New transfer protocol to simplify transactions for online wallet companies
Online wallet companies Paytm, Mobikwik and FreeCharge aim to integrate their services with the new electronic fund transfer protocol launched by the National Payments Corporation of India, in a move aimed at ensuring their business is not rendered superfluous by this new platform. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which comes into effect Monday, is a single interface across all National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) systems, allowing customers to instantaneously transfer funds across different banks with the use of a single identification and password. Multiple bank accounts can be linked to a single mobile banking application and money can be both received and requested through the same interface. This could weaken the case for consumers having to store money in multiple electronic wallets to pay for services such as cab rides, movie tickets or utility bills. The digital wallet companies say UPI will make it easier for consumers to load cash onto the wallet and at the same time, do not expect the move to impact their business, especially in the short term. “UPI will bring easier and cost effective methods to load money in Paytm,” said Vijay Shekhar Sharma, CEO, Paytm. UPI is a layer of architecture built on top of standards like the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) platform, which enables transactions using unique identification and mobile phone number without sharing any other bank details. The ease-of-use this technology offers is expected to transform the way Indians make digital payments. So much so, that India’s top online retailer Flipkart, recently acquired UPIbased payments company PhonePe earlier this month. Announcing the acquisition, Binny Bansal, CEO of Flipkart, said slow adoption of digital payments has been one of the biggest hurdles for mass adoption of online shopping in India. “UPI has the potential of transforming the entire payments ecosystem in the country,” Bansal said in a statement. UPI also eliminates the need to exchange sensitive information such as bank account numbers, and entering numerous account/card details and multi-level intervention, during a financial transaction. Wallet companies expect this simplified interface to offer clear benefits for them to build new services. “As UPI comes into being we are confident that on the rails of UPI, we will be able to enable a faster and more secure transaction across merchants,” said Govind Rajan, CEO of FreeCharge. Experts, however, argue that once widely accepted across the banking sector, UPI could potentially challenge the business model of mobile wallets including PayTm, FreeCharge and Mobikwik, which have flourished because of the convenience they offer. Vivek Belgavi, leader, financial service technology, PwC India, is of the view that a lot of mobile wallet players were trying to make the process easy, an advantage which will go away. “This is why all the wallet companies have moved on to focus on use case story (acquiring merchants) and making life easier,” he said . Wallet companies disagree. “In the short term, UPI has no negative impact on wallets, and if anything, it will make loading money easier,” said Bipin Preet Singh, CEO, Mobikwik. Typically, the widespread use of a new payment instrument happens when everyone in the ecosystem adopts it, especially the consumer. As in the case of credit cards where Visa and Mastercard franchises were pushed through partnerships with banks.
Online mktplaces’ cashbacks distort level-playing field: RAI
Retailers Association of India (RAI) has said that cashback or the money-back guarantee offers made by marketplace e-commerce players should be treated as influencing the selling price. In a letter to Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, RAI said with the objective of ensuring a level playing field for all channels of retail in India, the ministry should come out with certain clarifications so that there is no violation in the implementation of the spirit of the policy. It said that since the guidelines forbid marketplaces from participating in pricing directly or indirectly, all discounts, coupons, vouchers be offered by the individual seller. “These should not be issued by the marketplace. Thus, a basket level discount/cash back would have to be restricted to the basket/order of each seller and not at a consolidated level,” it said. “Cashback/money back guarantee offered by a marketplace should be considered tantamount to influencing selling price,” the association added. It also said that consolidated orders covering multiple sellers should not be permitted. “Considering that no seller should be having more that 25 per cent share on the market place, the marketplace must file monthly disclosure with relevant (Enforcement Directorate) authority, giving details,” it added. RAI also said that a full seller profile, including tax registration details, contact numbers, PAN numbers should be available on the online platform and accessible to consumer. “Marketplaces be made responsible for vetting the genuineness of sellers listed on the platform and the authenticity of their contact details to protect consumer interest in cases where the products turn our faulty/fraudulent,” it added.
