.

The oil marketing companies had initially resisted the move but came around after the government ran a pilot run in five Indian cities - Chandigarh, Jamshedpur, Puducherry, Udaipur and Vizag.

The public sector oil marketing companies are taking steps to establish an appropriate mechanism to&nbsp;convey&nbsp;prices to consumers every day, including daily publishing of the prices in newspapers, prominent display of prices at the retail outlets and sending of price-related SMS.

Fuel prices were deregulated by the government in 2014, however, prices continued to be revised after a fortnight whenever required, from today though it would be revised daily. &nbsp;

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Starting Friday, petrol and diesel prices will be revised daily in sync with any movement in international oil rates (WION)
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The government's decision to revise fuel prices daily is intended to make the retail prices more reflective of the current market conditions

Retail prices of petrol and diesel will be revised daily from today countrywide. The prices of petrol and diesel have already been slashed by Rs 1.12 and Rs 1.24 respectively, which comes into effect from 6 am(local time) today. The government's decision to revise fuel prices daily is intended to make the retail prices more reflective of the current market conditions and minimising the volatility in the retail price of petroleum products. It is also expected to make prices more transparent. The oil marketing companies had initially resisted the move but came around after the government ran a pilot run in five Indian cities - Chandigarh, Jamshedpur, Puducherry, Udaipur and Vizag. The public sector oil marketing companies are taking steps to establish an appropriate mechanism to convey prices to consumers every day, including daily publishing of the prices in newspapers, prominent display of prices at the retail outlets and sending of price-related SMS. Fuel prices were deregulated by the government in 2014, however, prices continued to be revised after a fortnight whenever required, from today though it would be revised daily. Starting Friday, petrol and diesel prices will be revised daily in sync with any movement in international oil rates (WION) ×

Fuel prices to be revised daily from today

Starting Friday, petrol and diesel prices will be revised daily in sync with any movement in international oil rates

Petrol prices daily revision: Here's how you can track the updates

Switzerland today ratified automatic exchange of financial account information (AEOI) with India and 40 other jurisdictions to facilitate immediate sharing of details about suspected black money, even as it sought strict adherence to confidentiality and data security.

Adopting the dispatch on introduction of the AEOI, a global convention for automatic information exchange on tax matters, the Swiss Federal Council said the implementation is planned for 2018 and the first set of data should be exchanged in 2019.

The council, which is the top governing body of the European nation, will soon notify the Indian government about the exact date from which the automatic exchange would begin.

As per the draft notification approved by the council in its meeting today, the decision is not subject to any referendum &mdash; which means there should be no further procedural delay in its implementation.

The issue of black money has been a matter of great debate in India and Switzerland has been long perceived as one of the safest havens for the illicit wealth allegedly stashed abroad by Indians.

Today&rsquo;s decision follows hectic parleys between India and Switzerland for introduction of the AEOI (Automatic Exchange of Information) on tax matters under the guidance of G20, OECD and other global organisations.

The council said the proposal to introduce AEOI with India and others &ldquo;met with widespread approval from the interested parties who voiced their opinions in the consultations&ldquo;.

&ldquo;In concrete terms, the AEOI will be activated with each individual state or territory by means of a specific federal decree within the framework of this dispatch,&rdquo; it added.

The exchange of information itself will be carried out based on the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) on the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information, which in turn is based on the international standard for the exchange of information developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The council said it will prepare a situation report before the first exchange of data, which is planned for autumn 2019.

&ldquo;In the process, it will be checked whether the states and territories concerned effectively meet the requirements under the standard, especially those concerning confidentiality and data security.

&ldquo;It is important for the Federal Council that a level playing field be created among states and that all major financial centres, in particular, be included. This year, Switzerland has introduced the AEOI with 38 states and territories, including all EU member states, and data will start to be exchanged with them in 2018,&rdquo; it added. 
&nbsp;

The Swiss Federal Council said the implementation is planned for 2018 and the first set of data should be exchanged in 2019

Switzerland today ratified automatic exchange of financial account information (AEOI) with India and 40 other jurisdictions to facilitate immediate sharing of details about suspected black money, even as it sought strict adherence to confidentiality and data security. Adopting the dispatch on introduction of the AEOI, a global convention for automatic information exchange on tax matters, the Swiss Federal Council said the implementation is planned for 2018 and the first set of data should be exchanged in 2019. The council, which is the top governing body of the European nation, will soon notify the Indian government about the exact date from which the automatic exchange would begin. As per the draft notification approved by the council in its meeting today, the decision is not subject to any referendum — which means there should be no further procedural delay in its implementation. The issue of black money has been a matter of great debate in India and Switzerland has been long perceived as one of the safest havens for the illicit wealth allegedly stashed abroad by Indians. Today’s decision follows hectic parleys between India and Switzerland for introduction of the AEOI (Automatic Exchange of Information) on tax matters under the guidance of G20, OECD and other global organisations. The council said the proposal to introduce AEOI with India and others “met with widespread approval from the interested parties who voiced their opinions in the consultations“. “In concrete terms, the AEOI will be activated with each individual state or territory by means of a specific federal decree within the framework of this dispatch,” it added. The exchange of information itself will be carried out based on the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) on the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information, which in turn is based on the international standard for the exchange of information developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The council said it will prepare a situation report before the first exchange of data, which is planned for autumn 2019. “In the process, it will be checked whether the states and territories concerned effectively meet the requirements under the standard, especially those concerning confidentiality and data security. “It is important for the Federal Council that a level playing field be created among states and that all major financial centres, in particular, be included. This year, Switzerland has introduced the AEOI with 38 states and territories, including all EU member states, and data will start to be exchanged with them in 2018,” it added.

Black money: Switzerland ratifies automatic exchange of financial information with India

The&nbsp;Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday for the second time in three months and said it would begin cutting its holdings of bonds and other securities this year, signalling its confidence in a growing US&nbsp;economy and strengthening job market.

In lifting its benchmark lending rate by a quarter percentage point to a target range of 1.00 per cent to 1.25 per cent and forecasting one more hike this year, the&nbsp;Fed&nbsp;seemed to largely brush off a recent run of mixed economic data.

The US&nbsp;central bank&#39;s rate-setting committee said the economy had continued to strengthen, job gains remained solid and indicated it viewed a recent softness in inflation as largely transitory.

The&nbsp;Fed&nbsp;also gave a first clear outline on its plan to reduce its $4.2 trillion portfolio of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities, most of which were purchased in the wake of the 2007-2009 financial crisis and recession.

It expects to begin the normalization of its balance sheet this year, gradually ramping up the pace. The plan, which would feature halting reinvestments of ever-larger amounts of maturing securities, did not specify the overall size of the reduction.

&quot;What I can tell you is that we anticipate reducing reserve balances and our overall balance sheet to levels appreciably below those seen in recent years but larger than before the financial crisis,&quot;Fed&nbsp;Chair Janet Yellen said in a press conference following the release of the&nbsp;Fed&#39;s policy statement.

She added that the balance sheet normalization could be put into effect &quot;relatively soon.&quot;

The initial cap for the reduction of the&nbsp;Fed&#39;s Treasuries holdings would be set at $6 billion per month, increasing by $6 billion increments every three months over a 12-month period until it reached $30 billion per month.

For agency debt and mortgage-backed securities, the cap will be $4 billion per month initially, rising by $4 billion at quarterly intervals over a year until it reached $20 billion per month.

US&nbsp;stocks edged lower and prices of US&nbsp;Treasuries pared gains after the&nbsp;Fed&#39;s policy statement. The dollar &lt;.DXY&gt; was largely flat against a basket of currencies after reversing earlier losses, while the price of gold fell.

&quot;The&nbsp;Fed&nbsp;announcing an update to their reinvestment principles leaves September open (for) the start of balance sheet runoff, and the fact that they haven&#39;t slowed their projected path of rate hikes suggest they can do both balance sheet and rate hikes at the same time,&quot; said Gennadiy Goldberg, interest rate strategist at TD Securities.

Eyes on inflation

The&nbsp;Fed&nbsp;has now raised rates four times as part of a normalisation of monetary policy that began in December 2015. The central bank had pushed rates to near zero in response to the financial crisis.&nbsp;

Fed&nbsp;policymakers also released their latest set of quarterly economic forecasts, which showed only temporary concern about inflation and continued confidence about economic growth in the coming years.

They forecast US&nbsp;economic growth of 2.2 per&nbsp;cent in 2017, an increase from the previous projection in March. Inflation was expected to be at 1.7 per cent by the end of this year, down from the 1.9 per cent previously forecast.

A retreat in inflation over the past two months has caused jitters that the shortfall, if sustained, could alter the pace of future rate hikes. But the&nbsp;Fed&nbsp;maintained its forecast for three rate hikes next year.&nbsp;

The&nbsp;Fed&#39;s preferred measure of underlying inflation has retreated to 1.5 per cent, from 1.8 per cent earlier this year, and has run below the central bank&#39;s 2 per cent target for more than five years.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Labor Department reported consumer prices unexpectedly fell in May, the second drop in three months.

Yellen indicated the&nbsp;Fed&nbsp;still remained confident inflation would rise to its target over the medium term, bolstered by what she described as a robust labour market that is continuing to strengthen.

The&nbsp;Fed&#39;s estimates for the unemployment rate by the end of this year moved down to 4.3 per cent, the current level, and to 4.2 percent in 2018, indicating the&nbsp;Fed&nbsp;believes the labour market will continue to tighten.

The median estimate of the long-run neutral rate, which is seen as the level of monetary policy that neither boosts nor slows the economy, was unchanged at 3.0 per cent.

Minneapolis&nbsp;Fed&nbsp;President Neel Kashkari dissented in Wednesday&#39;s decision.

