QBiz: Bankers’ Strike on 7 Feb; Japan Threatens India with WTO
The Quint’s compilation of the top business news from dailies across the country.
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1. Bank Employees to Go on Strike on 7 February
Bank staff and employee’s unions have given a call to strike on 7 February, to highlight problems faced by them while implementing demonetisation and seeking an effective mechanism of recovery of huge bad loans.
CH Venkatachalam, general secretary, All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) said in a statement:
Banking sector employees will hold a dharna at Reserve Bank of India offices on 2 February, followed by a mass demonstration on 7 February.
Source: Business Standard
2. Tough Times Ahead! Oracle Lawsuit Portends Legal Woes for Indian IT Companies Like Infosys, TCS
Technology companies including Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services, may find themselves in the line of fire as anger against outsourcing in America turns bellicose as a new government led by Donald Trump takes charge in the world’s biggest market for information technology services.
In what many view as a sign of things to come, the US Labour Department sued software giant Oracle, earlier this week, accusing the California headquartered company for discriminatory hiring practices against White, Hispanic and African-Americans in favour of Asians, particularly “Asian Indians”.
“I would expect to see a rise in the number of lawsuits which are then further amplified by a populist press,” said Peter Bendor-Samuel, CEO of IT consultancy firm, Everest Group.
Source: The Economic Times
3. Japan Threatens India with WTO on Steel as Donald Trump Era Heralds Rising Trade Tensions
Japan is threatening to take India to the WTO over restrictions that nearly halved its steel exports to the South Asian nation over the past year, a step that could trigger more trade spats as global tensions over steel and other commodities run high.
Such action is rare for Japan. The world’s second-biggest steel producer typically tries to smooth disputes quietly through bilateral talks, but with global trade friction increasing, Japan’s defence of an industry that sells nearly half of its products overseas is getting more vigorous.
Besides concern over India’s protection of its domestic steel industry, Japan is also worried about the more rough and tumble climate for global trade being engendered by incoming US President Donald Trump, and feels it must make a strong stand for open and fair international markets.
Source: The Financial Express
4. India to Hardsell Role of Desi Firms to Trump
New Delhi is ready with a positive narrative of the contribution of Indian companies to employment and revenue generation in the United States, besides the supply of affordable medicines, all of which its officials will discuss with the Donald Trump administration, which takes charge on Friday.
“It is important for us to first establish the relevance of Indian companies for the US economy before we make a case for easier visa rules and other industry-friendly dispensations. We plan to do so with facts and numbers when we meet the new US team of officials,” a Commerce Ministry official told BusinessLine.
India has decided to wait for all appointments to be made, especially at the mid-level, before making its move.
“While the new President has appointed top officials, including the Secretaries of Commerce and Health, we don’t know much about middle-level appointments yet. We will wait for these appointments to take place as we have to explain our points of view to them first,” the Commerce Ministry official said.
Source: The Hindu, Business Line
5. Ahead of China, PM Modi's 'Startup India' Makes Country World's 3rd Largest Hub for New Tech Outfits
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Startup India’ initiative has caught the attention of the world. ‘India’ was a key topic at the ongoing World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting 2017. The ‘Startup India’ initiative has not only effected a startup boom in the country but also made India world’s third largest “hotspot” for new tech businesses in a short span of time.
Quoting a report by Nasscom and Zinnov, an article on World Economic Forum’s website (www.weforum.org) says the list of top five such countries is led by the US, followed by the UK, India, China and Isreal.
According to the report, India also has the fastest growing base of startups in the entire world. “India is in the midst of a start-up boom. Supported by a range of government initiatives, new companies are popping up all over the country,” it says.
Source: The Financial Express
6. Davos 2017: No Crisis, But A Lot Of Uncertainity In 2017, Says Martin Sorell
The global economy will face a lot of uncertainty in 2017, which may take it into the “black swan territory”, according to Martin Sorrell, Chief Executive Officer of advertising major WPP Plc.
Between Donald Trump’s presidency, the Brexit referendum, and China, things are tightening globally, Sorrell told BloombergQuint's Menaka Doshi on the sidelines of the 47th World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Sorrell added that while Trump will be a short-term positive for the US, internationally he will be an "engima".
He praised India, calling it the only "bright spot" in the world economy. Sorrell said what Prime Minister Modi is trying to achieve in India through the demonetisation exercise is similar to the Argentine President Mauricio Macri's removal of currency controls in his country.
Source: Bloomberg Quint
7. Working To Reduce Transaction Costs On Online Payments: RBI Tells House Panel
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday informed a parliamentary panel that it is working on a mechanism to bring down transaction costs on online payments post demonetisation and cash-flow position has improved significantly.
RBI Governor Urjit Patel, along with Deputy Governor R Gandhi and other senior functionaries, appeared before Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for an oral 'Review of Monetary Policy'.
Members asked a host of questions and the RBI Governor has been given 15 days to respond.
Sources said members were told by the RBI that a mechanism was being discussed with stakeholders, including banks and payment gateways, to bring down the cost of transactions in line with the government's initiative to promote digital payments.
Source: Bloomberg Quint
8. SBI Research Sees 70% Money Supply Normalisation by February-End
Currency circulation is likely to normalise by the end of February as nearly 70 per cent of the notes will be remonetised by then, a report said on Thursday.
“We are still maintaining that 70 per cent of the notes will be remonetised by February-end,” said the report brought out by SBI Research.
The report said with transactions at the fuel pumps amounting to Rs 4.5 trillion on an annualised basis, even a 20 per cent shift to digital would mean a saving of Rs 1 trillion. “Hence normalcy will return most likely by the end of February.”
As per the latest RBI data on currency in circulation, the newly-supplied currency till 13 January was around Rs 7 trillion, which means roughly 70 million pieces of notes of different denominations are being printed per day.
Source: The Financial Express
9. Under Rajan, RBI Had Sought Rs 5,000, Rs 10,000 Notes for 'Eroded' Rs 1,000
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), under former governor Raghuram Rajan, had suggested the introduction of Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 notes in view of the value of the Rs 1,000 note being eroded by inflation.
Information provided by the RBI to the Public Accounts Committee revealed that the central bank had made the recommendation in October 2014, some months after the Modi government took charge. Some 18 months later, the government informed the RBI, in May 2016, about its "in principle" decision to introduce a new series of Rs 2,000 notes, and the printing presses were finally given instructions in June last year.
This throws further light on the sequence of events and discussions between the RBI and the government ahead of the decision to demonetise the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 bank notes that was announced on 8 November last year.
Source: The Times of India
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