Investors not keen on e-commerce start-ups
Youngsters hoping to find investors to fund their start-up ideas like linking the local grocer online or selling vegetables through a smart phone may end up being disappointed. With start-up ideas on a boom, majority of the concepts which the investors are coming across are related to e-commerce. Being mainly run of the mill type, investors in the venture capital segment are not too keen to park their funds in e-commerce start-ups, said experts at ‘Runaway to success’, a mentorship camp organized by Lufthansa and The Indus Entrepreneur (TIE) on Sunday. “Like start-ups mushrooming in big numbers, there has been a spurt in the number of angel funds also. Such funds invest in a concept on one-time basis to be later taken over by early stage investor and venture capitals. In today’s scenario, start-ups may find an angel investor, but not many in the later stage to carry forward the business,” said experts. Seemant Shrivastava of Attentio Corporate Services, which is into funding business, says everybody is taking the beaten track. Entrepreneurs are wanting to replicate the success of Amazon or Flipkart in smaller towns. Such ideas may have been relevant around 5-7 years ago. The players who started early have already established themselves with little scope for new entrants now. It has been around a year that the investors have become tight-fisted. “Chances of start-ups getting angel funds are higher because of the surge in the number of such funds in last three years. As against 500 angel funds over three years ago, there are 10,000 at present. Huge money from smaller towns is also flowing into angel funds,” said Anil Joshi of Unicron India Ventures. “Earlier, there were limited city-specific angle funds like those for Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai. In last couple of years, angle funds for cities like Bhubaneswar, Nagpur, Patna, Kochi and many more have emerged,” he said. “Angel funds have to park smaller amounts and as it is only on a one-time basis, so funding ideas may not be a constraint. However, for the business to grow, funds have to come from early stage inventors or venture capitals which have become rather selective,” he said. Joshi also agreed that there was a general reluctance to investing in e-commerce ideas. Though product-specific e-commerce start-ups still have a better scope than those dealing in a whole range of items, he said. Harish Taori, managing partner of Singapore-based ThinKuvate, said liquidity is a problem in the industry. With e-commerce ventures being capital intensive, less investment is likely to be attracted. Though investors are also keen to fund tech-based ideas like Internet of things or other smart devices. In a nutshell * Glut of ideas on e-commerce * Majority are similar * Investors not too keen as there is little scope for new e-commerce player * Number of angel funds have also grown manifold * This makes availability of initial capital easy
Centre releases Rs.12, 230 Crore to States for MGNREGA
Union Minister for Rural Development Shri Birender Singh said that the Ministry of Rural Development has released a central share of Rs. 12,230 Crore to the States in connection with the implementation of its flagship programme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. The Minister also underlined that this fund release will take care of the pending wage liability of the States for the previous Financial Year (2015-16) and help the States to run the Programme during the new Financial Year (2016-17). He reiterated that the Government is committed to ensuring flow of adequate resources for fulfilling the programme objectives. The Ministry has also decided to maintain 60:40 wage-material ratio at the District level now to ensure creation of good quality assets in the rural areas. Rebutting the reports published in a section of media that there are arrears of wages of over Rs. 8000 crore under MGNREGA for the 2015-2016 financial year, Shri Singh said, in fact, the year 2015-16 has registered expenditure under MGNREGA to the tune of Rs. 41,371 crore, which is the highest expenditure under the programme since its inception. Out of this expenditure Rs.30,139 crore has gone towards payment of wages. This has allowed for the highest employment generation over the past three years and the best achievement on key parameters over the last three years such as works taken up, women participation (55%) and 95% of payments through electronic fund management system. The Minister further emphasized that the Ministry of Rural Development has brought large scale reforms in the implementation of the programme in such a manner that it is oriented more towards combating the agrarian distress and meet the demand for work in drought affected areas creating durable & income generating assets mostly linked to augmentation of irrigation potential. In the year 2015-16, states were asked to provide employment where needed, particularly drought affected areas, with the assurance of making required resources available. The Ministry expanded the entitlement from 100 to 150 days of work to households in drought affected regions of ten states. 20.48 Lakh households in these regions have availed this opportunity and completed more than 100 days of work. At the national level 44 Lakh households have completed 100 days. To further bring down the delay in payment of wages, the Ministry in line with the Cabinet decision has introduced National electronic Fund Management System (NeFMS) in the current financial year. In 2016-17, as part of their Labour Budget, the States have proposed to construct 8.82 lakh farm ponds and 10.39 lakh organic compost pits to boost the agriculture sector. The States have also proposed to construct 33 lakh Individual House Hold Latrines (IHHL) as part of Swachh Bharat Mission and 63,000 Anganwadi centre buildings to strengthen rural infrastructure. The road map for 2016-17 will focus on accelerating the momentum gained in employment generation while further strengthening the monitoring system.
