by admin | May 25, 2021 | Investing, World
By Addis Getachew,
Djibouti, Republic of Djibouti : Private investors fear investing in infrastructure for the continent, warned a top African economist on Monday.
Carlos Lopes, former head of the UN’s Economic Commission for Africa and now a professor at the University of Cape Town, made the remarks in Djibouti to a forum on regional integration and private infrastructure investment.
Top officials from the Horn of Africa nation and other countries in the region, experts in the field, and students of higher learning attended the forum held on the sidelines of one-of-a-kind trade fair.
Risk perception has been preventing private investors from making crucial investments in infrastructure, which is the basis for regional integration, he said.
He called for government measures to mitigate risk factors to help attract the needed private investment in infrastructure.
Kontentinos Berhutesfa, a senior political counselor at the UN, argued that “governments are tied up in their own priorities” and pay little attention to the need for ratcheting up regional integration.
Some at the forum lauded the economic integration between Djibouti and Ethiopia, saying it can serve as a model to the region.
Ethiopian Ambassador to Djibouti Shamebo Fitamo Adebo told Anadolu Agency that the two neighboring countries have put in place necessary infrastructure to promote economic integration, citing the multi-billion Ethiopia-Djibouti electric railway line that went into full operation just last month.
Ethiopia, a country of 100 million people, almost entirely depends on the port of Djibouti for its fast-growing import-export transactions.
Djiboutian Economy and Finance Minister Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh told reporters that $12 billion worth of infrastructure investments are in the pipeline in his country to help promote economic integration with countries in the region, notably neighboring Ethiopia.
He added that while government-to-government relations between the two countries are at their best level to date, business-to-business relations remain the missing link.
—AA
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Economy, Investing, Large Enterprise, News
Narendra Modi and Ivana Trump
By Aroonim Bhuyan,
New Delhi : Representatives of around 45 American companies met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at this year’s Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Hyderabad and expressed their commitment to continue investing in India, a top Indian American business leader has said.
These representatives were part of a delegation of the US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), a newly set-up non-profit organisation focused on deepening business relations between the US and India and enhancing the strategic relationship between the two countries.
“I can’t talk about the specifics (of the meeting with Modi) because it was off the record. But basically the companies did meet with the Prime Minister and they showed their commitment to continued investment into India,” USISPF President Mukesh Aghi told IANS in an interview.
The US looks at building its relationship with India on two broad principles. “One principle is that economic prosperity of India is good for America. And the second principle is a militarily strong India is good for regional stability,” Aghi said.
If India became economically more prosperous and there was more disposable income, people would tend to buy more US goods, or send more of their kids for education to the US, he said.
“If you look at this year, the enrollment of Indian students in the US went up by 12 per cent. So we have 186,000 Indian students in the US,” he stated.
“That’s one. Two, if you look at companies like Amazon, look at Uber, look at WhatsApp or Google, you know they have a tremendous market share in the Indian market. Their businesses grow because consumer spending is growing in India because of economic prosperity.”
On the defence side, Aghi said that if India became more prosperous, it would spend more money on defence.
“If you look at the last three years, the procurement with India has gone up to $15 billion,” he said.
“We are talking Make in India also from the manufacturing perspective of defence equipment. So, I think those principles are driving this relationship.”
On the current business environment in India, Aghi referred to the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings which saw India jumping from the 130th rank to 100th.
“When this government came in 2014, India’s ranking was 142. And now it has come to 100. I think that is a positive sign and we will keep on urging the government to go to below 50. That should be the ambition,” he stated.
About the economic reforms being undertaken by the Indian government, he said these have been certified by credit rating agency Moody’s, which has upgraded India’s sovereign rating to Baa2 from its lowest investment grade of Baa after 14 long years.
“What the government is doing is the right stuff — which seems to send a strong message to investors also. Moody’s ranking is a positive sign, very positive,” he said.
