OPINION, P6 SHREYA DEB ECONOMY, P2 Income support for farmers needs to be more inclusive BACK PAGE, P14 SUNIL JAIN JAL SHAKTI ABHIYAN FIGHTING COVID Draft e-commerce guidelines make little sense and will give bureaucrats more control over the sector PM Modi to launch 'Catch the Rain' campaign today Half of adults in UK get first dose of Covid vaccine NEW DELHI, MONDAY, MARCH 22, 2021 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL. XLVII NO. 18, 14 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 ● COVID SURGE Massive religious gathering worries India AFTAB AHMED & KRISHNA N DAS New Delhi, March 21 THE HEALTH MINISTRY warned on Sunday that a huge gathering of devotees for a Hindufestivalcouldsendcoronavirus cases surging, as the country recorded the most new infections in nearly four months. The ministry said up to 40 people were testing positive forCovid-19 dailyaround the site of the weeks-long Mahakumbh that began this month and peaks in April in the Himalayan holy town of Haridwar,next to the Ganges. Continued on Page 2 SII to delay further vaccine shipments to Brazil, Morocco, Saudi ■ Page 2 INVESTOR’S GUIDE FOR MAHARASHTRA TIGHTENING SECURITY TRADE POLICY Disclose full data, Delay in WTO ruling govt tells telcos casts shadow on FTP All network details to be shared with govt during each roll-out, upgrade KIRAN RATHEE New Delhi, March 21 TO TIGHTEN SECURITY and check malware, the government has decided to seek all the details and flow chart of telecom networks in the country. This means that private telecom operators will have to submit all the details regarding their networks – core equipment, access equip- From June 1, telcos to procure equipment from trusted sources only Govt will provide list of trusted sources This is to prevent telcos procuring equipment from Chinese vendors Telcos need to provide all hardware, software details about networks Vendors need to provide all details about their company, shareholding ment, transport equipment, and support systems – to the National SecurityCouncil Secretariat (NSCS). Continued on Page 2 BANIKINKAR PATTANAYAK New Delhi, March 21 WITH A DEBATE over certain criticalaspectsofthenextfiveyearforeign trade policy(FTP), especiallyexport schemes,still underway, the government will likelydelaythe announcement of a new FTP even as the current one, already extended bya year,expires on March 31. At the heart of this delay is not justCovid-induceddisruptions but a policy dilemma about the continuation of certain key export programmes that have been challenged successfullybytheUSattheWorld Trade Organisation (WTO) on ground of being inconsistent with global trade rules,sources told FE. Washington had also POLICY RIDDLE ■ Govt in a fix over export schemes successfully challenged by the US atWTO’s dispute body ■ India has appealed against it but verdict is delayed due to a crippled appellate body ■ The US had claimed India's “illegal” subsidiesvia these schemes stood at $7 bn/year claimed that “thousands of Indian companies are receiving benefits totalling over $7 billion annually from these programmes”. Continued on Page 2 ● SUPPORT TO DFI More incentives, enhanced grant in the offing FE BUREAU New Delhi, March 21 TO ENABLE THE proposed state-owned development finance institution (DFI) to raise low-cost funds for longterm infrastructure financing, the government intends to top upitsproposedgrantof`5,000 crore once it’s exhausted. The Govt plans to give DFI more funds upon exhaustion ofinitial `5,000-cr grant DFI to use it to refund taxes to bond subscribers, meet hedging costs, etc RBI to take a final call on SLR status to DFI bonds Private DFIs to be accorded tax holiday for five years No plan yet to insulate DFI brass from Prevention of CorruptionAct Bill for DFI to be introduced in House thisweek corpus will be used to refund taxes to subscribers of bonds issuedbytheNationalBankfor Financing Infrastructure and Development(NaBFID)--asthe DFIwillbeknown--andtohelp it meet costs of hedging or commission if it raises funds from overseas,among others. LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT R SHANKAR RAMAN OF RISK AND RASAM SHOBHANA SUBRAMANIAN Mumbai, March 21 AS A SCHOOLBOY at Padma Seshadri, Chennai, Ramamurthi Shankar Raman dreamt of becoming a cricketer.HeplayedforTamilNadu atthesub-juniorlevelfinding a place in the team as an allrounder. But somewhere down the line the focus turns to academics and so commerce took over cricket. As someone who lovestheoutdoors, RSR hasn’t given uponsport;hestill plays badminton twice a week and every now and then,runs the half marathon. He must stay both fit and sharp because today’s CFO needs to do a lot more than just balance the books or manage cash flows. In this uber-competitive world, he has a seat at the strategy table, anticipates, red-flags and pricesrisk,endorsesESG, tracks the number of safe man-hours and spurs innovation.He must keep his cool ROHNIT PHORE when clients are clamouring formore,not be distracted by the deluge of data and yet predict outcomes over the longerterm.At a large diverse conglomerate like Larsen & Toubro, it calls for a state of Sthitapragnya. It’s not just RSR’s acumen or intellect thathashelpedhimdealwith the pressures of the job; it’s also his abilityto carrypeople with him. One wonders what the secret of that calm, collected mind is; possibly a special rasam that he brews on Sundays,a kind of magic potion. Continued on Page 2 Continued on Page 2 Cross Border and Inland Trade Solutions Thanks to this comprehensive trade services platform, we carry out our trade transactions, from the comfort of our offices. Dilip Somani GM Finance, KEC International Ltd. Experience ICICI Bank Trade Online A digital banking platform for your Cross Border and Inland Trade Transactions. Digital Customised Letters of Credit & Bank Guarantees Seamless Cross Border & Inland - Bills & Remittances Supply Chain Solutions Initiate 24x7 Trade Finance & More Terms and conditions of ICICI Bank apply. Give a missed call on 92 0548 0548 icicibank.com/tradeonline New Delhi SMS ‘TRADE’ to 5676766