Delhi-Meerut Expressway stretch may get Cabinet nod in 15 days
To ease traffic congestion in the national capital, the Cabinet is likely to give its nod to widening of the crucial UP Gate to Dasna stretch of the Rs 7,566-crore Delhi-Meerut Expressway in a fortnight. “The proposal for widening of 19.28 km UP Gate to Dasna stretch of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway is likely to get Cabinet nod in another fortnight,” a source privy to the development said. The other two stretches – Akshardham temple to UP Gate and Dasna to Hapur have already been approved by the Cabinet. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 31, 2015 had unveiled a plaque to mark the laying of the foundation stone of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway to be built at a cost of Rs 7,566 crore that includes construction of 28-km long 14 lane Delhi-Dasna section. The National Highway will show a way to freedom from pollution, he had said. Earlier Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that the project will reduce the distance between the national capital and Meerut to 40-45 minutes from 3 hours at present. The expressway will give a big thrust to development in western Uttar Pradesh and will make travel to cities like Dehradun, Moradabad and Bareilly much faster, he has said. The Delhi-Meerut Expressway would be an access controlled highway and 31 traffic signals have been removed from the stretch. While, the work on Delhi-Dasna section would cost of Rs 2,869 crore, the construction of 46 km long six-lane Dasna-Meerut section of the expressway will cost Rs 3,575 crore. Besides, six-laning of 22 km long Dasna-Hapur section of NH 24 will cost Rs 1,122 crore.
Government proposes to build green underpasses for new national highways
The roads ministry has proposed to construct 25 leafy underpasses for animal movement as part of 10 national highways that pass through forests and wildlife sanctuaries in order to ensure environmental clearance for the projects. The measures will add to the cost of construction, but that isn’t a worry since these will reduce the impact on the natural habitat of animals, a senior National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) official said. These proposed highways would pass through sanctuaries such as the Madhav National Park near Gwalior; Chambal and the corridors connecting the Kanha and Pench tiger reserves; Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand and dense forests of Assam. Cost of construction for these nearly 1,900 km of highways is estimated to be about Rs 20,000 crore. The cave-like, concrete underpasses that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has proposed will be layered with natural soil so that they resemble the natural habitat of the animals. The underpasses will be fitted with CCTV cameras to monitor the movement of animals. According to a senior ministry official, these structures will be constructed so biodiversity is untouched. Stretches passing through green corridors will have fencing to prevent vehicles from entering the core zone. Speed of vehicles will be restricted to 40 km an hour. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and National Tiger Conservation Authority have prepared draft guidelines for mitigation of impact of linear projects in forest ranges. For instance, height of underpasses has been suggested to be a minimum of six metres to help elephants. The government is working with the WII to implement these. “Animals have a set pattern and route of movement according to which special paths underneath the elevated road stretch would be made,” the NHAI official said. State wildlife boards will also be drafted into the projects.
