OPINION, P6 ECONOMY, P2 AMITENDU PALIT India should join TPP +US to counter China dominating RCEP INTERNATIONAL, P8 SUNIL JAIN GST LAWS AFTER COVID CONTACT RCEP-like trade pacts aren't the problem, India's relative inefficiency vis-a-vis Vietnam, etc, is Panel meet tomorrow, amendment likely to prevent fake invoices UK PM Johnson says he is well and will govern by Zoom NEW DELHI, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2020 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL. XLVI NO. 223, 12 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 SENSEX: 43,637.98^ ▲ 194.98 NIFTY: 12,780.25^ ▲ 60.30 NIKKEI 225: 25,906.93 ▲ 521.06 HANG SENG: 26,381.67 ▲ 224.81 `/$: 74.60* ▲ 0.05 `/€: 88.23* ▼ 0.07 BRENT: $44.09 ▲ $1.31 GOLD: `50,738* ▲ `202 NO RCEP RE-ENTRY India to speed up talks with US, EU 40000 35000 30000 Mar 2020 Jul 2020 Nov 2020 25000 As the stock markets have bounced back from multi-year lows to all-time highs in less than a year, investors should pick stocks as per their risk appetite ■ Personal Finance, P9 A much improved earnings performance by Coal India FY21/22 EPS down 11/3% on continuing weakness in e-auction prices and revision in raw coal prices; target price cut to `180 from `195; valuation is attractive; ‘Buy’ retained ■ Investor, P11 QuickPicks Maruti Suzuki India sells over 2 lakh cars via online channel THE COUNTRY'S largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India on Monday said it has sold over two lakh cars through the online channel, reports PTI. The company, which initiated its online sales platform around two years back, said the digital channel now covers nearly 1,000 dealerships across the country. “This digital channel has helped to generate over 21 lakh customer enquiries," Maruti Suzuki India executive director (marketing and sales) Shashank Srivastava said. PAGE 4 Govt seeks valuer for LIC; listing likely in FY22 STEPPING UP the preparatory work for the proposed mega listing of LIC in FY22, Dipam has invited proposals from actuarial firms to estimate an Indian Embedded Value (IEV) of the insurer, reports fe Bureau in New Delhi. The last date for submission of request for proposal is December 8. The selected firm would require to work with the appointed actuaries and LIC to mutually agree on an appropriate methodology to be used in the calculations of IEV and then determine the IEV. PAGE 10 TII seeks nod to invets `1,760 cr in securities of CG Power,its arms TUBE INVESTMENTS of India is seeking shareholders' approval for `1,760 crore to be used for giving loans, investing in securities or giving guarantee to the borrowings of CG Power and Industrial Solutions, reports fe Bureau in Chennai. The TII board at its meeting on November 4, 2020, had approved the issue of corporate guarantees in favour of the proposed lenders of CG Power of up to `1,400 crore and this forms part of the `1,760 crore proposed for shareholders' approval. PAGE 4 Continued on Page 2 have two vaccines authorised for emergency use in Decemberwith as many as 60 million doses of vaccine available by theyear’s end.Nextyear,theUS government could have access tomorethan1billiondosesjust from the two vaccine makers, morethanneededforthecountry’s 330 million residents. Continued on Page 2 pany is also working on another vaccine which would be in the form of nasal drops and can be ready by next year. “We partnered with ICMR for vaccine as we speak it entered the phase 3 trials,” he said. Bharat Biotech is the only vaccinecompanyintheworld which has BSL3 production facility (Biosafety-level 3),he said.Lastmonth,thevaccinemakersaidithadsuccessfully completed interim analysis of Phase-I and II trials of the vaccine and is initiating Phase-IIItrialsin26,000participants. ■ Page 4 THE CENTRE HAS received ‘multiple expressions of interests from domestic as well as global firms” for the 52.98%stakeinBPCL,Dipam secretaryTuhinKantaPandey told FE on Monday, reports feBureau in NewDelhi. BREXIT TEST RIDE MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA is crafting plans to build a UK factory to resurrect the BSA motorbike brand in a test case forwhether Britain can attract companies post-Brexit. The conglomerate, which bought the defunct marque in 2016, is scouting for a site to assemble the motorcycle, chairman Anand Mahindra saidin aninterview.Whetherit goes ahead partly hinges on talks over government grants and a trade dealwith the European Union,he said. Mahindra’s exploration contrasts with manufacturers thathavebeenscalingbackproductionintheUKoverconcerns that the country leaving the free-trade bloc will result in higher tariffs and disrupted supplychains.ProlongedBrexit negotiations are going down to the wire with the transition R 2.04 FY21 3.2# FY21 4.3# #likely target `4.95 lakh cr Capex target for CPSEs plus undertakings like the Railways