On what were the key takeaways for USISPF from this year’s GES, which was held on the theme “Women First, Priority for All”, Aghi said: “I think the number one takeaway is that start-ups and entrepreneurship are important for job creation. That’s what India needs”.
He also stressed on the involvement and engagement of women entrepreneurs and women workers for the growth of GDP and economy.
“You know, a McKinsey report shows that by 2025, if you engage more women workers, it will have an impact of $12 trillion on the global economy,” the USISPF president said.
(Aroonim Bhuyan can be contacted at aroonim.b@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
For representational purpose only
By Amit Khanna,
In India you have hundreds of film, literature, music, dance, sports, fashion, investment, technology, science and other festivals in every part of the country. This should be a happy indicator of our rich cultural heritage and our predisposition to the arts. However, most such events are forced gatherings of similar sets of people.
The genesis of these festivals is steeped in history. In post-Independence India, it was essential that a wounded but free nation established its cultural diversity, tradition and its new-found confidence through creative expression. So, Nehru rightly set up bodies like the Sangeet Natak, Lalit Kala and Sahitya Akademis. An International Film Festival, Akashvani Sangeet Sammelan, National Book Fair, etc., were also set up. What should have been the take-off points of various arts, soon lapsed into a well-oiled machine of state patronage. Various awards instituted within the first few years became politicised.
When royal patronage of arts disappeared after the abolition of princely states, music, dance, fine art and literature almost disappeared from public spaces. So it was imperative that the government kick-started their revival. It was good when this was done in the 1950s. However, wherever politics and bureaucracy creep in, a new pecking order based not so much on real talent but political and other (social, economic, regional) considerations come into play.
So, by the end of the 1950s, there emerged a new cultural aristocracy. A group of aficionados, some genuine, some pretentious, who over time would be identified by their omnipresence on various committees and the invitation lists at concerts, festivals and other such events. This newly-minted social class did have some real scholars who did inspiring work in furthering the arts, but largely these were self-styled critics, failed artistes and social climbers.
As a new festival circuit developed initially in New Delhi and then elsewhere, it was a boon for performing artists, filmmakers, painters and authors who got a chance to reach out to a larger audience through these platforms. One has to realise that in the 1950s the only source of income for artistes was All India Radio and a few private mehfils. A chosen few like Pandit Omkar Nath Thakur, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Indrani Rehman got a chance to perform abroad. The Indian Council of Cultural Relations, an organisation under the Ministry of External Affairs, did send some artistes and films overseas, but again the selection was at the whim of some sarkari patron.
The International Film Festival of India did not acquire a proper structure till the 1970s. If you were lucky, your film, based on some foreign critic’s recommendation, was chosen for screening at a foreign film festival like Cannes, Berlin or Venice. There were auditoriums where one could watch art cinema. Film societies, with help from embassies, managed to get some films for private screenings for members in major metros.
Plays were restricted to some cities like Mumbai, Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Delhi. Literature Festivals were things of a distant future. Book launches were confined to a few established authors like Amrita Preetam, Mulk Raj Anand, R.K. Narayan and a few important journalists. Most artistic/cultural activity was limited to a few events where individuals were the catalyst for an art form’s growth.
There were some honourable initiatives like the Swami Haridas Music Festival in Jalandhar or the Dover Lane Music Conference in Calcutta. The Shriram Family (DCM) of Delhi held the annual Shankar Shaad Mushaira in the capital, which was the subcontinent’s most prestigous annual gathering of Urdu poets. They also organised the annual Shankarlal Music Festival and the Bharatiya Kala Kendra Ramleela and concerts.
In the South, the Thyagraja Festival and the Madras Academy concerts are largely privately funded. Soon the Sangeet Sammelan of AIR and three Akademis started holding events in major cities, which were eagerly awaited. The government also started promoting Indian festivals abroad.
In other spheres, drama was largely semi-professional except for regional theatre like in Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali and Punjabi. The first Triennale (Art Exhibition) was held in in 1971, but top artistes had gained popularity among Indian cognoscenti.
