SC restores Cong government in Arunachal Pradesh

 New Delhi, Jul 13 (PTI) In a major setback to the Bharatiya Janata Party and the government headed by it at the Centre, the Supreme Court of India on Wednesday ordered restoration of the Congress government in the north-eastern Indian Arunachal Pradesh state by quashing all decisions of the Governor that had precipitated its fall in January, holding them "violative" of the Constitution

The apex court's verdict came as a shot in the arm for the Congress, paving the way for the return of its dismissed government headed by Nabam Tuki

The landmark unanimous judgement by a five-judge bench set aside among other things Governor Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa's message directing the preponing of the session and the manner of holding the proceedings of sixth session of the Assembly scheduled from January 14, 2016, to December 16-18, 2015

The constitution bench, headed by Justice J S Khehar, ordered that status quo ante as prevailed on December 15, 2015 be restored in Arunachal Pradesh Assembly

This is the second major blow for the Centre from the Supreme Court which had only in May ordered a fresh floor test in the Assembly of the north Indian state of Uttarakhand that led to the return of the Congress government headed by Harish Rawat and lifting of the President's Rule imposed on March 27

Reading out the operative portions of the main judgement, Justice Khehar said the order of the Governor dated December 9, 2015, preponing the session of Legislative Assembly from January 14, 2016, to December 16, 2015, is violative of Article 163 read with Article 174 of the Constitution and as such is liable to be quashed and the same is quashed

"Secondly, the message of governor directing the manner of conducting the proceedings of the sixth session of Legislative Assembly of Arunachal Pradesh from December 16-18, 2015, is violative of Article 163 read with Article 175 of the Constitution and as such is liable to be quashed and the same is quashed," the bench said

Thirdly, the bench said "all steps and decisions taken by the Legislative Assembly of Arunachal Pradesh in pursuant to Governor's order of December 9, 2015, are unsustainable and liable to be set aside and as such it is set aside." 

Finally, the bench observed, "In view of the decision from one to three, status quo ante as it prevailed on December 15, 2015, is ordered to be restored." .

Government reviews consumer redressal mechanism with industry

Industry asked to display the policy for replacement and refund and timeframe for redressal of grievances on websites

A conference on Government industry partnership for redressal of consumer grievances convened here today. Secretary, Consumer Affairs Shri Hem Pande chaired the conference which was attended by all the leading Chambers of Commerce and Industry viz. ASSOCHAM, FICCI, CII, PHD, DICCI and 130 companies cutting across different sectors such as Consumer Products, E- Commerce, Banking, Insurance, travel etc.

The Secretary Consumer Affairs said that in view of the increasing number of consumer grievances pertaining to different sectors of industry, there is a genuine need to pay immediate attention to strengthen redressal mechanism so that grievances are redressed within a given timeframe. The need for transparency in this regard is of prime importance. Each company should bring out names of the nodal officers for handling grievances as well as the escalation matrix so that grievance if not redressed can be taken up with the next higher level. The names and contact details of alternate nodal officers should also be given. The policy for replacement and refund should be placed on the website of the companies. While the companies should acknowledge timeframe by which the grievances are addressed by giving a unique registration number they should also have regular interaction with the consumers. They should refrain from giving misleading image of the products and services. A company which eliminates the grievances of consumers can only grow on a sustainable basis. He said that to go far one must go together, the Secretary said.

The industries were asked to constantly share their ideas with the Department of Consumer Affairs so as to make the consumer redressal mechanism robust. The Chambers of Commerce and Industry as well as companies representing sectors like manufacturing, services, banks, insurance, real estate expressed their solidarity with the cause taken up by Department of Consumer Affairs and endorsed their commitment towards redressal of grievances of their consumers which help them grow in their business. 

Industrial production expands 1.2% in May

New Delhi, Jul 12 (PTI) Industrial production grew by 1.2 per cent in May after seeing a contraction in the previous month, mainly due to uptick in consumer durables output.

Factory output, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had expanded by 2.5 per cent in May last year, the data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed today.

On cumulative basis, the factory output in April-May contracted by 0.1 per cent compared to 2.8 per cent growth in the year-ago period.

