OPINION, P6 ECONOMY, P2 ASHOK GULATI India’s agri-markets need temporal & spatial integration INTERNATIONAL, P4 EDITORIAL STANDING STRONG POLL PROMISE Faceless tax assessment good, but taxmen need to be penalised for harassment of taxpayers Govt may not need to infuse fresh capital in PSBs this fiscal If elected, will stand with India in confronting threats, says Biden NEW DELHI, MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2020 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL. XLVI NO. 144, 16 PAGES, `6.00 (PATNA `6.00, RAIPUR `7.00) P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K ATA , L U C K N O W, M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E IN THE NEWS M-cap: Six of 10 top-valued firms lose over `78k-cr SIX OF the 10 most-valued domestic firms witnessed a combined erosion of `78,275.12 crore in market valuation last week, pulled down largely by heavyweights Reliance Industries and Tata Consultancy Services, reports PTI. During the last week, the Sensex declined 163.23 points or 0.42%. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Bharti Airtel and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the losers. Peak power demand falls so far in August THE SLUMP in peak power demand has widened to 5.65% in the first fortnight of August from 2.61% drop recorded in July, according to the power ministry data, reports PTI. Re-examining biz, operating models: ALL chief HINDUJA GROUP flagship Ashok Leyland is reexamining the business and operating models in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, a top official has said, reports PTI. RCOM’S DUES DoT can serve RJio `13,000-cr AGR bill The telecom dept’s May 20, 2016 letter to the two firms states it can recover dues from either party; DoT has not placed the document in court RISHI RAJ New Delhi, August 16 THE DEPARTMENT OF telecommunications (DoT) can charge Reliance Jio around `13,000 crore as dues for adjusted gross revenues,if its wants,as the company had acquired 47.50 Mhz spectrum in the 800 Mhz band from Reliance Communications (RCom) through a trading pact between JanuaryMarch, 2016. The spectrum was acquired across 13 circles and is currently being used by Jio to provide 4G services. In addition, Jio is sharing spectrum with RCom in 15 circles. As such, a total of 58.75 Mhz spectrum from RCom in the 800 Mhz band is currently being used by Jio. RCom’s total AGR dues are around `25,194.58 crore and the Supreme Court had, on RCom's AGR dues is `25,194 cr Jio had acquired 47.50 Mhz spectrum in 800 Mhz band from RCom in January-March, 2016 Spectrum trading guidelines say seller has to clear dues at the time ofselling Any past dues arising after trade, makes even buyer liable to pay for it Continued on Page 13 Continued on Page 2 Continued on Page 2 ■ BRANDWAGON, P10 Bouncing back with IPL Experts debate on whether the cricketing event can help revive media spends this year ILLUSTRATION: ROHNIT PHORE ■ eFE, P8 Digitalisation is today’s need A digital twin is an excellent guide to a firm’s digital transformation, says Siemens’ Tony Hemmelgarn ■ PERSONAL FINANCE, P9 Book profits from gold ETF now If rising gold prices have resulted in an increased allocation to the metal, investors can book profits ■ INFRASTRUCTURE, P11 Data-driven ops will deliver better A push for sounder technological infrastructure is vital in context of the upcoming national logistics policy ■ SCIENCE & TECH, P12 Bonding over ice Access to the US’s cutting edge instrumentations and underwater technology, would help Indian researchers THE GOVERNMENT HAS mapped as much as five lakh hectares of land — more than fourtimesthesizeofHongKong — spread across 3,390 industrial belts and special economic zones (SEZs) in the country,as it prepares a national land bank portal towoo investors,a senior government official told FE. While the Modi government’s bid to tweak land acquisition rules through an Ordinance in 2014were mired in political slugfest, the move to set up a land bank will complement its latest efforts to shed rigiditiesin labourlawsto boost domestic manufacturing and lure foreign investors amid growing anti-China sentiments globally. The portal is being designed Land of opportunities Land with 3,390 industrial belts and SEZs to be part of the national land bank portal Investors can locate the land and have access to details of logistics, land, rail & air connectivity and even raw material supply 21 states have GISenabled land banks, which are being integrated; a mobile app of the land bank will also be launched in such a mannerthat investors willbeabletolocatethelandand have access to a plethora of details. Continued on Page 13 LOCKDOWN EFFECT With theatres closed, OTTs make hay ASMITA DEY New Delhi, August 16 July 31 Gulabo Sitabo August 14 Lootcase Khuda Haafiz July 31 Raat Akeli Hai oftenthannot,sharedbytwoor three people. Analysts at research firm Media Partners Asia estimate that India had 27 « « July 31 « being put out are merely estimates.Also, the population of paid subscribers is very small though a connection, is more « July 24 Dil Bechara « « Shakuntala Devi « DILBECHARA—SushantSingh Rajput’s last film — has understandably been a big