The?Fed?has now raised rates four times as part of a normalisation of monetary policy that began in December 2015. The central bank had pushed rates to near zero in response to the financial crisis

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday for the second time in three months and said it would begin cutting its holdings of bonds and other securities this year, signalling its confidence in a growing US economy and strengthening job market. In lifting its benchmark lending rate by a quarter percentage point to a target range of 1.00 per cent to 1.25 per cent and forecasting one more hike this year, the Fed seemed to largely brush off a recent run of mixed economic data. The US central bank's rate-setting committee said the economy had continued to strengthen, job gains remained solid and indicated it viewed a recent softness in inflation as largely transitory. The Fed also gave a first clear outline on its plan to reduce its $4.2 trillion portfolio of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities, most of which were purchased in the wake of the 2007-2009 financial crisis and recession. It expects to begin the normalization of its balance sheet this year, gradually ramping up the pace. The plan, which would feature halting reinvestments of ever-larger amounts of maturing securities, did not specify the overall size of the reduction. "What I can tell you is that we anticipate reducing reserve balances and our overall balance sheet to levels appreciably below those seen in recent years but larger than before the financial crisis,"Fed Chair Janet Yellen said in a press conference following the release of the Fed's policy statement. She added that the balance sheet normalization could be put into effect "relatively soon." The initial cap for the reduction of the Fed's Treasuries holdings would be set at $6 billion per month, increasing by $6 billion increments every three months over a 12-month period until it reached $30 billion per month. For agency debt and mortgage-backed securities, the cap will be $4 billion per month initially, rising by $4 billion at quarterly intervals over a year until it reached $20 billion per month. US stocks edged lower and prices of US Treasuries pared gains after the Fed's policy statement. The dollar <.DXY> was largely flat against a basket of currencies after reversing earlier losses, while the price of gold fell. "The Fed announcing an update to their reinvestment principles leaves September open (for) the start of balance sheet runoff, and the fact that they haven't slowed their projected path of rate hikes suggest they can do both balance sheet and rate hikes at the same time," said Gennadiy Goldberg, interest rate strategist at TD Securities. Eyes on inflation The Fed has now raised rates four times as part of a normalisation of monetary policy that began in December 2015. The central bank had pushed rates to near zero in response to the financial crisis. Fed policymakers also released their latest set of quarterly economic forecasts, which showed only temporary concern about inflation and continued confidence about economic growth in the coming years. They forecast US economic growth of 2.2 per cent in 2017, an increase from the previous projection in March. Inflation was expected to be at 1.7 per cent by the end of this year, down from the 1.9 per cent previously forecast. A retreat in inflation over the past two months has caused jitters that the shortfall, if sustained, could alter the pace of future rate hikes. But the Fed maintained its forecast for three rate hikes next year. The Fed's preferred measure of underlying inflation has retreated to 1.5 per cent, from 1.8 per cent earlier this year, and has run below the central bank's 2 per cent target for more than five years. Earlier on Wednesday, the Labor Department reported consumer prices unexpectedly fell in May, the second drop in three months. Yellen indicated the Fed still remained confident inflation would rise to its target over the medium term, bolstered by what she described as a robust labour market that is continuing to strengthen. The Fed's estimates for the unemployment rate by the end of this year moved down to 4.3 per cent, the current level, and to 4.2 percent in 2018, indicating the Fed believes the labour market will continue to tighten. The median estimate of the long-run neutral rate, which is seen as the level of monetary policy that neither boosts nor slows the economy, was unchanged at 3.0 per cent. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari dissented in Wednesday's decision.

Fed raises rates, unveils balance sheet cuts in sign of confidence

Saudi Arabia&#39;s oil giant Aramco wants to enter into exclusive talks with India to buy a stake in the planned 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) refinery on the South Asian nation&#39;s west coast, minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Dharmendra Pradhans said.

The proposed talks come as Saudi Arabia seeks to secure customers for its oil amidst a global supply glut.

With the 1.2 million bpd refinery, the world&#39;s largest, India wants to have a greater say in the global fuel trade, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters in New Delhi.

The country&#39;s top refiner Indian Oil Corp will initially hold a 50 pe rcent stake in the project, while Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp will own 25 per cent each.

The proposed talks come as Saudi Arabia seeks to secure customers for its oil amidst a global supply glut

Saudi Arabia's oil giant Aramco wants to enter into exclusive talks with India to buy a stake in the planned 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) refinery on the South Asian nation's west coast, minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Dharmendra Pradhans said. The proposed talks come as Saudi Arabia seeks to secure customers for its oil amidst a global supply glut. With the 1.2 million bpd refinery, the world's largest, India wants to have a greater say in the global fuel trade, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters in New Delhi. The country's top refiner Indian Oil Corp will initially hold a 50 pe rcent stake in the project, while Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp will own 25 per cent each.

Saudi Arabia's Aramco seeking stake in India's oil refinery: Petroleum ministry

Uber Technologies Inc director David Bonderman said on Tuesday that he has resigned from the company&#39;s board following a remark he made during an Uber staff meeting that was widely seen as offensive to women.

Bonderman&#39;s ill-timed remark came during an all-staff meeting Tuesday to discuss of how the ride-services company plans to transform itself following a probe into sexual harassment at the company.

<h3 style="color:#aaa;font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/uber-ceo-kalanick-says-he-will-take-leave-of-absence-16797" target="_blank">Also read:&nbsp;Uber CEO Kalanick says he will take leave of absence</a></h3>

&nbsp;

Bonderman said in a statement sent to Reuters that he did not want his comments to create distraction for Uber, which is working to rid its culture of sexual harassment and discrimination. His resignation from the board is effective Wednesday morning.

During Tuesday&#39;s meeting, Uber board member Arianna Huffington spoke to employees about the importance of adding more women to the board of directors.

&quot;There&#39;s a lot of data that shows when there&#39;s one woman on the board, it&#39;s much more likely that there will be a second woman on the board,&quot; Huffington said.

In response, Bonderman said: &quot;Actually, what it shows is that it&#39;s much more likely to be more talking.&quot;

The comment was disclosed through a recording of the meeting that was published by Yahoo. An Uber spokesman verified the authenticity and accuracy of the recording.

Bonderman, who is a founder of private equity firm TPG Capital, an Uber investor, shortly after wrote an email to Uber staff to apologize.

In his resignation statement that followed on Tuesday evening, Bonderman reiterated his regret, calling his remarks &quot;careless, inappropriate, and inexcusable&quot; and &quot;the opposite of what I intended&quot;.

&quot;I take full responsibility for that,&quot; he said. &quot;I need to hold myself to the same standards that we&#39;re asking Uber to adopt.&quot;

Bonderman and other board members had joined Tuesday&#39;s staff meeting to lay out recommendations from an investigation into sexual harassment, diversity, inclusion and other employee concerns led by former US&nbsp;Attorney General Eric Holder.

Holder&#39;s law firm was retained by Uber in February after former Uber engineer Susan Fowler wrote a public account of her time at the company, which she said was marred by sexual harassment and an ineffective response by management.

The recommendations, which were unanimously adopted by the board on Sunday, call for reducing Chief Executive Travis Kalanick&#39;s sweeping authority at the firm and instituting more controls over spending, human resources and the behavior of managers

(Reuters).

He said he didn't want his comments to create distraction for Uber, which is working to rid its culture of sexual harassment and discrimination

Uber Technologies Inc director David Bonderman said on Tuesday that he has resigned from the company's board following a remark he made during an Uber staff meeting that was widely seen as offensive to women. Bonderman's ill-timed remark came during an all-staff meeting Tuesday to discuss of how the ride-services company plans to transform itself following a probe into sexual harassment at the company. Also read: Uber CEO Kalanick says he will take leave of absence Bonderman said in a statement sent to Reuters that he did not want his comments to create distraction for Uber, which is working to rid its culture of sexual harassment and discrimination. His resignation from the board is effective Wednesday morning. During Tuesday's meeting, Uber board member Arianna Huffington spoke to employees about the importance of adding more women to the board of directors. "There's a lot of data that shows when there's one woman on the board, it's much more likely that there will be a second woman on the board," Huffington said. In response, Bonderman said: "Actually, what it shows is that it's much more likely to be more talking." The comment was disclosed through a recording of the meeting that was published by Yahoo. An Uber spokesman verified the authenticity and accuracy of the recording. Bonderman, who is a founder of private equity firm TPG Capital, an Uber investor, shortly after wrote an email to Uber staff to apologize. In his resignation statement that followed on Tuesday evening, Bonderman reiterated his regret, calling his remarks "careless, inappropriate, and inexcusable" and "the opposite of what I intended". "I take full responsibility for that," he said. "I need to hold myself to the same standards that we're asking Uber to adopt." Bonderman and other board members had joined Tuesday's staff meeting to lay out recommendations from an investigation into sexual harassment, diversity, inclusion and other employee concerns led by former US Attorney General Eric Holder. Holder's law firm was retained by Uber in February after former Uber engineer Susan Fowler wrote a public account of her time at the company, which she said was marred by sexual harassment and an ineffective response by management. The recommendations, which were unanimously adopted by the board on Sunday, call for reducing Chief Executive Travis Kalanick's sweeping authority at the firm and instituting more controls over spending, human resources and the behavior of managers (Reuters).

Uber director David Bonderman resigns from board following comment about women

Uber Technologies Inc&#39;s embattled Chief Executive Travis Kalanick told employees in an email on Tuesday that he will take time away from the company he helped to found, citing the need to grieve for his recently deceased mother, according to a copy of the memo seen by Reuters.

Uber also released the recommendations of a months-long investigation led by the law firm of former US&nbsp;Attorney General Eric Holder who was retained by Uber to look into company culture and practices

The recommendations, which were unanimously adopted by the board on Sunday, call for reducing Kalanick&#39;s sweeping authority and instituting more controls over spending, human resources and the behavior of managers.

<h3 style="color:#aaa;font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/uber-director-david-bonderman-resigns-from-board-following-comment-about-women-16808" target="_blank">Also read:&nbsp;Uber director David Bonderman resigns from board following comment about women</a></h3>

&nbsp;

Specifically, the recommendations call for adding independent members to the board of directors, including an independent chair. They also spell out changes to company culture, including prohibiting romances between bosses and their reports and creating clearer guidelines around use of drugs and alcohol.

Kalanick&#39;s leave of absence follows a day-long board meeting on Sunday during which members of Uber&#39;s board of directors discussed the possibility of Kalanick temporarily stepping away from the company.

In his email, Kalanick did not specify how long he would be away from the company, but cited the need to take time off to grieve the loss of his mother, who died in a recent boating accident.

&quot;If we are going to work on Uber 2.0, I also need to work on Travis 2.0 to become the leader that this company needs and that you deserve,&quot; Kalanick wrote in his email.

Kalanick's leave of absence follows a day-long board meeting on Sunday during which members of Uber's board of directors discussed the possibility of Kalanick temporarily stepping away from the company

Uber Technologies Inc's embattled Chief Executive Travis Kalanick told employees in an email on Tuesday that he will take time away from the company he helped to found, citing the need to grieve for his recently deceased mother, according to a copy of the memo seen by Reuters. Uber also released the recommendations of a months-long investigation led by the law firm of former US Attorney General Eric Holder who was retained by Uber to look into company culture and practices The recommendations, which were unanimously adopted by the board on Sunday, call for reducing Kalanick's sweeping authority and instituting more controls over spending, human resources and the behavior of managers. Also read: Uber director David Bonderman resigns from board following comment about women Specifically, the recommendations call for adding independent members to the board of directors, including an independent chair. They also spell out changes to company culture, including prohibiting romances between bosses and their reports and creating clearer guidelines around use of drugs and alcohol. Kalanick's leave of absence follows a day-long board meeting on Sunday during which members of Uber's board of directors discussed the possibility of Kalanick temporarily stepping away from the company. In his email, Kalanick did not specify how long he would be away from the company, but cited the need to take time off to grieve the loss of his mother, who died in a recent boating accident. "If we are going to work on Uber 2.0, I also need to work on Travis 2.0 to become the leader that this company needs and that you deserve," Kalanick wrote in his email.

Uber CEO Kalanick says he will take leave of absence

Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar feature in the Forbes 100 Celebrity list as the top Indian entertainers from India

Shah Rukh, Salman, Akshay among Forbes 100 celebrities

Oil prices edged up on Tuesday, lifted by statements that Saudi Arabia was making significant supply cuts, although rising U S output meant that markets remain well supplied.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 were at $48.52 per barrel at 0510 GMT, up 23 cents, or 0.5 percent, from their last close.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $46.27 per barrel, up 19 cents, or 0.4 percent.

Saudi Arabia, the world&#39;s top oil exporter, is leading an effort by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut production by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) until the end of the first quarter of 2018 in order to prop up prices. Other countries, including top producer Russia, are also participating.

During the first half of the year, there were doubts over OPEC&#39;s compliance with its own pledges, as supplies remained high.

Saudi officials now say they are making real cuts, including 300,000 bpd to Asia for July, although several Asian refiners said they were still receiving their full allocations.