and NHAI for FY21 `1.5 lakh cr Combined H1 capex achievement by CPSEs and entities like Railways and NHAI caused by reduced capex by states and the Centre’s inability,if not hesitation,to scale up its own budgetary spending beyond a limit. Continued on Page 2 While there has been no official word yet, many including RIL,Vedanta,Abu Dhabi National Oil Co, Saudi Aramco and ExxonMobil,are believedtohavebeenmulling toacquirecontrollinginterest in BPCL. ■ Page 4 Trump campaign retreats from key claim M&M is scouting for a factory site in the UK to assemble the motorcycle MARC LEVY Harrisburg, November 16 Plan hinges on talks over govt grants and a trade dealwith the EU Manufacturers have been scaling back production in the UK They are concerned over likely higher tariffs, supply chain disruption post-Brexit periodduetoendDecember31. “WithBrexit,theUKgovernment is going out of its way to givebenefits,whichactuallygoes toward filling that difference in viability,” said Anupam Thareja,amanagingpartneratPhi Capitalandco-founderofMahindra’s Classic Legends arm. Continued on Page 2 ‘RBI has very limited scope for rate cut’ THE RESERVE BANK of India has very little room to cut benchmark interest rates,according to Keki Mistry, chief executive officer, HDFC,with attractive offers fromlendersanddevelopers making it an ideal time for consumers to buy a house, FY20 ● PENNSYLVANIA SUIT Mahindra plans BSA motorbike revival SIDDHARTH PHILIP November 16 CPSE capex ` lakh crore Multiple EoIs received for BPCL from domestic and foreign firms: Dipam secy Bharat Biotech's vaccine Covaxin enters phase-3 trials COVID-19 VACCINE, COVAXIN, being developed by Bharat Biotech is now undergoing phase-3 trials, Krishna Ella,CMD,Bharat Biotech said on Monday,reports PTI.Speakingvirtuallyat a programme organisedbytheIndianSchool of Business,Ella said the com- Scaling new heights reports Bloomberg.“In my view,the ability of RBI to cut rates is going to be very limited going forward,” Mistry said in an interview to Bloomberg TV. “This is the owesttomymindthatinterest rates can go.” ■ Page 10 WELCOME BACK Union home minister Amit Shah greets Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar after the latter’s swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhawan in Patna on Monday Covid blues FE BUREAU WPI-CPI wedge too high for comfort Continued on Page 2 Wholesale price inflation hit an 8-month peak of 1.48% in October but the wedge with retail inflation still remained above 6% for a seventh straight month. 10 8 6 4 2 0 -2 -4 7.35 7.59 5.54 3.52 4.62 0 7.2 6.58 2.26 2.76 6.73 0.42 -1.81 -1.57 0.58 0.41 - 7.61 1.32 1.48 6.69 0.25 6.3 POLL DANCE 7.27 6.23 5.91 -3.37 2019 CPI PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S campaign is withdrawingacentralpartofitslawsuit seeking to stop the certification of the election results in Pennsylvania,whereDemocrat JoeBidenbeatTrumptocapture thestateandhelpwintheWhite House.AheadofaTuesdayhearing in the case, Trump’s campaign dropped the allegation that hundreds of thousands of mail-in and absentee ballots — 682,479, to be precise — were illegally processed without its representativeswatching. Lawsuit drops allegation that 682,479 of mail-in and absentee ballots were illegally processed Maintains the aim of blocking Pennsylvania from certifying a victory for Biden in the state Oct 45000 President has revived the prospect of the US’ re-entry into the ambitious TransPacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal with 11 others. Any such move,on top of the RCEP deal, will pressure New Delhi to redraw its trade ties to avoid being left behind in integrating with global supply chain, analysts have said. — STEPHEN HOGE, Moderna president FISCALLY STRAINED, THE centralgovernmentisgoingall out to leverage the public sector companies owned by it. While pressures has been mounted on them to play a larger role in boosting the exchequer via higher-thanusual dividend payouts and share buybacks,they are likely to be asked to increase their capital expenditure to vertiginous heights. The idea is to cushion an imminent overall decline in overall public investments Sep BSE SENSEX focus will be on not just free but fair trade PRASANTA SAHU New Delhi, November 16 Aug Is it the right time to go for stock shopping? ■ New Delhi's MODERNA SAID ON Monday its experimental vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing Covid-19basedoninterimdata from a late-stage clinical trial, becoming the second US companyin a week to report results that farexceed expectations. Together with Pfizer’s vaccine, also shown to be more than 90% effective,and pending more safetydata and regulatory review, the US could vaccine has also shown to be more than 90% effective ■ US could have twovaccines authorised for emergency use in As many as 60 million December