Singapore looking at upgrading Indian cities, transport sector: Official
After providing the master plan for developing Andhra Pradesh’s new capital Amaravati, Singapore is looking at “retrofitting” of more Indian cities and plans to upgrade the transportation sector, a senior official said today. Singapore provided the master plan for Amaravati, the new capital city of Andhra Pradesh, setting the stage for crucial participation in the massive development of India. Yeoh Keat Chuan, managing director of state-owned Economic Development Board, said Singapore is looking at participating in retrofitting of Indian cities and plans to upgrade its transportation sector, increasing its focus on Smart Cities. “We are looking at re-engineering transportation sector,” Yeoh said, citing it as one of the opportunities for participating in the retrofitting of older Indian cities. Such solutions would help reduce congestion on the stressed infrastructure, he said after addressing some 1,200 delegates at the IIMPACT 2016 conference and exhibition being held here on April 8-9. He said several Indian, Chinese and South East Asian companies are collaborating and setting up partnerships and joint ventures in Singapore. “Singapore is a good location for international companies to collaborate and form partnerships,” he said, pointing out that there are over 6,000 Indian, 5,000 Chinese and 10,000 Southeast Asian companies operating from the island state. Yeoh spoke about the 50-year development of Singapore to turn it into a global business centre, having developed expertise in urban redevelopment and water solutions. A call was also made to increase focus on developing infrastructure in India with Singapore being an intermediary for funding projects. “Structurally, there are a lot of things happening in India which can be enduring, can be durable, but more importantly the infrastructure that needs to be created has to be both competed for and collaborated with markets like Singapore,” said Shyam Srinivasan, chief executive officer of the Federal Bank. “Singapore’s message for India would be for urbanisation,” Sam Pitroda, a former technology advisor to the Prime Minister of India, said. Singapore can also help India in its cleaning initiatives. “Singapore can help us design a strategy in cleaning,” said Pitroda at the conference, organized by the Global IIM Alumni. He believes cleaning India would require massive investments in machinery, training, logistics, support and landfill among others which requires an elaborate plan. Pitroda also underlined the importance for India to continue on developing its infrastructure to support the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
Nitin Gadkari urged to retain three roads with Border Roads Organisation in Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh has requested Union Minister Nitin Gadkari for retention of three strategic roads with the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in the state. The roads — Joram-Koloriang (158 km), Anini-Meka (235 km) and Demwe-Hawai (165 km) — have already been handed over from BRO to the National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited ( NHIDCL). Chief Minister Kalikho Pul, who is currently camping in the national capital, yesterday took up the matter with the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, an official release said here today. In the event of natural calamities or any law and order issues, BRO with its adequate manpower, machinery and dedicated line of communication was better equipped to handle the situation, Pul said. Gadkari assured that he would look into the matter and asked the state government to monitor the works of the BRO, the release said.
AAI’s plan-B to avoid link fail
Airports Authority of India (AAI) is putting in place a backup for the microwave link that connects critical aircraft communication, navigation and surveillance equipment to prevent a repeat of Thursday’s blackout. AAI officials said RailTel was installing its internet backbone to provide a second connectivity to fall back on in case the primary microwave link service provided by BSNL failed. “Installation of the redundancy line has been expedited and should be in place in three-four months,” an official said. RailTel owns a pan-India optic fibre network on exclusive right of way along railway tracks. While Thursday’s link failure had led to a critical situation in Kolkata air traffic control as connectivity to remote VHF radio units had also failed, a radar link failure had happened in October 2015, necessitating the backup. Seamless connectivity between air traffic controllers and pilots is of paramount importance to ensure flight safety as it is the controllers who monitor the relative position of planes and provide navigation guidance by communicating through VHF radio.
Cairn Energy’s daunting I-T maths
The I-T Dept had on Jan 22, 2014 issued a draft assessment order of Rs 102.47 billion on alleged capital gains Cairn made in a 2006 reorganisation of its India business. British oil explorer Cairn Energy Plc has told its shareholders it faces a penalty up to Rs 102 billion over and above the Rs 290 billion in tax and interest demand slapped by the Indian income tax authorities, involving a case of retrospective legislation. The company, in a circular to shareholders dated Wednesday, said it had on February 4 got “a final assessment order from the department”, of Rs 102 billion plus interest backdated to 2007 totalling Rs 188 billion. “The aggregate amount excludes any applicable penalties which may also be applied to the final assessment (potentially up to 100 per cent of the final assessment order, excluding interest),” it said. It added that Cairn strongly contests the final assessment proceedings in India and is pursuing its rights under Indian law to appeal, both in respect of the basis of taxation and the amount assessed. And, to protect from enforcement against the assets of CUHL (Cairn UK Holdings). An e-mail to Cairn seeking clarification on the circular remained unanswered. The I-T department had in January 2014 issued a draft assessment order of Rs 102.47 billion on alleged capital gains Cairn made in a 2006 reorganisation of its India business. The final assessment order was issued on February 4, 2016. The notice was, however, issued before Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget for 2016-17 made a one-time offer to waive interest and penalty if companies paid the principal amount to settle the retrospective tax disputes. The company said it had on March 11 this year filed a Notice of Dispute under the UK-India Investment Treaty, to protect its legal position and shareholder interests.