OPINION, P6 ECONOMY, P2 INTERNATIONAL, P8 EDITORIAL ON THE ROAD NEW OUTLOOK Gadkari for converting all govt vehicles into electric vehicles Biden to ditch ‘America First’ in appeal for global partnership Policy on online education stays myopic, despite Covid push SARS CoV-2 variants detected in Maha pose a grave threat, vaccine efforts must be accelerated HYDERABAD, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2021 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOLUME XVII NO. 250, 14 PAGES, `10.00 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: 50,889.76 ▼ 434.93 NIFTY: 14,981.75 ▼ 137.20 NIKKEI 225: 30,017.92 ▼ 218.17 HANG SENG: 30,644.73 ▲ 49.46 `/$: 72.65* ▲ 0.10 `/€: 87.72* ▲ 0.10 BRENT: $63.16 ▲ $0.77 GOLD: `45,954 ▼ `309 *As on Feb 18 COVID-19 IN THE NEWS Domestic natural gas output falls 2% in January Industry red-flags expiry of vaccines DOMESTIC NATURAL GAS production slipped 2.2% year-on-year to 2,551 million standard cubic metre in January, reports fe Bureau in New Delhi. The 2.6 million tonne of crude oil produced in the country during the month was also 4.6% lower than the production in the year-ago period. CII calls for private sector participation in inoculation drive Inching up 36,000 4,800 27,000 3,600 INDUSTRY HAS CALLED for private sector participation in the inoculation drive expressing concerns some quantity of thevaccines could expire if not used soon.TVNarendran,president-designate and chairman of CII’sVaccineTask Force,said on Friday opening up the vaccination process to the private sector would enable full utilisation of the vaccines within the expiry period. CII suggests the government should consider industry participation for a faster rollout in the second phase in FUTURE RETAIL HAS processed a dollar bond interest payment originally due January 22, reports Bloomberg. The company’s notes and shares surged on the news. The interest payment “has been processed at our end,” a Future Group spokesperson said when asked about the issue by Bloomberg News. 7,200 FE BUREAU Pune, February 19 Future processes dollar bond interest payment (number of fresh daily infections rising again) 54,000 Maharashtra (Rhs) 45,000 18,000 2,400 9,000 0 1,200 India Nov 19, 2020 6,000 0 Feb 19, 2021* *Data as on Feb 19, 09:30 PM which those over 50 years would be inoculated. The government should permitcompaniestovaccinate their employees and immediate family members, the industry body feels. Continued on Page 2 Dr Reddy’s Lab begins process to obtain emergency use authorisation for Sputnik Karnataka Bank reports `34.16-cr fraud to RBI DR REDDY’S LABORATORIES on Friday said it has approached drugs regulator DCGI for emergency use authorisation (EUA) for Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V, reports PTI. As part of the review process, the drug majorwill present the safety PRIVATE SECTOR LENDER Karnataka Bank on Friday said it has reported to the RBI a fraud of about `34.16 crore in credit facilities extended to IL&FS Transportation Networks, which is a dud account now, reports PTI. profile of phase 2 study, and interim data of phase 3 trial, which is expected to be complete by February 21, 2021, the Hyderabad-based drug major said in a statement. The vaccine is undergoing phase 3 clinical trial in India. ■ Page 4 ARBITRATION BATTLE India’s offer to Cairn: Pay half and move on Govt feels it is going to be tough for the company to enforce the arbitral award TAX IMBROGLIO It seems govtwants Cairn to settle the dispute using the Vivad se Vishwas scheme FE BUREAU New Delhi, February 19 DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN FINANCE ministry officials and Cairn Energy CEO Simon Thomson — and his team — continued for the second day on Friday, but it appears the government wants Cairn to settle the dispute using the Vivad se Vishwas scheme; under the scheme, the company will have to pay around half the amount due sans interest and penalties in cases where the tax department has lost a case in a forum and filed an appeal,as the instant one. Simultaneously,thegovernmenthasalsodecidedthatitwill challengethearbitrationaward. While Cairn has filed a case in a US court to enforce the $1.4-billion arbitration award ($1.2 billion plus interest and penalties) that it has just won and this can, eventually, even lead to Indian assets — properties of Indian embassies, even It’s not clear ifgovtwill ask SC to nix the award on ground it violates sovereign right to taxation possibly Air India’s planes — being attached, finance ministrysourcesfeelthatthisisnot going to be easy either and can be a long-drawn process. In which case, their hope is that Cairn recognises that thevalue ofitsmoneywillkeepdeclining and so its best bet is pay part of the taxes and then move on. Itisnotclearwhether,while challenging the arbitration award, the government will also approach the Supreme Court (SC) to reject