doses ofvaccine could be available by the year's end Jul Special Features that are, in reality, "FTAs by stealth with China" JULIE STEENHUYSEN & MICHAEL ERMAN November 16 ■ Pfizer’s Jun RUCHI SOYA WILL launch a follow-on public offer next year to bring down promoters' shareholding in the company, said Swami Ramdev, reports PTI. Patanjali has run Ruchi Soya efficiently after the acquisition, he said, and expected higher growth during the current fiscal. ■ India not to join pacts now second US company in aweek to report results that far exceed expectations Firms to be asked to raise FY21 target by 50% to `3.2 lakh cr, spend `4.3 lakh cr in FY22 May Ruchi Soya to launch FPO next year: Ramdev products are more competitive in the US & EU than inASEAN region ■ Moderna Steep targets being set for 3 dozen CPSEs We are going to have a vaccine that can stop Covid-19...Assuming we get an emergency use authorisation, we'll be ready to ship through Warp Speed almost in hours. So it could start being distributed instantly. Apr CONSUMPTION OF DIESEL in the first 15 days of November was 5.1% lower than the levels recorded in the same period last year, as lower transport movement in the festive weekend impeded the sales of the auto fuel, reports fe Bureau in New Delhi. ■ Officials say the country's RACE TO FINISH LINE Mar INDIA WON’T REJOIN the China-dominated Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) pact but will rather seek to expedite trade talks with large markets like the US and the EU, senior government officials told FE,a day after 15 nations clinched the biggest trade deal, while leaving the door open for New Delhi to re-enter. The country will refrain from joining any pact that is effectively “free trade agreement (FTA) by stealth with China”,one of the officials said, making clearNewDelhi’s anxiety over joining back the RCEP bloc.Thefocusisonnotjustfree but also fairtrade,he added. Moreover,as reported byFE on June 24,while fears of massive Chinese dumping had always persisted,Beijing’s belligerence at the borders, especially the Galwan clash, just hardenedNewDelhi’sintentto stay away from RCEP talks. India’s decision comes at a time when Joseph R Biden’s election as the 46th American pacts with the US and the EU News comes at time when cases are hitting new records in the US Feb Diesel sales dip 5% in first half of November ■ India is exploring trade Jan BANIKINKAR PATTANAYAK New Delhi, November 16 FREE & FAIR Dec RCEP akin to ‘FTA by stealth with China’, officials say Moderna’s vaccine is 94.5% effective Nov THE 15TH FINANCE Commission on Monday submitted to the prime minister its report on the ratio in which tax is to be divided between the Centre and states over the next five years, reports PTI. The report would be submitted to the finance minister on Tuesday. CAPEX COVID Oct IN THE NEWS 15th Finance Panel submits report to PM *Nov 13 ^Nov 14 2020 WPI Source: MoSPI; industry ministry (% change, y-o-y) STAR TREK ‘One heck of a ride’: SpaceX launches astronauts into space ANDREA SHALAL & JOEY ROULETTE Cape Canaveral/Washington, November 16 ELON MUSK’S ROCKET company SpaceX launched four astronauts on a flight to the International Space Station on Sunday, NASA’s first fullfledged mission sending a crew into orbit aboard a privately owned spacecraft. SpaceX’s newly designed Crew Dragon capsule, which the crew has dubbed Resilience, lifted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 7:27 pm eastern time (0027 GMT on Monday) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral,Florida. “That was one heck of a ride,” astronaut Mike Hopkins said from Crew Dragon to SpaceX mission control about anhourafterliftoff.“Therewas a lot of smiles.” CrewDragonwill gradually raise its orbit for the next 27 hours through a series of onboard thruster firings, giv- Three NASA astronauts and a Japan aerospace astronaut leave for the SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station from the Keneddy Space Centre in Florida ing the astronauts time to eat pre-packaged dinners and roughly eight hours to rest before docking at the International Space Station at 11 pm eastern time on Monday. An airleak caused an unexpected drop in capsule pressure less than two hours before launch, NASA officials said.But technicians said they conducted a successful leak check, and the scheduled launch was still on. The Resilience crew includes Hopkins and two fel- New Delhi low NASA astronauts, mission pilot Victor Glover and physicist Shannon Walker. They were joined by Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, making his third trip to space after previously flying on the US shuttle in 2005 and Soyuz in 2009. The 27-hour ride to the space station,an orbiting laboratorysome250miles(400km) above Earth, was originally scheduledtobeginonSaturday. Continued on Page 2