Daily Briefing / November 19, 2019

India ranks 59 on IMD World Talent Ranking

India has slipped six places to 59th rank on a global annual list of 63 countries, due to low quality of life and expenditure on education, according to the IMD World Talent Ranking. The ranking, which is based on the performance in three main categories - investment and development, appeal and readiness, noted that India is also lagging behind fellow BRICS countries - China ranked 42nd, Russia (47th) and South Africa (50th). India also witnessed one of the sharpest declines among Asian economies owing to low quality of life, negative impact of brain drain and the low priority of its economy on attracting and retaining talents. Switzerland retained its title as the world’s top talent hub, followed by Denmark and Sweden. The top 10 was completed by Austria, Luxembourg, Norway, Iceland, Finland, the Netherlands and Singapore.

COAI seeks moratorium for telecom firms

The government should grant telecom companies a three-year moratorium followed by an extended timeline for payment of all statutory dues at easier interest rates, as the telecom sector is reeling under massive losses after the Supreme Court ruling on AGR liabilities, the COAI said. Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) director general Rajan Mathews said that operators need “oxygen” and urged the government to take a call on debt restructuring of all the dues that telecom operators owe to the government. Mathews said most 4G licences have 11-year validity left, and that the government could pack in another 10 years, thus allowing operators to pay back all the outstanding dues spread over the entire licence period. “It is also time to redefine AGR (adjusted gross revenue) prospectively,” Mathews said.

Indian astronauts to start training next year

Indian ‘gaganauts’ selected for the country’s first manned space mission in 2022 will start their training sessions at Russia’s Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center next year, a senior Russian space official said. Scheduled for 2022, the mission is expected to carry three astronauts, who will be picked from among the test pilots in the Indian armed forces. On July 1, Roscosmos announced that Glavcosmos and the Human Space Flight Center of the Indian Space Research Organisation had signed a contract on assistance in the medical check-up and training of Indian astronauts. The Gagarin Research & Test Cosmonaut Training Center is named after Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, the Russian cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space.

PNB, Union Bank get govt nod for merger

Punjab National Bank and Union Bank of India said they have received in-principle approval from the government for their amalgamation with other public sector banks (PSBs). In August, the government had announced four major mergers of public sector banks, bringing down their total number to 12 from 27 in 2017, a move aimed at making state-owned lenders global sized banks. According to this, United Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce will be merged with Punjab National Bank, making the proposed entity the second largest PSB. Syndicate Bank will be merged with Canara Bank and Indian Bank will be merged with Allahabad Bank. In January, the Union Cabinet had approved the merger of Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank with Bank of Baroda. The merger came in to effect from April 1. With these mergers, the number of PSBs will come down to 12 from 27 in 2017.

NBFCs can go for insolvency resolution

The Reserve Bank can now seek resolution of non-banking financial companies having assets worth at least Rs 500 crore under the insolvency law, a move that is likely to help in addressing woes in the NBFC sector. After discussions with the central bank, the corporate affairs ministry issued a notification specifying the categories of financial service providers (FSPs) that can be taken up for resolution under the “generic framework” of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. The introduction of the “generic framework” comes against the backdrop of the ongoing liquidity crisis in the non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) that has also sparked concerns about the overall stability of the financial sector. NBFCs with asset size of Rs 500 crore or more can be taken up for insolvency resolution and liquidation proceedings under the code, the ministry said.

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