Despite a rebound in May, the growth figure remained low and may add to the clamour for rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India.

Meanwhile, the provisional estimates of 0.8 per cent contraction in April this year was revised downwards to 1.34 per cent decline in factory output.

According to data, output of consumer durables, which include white goods like television, refrigerators and washing machines, grew by 6 per cent in May compared to a contraction of 3.9 per cent in the same month a year ago.

The manufacturing sector that constitutes over 75 per cent of the index saw a growth of 0.7 per cent in May compared to 2.1 per cent a year ago.

Power generation grew 4.7 per cent in May compared to 6 per cent in the same month a year ago.

The mining sector recorded a growth of 1.3 per cent in May this year as against 2.1 per cent a year ago.

In terms of industries, 14 out of 22 industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown growth during the month of May 2016 compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.

As per user-based classification, the growth rates in May 2016 are 3.9 per cent in basic goods, (-) 12.4 per cent in capital goods and 3.6 per cent in intermediate goods.

The consumer non-durables output contracted by 2.2 per cent. The overall growth in consumer goods was 1.1 per cent.

Retail inflation inches up to 5.77 percent in June
India's annual consumer price inflation edged up to 5.77 percent in June, mainly driven by higher food prices, government data showed on Tuesday.

Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected annual retail inflation last month to come in at 5.73 percent compared with 5.76 percent in May.

Food inflation was 7.79 percent last month, higher than a revised 7.47 percent in May.

UN backed Tribunal says China has no historic title over South China Sea

Beijing/The Hague, Jul 12 (PTI) A UN-backed international tribunal today struck down China's claims of "historical rights" in the strategic South China Sea, prompting Chinese President Xi Jinping to reject its ruling and asserting that Beijing will not accept the verdict "under any circumstances".

Xi's strong remarks came immediately after The Hague- based tribunal dismissed the core of China's claims over the 90 per cent South China Sea (SCS), ruling that "there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights within the sea areas falling within the 'nine-dash line'", which is based on a Chinese map dating back to the 1940s.

In his meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, President Xi, also the General Secretary of the ruling Communist party and commander-in-chief of the military, said China's territorial sovereignty and maritime interests in SCS will not be affected by the ruling under any circumstances.

Xi's comments indicates China's tough stand on the ruling by the five judge tribunal appointed by the Permanent Court of Arbitration which struck down Beijing's controversial nine- dash line on the SCS claiming over 90 per cent of the area.

China "neither accepts nor recognises" the ruling of the tribunal in the SCS arbitration established at the request of the Philippines, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in Beijing.

"The award is null and void and has no binding force," it said in a statement minutes after the tribunal delivered its judgement striking down Beijing's claims of historic rights over the area, strongly disputed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the SCS shall under no circumstances be affected by those awards. China opposes and will never accept any claim or action based on those awards, the statement quoted by state-run Xinhua new agency said.

The tribunal concluded that "to the extent China had historic rights to resources in the waters of the SCS, such rights were extinguished to the extent they were incompatible with the exclusive economic zones provided for in the Convention" (UN Convention on the Law of Seas), it said.

"The tribunal also noted that, although Chinese navigators and fishermen, as well as those of other States, had historically made use of the islands in the SCS, there was no evidence that China had historically exercised exclusive control over the waters or their resources," it said.

For decades China, which boycotted the tribunal questioning its legality has been asserting that its emperors have discovered the islands hundreds years ago and have been exercising control over the area throughout the history.

But is claims came into conflict with the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan as they hardly have exclusive economic zones (EEZ) provided by UNCLOS which Beijing declined to recognise.

While the Philippines filed the case in 2013, Beijing's claims over the SCS are also contested by Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan and Indonesia as well. .

Indian Engineering gets global attention at INNOPROM ’16, Russia

India has put up an impressive show at INNOPROM 2016, the largest annual international industrial trade fair of Russia. India is the Partner Country for INNOPROM 2016. India showcased its strengths in the area of manufacturing and engineering at the Opening Ceremony of INNOPROM 2016 on July 10, 2016. Leading the Indian delegation, Ms Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Commerce & Industry, delivered a welcome address followed by the cultural showcase from India. The other chief guests at the Opening Ceremony included Mr Denis Manturov, Minister of Trade and Industry of the Russian Federation and Mr Evgeny Kuyvashev, Governor of Russia's Sverdlovsk Region. 