&quot;Oil attempted to rally... as Saudi Arabia announced cuts to shipments to the United States and Asia,&quot; said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at futures brokerage OANDA in Singapore.

OPEC&#39;s exports have been falling since the start of the cuts in January, although some members such as Libya and Nigeria are exempt from the cuts and there have been doubts over the compliance of others, including Iraq.

Trade data shows that OPEC shipments to customers averaged around 26 million bpd in the last six months of 2016, while they are set to average around 25.3 million bpd in the first half of this year.

Threatening to undermine OPEC&#39;s efforts is rising U.S. drilling activity RIG-OL-USA-BHI, which has driven up output C-OUT-T-EIA in the United States by more than 10 percent since mid-2016, to over 9.3 million bpd.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration says production will rise above 10 million next year, challenging top exporter Saudi Arabia. 
&nbsp; 
Overall, oil markets remain well supplied.

Reflecting the perception that global oil supplies are ample, the Brent forward curve &lt;0#LCO:&gt; remains in a shape known as contango, with crude for delivery in half a year&#39;s time about $1.50 per barrel more expensive than that for immediate delivery, making it attractive for traders to store oil for a later sale.

&quot;Where oil prices go will be determined by the flow of inventory data,&quot; said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at Australian futures brokerage AxiTrader.

While prices were up on Tuesday, crude has lost 10 percent of its value since late May when OPEC announced it would extend its production cuts.

(Reuters)

Oil attempted to rally... as Saudi Arabia announced cuts to shipments to the United States and Asia,"

Oil prices edged up on Tuesday, lifted by statements that Saudi Arabia was making significant supply cuts, although rising U S output meant that markets remain well supplied. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were at $48.52 per barrel at 0510 GMT, up 23 cents, or 0.5 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $46.27 per barrel, up 19 cents, or 0.4 percent. Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, is leading an effort by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut production by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) until the end of the first quarter of 2018 in order to prop up prices. Other countries, including top producer Russia, are also participating. During the first half of the year, there were doubts over OPEC's compliance with its own pledges, as supplies remained high. Saudi officials now say they are making real cuts, including 300,000 bpd to Asia for July, although several Asian refiners said they were still receiving their full allocations. "Oil attempted to rally... as Saudi Arabia announced cuts to shipments to the United States and Asia," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at futures brokerage OANDA in Singapore. OPEC's exports have been falling since the start of the cuts in January, although some members such as Libya and Nigeria are exempt from the cuts and there have been doubts over the compliance of others, including Iraq. Trade data shows that OPEC shipments to customers averaged around 26 million bpd in the last six months of 2016, while they are set to average around 25.3 million bpd in the first half of this year. Threatening to undermine OPEC's efforts is rising U.S. drilling activity RIG-OL-USA-BHI, which has driven up output C-OUT-T-EIA in the United States by more than 10 percent since mid-2016, to over 9.3 million bpd. The U.S. Energy Information Administration says production will rise above 10 million next year, challenging top exporter Saudi Arabia. Overall, oil markets remain well supplied. Reflecting the perception that global oil supplies are ample, the Brent forward curve <0#LCO:> remains in a shape known as contango, with crude for delivery in half a year's time about $1.50 per barrel more expensive than that for immediate delivery, making it attractive for traders to store oil for a later sale. "Where oil prices go will be determined by the flow of inventory data," said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at Australian futures brokerage AxiTrader. While prices were up on Tuesday, crude has lost 10 percent of its value since late May when OPEC announced it would extend its production cuts. (Reuters)

Oil prices edged up, Saudi Arabia to cut supplies from Asia and United States

By&nbsp;Ishi Agarwal

World Day Against Child Labour was launched by International Labour Organisation in 2002. The main aim was to create awareness about the rise&nbsp;in&nbsp;child labour and the measures necessary to do away with it.&nbsp;The right to education, which is supposed to be a necessity has become a luxury toady which most of the children cannot afford. Millions of children around the world do not even have the access&nbsp;to basic education.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even in the 21st century, there are children who are barred from the basic amenities of life.

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Companies blinded by money go for cheap labour and end up employing children from poor families (Others)
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More than 200 million children are engaged in child labour around the world,&nbsp;out of which around 120 million are involved in hazardous works.To save costs, some companies&nbsp;go for cheap labour and end up employing children from poor families. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest number of child labourers. Most of these children work on farms to produce cocoa, coffee, cotton&nbsp;and other products. Even though the global numbers have declined over the years, there is still an urgent need to take major steps regarding the issue. These children continue to be deprived of the things a child should get, like a playtime.&nbsp;All their time is spent in slavery and forced labour.&nbsp;

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All the time these children have is spent in slavery and forced labour (Others)
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&#39;Convention on the Rights of a Child&#39; was adopted by the United Nations in 1990. Further, in 1991, the ILO led the Worst Forms of Child Labour&nbsp;Convention&nbsp;which restricted debt bondage, drug production and trafficking, prostitution, any hazardous work and forced recruitment of children. With increasing&nbsp;awareness, the number has fallen from 245 million to 168 million.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Legarda: Ending Child Labor Is A Must&mdash;Pls read: <a href="https://t.co/Ktn0DXPBlW">https://t.co/Ktn0DXPBlW</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldDayAgainstChildLabour?src=hash">#WorldDayAgainstChildLabour</a> <a href="https://t.co/VF0rNVaJ51">pic.twitter.com/VF0rNVaJ51</a>
&mdash; loren legarda (@loren_legarda) <a href="https://twitter.com/loren_legarda/status/874041429961592832">June 11, 2017</a></blockquote>
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It has been repeatedly said that children are the future of the nation but if children don&#39;t&nbsp;have a bright childhood, how will they have a bright future. And&nbsp;if they do not have&nbsp;a bright future, how will the world see one?

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The main aim of the campaign was to create awareness about the rising level of child labour (AFP)
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&nbsp;

&nbsp;

World Day Against Child Labour is observed on June 12

By Ishi Agarwal World Day Against Child Labour was launched by International Labour Organisation in 2002. The main aim was to create awareness about the rise in child labour and the measures necessary to do away with it. The right to education, which is supposed to be a necessity has become a luxury toady which most of the children cannot afford. Millions of children around the world do not even have the access to basic education. Even in the 21st century, there are children who are barred from the basic amenities of life. Companies blinded by money go for cheap labour and end up employing children from poor families (Others) × More than 200 million children are engaged in child labour around the world, out of which around 120 million are involved in hazardous works.To save costs, some companies go for cheap labour and end up employing children from poor families. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest number of child labourers. Most of these children work on farms to produce cocoa, coffee, cotton and other products. Even though the global numbers have declined over the years, there is still an urgent need to take major steps regarding the issue. These children continue to be deprived of the things a child should get, like a playtime. All their time is spent in slavery and forced labour. All the time these children have is spent in slavery and forced labour (Others) × 'Convention on the Rights of a Child' was adopted by the United Nations in 1990. Further, in 1991, the ILO led the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention which restricted debt bondage, drug production and trafficking, prostitution, any hazardous work and forced recruitment of children. With increasing awareness, the number has fallen from 245 million to 168 million. Legarda: Ending Child Labor Is A Must—Pls read: https://t.co/Ktn0DXPBlW #WorldDayAgainstChildLabour pic.twitter.com/VF0rNVaJ51 — loren legarda (@loren_legarda) June 11, 2017 × It has been repeatedly said that children are the future of the nation but if children don't have a bright childhood, how will they have a bright future. And if they do not have a bright future, how will the world see one? The main aim of the campaign was to create awareness about the rising level of child labour (AFP) ×

Child Labour: A need for intervention

In this special series, WION talks to global leaders, entrepreneurs about their strategies and pick tips on how you can succeed in the world of business

WION Trendsetter:  WION talks to the founder of of CO:CUBED and more

Uber Technologies Inc&#39;s board will discuss Chief Executive Travis Kalanick temporarily stepping away from the embattled ride-hailing firm and consider sweeping changes to the company&#39;s management practices at a meeting on Sunday, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The source said it is not clear that the board will make any decision to change Kalanick&rsquo;s role. But they have&nbsp;voted unanimously to adopt all recommendations from the report by former US Attorney General Eric Holder following a sprawling, multi-month investigation into Uber&#39;s cultures and practices.

The recommendations will be released to Uber employees on Tuesday, a&nbsp;representative said.

&nbsp;

Sexual Harassment

Holder&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/uber-ceo-orders-urgent-investigation-after-allegations-of-sexism-harassment-at-company-12596" target="_blank">review&#39;s&nbsp;</a>was launched in February after former Uber engineer Susan Fowler published a blog post detailing what she described as sexual harassment and the lack of a suitable response by senior managers. Fowler now works for digital payments company Stripe.

The report was prepared by Holder and partner Tammy Albarr&aacute;n at Covington &amp; Burling. It comes shortly after another law firm, Perkins Coie, submitted a separate report on sexual harassment and other employee concerns at the company.

On Tuesday, Uber responded to that report&#39;s findings by saying it had fired 20 employees for a variety of reasons, and was increasing training and adopting new policies. Uber said that report considered 215 cases encompassing sexual harassment, discrimination, unprofessional behaviour, bullying and other employee complaints.

&nbsp;

Sexual and racial bias, bullying and retaliation

Employees and former employees interviewed by Holder&#39;s team complained about sexual and racial bias, bullying and retaliation, according to people familiar with their accounts.

They said that Kalanick and his lieutenants had favourites who played by different rules than other employees, and that even those favorites were nervous that they could fall from grace, which they sometimes did. Uber declined to comment on that characterisation.

&nbsp;

Abrasive leader, questionable culture

Uber&#39;s board will likely tell employees and the public of its decisions by Tuesday, one of the sources said. An Uber spokesman had no comment. Neither Kalanick nor Holder&#39;s law firm, Covington &amp; Burling, immediately responded to requests for comment late Saturday.

Kalanick has developed a reputation as an abrasive leader, and his approach has rubbed off on his company. The 40-year-old executive was <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/uber-ceo-says-he-must-grow-up-after-blasting-uber-driver-complaining-of-cuts-12908" target="_blank">captured </a>on video in February berating an Uber driver.

Uber board member Arianna Huffington said in March that Kalanick needed to change his leadership style from that of a &quot;scrappy entrepreneur&quot; to be more like a &quot;leader of a major global company&quot;. The board has been looking for a chief operating officer to help Kalanick run the company since March.

&nbsp;

India rape, a set-up?

One of the issues that came to Holder&rsquo;s team&#39;s attention, according to two people familiar with the matter, was the company&rsquo;s handling of a crisis in India after one of its drivers was arrested for raping a customer. Though the man, Shiv Kumar Yadav, was convicted in 2015, Kalanick and other company executives became convinced that the crime was a set-up by a local competitor, former employees said.

Eric Alexander, the head of Asian business, shared medical records internally that he argued showed that the woman had been assaulted but not raped, people who spoke to him said. Alexander was fired this week; He did not return messages seeking comment. Uber confirmed Alexander had left the company but declined to discuss the matter further.

At the time, the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-34578477" target="_blank">BBC </a>reported that a 26-year-old was taken to a secluded area and raped after booking a ride home with&nbsp;Uber. Delhi banned Uber, accusing them of neglecting to carry out adequate background checks on drivers. Uber apologised and said &quot;it must do better&quot;. Amit Jain, the president of Uber India, welcomed the verdict.

