1. Adani suffers rare political setback
Strange are the ways of politics, be it in India or in Queensland, Australia, where the recent election upset swept the ruling Liberal National Party government out of power. At risk obviously is its promised $300 million to $450 million for the proposed “short term stake” in the 300-km rail line that is to link Gautam Adani’s ambitious $16-billion Carmichael coal mine to the Abbot Point port. Given the strong stance of the Labour Party against the government participation in the project, Adani has made it known that he would go it alone. The question being asked in Queensland is why did the LNP government bend backwards to participate in the project if Adani clearly had no need for the funding support? More importantly, why did State Bank of India rush in with the provisional $1 billion funding promise?
2. Great payment banking rush
After losing out on getting a banking licence, India’s leading telecom service providers and retailers have made a beeline to apply for payments banks. About 100 companies have applied for getting a payments bank licence, which will get them to being closest to a bank and accept payments and remittances. The ones in the queue include Bharti group, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Vodafone, Idea, Future Group, Reliance Industries. While payments banks cannot lend, there are benefits for their business as they deal in large payment volumes. Many of them already provide payment gateway or mobile wallet services.
3. Big fight over food security reforms
Even as the debate on the poverty numbers remains unresolved, the sensitive issue of food security for all has become a battleground. Two recent reports—one by former Union minister Shanta Kumar on restructuring Food Corporation of India and the other by agronomist Dr Ashok Gulati on PDS—have been attacked by civil society. Pointing to major lacunae in the reports, development economists Jean Dreze and Reetika Khera sought to draw attention to the experiences of states like Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Odisha and Bihar, where reforms have sharply brought down the leakages through the PDS. Dreze warned against getting struck with “faulty numbers”.
Math
£ 200,000 Donation by Infy co-founder Narayana Murthy towards a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Parliament Square, London
New definitions for broadband speeds
How Twitter makes its money
- 85% promoted products
- 15% partnerships with firms using Twitter data
Source: Forbes
185 roubles $2.70, for half a litre of vodka in Russia, which cut the minimum price by 15 per cent to stop people drinking hooch.
Mojo
Real money monopoly
The much-loved board game Monopoly turns 80 this year. To celebrate, 80 lucky customers in France will get “real money” in randomly-shipped boxes. Only one set will land the jackpot—in which every game note is replaced with actual money, altogether adding up to 20,580 euros.
Mind
This week we learnt about…Uttar Pradesh’s global hardsell
The World Business Times, the business supplement of the UK-based Daily Telegraph, has come out with an eight-page pullout on India’s most populous state, claiming “sole responsibility for the content”. There are 18 stories in all, with nine international bylines (from Paul McNamara to Timothy Walters). With headlines like ‘Unlimited Potential’ and ‘The Rise of Female Empowerment’, the package covers it all—politics, business and soft power. Here’s one telling sample: “It would seem the young leader has perfected the art of managing multiple hats as a CM, party leader, husband, father, son, and friend.”