Speaking on the occasion, Ms Nirmala Sitharaman, said, “We are proud to be the Partner Country at INNOPROM 2016. The Indian companies participating at INNOPROM 2016 will highlight the strengths in the area of engineering and innovation under the ‘Brand India Engineering’ campaign. There is a strong potential for growth in India-Russia bilateral trade. Be it high-end engineering, or manufacturing, India is moving towards being synonymous to quality, reliability & durability.” 

Ms Nirmala Sitharaman also held a bilateral meeting with Minister of Trade & Industry, Russia- Mr. Denis Manturov and discussed various specifics to further strengthen India-Russia industrial & trading ties. She also participated in the India- Russia business forum where she stressed on strong business to business ties between India & Russia. The India- Russia business forum is expected to form business associations between various Indian & global firms. 

The formal inauguration of the India pavilion took place on July 11, 2016 by Ms Nirmala Sitharaman and Mr Denis Manturov in the presence of Mr Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mr N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Ms Vasundhara Raje, Chief Minister of Rajasthan and various other important members from the Russian and Indian business community. 

The Indian exhibition at the Trade Fair covers an area of around 3,600 square metres. As many as 110 companies (spread in over 100 stands) are taking part in the technological and engineering trade fair, including the Department of Heavy Industries, Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Bharat Forge, Sun Group, NTPC, NHPC and Ace Designers to name a few. 

Markets make a splash, Sensex zooms 500 pts to 11-mth high

 Mumbai, Jul 11 (PTI) Stocks were on fire today as the Sensex rocketed 500 points to close at an 11-month high of 27,627 and the Nifty above 8,400 on across the board buying amid robust global cues after a solid US jobs report.

It is the biggest single-day gain in over a month for the Sensex.

Sentiment moved many notches higher following a rally in global equities as investors cheered a strong US jobs report while a landslide victory for Japan's ruling coalition in weekend elections boosted stimulus hopes.

Investor focus now shifts to the first leg of corporate earnings. TCS and Infosys are slated to come out with their results on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

Monsoon's progress, its coverage of most part of India and a stronger possibility of passage of the deadlocked GST Bill in Rajya Sabha offered more positives.

After starting higher, the Sensex ended at an 11-month high of 27,626.69, up 499.79 points, or 1.84 per cent -- its biggest single-day gain since May 25 when it had risen 575.70 points.

Today's closing is highest since August 19 last year when it ended at 27,931.64.

The 50-share NSE Nifty recaptured the 8,400-mark before closing at 8,467.90, gain of 144.70 points, or 1.74 per cent.

"Positive US jobs data and expectations of a good start to the first quarter earnings season helped the market rally," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

"Market participants expect the rising stability in the US economy is unlikely to support the Fed to make any changes in the interest rate in the near term due to the prevailing ambiguity caused by Brexit. This will provide space to EMs like India to attract foreign funds."

Most other Asian markets closed on a strong footing following a strong weekend rally in the US.

Japan's Nikkei remained at the forefront, jumping 3.98 per cent, followed by Hong Kong's 1.54 per cent, Singapore's 0.97 per cent and the Shanghai Composite's 0.23 per cent.

European bourses are too trading firmly higher, with Frankfurt' DAX up 1.20 per cent, Paris CAC 0.70 per cent and UK's FTSE 0.70 per cent.

Meanwhile, FPIs net bought shares worth Rs 330.62 crore on Friday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

The domination was near complete, as 29 scrips out of 30-share Sensex pack ended higher while Axis Bank lost.

Adani Ports was the top gainer by rising 4.78 per cent.

Tata Motors went up 4.15 per cent after the company's Jaguar Land Rover reported 22 per cent jump in global retail sales in first half the year.

So did ICICI Bank (3.44 per cent), SBI (2.84 per cent), Maruti Suzuki (2.84 per cent), Coal India (2.84 per cent), Tata Steel (2.72 per cent) and Hero MotoCorp (2.52 per cent).