the award PRIME TIME Special Features Mercedes-AMG GLC: Road cruiser, extreme athlete The first AMG model to be assembled in India gets 3.0-litre petrol engine, allwheel drive system, ninespeed automatic gearbox, but looks a lot like the standard GLC Coupé. ■ Motobahn, P9 QuickPicks Fifth TOT bundle: Adani, DP Jain win highway bids THE ADANI Group has quoted the highest bid of `1,011 crore for the first bundle of 53.6-km national highway stretch under the fifth round of toll-operate-transfer (TOT) model while Nagpurbased DP Jain has offered to pay `1,251 crore, the highest by any bidder, to take on long-term lease the second bundle of 106 km, reports Surya Sarathi Ray in New Delhi. NHAI had invited bids for the two bundles last September. Financial bids were opened on Friday. Indian Highways Concessions Trust, Cube Highways, PATH and IRB are the other bidders who participated in the current round. PAGE 2 Airtel gains market share while Jio remains stagnant RELIANCE JIO has been lagging behind Bharti Airtel for the past five months in overall net subscriber addition and even 4G users, reports Kiran Rathee in New Delhi. Interestingly, it is Bharti Airtel which has gained the most when it comes to grabbing users who are leaving Vodafone Idea's network. As per data sourced from telecom regulator Trai, Airtel has increased its wireless subscriber market share to 29.36% in December 2020 from 27.96% in July 2020. During the same period, Jio’s market share changed marginally to 35.43% in December from 35.03% in July. PAGE 4 a case in the US to enforce the $1.4-bn award Indian techies to benefit from new immigration laws Bill proposes to eliminate the per country cap for green cards ■ Since The Hague court did not accept GoI's contention that tax orders can't be arbitrated under bilateral investment treaties, chances of a reversal of the award under a review is remote on grounds that it is antithetical to India’s policy. The government has done this for most awards that have gone against it, such as the AntrixDevas one,but the response of the SC has been mixed. Last year, the apex court turned down a government appeal to stop a $476-mn award thatVedanta andVideocon had won way back in January 2011. Continued on Page 2 LALIT K JHA Washington, Februry 19 INAMAJORmovethatwillbenefithundredsandthousandsof Indian IT professionals in America,theBidenadministration has introduced an ambitious immigration bill in Congresswhichamongotherthings proposes to eliminate the percountry cap for employmentbased green cards. The US Citizenship Act of 2021proposesapathwaytocitizenship to 11 million undocumentedworkers,eliminationof per country quota for employment-based green cards and work authorisation for dependents of H-1B foreignworkers. Thebicameralimmigration bill,ifpassedbyboththechambersoftheCongress—Houseof RepresentativesandtheSenate — and signed into lawbyPresidentJoeBiden,wouldbringcitizenship to millions of foreign nationals, including undocumentedworkersandthosewho ON THE TABLE ■ Proposes a pathway to citizenship to 11 m undocument ed workers ■ Elimination ofper country quota for employmentbased green cards ■ Work authorisation for dependents ofH-1B foreign workers ■ Those waiting for a Green Card for more than 10 years,would get the legal permanent residency immediately cametothecountrylegally.The legislation would also benefit hundreds and thousands of Indian IT professionals and theirfamilies.Thosewaitingfor a Green Card for more than 10 years, would get the legal permanent residency immediately as they would be exempted from the visa cap. Continued on Page 2 HELLO, WORLD. MY FIRST LOOK AT MY FOREVER HOME. Star India trims FY20 losses by 60% thanks mostly to IPL FE BUREAU New Delhi, February 19 ON THE BACK of higher revenuesandloweradvertisingand promotional expenses, Star Indiaconsiderablynarrowedits net losses to `488.85 crore in FY20 against net losses of `1,216.13croreayearago.Duringtheyear,Star’stotalrevenue from operations increased 16.73% to `14,337.46 crore, accordingtothecompany’sRoC filings sourced from business intelligence platformTofler. Revenues from advertising, which was up 8% at `7,901.30 crore,accounted for the bulk of Ad revenues from IPLstood at over `2,000 crore in 2019; the broadcaster garnered nearly `3,300 crore in ad revenues in 2020 as the pandemic boosted consumption ofthe tournament ■ Star India’s GECs are `15 lakh among the most viewed channels in the segment the share of the revenues earned. Subscription revenues roseto`5,262.81croreinFY20 from `4,069.44 crore in FY19. Revenuesfromlicensingofcontent rights rose by 35.67% to ■ IPLTv ad rates for a 10 second slot has been increasing over the years and currently stands at as much `693.68 crore while revenues from theatrical distribution of films increased by 22.73% to `479.67 crore during theyear. Continued on Page 12 USER PRIVACY WhatsApp to roll out new