&nbsp;

More oversight on CEO?

San Francisco-based Uber is valued at nearly $70 billion but has yet to turn a profit. Uber&nbsp;has also&nbsp;been accused of aggressively&nbsp;<a href="https://cleantechnica.com/2016/05/10/less-2-ubers-revenue-subject-us-taxes/" target="_blank">using tax loopholes</a>. For example, in the US, it&#39;s been reported&nbsp;that only two per cent of their revenue is taxable.

Some of the recommendations in Holder&#39;s firm&#39;s report would force greater controls on spending, human resources and other areas where executives led by Kalanick have had a surprising amount of autonomy for a company with more than 12,000 employees, one person familiar with the matter said. Uber&#39;s more than 1.5 million drivers worldwide are classified as independent contractors rather than employees.

Less clear is the fate of Kalanick, who with close allies has voting control of the company.

The board, according to a&nbsp;person briefed on the matter, said they&nbsp;will discuss Kalanick taking time off from the company. Another possibility is that Kalanick may return in a reduced role, one with diminished authority, said this person. This may mean a position other than CEO, or as CEO but with narrower responsibilities and subject to more oversight.

Kalanick is also facing a personal trauma: Last month his mother died&nbsp;in a boating accident, which also badly injured his father.

The company, and its CEO, has made headlines for the wrong reasons for years. A big change may finally be around the corner

Uber Technologies Inc's board will discuss Chief Executive Travis Kalanick temporarily stepping away from the embattled ride-hailing firm and consider sweeping changes to the company's management practices at a meeting on Sunday, according to a person familiar with the situation. The source said it is not clear that the board will make any decision to change Kalanick’s role. But they have voted unanimously to adopt all recommendations from the report by former US Attorney General Eric Holder following a sprawling, multi-month investigation into Uber's cultures and practices. The recommendations will be released to Uber employees on Tuesday, a representative said. Sexual Harassment Holder's review's was launched in February after former Uber engineer Susan Fowler published a blog post detailing what she described as sexual harassment and the lack of a suitable response by senior managers. Fowler now works for digital payments company Stripe. The report was prepared by Holder and partner Tammy Albarrán at Covington & Burling. It comes shortly after another law firm, Perkins Coie, submitted a separate report on sexual harassment and other employee concerns at the company. On Tuesday, Uber responded to that report's findings by saying it had fired 20 employees for a variety of reasons, and was increasing training and adopting new policies. Uber said that report considered 215 cases encompassing sexual harassment, discrimination, unprofessional behaviour, bullying and other employee complaints. Sexual and racial bias, bullying and retaliation Employees and former employees interviewed by Holder's team complained about sexual and racial bias, bullying and retaliation, according to people familiar with their accounts. They said that Kalanick and his lieutenants had favourites who played by different rules than other employees, and that even those favorites were nervous that they could fall from grace, which they sometimes did. Uber declined to comment on that characterisation. Abrasive leader, questionable culture Uber's board will likely tell employees and the public of its decisions by Tuesday, one of the sources said. An Uber spokesman had no comment. Neither Kalanick nor Holder's law firm, Covington & Burling, immediately responded to requests for comment late Saturday. Kalanick has developed a reputation as an abrasive leader, and his approach has rubbed off on his company. The 40-year-old executive was captured on video in February berating an Uber driver. Uber board member Arianna Huffington said in March that Kalanick needed to change his leadership style from that of a "scrappy entrepreneur" to be more like a "leader of a major global company". The board has been looking for a chief operating officer to help Kalanick run the company since March. India rape, a set-up? One of the issues that came to Holder’s team's attention, according to two people familiar with the matter, was the company’s handling of a crisis in India after one of its drivers was arrested for raping a customer. Though the man, Shiv Kumar Yadav, was convicted in 2015, Kalanick and other company executives became convinced that the crime was a set-up by a local competitor, former employees said. Eric Alexander, the head of Asian business, shared medical records internally that he argued showed that the woman had been assaulted but not raped, people who spoke to him said. Alexander was fired this week; He did not return messages seeking comment. Uber confirmed Alexander had left the company but declined to discuss the matter further. At the time, the BBC reported that a 26-year-old was taken to a secluded area and raped after booking a ride home with Uber. Delhi banned Uber, accusing them of neglecting to carry out adequate background checks on drivers. Uber apologised and said "it must do better". Amit Jain, the president of Uber India, welcomed the verdict. More oversight on CEO? San Francisco-based Uber is valued at nearly $70 billion but has yet to turn a profit. Uber has also been accused of aggressively using tax loopholes. For example, in the US, it's been reported that only two per cent of their revenue is taxable. Some of the recommendations in Holder's firm's report would force greater controls on spending, human resources and other areas where executives led by Kalanick have had a surprising amount of autonomy for a company with more than 12,000 employees, one person familiar with the matter said. Uber's more than 1.5 million drivers worldwide are classified as independent contractors rather than employees. Less clear is the fate of Kalanick, who with close allies has voting control of the company. The board, according to a person briefed on the matter, said they will discuss Kalanick taking time off from the company. Another possibility is that Kalanick may return in a reduced role, one with diminished authority, said this person. This may mean a position other than CEO, or as CEO but with narrower responsibilities and subject to more oversight. Kalanick is also facing a personal trauma: Last month his mother died in a boating accident, which also badly injured his father.

Uber CEO Kalanick to temporarily step down?

The government is "actively working" towards consolidation of banks, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today

Resolving bad debts in India (WION Wallet)

India's central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged at 6.25 percent on Wednesday, as widely expected, while lowering projections for inflation

Eye on inflation, RBI keeps repo rate unchanged

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept its key interest rate unchanged at 6.25 per cent on Wednesday, as widely expected, while lowering projections for inflation and striking a less hawkish tone in a policy statement.

The central bank&#39;s decision to leave the repo rate at a 6-1/2 year low had been expected by 56 of the 60 analysts surveyed by Reuters ahead of the monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting.

The reverse repo rate was also left unchanged at 6 per cent.

At the same time, the RBI cut banks&#39; statutory liquidity ratio - the amount of bonds they must set aside - by 50 basis points to 20 per cent of total deposits starting on June 24.

Significantly, however, the RBI cut its projection for consumer inflation to 2-3.5 per cent in April to September, down from 4.5 per cent earlier, and to 3.5-4.5 per cent in October to March, down from 5 per cent earlier.

The change in forecast comes after consumer prices rose in April at their lowest annual rate in at least five years, slowing to 2.99 per cent from 3.89 per cent in March, well below the RBI&#39;s target of 4.0 per cent.

The RBI said the risks to its inflation were &quot;evenly balanced,&quot; a tweak in its language from its statement in April when it cited &quot;upside risks&quot; to inflation.

&quot;The decision of the MPC is consistent with a neutral stance of monetary policy in consonance with the objective of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4 per cent within a band of +/- 2 per cent, while supporting growth,&quot; the RBI said in a statement.

The vote by the central bank&#39;s monetary policy committee was 5-1, the first split in the five meetings that have taken place since the MPC was formed last September. The statement did not say how the dissenting member, Ravindra H. Dholakia, a professor, voted.

RBI last changed the policy rate with a 25 basis points cut in October, though it surprised analysts with a 25 basis point hike in its reverse repo rate in April.

Bonds gained, with the benchmark 10-year bond yield down 2 basis points to 7.44 per cent from its previous close, while the broader NSE share index rose up 0.2 per cent.

Several factors are pointing to more benign inflation, including the likelihood of above-average monsoon rains, falling commodity prices, and a 5 per cent rally in the rupee that has made imports cheaper.

The RBI said it wanted to see more evidence that the easing of inflation seen in April would endure, citing for example, sticky core inflation due to rising rural wage growth and strong consumption demand.

Inflation data for May will be released next week.

India&#39;s economy grew a slower-than-expected 6.1 per cent in the January-March quarter, its slowest pace in more than two years and down from 7 per cent in the previous quarter, although analysts expect growth to accelerate this year.

The slowdown was largely attributable to the government&#39;s shock decision last November to remove large denomination banknotes from circulation in a bid to combat rampant tax avoidance.

As a result, the RBI adjusted its projection for growth value-added, a measure of growth it prefers, to 7.3 per cent in the year to March 2018, down from its previous projection of 7.4 per cent, with &quot;risks evenly balanced&quot;.

(Reuters)

The interest rate was unchanged at 6.25 per cent on Wednesday

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept its key interest rate unchanged at 6.25 per cent on Wednesday, as widely expected, while lowering projections for inflation and striking a less hawkish tone in a policy statement. The central bank's decision to leave the repo rate at a 6-1/2 year low had been expected by 56 of the 60 analysts surveyed by Reuters ahead of the monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting. The reverse repo rate was also left unchanged at 6 per cent. At the same time, the RBI cut banks' statutory liquidity ratio - the amount of bonds they must set aside - by 50 basis points to 20 per cent of total deposits starting on June 24. Significantly, however, the RBI cut its projection for consumer inflation to 2-3.5 per cent in April to September, down from 4.5 per cent earlier, and to 3.5-4.5 per cent in October to March, down from 5 per cent earlier. The change in forecast comes after consumer prices rose in April at their lowest annual rate in at least five years, slowing to 2.99 per cent from 3.89 per cent in March, well below the RBI's target of 4.0 per cent. The RBI said the risks to its inflation were "evenly balanced," a tweak in its language from its statement in April when it cited "upside risks" to inflation. "The decision of the MPC is consistent with a neutral stance of monetary policy in consonance with the objective of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4 per cent within a band of +/- 2 per cent, while supporting growth," the RBI said in a statement. The vote by the central bank's monetary policy committee was 5-1, the first split in the five meetings that have taken place since the MPC was formed last September. The statement did not say how the dissenting member, Ravindra H. Dholakia, a professor, voted. RBI last changed the policy rate with a 25 basis points cut in October, though it surprised analysts with a 25 basis point hike in its reverse repo rate in April. Bonds gained, with the benchmark 10-year bond yield down 2 basis points to 7.44 per cent from its previous close, while the broader NSE share index rose up 0.2 per cent. Several factors are pointing to more benign inflation, including the likelihood of above-average monsoon rains, falling commodity prices, and a 5 per cent rally in the rupee that has made imports cheaper. The RBI said it wanted to see more evidence that the easing of inflation seen in April would endure, citing for example, sticky core inflation due to rising rural wage growth and strong consumption demand. Inflation data for May will be released next week. India's economy grew a slower-than-expected 6.1 per cent in the January-March quarter, its slowest pace in more than two years and down from 7 per cent in the previous quarter, although analysts expect growth to accelerate this year. The slowdown was largely attributable to the government's shock decision last November to remove large denomination banknotes from circulation in a bid to combat rampant tax avoidance. As a result, the RBI adjusted its projection for growth value-added, a measure of growth it prefers, to 7.3 per cent in the year to March 2018, down from its previous projection of 7.4 per cent, with "risks evenly balanced". (Reuters)

RBI keeps key interest rate unchanged, cuts inflation projections

Australia&#39;s economy shrugged off a cyclone powered bad-weather hit to exports and home building in the first quarter of the year, posting just enough growth to claim nearly 26 years without recession - equalling the Netherlands&#39; 103-quarter record.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed gross domestic product (GDP) grew at annual rate of 1.7 percent - the slowest since third-quarter of 2009 when it clocked 1.2 percent.