Among BSE sectoral indices, metal rose the most by 2.46 per cent, followed by auto 2.19 per cent, banking 2.07 per cent, PSU 2.06 per cent and realty 2.05 per cent.

Mid-cap and small-cap firmed up 1.49 and 0.79 per cent, respectively, on fresh buying by retail investors.

Obama lands in Madrid for abbreviated visit to Spain

 Madrid, Jul 10 (AP) US President Barack Obama has arrived in Spain for an abbreviated visit to the NATO ally.

Air Force One landed at Torrej n Air Base outside of Madrid.

Obama plans meetings in Madrid with Spanish leaders and a visit with King Don Felipe IV. He'll also travel to the US Naval Station Rota to address troops.

The White House says the visit will highlight security cooperation between the two nations and a strong political and economic relationship.

The president had planned a stop in Seville, for some sightseeing. But he cut his trip short a day after the fatal shooting of five police officers in Dallas on Thursday night.

Obama flew from Poland, where he attended a NATO summit.

Tata Steel pauses sale of UK assets on Brexit uncertainty, looks for partner

One of the blast furnaces of the Tata Steel plant is seen at sunset in Port Talbot, South Wales, May 31, 2013.

Tata Steel has put the process of selling its major British assets on hold because of the uncertainty caused by the Brexit vote and surrounding pension liabilities and will now also look at forming a joint venture, the company said.

Tata Steel put its British operations up for sale in March, including its Port Talbot plant in southern Wales, threatening thousands of jobs, but an industry source told Reuters on Thursday that the sale had been put on hold.

The firm said on Friday the June 23 referendum, when Britons voted to leave the European Union, and issues around the pension scheme had prompted a rethink.

"The bids have also been reviewed in the light of the uncertainties caused by the UK referendum and the outcome of the UK Government’s consultation on the British Steel Pension Scheme," the firm said in a statement.

"Consequently, Tata Steel has now entered into discussions with strategic players in the steel industry, including Thyssenkrupp."

Germany's biggest steelmaker Thyssenkrupp has said it wants to play a role in any consolidation of the European steel market, which is saddled with excess production capacity and a weak demand outlook.

Tata Steel said it will also begin separate processes for the potential sale of its Speciality Steels business and the northern English Hartlepool pipe mills except for its 20-inch Tube Mill.

Liberty House Group, which an industrial source told Reuters on Thursday was to bid for Tata Steel's specialty steels and pipeline tubes business, said on Friday it will continue discussions with Tata about acquiring a number of assets.

There were signs this week that Brexit-induced uncertainty and a sharp fall in sterling would hurt a wide range of companies, with investors warning the economy could tip into recession, hammering consumer and business confidence.

Tata Steel employs some 11,000 people in the UK. Its specialty steel and tubes business together employ some 2,000 people, meaning the fate of another 9,000 steel jobs and thousands more jobs indirectly related to steelmaking is now uncertain.

(Additional reporting by William James, Sankalp Phartiyal and Ankit Ajmera; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and James Dalgleish)

Market at a loss for direction as Sensex ends in red

 Mumbai, Jul 8 (PTI) Sensex slipped into reverse gear today as it wiped off yesterday's paltry gains by closing 75 points lower, with investors taking a cautious line before start of the earnings season next week amid muted overseas cues.

It was a weekly loss for the market too, with the Sensex and the Nifty losing 18.01 points (0.06 per cent) and 5.15 points (0.06 per cent), respectively.

The corporate earnings season is officially going to kick off from July 15, when Infosys is due to come out with its results.

Asia remained weak as US payroll data, which essentially serve as a pointer to the health of the American economy and are scheduled to be released on Friday, added to the level of suspense.

Despite all the global headwinds, an above-average monsoon so far and a strong chance of passage of the long-pending GST Bill in the upcoming Monsoon session are giving investors some early hopes.

Weighed down by fresh selling, mostly due to profit-booking in blue-chips, the Sensex remained in a range-bound before ending lower by 74.59 points, or 0.27 per cent, at 27,126.90. As many as 16 lost while 14 gained.