hit with viewers thronging to the Disney+Hotstarplatform.Giventhe circumstances,it would probablyhave drawn crowds even if it hadbeenfirstreleasedinthetheatres.However,a crop of digitalfirst releases is attracting a sizeable audience that might not havebeenthecasehadtheybeen screenedinthetheatresfirst. Tobesure,thegenuineviewershipdataforOTTscreeningsis not available and the numbers June 12 In last one month, of 16,20,806 new cases,15% came from AP, 19% from Maharashtra and 2% from Delhi case as clause 6 of it reads: “The licensor reserves the right to recover the dues which were not known to the parties at the time of the effective date of trade, from the buyer or seller, jointly or severally at its discretion as per para 11 of the trading guidelines, dated 12 October, 2015. Jio and RCom, on their part, gave an undertaking to the DoT on January 20, 2016. For spectrum sharing both operators need to be in operation Land bank ready: 5L hectare up for grabs BANIKINKAR PATTANAYAK New Delhi, August 16 YUEQI YANG New York, August 16, Andhra Pradesh emerges as new corona hotspot WITH ALMOST 9,000 fresh infections every day, Andhra Pradesh is India’s new corona hotspot. While Maharashtra beats AP with 12,020 cases, keep in mind that a month ago Maharashtra had 7,975 cases every day while AP had a mere 2,432. In another 8-10 days, it is possible AP will beat Maharashtra and will contribute the mostCovid-19infectionsinthe countryeveryday. In the last one month,India added16,20,806cases.Ofthese, 15% came from AP,19% from Maharashtra and 2% from Delhi.Inthemonthbeforethis— thatis,June16toJuly16—27% of India’s 625,507 case came from Maharashtra, 13% from Delhiand4%fromAP.Indeed,of the 56 districts in the country that have more than 10,000 Covid-affected persons,the top 10 have a daily growth rate of more than 7.5%; and eight of these10districtsareinAP. The spectrum sharing deal betweenJio & RCom should have been cancelled by DoTwhen RCom shut down BIZ BOOST FE SPECIALS Covid-19 saliva test gets FDA authorisation A COVID-19 TEST that processes saliva samples and doesn’t require special swabs or collection devices received emergency-use authorisation by the US Food and Drug Administration on Saturday. Research for the test was donebyYaleUniversity’sSchool of Public Health and was partly funded bythe National Basketball Association and the union representing NBAplayers. The rapid detection test, known as SalivaDirect, “is groundbreaking in terms of efficiency and avoiding shortages of crucial test components like reagents,” FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said in a statement. The FDA says while it has seen “variable performance” in tests using saliva,Yale’s test is accurate enough to meet the criteria for emergency authorization based on data submitted. Yale plans to provide the test protocol to interested labs under an “opensource” arrangement that doesn’t rely on any proprietary equipment from Yale, according to the FDA.TheYale researchers said they aren’t seeking to commercialize the method,according to the university’s website. The licensor reserves its right to recover the dues which were not known to the parties at the time of the effective date of trade, from the Buyer or Seller, jointly or severally at its discretion as per Para -11 of the Trading Guidelines, dated 12 October, 2015 August 14, asked the parties — RCom, Jio, and DoT — why the dues should not be paid by Jio if it is using the spectrum. The SC asked the parties to present all related documents on Monday when the case is due to be heard again. It remains to be seen whether the DoT submits, before the apex court, its letter dated May 20, 2016 granting approval to the spectrum trading between the two companies. The letter is crucial to the NBA-FUNDED SOUTH SIDE STORY August 12 Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl million paid online video subscribers inApril. Continued on Page 2 ISHAAN GERA New Delhi, August 16 India's most infected states India 24,61,190 10,00,000 Maharashtra 5,60,126 Tamil Nadu 3,20,355 1,00,000 AP 2,64,142 10,000 Karnataka Jul 01 Aug 14 Graph as per log scale 2,03,200 Source: MoHFW Districts with over 10k cases triple in a month ISHAAN GERA New Delhi, August 16 UNTIL A MONTH ago, none of the rural districts and only one semi-urban district had over 10,000cases.ButasIndiainches closerto3millioninfectionsand records nearly 65,000 cases daily, the number of districts with10,000caseshastrebledto 56. Rural areas now have three districtswith over10,000 cases andfourotherswithover5,000 cases;semi-urbanareashave17 districts with over 5,000 cases and10ofthosehavecrossedthe 10,000 mark. Itis,therefore,notsurprising that rural and semi-urban centres now account for 36.6% of India’stotalinfections;thisshare COVID-19 UPDATE 26,42,344 TOTAL CASES 50,951 DEATHS SO FAR 56,507 NEWCASES was just 21.1% on July 13.The total number of districts with 1,000caseshasincreasedto372 as compared to 104 a month ago.Daily growth rate of infectionsat2.8%ismorethantwice that of Brazil which is 1.3%. India tops the chart in terms of freshinfections,itadded1.1lakh morecasesthanBrazilinthelast week.ItwillsurpassBrazilwithin firstweekofSeptember.