It was only in the 1970s that corporates entered the arts circuit and industry groups like the Tatas, Birlas, JK, Jains (of The Times of India) and multi-nationals like ITC became sponsors of cultural events. By then a familiar coterie of cultural interventionists could be seen on the scene. They were organising, judging, participating or just attending event after event. I was for a while a part of this jamboree. Soon from this emerged a new Brahmanical order of culturatti generally dominated by what are now known as left-liberals.
Economic liberalisation and satellite TV changed the paradigm. Today there the hundreds of festivals across disciplines. Private groups professionally organise most of these. There are expensive delegate fees for such events. So you have at least a dozen film festivals (MAMI in Mumbai, Kolkata Film Festival, Kerala Film Festival in Thiruvananthapuram and IFFI in Goa are major ones) from Guwahati to Dharamshala, Lucknow to Bengaluru.
There are a dozen litfests, led by the Jaipur Literary Festival, and events in Mumbai, Delhi and other state capitals. Several music and dance festivals, and theatre festivals like the one organised by the National School of Drama in Delhi, and those organised by the Mahindra Group, Aditya Birla Group, IPTA, Prithvi, Nandikar and others. And hundreds of smaller events.
Museums and art galleries all over hold regular exhibitions and seminars. All sponsored and many of them money-making. There are professional event mangers, PR companies and tie-ups with broadcasters. Besides, every media group, TV channel and several chambers of commerce and industry hold hundreds of events, award shows and conclaves. We are spoilt for choice.
What has not changed in 70 years is the list of 500-odd people who are the usual speakers, participants, critics and guests at these events. I am tired of hearing the same people turning up at such events with the regularity of homing pigeons. This tired lot says the same things, loaded with their ideology and opinions (often redundant) month after month, year after year. The same panelists (including me), the same chief guests and often the same applause-junky, name-dropping professional quote hangers. The show goes on.
(Amit Khanna is a writer, filmmaker and media guru. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at amitfilm@gmail.com)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate finance, Corporate Governance, Investing
By Vishal Gulati,
Bonn : India is on track to catalyse $200-300 billion of new investment in its renewable energy infrastructure in the next decade with global capital inflows playing an increasingly crucial role, a top financial analyst with a leading US-based institute foresees.
India’s decarbonisation policy is in line with global trends which, since 2011, have been seeing investments in renewable energy infrastructure running at two-three times of that for new fossil fuel capacities, Tim Buckley, Director of Energy Finance Studies Australasia with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA),
said.
At present, India relies on thermal power generation for 80 per cent of its electricity, while hydro supplies a significant 10 per cent and renewables just seven per cent.
However, India has set an ambitious but achievable national target of 275 GW of renewable capacity installed by 2027.
Changes to tap renewable resources are on the way.
Indeed, the tipping point may have been 2016-17, when the net thermal capacity plummeted and renewable installs more than doubled, Buckley said in his report “Indian electricity sector transformation” made public on Tuesday.
These developments continued into 2017 with costs of both falling by an unprecedented 50 per cent and recent tenders now pricing renewables at 20 per cent below the average price on existing Indian thermal power generation.
The report examines the rapid transformation in India’s electricity market, showing how renewable energy and energy efficiency measures can help the country minimise the growth of coal-fired electric generation.
Electricity demand in India is expected to double over the coming decade, and how this electricity will be generated is important for both India and the world.
“We present an electricity sector model out to 2027 showing how India can meet almost all of its growing electricity needs via increasingly cost-competitive renewable energy resources and numerous energy efficiency measures, while at the same time keeping its coal use in check, at perhaps no more than five-10 per cent above current levels,”
Buckley told IANS in an email response.
India is the world’s second-largest producer, consumer and importer of thermal coal. It’s also the third largest electricity user in the world after China and the US.
Toeing the path of developing renewable energy infrastructure, prices of both wind and solar power have recently fallen significantly in India with record low prices seen this year.
As a result, for the first time in India, addition of new renewable generation topped that of thermal power in 2016-17.