policy on May 15 PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi, February 19 HOURS AFTER ANNOUNCING the decision to go ahead with its controversial privacy policy update, WhatsApp on Friday said it has conveyed to the Indian government that it remains committed to protectionofprivacyofpersonalconversations across the country. Last month,the messaging app had faced a volley of questions from the Indian government after it informed users that itwas updating its privacy Message received ■ Conveys to govt it remains committed to protection of privacy of personal conversations ■ To display a banner in app in coming weeks 'providing more info that people can read at their own pace' ■ But they'll need to agree to the update to send messages policy under which it could share limited user data with Facebook and its group firms. The backlash and users opting for rival appsTelegram and Signal, prompted WhatsApp to delay the rollout to May but on Friday, the company said the policy will be rolled out but the platform will allow users to read it at “their own pace”. WhatsAppwill also provide a banner offering additional information on the update. Continued on Page 12 VIRUSS ALERT RBI takes to rap, to save you from a cyber trap DEVINA JOSHI Mumbai, February 19 RESERVE BANK OF India’s message in its latest‘RBI Kehta Hai’ campaign is a serious one that cautions netizens on cyber frauds, including those on the UPI, but it’s been delivered in style by Punjabi singer-rapper Viruss.Thesingerisbestknown for his 2017 indie song Bam Bhole which was recreated for theAkshayKumar-KiaraAdvani starrer Laxmii. The video, an innovativeattempttocatchthe ■ Cairn has filed Simultaneously, govt has decided to challenge the arbitration award US PLANS A still from the ‘RBI Kehta Hai’ campaign on cyber frauds attentionofthepublic,isonthe central bank’sTwitterhandle. Thevideoencouragesitstarget audience, the tech-savvy netizen who tends to transact online,onstaying‘satark’oralert against some common fraudsters or cyber security threats. The attempt, for now, is to try Twitter as a response/feedback mechanism, based on which other mediums like TV or radio mayeventuallybe roped in. Can such attempts by a top regulator actually do the job of educating in a ‘cool’ way? “Oh yes, it works,” says Naresh Gupta,chiefstrategyofficerand managing partner at digital agencyBangintheMiddle.“We always tend to think of government organisations as remote and disconnected from us, but initiatives like these help them humanise themselves.” Gupta believes RBI has done a“smart thing”by trying out Twitter for the rap video instead of wasting ad monies on TV before testing. Continued on Page 2 MEETTHE MARTIAN The first images arrive moments after NASA's Perseverance Mars roverspacecraft successfully touched down on Mars, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, on Friday PHOTO: NASATV/HANDOUTVIA REUTERS NEWS BLACKOUT ● FUND FACTS Undeterred by Facebook move, Australia to move ahead with content law Govt’s `25k-cr stalled-home plan to start delivering soon BYRON KAYE Sydney, February 19 DHWANI PANDYA Mumbai, February 19 AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER Scott Morrison vowed on Friday to press ahead with laws to force Facebook to pay news outlets for content, saying he had received support from worldleadersafterthesocialmedia giant blacked out all media. Facebook stripped the pages of domestic and foreign news outlets for Australians and blocked users of its platform from sharing any news content on Thursday, saying it had been left with no choice ahead of the newcontent laws. The move, which also erased several state government and emergency department accounts,as well as nonprofit charity sites, caused widespread outrage. Morrison, who blasted Facebook on its own platform THE OZ WAY ■ Australian law to force Facebook, Google to reach commercial deals with country's publishers for “unfriending” Australia, said on Friday the leaders of Britain, Canada, France and India had shown support. A `25,000-CRORE FUND set up by India’s government to complete stalled housing projects is set to deliverits first finished apartments in 2021, offering a template for a problem that has washed out savingsofthousandsofhomebuyersandbankrupteddevelopers. The fund will hand over some 16 projects or more than 4,000 homes in the fiscal April 1,said IrfanAKazi,chief investment officer at SBICAP Ventures, the Centre-appointed manager of the alternative investment fund. The ‘Special WindowforCompletionofConstructionofAffordableandMidIncome Housing Projects’ (SWAMIH)fundwasannounced in November2019. Continued on Page 12 Continued on Page 2 Else the two technology companies to face compulsory arbitration ■ Facebook stripped pages of domestic and foreign news outlets for Australians ■ Social media giant blocked users of its platform from sharing any news content HYDERABAD