The local dollar gained a third of a U.S. cent after gross domestic product (GDP) matched expectations of a 0.3 percent rise in the first quarter, from the fourth when it ran at 1.1 percent.

Australia hasn&#39;t seen a recession since 1991 and its run of growth had been the envy of other rich nations although it is dropping off the pack now with both the Britain and the United States clocking 2 percent annual growth in the first quarter.

Output for the 12 months to March was A$1.72 trillion ($1.28 trillion) in current dollars, or about A$71,053 for each of Australia&#39;s 24 million people.

Growth took a knock from Cyclone Debbie, which hit northern parts of Queensland state late in March and caused widespread flooding in the coal-heavy region, disrupting rail haulage for several weeks. Negative net exports subtracted 0.7 percentage points from GDP.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) on Tuesday conceded economic activity slowed in the March quarter when it held interest rates at a record low 1.50 percent. However, it expressed confidence growth would pick up over the next couple of years to be above 3 percent.

So far, investors seem convinced the RBA is done with its five-year easing campaign. Futures prices imply a small chance of another rate cut by December.

There were doubts around domestic consumption though as households are being burdened by record-low wage growth and high levels of mortgage debt.

Household final consumption expenditure rose 0.5 percent driven by rises in rent, electricity and gas.

($1= 1.3330 Australian dollars)

Australia's economy posts enough GDP growth to claim nearly 26 years without recession - equalling the Netherlands' 103-quarter record.

Australia's economy shrugged off a cyclone powered bad-weather hit to exports and home building in the first quarter of the year, posting just enough growth to claim nearly 26 years without recession - equalling the Netherlands' 103-quarter record. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed gross domestic product (GDP) grew at annual rate of 1.7 percent - the slowest since third-quarter of 2009 when it clocked 1.2 percent. The local dollar gained a third of a U.S. cent after gross domestic product (GDP) matched expectations of a 0.3 percent rise in the first quarter, from the fourth when it ran at 1.1 percent. Australia hasn't seen a recession since 1991 and its run of growth had been the envy of other rich nations although it is dropping off the pack now with both the Britain and the United States clocking 2 percent annual growth in the first quarter. Output for the 12 months to March was A$1.72 trillion ($1.28 trillion) in current dollars, or about A$71,053 for each of Australia's 24 million people. Growth took a knock from Cyclone Debbie, which hit northern parts of Queensland state late in March and caused widespread flooding in the coal-heavy region, disrupting rail haulage for several weeks. Negative net exports subtracted 0.7 percentage points from GDP. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) on Tuesday conceded economic activity slowed in the March quarter when it held interest rates at a record low 1.50 percent. However, it expressed confidence growth would pick up over the next couple of years to be above 3 percent. So far, investors seem convinced the RBA is done with its five-year easing campaign. Futures prices imply a small chance of another rate cut by December. There were doubts around domestic consumption though as households are being burdened by record-low wage growth and high levels of mortgage debt. Household final consumption expenditure rose 0.5 percent driven by rises in rent, electricity and gas. ($1= 1.3330 Australian dollars)

Australia's economy ties world record for longest expansion despite soft Q1

Samsung Electronics plans to double the production capacity for mobile phones and fridges at its main factory in India, expanding in a country where US&nbsp;rival Apple Inc&nbsp;has started assembling phones.

The South Korean company said in a statement on Wednesday it would spend 49 billion rupees ($764 million) over three years to expand the factory on an additional 35 acres at the site on the outskirts of New Delhi. It also makes televisions at the plant.

India is the world&#39;s second biggest smartphone market and its fast becoming a battleground for handset makers vying for a bigger share as sales in Asian powerhouse China start to lag.

&quot;Samsung would want to reduce their dependence on manufacturing in Vietnam and shift more operations to India,&quot; said Tarun Pathak, associate director at technology research firm Counterpoint.

&quot;India looks like a promising manufacturing hub in the coming years and Samsung could make it their base for exports.&quot;

Samsung&#39;s expansion also comes at a time Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s government is pushing to increase technology manufacturing through its flagship &quot;Make in India&quot; initiative launched in 2014.

Apple began assembling its iPhone SE model last month in the southern Indian technology hub of Bengaluru and a government official has said it could increase the local share of production over time.

($1 = 64.3650 Indian rupees)

(Reuters)

India is the world's second biggest smartphone market

Samsung Electronics plans to double the production capacity for mobile phones and fridges at its main factory in India, expanding in a country where US rival Apple Inc has started assembling phones. The South Korean company said in a statement on Wednesday it would spend 49 billion rupees ($764 million) over three years to expand the factory on an additional 35 acres at the site on the outskirts of New Delhi. It also makes televisions at the plant. India is the world's second biggest smartphone market and its fast becoming a battleground for handset makers vying for a bigger share as sales in Asian powerhouse China start to lag. "Samsung would want to reduce their dependence on manufacturing in Vietnam and shift more operations to India," said Tarun Pathak, associate director at technology research firm Counterpoint. "India looks like a promising manufacturing hub in the coming years and Samsung could make it their base for exports." Samsung's expansion also comes at a time Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is pushing to increase technology manufacturing through its flagship "Make in India" initiative launched in 2014. Apple began assembling its iPhone SE model last month in the southern Indian technology hub of Bengaluru and a government official has said it could increase the local share of production over time. ($1 = 64.3650 Indian rupees) (Reuters)

Samsung to double mobile phone capacity at main Indian factory

Car service Uber is using a gap in EU and UK tax rules to avoid incurring sales tax on the booking fees it charges drivers in Britain, a practice a senior politician said was unfair to competitors and defied the intent of the law.

San Francisco-based Uber charges lower fares than rival ride hailing apps. In Britain, its competitors&#39; fares include 20 per cent value added tax (VAT) on booking fees, but Uber&#39;s fares do not.

Uber is able to avoid VAT by exploiting a loophole in how the tax is collected for business-to-business sales across EU borders, which arises because it treats its 40,000 UK drivers as separate businesses, each too small to register for VAT.

It confirmed to Reuters that it does not pay value added tax on the fees it charges British drivers. By contrast, two of its main UK rivals, Gett and mytaxi, both said they do pay VAT on their fees. They declined to comment on Uber&#39;s practice.

The loophole applies in other European countries too, but is particularly important for Uber in Britain which accounts for a third of its European business. Other EU countries have put tighter rules in place to close or narrow the loophole.

Paying VAT on Uber&#39;s fees would cost the company about 1,000 pounds a year on average for each of its UK drivers, based on information Uber has given about the size of its British business, which is growing rapidly under its expansion plans.

Uber told Reuters it respected the tax rules in all the countries where it operated. Asked whether avoiding paying value added tax gave the company an unfair advantage over its rivals, a spokesman said: &quot;The same rules apply to any international service provider with customers in the UK.&quot;

Her Majesty&rsquo;s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the UK tax authority, declined to comment on Uber, citing confidentiality rules. A spokesman said: &quot;Everyone has to pay the tax due under the law and we make sure they do.&quot;

Three European tax experts consulted by Reuters said Uber&#39;s practice probably complies with the way Britain has decided to implement EU rules.

But Margaret Hodge, a member of Britain&#39;s Labour Party who has long led parliamentary investigations into corporate tax avoidance, criticised Uber&rsquo;s practice of not paying VAT on its fees, when told of it by Reuters.

&quot;It is yet another example of how large companies find loopholes and use the law for a purpose for which it was never intended,&quot; she said. &quot;There is a failure to pay tax that should be due. That reduces the money available for public services and is unfair on Uber&rsquo;s competitors.&quot;

The same loophole is used by other companies such as Google and Facebook to avoid VAT on certain transactions involving small businesses, but the benefit is more important for Uber, since the fees it charges drivers are its main source of income.

Even as Uber has become a transportation powerhouse around the world, opponents, including established taxi operators, have mounted legal and public relations attacks on the Silicon Valley company, saying it owes its success to bending the rules.

Several high level executives have left Uber in recent months, and its CEO was forced to apologise after being filmed haranguing one of its drivers. It has hired former US&nbsp;Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate its corporate culture, including accusations of sexual harassment.

In Europe, the lead advocate to the European Court of Justice concluded in May that Uber is a transportation service, not an information platform, and therefore open to far greater regulation.

In the United States it also faces a Justice Department criminal investigation into software used to prevent law enforcement officials from hailing Uber cars, to shield the company from regulators.

Despite those troubles, Uber has been growing rapidly, rolling out its service in new cities month by month.

&nbsp;

REVERSE CHARGE

Uber avoids having to charge British value added tax on its booking fees by treating each driver as an individual business and then billing drivers across EU borders from its Dutch subsidiary, using an EU VAT provision called the &quot;reverse charge&quot;.

The rule lets businesses sell goods or services to other businesses across EU borders without paying VAT. There is usually no loss of tax revenue, because the importing business collects VAT from its own customers.

But since Uber drivers mostly generate less than the 85,000 pounds a year sales threshold to register for VAT in Britain, they don&#39;t have to collect it.

Gett and mytaxi both bill their drivers from companies within Britain. As the reverse charge does not apply to domestic sales, that means that unlike Uber they must charge drivers VAT.

Uber is not the only big American firm to use EU reverse charge rules to reduce the VAT tab when billing small business clients across EU borders. Google and Facebook use the same approach when selling from their Irish regional headquarters.

That means British plumbers or guesthouse owners who are not registered for VAT can buy advertisements from Google or Facebook without being charged the tax, even though they would pay it when placing an advertisement in a local newspaper.

&quot;It is a system failure because the rules are not harmonised in respect of dealing with small businesses,&quot; said Pascal Schrijver, a partner with Deloitte in Amsterdam. Google said it followed all tax rules. Facebook declined comment.

The EU&#39;s reverse charge regime was intended to cut paperwork required to distribute VAT revenue among EU countries by placing the responsibility for collecting it on the importing country. It was not intended to allow companies to escape VAT altogether, said Laurent Lattmann, a VAT partner with advisory Taxand in Zurich.

&quot;A supplier should not use the reverse charge if they are selling to a customer without a VAT registration,&quot; Lattmann said.

Other EU countries often have lower sales thresholds to register for VAT, and several have systems in place to ensure that buyers that are not VAT-registered pay the missing tax when they import goods or services VAT-free across EU borders.

Germany has imposed a requirement on non-VAT registered businesses to complete a special form and pay the tax when they import reverse-charged goods or services, said Barbara Fleckenstein-Weiland, tax lawyer with Flick Gocke Schaumburg in Frankfurt. Erwin Boumans, Brussels-based tax partner at accountants BDO said Belgium had a similar system.

&quot;The cultural attitude of tax authorities is very different from country to country. The UK has historically taken a light touch approach,&quot; said Nicholas Hallam, Chief Executive of UK VAT advisory Accordance.

&nbsp;

&quot;TREADING WATER&quot;

Uber is privately-held and does not publish accounts, but says it has more than 40,000 drivers in Britain who each bring in an average of around 560 pounds a week in gross fares. It normally charges fees of 20-25 per cent of the fare.

That suggests the company is collecting more than 200 million pounds a year in fees on more than 1 billion in UK fares, and saving at least 40 million by not paying VAT. Uber declined to comment when presented with those calculations.

If Uber were forced to pay VAT on its fees and tried to pass the extra cost on to drivers, many would quit, said Jason Shepherd, a London Uber driver who moved with his wife and kids into his in-laws&#39; house to make ends meet.