The gauge had edged up 34.62 points yesterday.

The NSE Nifty closed down by 14.70 points, or 0.18 per cent, at 8,323.20.

"The market witnessed range-bound movement with negative bias as investors stayed put from making fresh long positions ahead of US job data due later on Friday. A better job data will provide an intermediate relief to the Fed from the underlying headwinds of Brexit," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

Telecom stocks took heavy blows as they fell by up to almost 4 per cent, hit by concerns that DoT will soon issue demand notice of over Rs 12,500 crore to six telecom operators amid allegations of under-reporting of revenue to the tune of Rs 45,000 crore.

Bharti Airtel plunged 2.28 per cent, Idea Cellular 2.86 per cent, Reliance Communications 3.15 per cent and Tata Teleservices 3.75 per cent.

Among 30-Sensex constituents, GAIL topped the losers list by falling 2.37 per cent to Rs 375.45, followed by Adani Ports 1.59 per cent to Rs 207.05.

Adani Ports, L&T, ONGC, Lupin, Coal India, ICICI Bank, SBI, HDFC Bank, RIL, HDFC, Bajaj Auto, M&M, ITC and TCS all lost by up to 1.43 per cent.

In broader markets, the BSE small-cap index edged lower by 0.17 per cent while mid-cap gained 0.11 per cent.

In terms of sectors, capital goods was the hardest hit as it fell the most by 0.99 per cent, followed by oil & gas, infrastructure, PSU and metal.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net sold shares worth Rs 299.51 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.

Asian indices ended lower. Japan's Nikkei slumped 1.11 per cent while Hong Kong Hang Seng edged lower by 0.69 per cent. Shanghai Composite was down 0.95 per cent.

In early session, European stocks fell over the Brexit implications, which deepened over worsening health of Italian banks. London's FTSE 100 index dipped 0.20 per cent, Frankfurt's DAX and Paris CAC 40 slipped 0.30 per cent each.

India seeks deeper partnership with S Africa in defence sector

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi and the President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr. Jacob Zuma, at the delegation level talks, at Union Buildings, in Pretoria, South Africa on July 08, 2016

Pretoria, Jul 8 (PTI) Showcasing India as an attractive destination for defence production, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today sought deeper collaboration in the sector with South Africa, a major arms exporter, even as he thanked it for supporting India's bid for membership of Nuclear Suppliers Group.

On the second leg of a four-nation African tour, Modi held wide-ranging talks with South African President Jacob Zuma during which both sides decided to ramp up their traditional ties by boosting trade and investment ties, especially in manufacturing, mining, renewable energy and pharma sectors.

The two countries also agreed to bolster defence and security cooperation and vowed to cooperate "actively" in dealing with terrorism, besides working closely at multilateral fora.

After the talks, a total of four agreements were inked to expand ties in areas of information technology, arts and culture, tourism and science and technology.

"I thanked the President for South Africa's support to India's membership (bid) of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. We know that we can count on the active support of our friends, like South Africa," Modi said at a joint media interaction with Zuma after the talks.

There were reports that South Africa was among countries which had reservations about India's bid to join the 48-nation grouping when the issue came up for discussion at its plenary meeting in Seoul last month.

Pitching to take already close bilateral ties to new heights, both Modi and Zuma paid glowing tribute to "two liberation icons" -- Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi.

"For me personally, this visit is an opportunity to pay homage to two of the greatest human souls to have ever walked this Earth - Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela," Modi said.

He further said, "We stood together in our common fight against racial subjugation and colonialism. It was in South Africa that Gandhi found his true calling. He belongs as much to India as to South Africa." 

About opportunities in the defence sector, Modi said both countries can join hands in not only meeting needs of each other but also to respond to regional and global demand.

"Beyond economic ties, and links of business, trade and investment, we can also partner in the field of defence and security. Both, at the level of industry and for our strategic and security needs," he said.

He said defence sector in India is one of the sectors witnessing a complete transformation and that it offers exciting opportunities.

"Our companies can also pool their capacities to jointly develop or manufacture defence equipments and platforms.And, not just to meet our defence needs, but also to respond to regional and global demand," he said