During this period, net thermal power addition fell to just 7.7 gigawatts, well below the roughly 20 GW added annually in the prior four years, while renewable additions jumped to 15.7 GW, the report said.
India’s draft national electricity plan calls for renewable energy installs to average 21-22 GW annually going forward.
Given the rapidly improving economics of renewable, solar’s cost is down 50 per cent in just two years, for example hovering at about $0.038 per kilowatt-hour, making this an achievable target.
Some in India have been concerned about rising module prices in the near term, but IEEFA pointed to the record low $0.018 and $0.021/kWh tariffs awarded in Mexico and Chile respectively this past week.
Clearly India can look forward to further renewable energy tariff reductions medium term, the report said.
While renewables are expected to surge, IEEFA forecasts that net thermal power capacity additions are likely to remain below five GW annually in the next decade, held in check by increased retirements of highly polluting, end-of-life sub-critical coal-fired power plants.
“We expect retirements to average more than 2.5 GW annually, but with coal-fired power plant utilisation rates averaging just 56.7 per cent in 2016-17 and little prospect of this improving over the coming decade, retirements could well accelerate to four-five GW annually,” said Buckley.
These retirements are likely to be pushed forward by the reality that solar and wind already are being deployed at tariffs below those of even existing domestic thermal power generation.
India’s target to all but cease thermal coal imports by the end of this decade is now the logical economic outcome, especially since plants using expensive imported coal are increasingly the high-cost dispatch option.
As the second largest importer of thermal coal globally, this is a materially adverse development for nations exporting thermal coal.
“The challenges to integrating India’s 40 per cent renewable energy target by 2030 are real, but the momentum over the past three years, gained through government policy and economic merit, give us confidence India will stay the course,” the report said.
India is ranked 14th in the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2018 out of 56 nations and the European Union by environmental organisation Germanwatch, an improvement from its 20th position last year, for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by opting to transform its electricity sector towards green technology.
China, with its high emissions and growing energy use over the past five years, still ranks 41st, says the Germanwatch’s report released last week.
At the just-concluded UN Climate Change Conference (COP23) in Bonn, a coalition led by Canada and Britain jointly launched the Powering Past Coal Alliance with more than 20 partners, and even a US state, to move away from coal, a major source of air pollution.
A climate expert told IANS that this is a first-of-its-kind attempt to phase out the traditional coal power on such a massive scale after the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement that aims to keep global warming within 1.5 degrees Celsius by cutting greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels.
(Vishal Gulati was in Bonn at the invitation of Global Editors Network to cover the COP23. He can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Commodities, Commodities News, Commodity Market, Corporate Jobs, Emerging Businesses, Employment, Investing, Private Jobs
Industries Minister Minister KT Rama Rao launches Telangana Food Processing policy in Delhi on Saturday.
New Delhi/Hyderabad : Telangana on Saturday launched its food processing policy, aiming to attract Rs.20,000 crore investment in the sector over the next five years.
The policy also aims to make Telangana the number one state in milk production and livestock and generate employment for 125,000 people.
State Minister for Industries K.T. Rama Rao unveiled the policy at World Food India 2017 in Delhi.
He said the policy was aimed at promoting the opportunities available for investment in food processing sector in the state.
“The policy aims to double the incomes of farmers in the state,” said a statement issued by his office in Hyderabad.
The minister said the policy had been drafted with a goal to establish and promote linkages between agriculture and food processing sectors.
He stated that the current initiatives of the state government like sheep distribution and fish fingerling distribution would be linked to the food processing industry and thereby double the incomes of farming and rural communities.
The Industries Minister assured that investors in food processing sector would be extended all possible cooperation. The Telangana government would meet or beat an offer made by any other Indian state, he added.
At the World Food India 2017 event, the Government of Telangana has signed nine MoUs with food processing companies. These companies will bring in investments up to Rs.1,250 crore to the state and create employment for 10,000 people.
—IANS