&quot;Most Uber drivers are just treading water,&quot; he said. &quot;If Uber put up its fees I would immediately consider other options and I&#39;m sure most other drivers would too.&quot;

James Farrar, an Uber driver trying to organise fellow drivers into a union, said typical drivers earn only around 6 pounds an hour after car rental, insurance and other costs.

&quot;Even with surge fares, it&rsquo;s less than the minimum wage&quot; of 7.50 an hour, he said. Uber says drivers who rent their cars earn more than 8 pounds an hour on average.

(Reuters)

Unlike its competition, Uber treats its 40,000 UK drivers as separate businesses, each too small to register for VAT

Car service Uber is using a gap in EU and UK tax rules to avoid incurring sales tax on the booking fees it charges drivers in Britain, a practice a senior politician said was unfair to competitors and defied the intent of the law. San Francisco-based Uber charges lower fares than rival ride hailing apps. In Britain, its competitors' fares include 20 per cent value added tax (VAT) on booking fees, but Uber's fares do not. Uber is able to avoid VAT by exploiting a loophole in how the tax is collected for business-to-business sales across EU borders, which arises because it treats its 40,000 UK drivers as separate businesses, each too small to register for VAT. It confirmed to Reuters that it does not pay value added tax on the fees it charges British drivers. By contrast, two of its main UK rivals, Gett and mytaxi, both said they do pay VAT on their fees. They declined to comment on Uber's practice. The loophole applies in other European countries too, but is particularly important for Uber in Britain which accounts for a third of its European business. Other EU countries have put tighter rules in place to close or narrow the loophole. Paying VAT on Uber's fees would cost the company about 1,000 pounds a year on average for each of its UK drivers, based on information Uber has given about the size of its British business, which is growing rapidly under its expansion plans. Uber told Reuters it respected the tax rules in all the countries where it operated. Asked whether avoiding paying value added tax gave the company an unfair advantage over its rivals, a spokesman said: "The same rules apply to any international service provider with customers in the UK." Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the UK tax authority, declined to comment on Uber, citing confidentiality rules. A spokesman said: "Everyone has to pay the tax due under the law and we make sure they do." Three European tax experts consulted by Reuters said Uber's practice probably complies with the way Britain has decided to implement EU rules. But Margaret Hodge, a member of Britain's Labour Party who has long led parliamentary investigations into corporate tax avoidance, criticised Uber’s practice of not paying VAT on its fees, when told of it by Reuters. "It is yet another example of how large companies find loopholes and use the law for a purpose for which it was never intended," she said. "There is a failure to pay tax that should be due. That reduces the money available for public services and is unfair on Uber’s competitors." The same loophole is used by other companies such as Google and Facebook to avoid VAT on certain transactions involving small businesses, but the benefit is more important for Uber, since the fees it charges drivers are its main source of income. Even as Uber has become a transportation powerhouse around the world, opponents, including established taxi operators, have mounted legal and public relations attacks on the Silicon Valley company, saying it owes its success to bending the rules. Several high level executives have left Uber in recent months, and its CEO was forced to apologise after being filmed haranguing one of its drivers. It has hired former US Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate its corporate culture, including accusations of sexual harassment. In Europe, the lead advocate to the European Court of Justice concluded in May that Uber is a transportation service, not an information platform, and therefore open to far greater regulation. In the United States it also faces a Justice Department criminal investigation into software used to prevent law enforcement officials from hailing Uber cars, to shield the company from regulators. Despite those troubles, Uber has been growing rapidly, rolling out its service in new cities month by month. REVERSE CHARGE Uber avoids having to charge British value added tax on its booking fees by treating each driver as an individual business and then billing drivers across EU borders from its Dutch subsidiary, using an EU VAT provision called the "reverse charge". The rule lets businesses sell goods or services to other businesses across EU borders without paying VAT. There is usually no loss of tax revenue, because the importing business collects VAT from its own customers. But since Uber drivers mostly generate less than the 85,000 pounds a year sales threshold to register for VAT in Britain, they don't have to collect it. Gett and mytaxi both bill their drivers from companies within Britain. As the reverse charge does not apply to domestic sales, that means that unlike Uber they must charge drivers VAT. Uber is not the only big American firm to use EU reverse charge rules to reduce the VAT tab when billing small business clients across EU borders. Google and Facebook use the same approach when selling from their Irish regional headquarters. That means British plumbers or guesthouse owners who are not registered for VAT can buy advertisements from Google or Facebook without being charged the tax, even though they would pay it when placing an advertisement in a local newspaper. "It is a system failure because the rules are not harmonised in respect of dealing with small businesses," said Pascal Schrijver, a partner with Deloitte in Amsterdam. Google said it followed all tax rules. Facebook declined comment. The EU's reverse charge regime was intended to cut paperwork required to distribute VAT revenue among EU countries by placing the responsibility for collecting it on the importing country. It was not intended to allow companies to escape VAT altogether, said Laurent Lattmann, a VAT partner with advisory Taxand in Zurich. "A supplier should not use the reverse charge if they are selling to a customer without a VAT registration," Lattmann said. Other EU countries often have lower sales thresholds to register for VAT, and several have systems in place to ensure that buyers that are not VAT-registered pay the missing tax when they import goods or services VAT-free across EU borders. Germany has imposed a requirement on non-VAT registered businesses to complete a special form and pay the tax when they import reverse-charged goods or services, said Barbara Fleckenstein-Weiland, tax lawyer with Flick Gocke Schaumburg in Frankfurt. Erwin Boumans, Brussels-based tax partner at accountants BDO said Belgium had a similar system. "The cultural attitude of tax authorities is very different from country to country. The UK has historically taken a light touch approach," said Nicholas Hallam, Chief Executive of UK VAT advisory Accordance. "TREADING WATER" Uber is privately-held and does not publish accounts, but says it has more than 40,000 drivers in Britain who each bring in an average of around 560 pounds a week in gross fares. It normally charges fees of 20-25 per cent of the fare. That suggests the company is collecting more than 200 million pounds a year in fees on more than 1 billion in UK fares, and saving at least 40 million by not paying VAT. Uber declined to comment when presented with those calculations. If Uber were forced to pay VAT on its fees and tried to pass the extra cost on to drivers, many would quit, said Jason Shepherd, a London Uber driver who moved with his wife and kids into his in-laws' house to make ends meet. "Most Uber drivers are just treading water," he said. "If Uber put up its fees I would immediately consider other options and I'm sure most other drivers would too." James Farrar, an Uber driver trying to organise fellow drivers into a union, said typical drivers earn only around 6 pounds an hour after car rental, insurance and other costs. "Even with surge fares, it’s less than the minimum wage" of 7.50 an hour, he said. Uber says drivers who rent their cars earn more than 8 pounds an hour on average. (Reuters)

Uber uses loophole to avoid UK tax, undercut rivals

Shares of Adani Enterprises today surged 7.5 per cent after the Adani Group gave the final investment approval for its Carmichael coal mine project in Australia.

The stock zoomed 7.18 per cent to Rs 126.10 on BSE.

At NSE, shares of the company soared 7.48 per cent to Rs 126.30.

&quot;I am proud to announce the project has Final Investment Decision (FID) approval which marks the official start of one of the largest single infrastructure-- and job creating -- developments in Australia&#39;s recent history,&quot; Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani said.

This is a historic day for Adani, a historic day for regional Queensland, and a historic day for Indian investment in Australia, he said.

The announcement comes just days after the Adani Group agreed to pay royalties on coal produced from its project after it struck an agreement with the Queensland government to help the controversy-hit project move forward.

Adani said the Carmichael projects will generate 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, with pre-construction works starting in September quarter of 2017.&nbsp;

(PTI)&nbsp;

The stock zoomed 7.18 per cent to Rs 126.10 on BSE

Shares of Adani Enterprises today surged 7.5 per cent after the Adani Group gave the final investment approval for its Carmichael coal mine project in Australia. The stock zoomed 7.18 per cent to Rs 126.10 on BSE. At NSE, shares of the company soared 7.48 per cent to Rs 126.30. "I am proud to announce the project has Final Investment Decision (FID) approval which marks the official start of one of the largest single infrastructure-- and job creating -- developments in Australia's recent history," Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani said. This is a historic day for Adani, a historic day for regional Queensland, and a historic day for Indian investment in Australia, he said. The announcement comes just days after the Adani Group agreed to pay royalties on coal produced from its project after it struck an agreement with the Queensland government to help the controversy-hit project move forward. Adani said the Carmichael projects will generate 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, with pre-construction works starting in September quarter of 2017. (PTI)

Adani approves investment in Australian coal mine, shares up 7.5%

Gautam Adani-led Adani Enterprises said on Tuesday that it has given final investment approval for the Carmichael mine and rail projects in Queensland.

&quot;The project has final investment decision approval, which marks the official start of one of the largest single infrastructure and job-creating developments in Australia&#39;s recent history,&quot; Adani Chairman Gautam Adani said in a statement.

The company has said the project, at an initial cost of $4 billion, would pay billions of dollars in royalties and taxes, create jobs and export coal to India help bring electricity to rural regions.

A group of prominent Australians had earlier urged Adani Enterprises to abandon a giant coal mine project near the Great Barrier Reef, warning it could damage bilateral ties and even affect sporting links.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/chappell-brothers-urge-adani-to-give-up-australia-mine-project-for-environment-13478">Signatories included former Australian Test cricket captains Ian and Greg Chappell, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks</a>, Australian-based British comedian Ben Elton, and rock group Midnight Oil.

(WION with Reuters inputs)

 
&nbsp;

The company has said the project would initially cost of $4 billion

Gautam Adani-led Adani Enterprises said on Tuesday that it has given final investment approval for the Carmichael mine and rail projects in Queensland. "The project has final investment decision approval, which marks the official start of one of the largest single infrastructure and job-creating developments in Australia's recent history," Adani Chairman Gautam Adani said in a statement. The company has said the project, at an initial cost of $4 billion, would pay billions of dollars in royalties and taxes, create jobs and export coal to India help bring electricity to rural regions. A group of prominent Australians had earlier urged Adani Enterprises to abandon a giant coal mine project near the Great Barrier Reef, warning it could damage bilateral ties and even affect sporting links. Signatories included former Australian Test cricket captains Ian and Greg Chappell, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks, Australian-based British comedian Ben Elton, and rock group Midnight Oil. (WION with Reuters inputs)

Adani gives final approval for Australia mine, rail project

ndia skipper Virat Kohli on Saturday rejected the reports of him having any rift with head coach Anil Kumble, saying they are mere speculations which have been created by the people ahead of the team`s much anticipated high octane opening match of the Champions Trophy against Pakistan to be played at Edgbaston Cricket Ground on Sunda

&nbsp;

ndia skipper Virat Kohli on Saturday rejected the reports of him having any rift with head coach Anil Kumble, saying they are mere speculations which have been created by the people ahead of the team`s much anticipated high octane opening match of the Champions Trophy against Pakistan to be played at Edgbaston Cricket Ground on Sunda - Prem

British Prime Minister Theresa May held tech companies partly responsible for providing extremists a ?safe space? to grow.

ndia skipper Virat Kohli on Saturday rejected the reports of him having any rift with head coach Anil Kumble, saying they are mere speculations which have been created by the people ahead of the team`s much anticipated high octane opening match of the Champions Trophy against Pakistan to be played at Edgbaston Cricket Ground on Sunda ndia skipper Virat Kohli on Saturday rejected the reports of him having any rift with head coach Anil Kumble, saying they are mere speculations which have been created by the people ahead of the team`s much anticipated high octane opening match of the Champions Trophy against Pakistan to be played at Edgbaston Cricket Ground on Sunda - Prem

Why it's not fair to condemn tech companies and regulate cyberspace

The Centre has told the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that the 6,000 MW nuclear power plant proposed at Mithivirdi in Gujarat will be shifted to Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh due to delay in land acquisition for the project. 
After the Centre&#39;s submission, the NGT bench, consisting of judicial member U D Salvi and expert member Ranjan Chatterjee, disposed of a petition filed by a group of villagers of Mithivirdi and Jaspara and NGO Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. 
The petitioners had challenged the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) clearance given to the project by the Gujarat State Coastal Zone Management Authority on March 3, 2015. 
The Pune bench of the NGT (Western Zone), in its order passed on May 18, said that the counsel for the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change MoEF&amp;CC submitted before it that Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited&#39;s (NPCIL) Mithivirdi project in Bhavnagar district in whose favour CRZ clearance was granted, is to be shifted to Kovadda, Andhra Pradesh on account of delay in land acquisition at village Chhaya-Mithivirdi site. 
It said that the counsel &quot;further submitted that in view of shifting of the project the proposal for Environment Clearance (EC) before the MoEF&amp;CC has been delisted.&quot; 
The MoEF placed on record before the NGT, through a letter dated March 27, 2017, that NPCIL had intimated it that the proposed WestingHouse Nuclear Power Plant of 6000-MW capacity is being shifted from Mithivirdi due to delay in land acquisition. 
The NGT also slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 each to the MoEF and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board for unnecessary delay caused during the hearing of the case. The order was uploaded today on its website. 
Petitioners including villagers and the NGO termed this as a major victory and said they would tomorrow meet at Jaspar village to &quot;celebrate&quot; the judgement. 
The villagers had opposed the project due to environmental and safety concerns, and had staged a walkout from the environmental public hearing claiming that it was not being conducted in accordance with the set norms. 
Thirty villages near the project had organised agitation against the project and the high-handed manner in which it was being imposed upon them. 
The proposed project was subsequently recommended CRZ clearance by the state government, which was challenged at the NGT-Pune by a team of villagers including Shaktisinh Gohil and Jagrutiben Gohil of Jaspara village, Hajabhai Dihora of Mithivirdi village, and Rohit Prajapati and Krishnakant Chauhan of the NGO Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. 
Reacting to the order, Krishnakant Chauhan said that while they celebrate the order, they are now preparing to extend all possible support to people in Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh.&nbsp;

The 6,000 MW nuclear power plant proposed at Mithivirdi in Gujarat will be shifted to Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh due to delay in land acquisition for the project.

The Centre has told the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that the 6,000 MW nuclear power plant proposed at Mithivirdi in Gujarat will be shifted to Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh due to delay in land acquisition for the project. After the Centre's submission, the NGT bench, consisting of judicial member U D Salvi and expert member Ranjan Chatterjee, disposed of a petition filed by a group of villagers of Mithivirdi and Jaspara and NGO Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The petitioners had challenged the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) clearance given to the project by the Gujarat State Coastal Zone Management Authority on March 3, 2015. The Pune bench of the NGT (Western Zone), in its order passed on May 18, said that the counsel for the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change MoEF&CC submitted before it that Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited's (NPCIL) Mithivirdi project in Bhavnagar district in whose favour CRZ clearance was granted, is to be shifted to Kovadda, Andhra Pradesh on account of delay in land acquisition at village Chhaya-Mithivirdi site. It said that the counsel "further submitted that in view of shifting of the project the proposal for Environment Clearance (EC) before the MoEF&CC has been delisted." The MoEF placed on record before the NGT, through a letter dated March 27, 2017, that NPCIL had intimated it that the proposed WestingHouse Nuclear Power Plant of 6000-MW capacity is being shifted from Mithivirdi due to delay in land acquisition. The NGT also slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 each to the MoEF and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board for unnecessary delay caused during the hearing of the case. The order was uploaded today on its website. Petitioners including villagers and the NGO termed this as a major victory and said they would tomorrow meet at Jaspar village to "celebrate" the judgement. The villagers had opposed the project due to environmental and safety concerns, and had staged a walkout from the environmental public hearing claiming that it was not being conducted in accordance with the set norms. Thirty villages near the project had organised agitation against the project and the high-handed manner in which it was being imposed upon them. The proposed project was subsequently recommended CRZ clearance by the state government, which was challenged at the NGT-Pune by a team of villagers including Shaktisinh Gohil and Jagrutiben Gohil of Jaspara village, Hajabhai Dihora of Mithivirdi village, and Rohit Prajapati and Krishnakant Chauhan of the NGO Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. Reacting to the order, Krishnakant Chauhan said that while they celebrate the order, they are now preparing to extend all possible support to people in Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh.

Mithivirdi nuclear plant to be shifted to Andhra Pradesh: Centre to NGT

Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk and Walt Disney Co CEO Robert Iger said on Thursday they would leave White House advisory councils after US President Donald Trump said he would withdraw from the Paris climate accord.

Trump decided to pull the United States from the landmark 2015 global agreement designed to fight climate change despite entreaties from U.S. allies and corporate leaders in an action that fulfilled a major campaign pledge.&nbsp;

&quot;Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world,&quot; Musk said in a Twitter post.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world.
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/870369915894546432">June 1, 2017</a></blockquote>
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He is a member of the President&rsquo;s Strategic and Policy Forum, a business advisory group, and Trump&#39;s manufacturing jobs council.&nbsp;

Musk said on Wednesday that he had done &quot;all I can&quot; to convince Trump to stay in the accord, and threatened to leave the presidential advisory councils if Trump announced a US exit from the accord.

Iger wrote on Twitter that &quot;as a matter of principle, I&#39;ve resigned from the President&#39;s Council over the #ParisAgreement withdrawal.&quot; He is leaving the business advisory group.

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As a matter of principle, I&#39;ve resigned from the President&#39;s Council over the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ParisAgreement?src=hash">#ParisAgreement</a> withdrawal.
&mdash; Robert Iger (@RobertIger) <a href="https://twitter.com/RobertIger/status/870413002893254656">June 1, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Uber Technologies Inc CEO Travis Kalanick quit the business advisory council in February amid pressure from activists and employees who opposed the administration&#39;s immigration policies.

Trump created the business advisory group in December before taking office to assist him in making policy decisions.

The group is led by Stephen Schwarzman, chief executive of Blackstone Group LP and includes Indra Nooyi, the chief executive of PepsiCo Inc and Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co .

Late on Thursday, BlackRock Inc Chief Executive Larry Fink said he would continue to serve on Trump&#39;s CEO Forum, despite reservations about the White House decision to withdraw from the Paris accord.&nbsp;

&quot;I accepted the invitation to serve on the President&#39;s CEO Forum because I believe I can contribute to the policy dialogue in Washington and serve as a voice for investors,&quot; Fink said in a statement.&nbsp;

&quot;I am a strong believer that our industry needs to have a voice with governments around the world,&quot; said Fink, whose company is the world&#39;s largest asset manager, with $5.4 trillion under management.

&quot;I do not agree with all of the president&#39;s policies and decisions, including today`s announcement to exit the U.S. from the Paris Agreement which I believe is a critical step forward in addressing climate change.&quot;

Asked about Musk&#39;s resignation, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Fox News that &quot;anybody who read the agreement and understood it would realize that this was not really about climate, this was about US money going to other countries and it didn&rsquo;t solve the climate problem.&quot;

Musk has met with Trump several times and spoken with him about the long-term goal of his company SpaceX for flights to Mars carrying humans.

The White House is planning to a hold a meeting with technology leaders on June 19, an administration spokesman said Wednesday.

General Motors Co said Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra would remain on the presidential advisory panel, adding that her participation &quot;provides GM a seat at an important table to contribute to a constructive dialogue about key policy issues.&quot;

In 2013, GM signed a declaration joining other major companies arguing that responding to climate change was good business. The automaker said on Thursday that despite the withdrawal it &quot;will not waver from our commitment to the environment.&quot;

It was unclear whether Ford Motor Co&#39;s new chief executive, James Hackett, would join Trump&#39;s panel.&nbsp;

Ford spokeswoman Christin Baker said on Thursday the No.2 US&nbsp;automaker believes &quot;climate change is real, and remain deeply committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in our vehicles and our facilities.&quot;

(Reuters)

Walt Disney Co CEO Robet Iger and Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said they were leaving White House advisory councils after Trump 's decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord

Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk and Walt Disney Co CEO Robert Iger said on Thursday they would leave White House advisory councils after US President Donald Trump said he would withdraw from the Paris climate accord. Trump decided to pull the United States from the landmark 2015 global agreement designed to fight climate change despite entreaties from U.S. allies and corporate leaders in an action that fulfilled a major campaign pledge. "Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world," Musk said in a Twitter post. Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 1, 2017 × He is a member of the President’s Strategic and Policy Forum, a business advisory group, and Trump's manufacturing jobs council. Musk said on Wednesday that he had done "all I can" to convince Trump to stay in the accord, and threatened to leave the presidential advisory councils if Trump announced a US exit from the accord. Iger wrote on Twitter that "as a matter of principle, I've resigned from the President's Council over the #ParisAgreement withdrawal." He is leaving the business advisory group. As a matter of principle, I've resigned from the President's Council over the #ParisAgreement withdrawal. — Robert Iger (@RobertIger) June 1, 2017 × Uber Technologies Inc CEO Travis Kalanick quit the business advisory council in February amid pressure from activists and employees who opposed the administration's immigration policies. Trump created the business advisory group in December before taking office to assist him in making policy decisions. The group is led by Stephen Schwarzman, chief executive of Blackstone Group LP and includes Indra Nooyi, the chief executive of PepsiCo Inc and Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co . Late on Thursday, BlackRock Inc Chief Executive Larry Fink said he would continue to serve on Trump's CEO Forum, despite reservations about the White House decision to withdraw from the Paris accord. "I accepted the invitation to serve on the President's CEO Forum because I believe I can contribute to the policy dialogue in Washington and serve as a voice for investors," Fink said in a statement. "I am a strong believer that our industry needs to have a voice with governments around the world," said Fink, whose company is the world's largest asset manager, with $5.4 trillion under management. "I do not agree with all of the president's policies and decisions, including today`s announcement to exit the U.S. from the Paris Agreement which I believe is a critical step forward in addressing climate change." Asked about Musk's resignation, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Fox News that "anybody who read the agreement and understood it would realize that this was not really about climate, this was about US money going to other countries and it didn’t solve the climate problem." Musk has met with Trump several times and spoken with him about the long-term goal of his company SpaceX for flights to Mars carrying humans. The White House is planning to a hold a meeting with technology leaders on June 19, an administration spokesman said Wednesday. General Motors Co said Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra would remain on the presidential advisory panel, adding that her participation "provides GM a seat at an important table to contribute to a constructive dialogue about key policy issues." In 2013, GM signed a declaration joining other major companies arguing that responding to climate change was good business. The automaker said on Thursday that despite the withdrawal it "will not waver from our commitment to the environment." It was unclear whether Ford Motor Co's new chief executive, James Hackett, would join Trump's panel. Ford spokeswoman Christin Baker said on Thursday the No.2 US automaker believes "climate change is real, and remain deeply committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in our vehicles and our facilities." (Reuters)

Iger, Musk to quit Trump advisory councils after Paris accord decision

By Chandni Prashar

India&#39;s growth slowed to 7.1 percent last year, according to official data released Wednesday, in accordance with earlier predictions made by the government and economists.

The GDP growth for the fiscal year 2016/17 that ended on March 31 was below &nbsp;eight per cent the previous year.

The growth rate in 2016/17 was the fastest for any emerging economy including rival China which grew at at 6.7 per cent in the same period. 
 
However, at&nbsp;6.1 per cent, the GDP growth for the period from January-March was lower than the provisional 7.0 per cent in the previous quarter.

Pulled down by construction, manufacturing and trade services, India&#39;s&nbsp;growth was also lower than China which grew at&nbsp;6.9 per cent in&nbsp;the first quarter of 2017.

Countries like Myanmar, Bhutan, Ethiopia, and Ghana have been posting faster growth rates than any of the major economies but are clubbed in the bracket of small emerging economies. 
 
In 2018, China&#39;s growth rate is projected to be 6 per cent against India&#39;s 7.7 per cent.

Construction activity contracted 3.7 per cent year-on-year in the March quarter compared with a 3.4 per cent growth in the previous quarter. Manufacturing grew 5.3 per cent in the last quarter from a year ago, was slower than an annual rise of 8.2 per cent in the December quarter.

Annual growth in trade, hotels and transport services slowed to 6.5 per cent in the January-March period from 8.3 per cent a quarter ago.

&quot;This is a sharper deterioration than what I expected,&quot; Ashutosh Datar, economist at IIFL Institutional Equities, told AFP.

&quot;The fourth quarter (6.1 per cent) is a bit weaker than what I expected.&quot;

The figure is the lowest since the December quarter in 2014, which registered 6 per cent growth.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has defended demonetisation as a counter-measure against corruption to weed out the black money in the economy. His government argues it will boost revenues by dissuading people from using cash, and make tax compliance easier.

While the full impact of the note ban is still not known, analysts had expected a pick-up in the fourth quarter as consumers who had held back in the weeks after the cash ban stepped up spending.

The slowdown was expected since it follows the government&#39;s shock demonetisation of Rs 500 (around $7.50) and Rs 1000 notes last November which led to a currency crunch and reduction in demand in an economy which is primarily cash-reliant.

The weak GDP data will be a setback for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who completed three years in office last week.

A decrease in private sector investement and a banking sector riddled with bad debt continue to dampen economic growth.

Blaming demonetisation, the IMF had also trimmed India&#39;s annual growth forecast by 0.4 percentage points to 7.2 per cent for 2017.

The IMF, however, gave India a favourable growth forecast in the medium term thanks to the &quot;implementation of key reforms, loosening of supply-side bottlenecks, and appropriate fiscal and monetary policies&quot; in its annual World Economic Outlook.

&nbsp;A recent World Bank report has advised the Indian government to adopt a more female-and labour-intensive export growth strategy and claims India&#39;s economy could achieve double-digit growth if it pushes reforms to increase women&#39;s participation in the country&#39;s workforce.

On the global front, factors holding India back are inward looking policies of protectionism of some economies,policies of the United States,&nbsp;increased geopolitical tension and&nbsp; global financial condition, finance minister Arun Jaitley said earlier.

The finance minister has forecast a growth rate of&nbsp;7.2 per cent in 2017 and 7.7 percent for the Indian economy in 2018.&nbsp;

On the positive side, the injection of new banknotes after demonetisation, a demand for consumer goods buoyed by the traditional wedding season along with an increase in spending -- people buying fridges and air conditioners to cope with the summer -- have since led a rebound in consumer spending, which fuels more than half of India&#39;s economic growth.

An early monsoon, which hit the Southern coast this week, raises prospects of a good harvest which is expected to increase farm incomes and boost agricultural growth.&nbsp;

With government sector salaries also expected to rise, the outlook for a sustained recovery looks good.

India&#39;s new Goods and Services Tax bill -- which imposes a uniform rate of taxation across the country -- rolls out from July 1 and should&nbsp;enable the country to achieve its target of 8 per cent growth in the next few years.&nbsp; 
 
(WION)

 
&nbsp;

The GDP growth for the fiscal year 2016/17 that ended on March 31 was below a 7.7 per cent for the previous year

By Chandni Prashar India's growth slowed to 7.1 percent last year, according to official data released Wednesday, in accordance with earlier predictions made by the government and economists. The GDP growth for the fiscal year 2016/17 that ended on March 31 was below eight per cent the previous year. The growth rate in 2016/17 was the fastest for any emerging economy including rival China which grew at at 6.7 per cent in the same period. However, at 6.1 per cent, the GDP growth for the period from January-March was lower than the provisional 7.0 per cent in the previous quarter. Pulled down by construction, manufacturing and trade services, India's growth was also lower than China which grew at 6.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2017. Countries like Myanmar, Bhutan, Ethiopia, and Ghana have been posting faster growth rates than any of the major economies but are clubbed in the bracket of small emerging economies. In 2018, China's growth rate is projected to be 6 per cent against India's 7.7 per cent. Construction activity contracted 3.7 per cent year-on-year in the March quarter compared with a 3.4 per cent growth in the previous quarter. Manufacturing grew 5.3 per cent in the last quarter from a year ago, was slower than an annual rise of 8.2 per cent in the December quarter. Annual growth in trade, hotels and transport services slowed to 6.5 per cent in the January-March period from 8.3 per cent a quarter ago. "This is a sharper deterioration than what I expected," Ashutosh Datar, economist at IIFL Institutional Equities, told AFP. "The fourth quarter (6.1 per cent) is a bit weaker than what I expected." The figure is the lowest since the December quarter in 2014, which registered 6 per cent growth. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has defended demonetisation as a counter-measure against corruption to weed out the black money in the economy. His government argues it will boost revenues by dissuading people from using cash, and make tax compliance easier. While the full impact of the note ban is still not known, analysts had expected a pick-up in the fourth quarter as consumers who had held back in the weeks after the cash ban stepped up spending. The slowdown was expected since it follows the government's shock demonetisation of Rs 500 (around $7.50) and Rs 1000 notes last November which led to a currency crunch and reduction in demand in an economy which is primarily cash-reliant. The weak GDP data will be a setback for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who completed three years in office last week. A decrease in private sector investement and a banking sector riddled with bad debt continue to dampen economic growth. Blaming demonetisation, the IMF had also trimmed India's annual growth forecast by 0.4 percentage points to 7.2 per cent for 2017. The IMF, however, gave India a favourable growth forecast in the medium term thanks to the "implementation of key reforms, loosening of supply-side bottlenecks, and appropriate fiscal and monetary policies" in its annual World Economic Outlook. A recent World Bank report has advised the Indian government to adopt a more female-and labour-intensive export growth strategy and claims India's economy could achieve double-digit growth if it pushes reforms to increase women's participation in the country's workforce. On the global front, factors holding India back are inward looking policies of protectionism of some economies,policies of the United States, increased geopolitical tension and global financial condition, finance minister Arun Jaitley said earlier. The finance minister has forecast a growth rate of 7.2 per cent in 2017 and 7.7 percent for the Indian economy in 2018. On the positive side, the injection of new banknotes after demonetisation, a demand for consumer goods buoyed by the traditional wedding season along with an increase in spending -- people buying fridges and air conditioners to cope with the summer -- have since led a rebound in consumer spending, which fuels more than half of India's economic growth. An early monsoon, which hit the Southern coast this week, raises prospects of a good harvest which is expected to increase farm incomes and boost agricultural growth. With government sector salaries also expected to rise, the outlook for a sustained recovery looks good. India's new Goods and Services Tax bill -- which imposes a uniform rate of taxation across the country -- rolls out from July 1 and should enable the country to achieve its target of 8 per cent growth in the next few years. (WION)

India's annual growth slows to 7.1%, slower than China's first quarter growth

India and Spain on Wednesday signed seven agreements across multiple sectors following delegation-level talks, co-chaired by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy in Madrid.

Giving fresh impetus to multifarious relations between Spain and India, PM Modi and Rajoy witnessed the exchange of seven Memoranda of Understanding&#39;s (MOU)&nbsp;across various fields:

1. Transfer of sentenced persons

2. Cooperation in Organ Transplantation

3. Cooperation in Cybersecurity

4. Technical Cooperation in Civil Aviation

5. Visa waiver for holders of diplomatic passports

6. MOU between Foreign Service Institute and Diplomatic Academy of Spain

7. Cooperation in Renewable Energy

Prime Minister Modi said cooperation in railway&nbsp;expansion and upgradations, smart cities, infrastructure, et cetera&nbsp;are areas of India&#39;s priorities and requirements where Spain has enough skills and mastery in such fields.

Applauding economic reforms undertaken by the Spanish government, PM Modi said, &quot;Under President Rajoy&#39;s leadership, Spain has undergone economic reforms. Economic growth and development are also the biggest priority for my government and this era belongs to transformation. Close ties with Spain will take both of us to a new direction&quot;.

He added, &quot;With a mission of promoting my vision of &#39;New India&#39;, this visit will bring a new momentum in the ties of India with Spain by giving fresh impetus to a multifarious relation.&quot;

Describing terrorism as a global threat, Modi said, &quot;Both our countries have faced terrorism and strengthening cooperation on this security challenge is an important part of bilateral agenda. Terrorism is a challenge for all of our societies, we get to hear a lot about terror attacks these days.&quot;

Prime Minister Modi is on a two-day state visit to Spain. He arrived in Madrid on Tuesday amid his four-nation tour.&nbsp;

(ANI)

Indian PM Modi met Spain's PM, Mariano Rajoy, in Madrid to discuss a broad partnership in several domains

India and Spain on Wednesday signed seven agreements across multiple sectors following delegation-level talks, co-chaired by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy in Madrid. Giving fresh impetus to multifarious relations between Spain and India, PM Modi and Rajoy witnessed the exchange of seven Memoranda of Understanding's (MOU) across various fields: 1. Transfer of sentenced persons 2. Cooperation in Organ Transplantation 3. Cooperation in Cybersecurity 4. Technical Cooperation in Civil Aviation 5. Visa waiver for holders of diplomatic passports 6. MOU between Foreign Service Institute and Diplomatic Academy of Spain 7. Cooperation in Renewable Energy Prime Minister Modi said cooperation in railway expansion and upgradations, smart cities, infrastructure, et cetera are areas of India's priorities and requirements where Spain has enough skills and mastery in such fields. Applauding economic reforms undertaken by the Spanish government, PM Modi said, "Under President Rajoy's leadership, Spain has undergone economic reforms. Economic growth and development are also the biggest priority for my government and this era belongs to transformation. Close ties with Spain will take both of us to a new direction". He added, "With a mission of promoting my vision of 'New India', this visit will bring a new momentum in the ties of India with Spain by giving fresh impetus to a multifarious relation." Describing terrorism as a global threat, Modi said, "Both our countries have faced terrorism and strengthening cooperation on this security challenge is an important part of bilateral agenda. Terrorism is a challenge for all of our societies, we get to hear a lot about terror attacks these days." Prime Minister Modi is on a two-day state visit to Spain. He arrived in Madrid on Tuesday amid his four-nation tour. (ANI)

India-Spain strengthen bilateral ties, sign seven crucial agreements as MOU