1. Rajiv Mehrishi Took Oath as New Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.
Rajiv Mehrishi, who took charge as the 13th Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on Monday, will aim to expand the statutory auditor’s ambit to include auditing the social impact of public spending.
Mehrishi, 62, who retired as home secretary last month, has a three-year tenure till August 2020, a statement from the President’s secretariat said on Monday.
The new CAG will guide the constitutional body’s evolution, paying attention not just to the effectiveness of public spending but also to whether it serves goals of equity, a person privy to the auditor’s plans said on condition of anonymity.
“The effectiveness of IT systems of various regulatory and implementation agencies as well as environmental and social impact of various schemes are the emerging areas of statutory audit of the government,” the person said.
CAG will access data on subjects such as public distribution and tax filings from various implementing agencies and regulators and analyse impact of the IT systems’ effectiveness using data analytics, the person added.
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Mehrishi’s appointment comes at a time when the government is keen to improve the effectiveness of funds transferred to various central and state agencies implementing welfare schemes in improving job creation and raising income levels.
Towards this end, the finance ministry advanced presentation of budget 2017-18 to 1 February from the customary last day of the month. The move has helped in “front-loading” public spending, leading to the revenue deficit in the April-July period exceeding the full-year forecast of Rs3.2 trillion.
A finance ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that revenue deficit touching 131% of budgeted estimate in the first four months itself was not surprising considering the early commencement of spending while tax and other receipts usually peak only in the latter part of the year. Economists have been pitching for the government to focus not just on growth in the economy, but also on faster job creation.
Mehrishi, a 1978 batch retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Rajasthan cadre, succeeded Shashi Kant Sharma, who demitted office on Friday. Before his appointment as home secretary, Mehrishi had worked as economic affairs secretary and chief secretary of Rajasthan.
2. Angela Merkel Wins 4th Term as Chancellor of Germany.
Angela Merkel won a fourth term as chancellor in Germany elections that lifted the far-right party Alternative for Germany into parliament for the first time since the immediate aftermath World War II, according to exit polls that point to growing polarization in Europe’s biggest economy.
Merkel’s Christian Democrat-led bloc took 32.5% to defeat Martin Schulz’s Social Democrats, whose 20% is its worst result since the war, the exit polls for national broadcasters ARD and ZDF showed on Sunday. Merkel’s bloc dropped some nine percentage points from the last election in 2013 to record its worst result since 1949.
The principal beneficiary was the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany which joins the pro-business Free Democrats, the Greens and the post-communist Left in the Bundestag after it channelled voter rage at Merkel for allowing some 1.3 million migrants to enter the country since 2015. The AfD’s 13.5% in the exit poll means it stands to become the main opposition party in the lower house, the Bundestag.
“This is a bitter defeat for the SPD, and at the same time it’s a historic watershed in our democracy,” Thomas Oppermann, the Social Democrats’ caucus chairman, said on ARD television. The SPD has decided to go into opposition and not renew the grand coalition with Merkel’s party that has governed for the past four years, he said.
The result offers Merkel just one route to govern: adding the environmentalist Greens to a coalition with the Free Democrats, her party’s traditional allies with whom she governed from 2009 to 2013, in a so-called Jamaica coalition—so named as the party colours of the CDU/CSU, the Greens and FDP match those of the country’s flag. While it’s a combination previously untested at national level, such a government was formed this year in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, and the chancellor has kept tabs on the region’s progress ever since.
“Jamaica is doable,” Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the CDU state prime minster of Saarland, told broadcaster ZDF.
Splintered Parliament
Even as she faces the most splintered parliament in modern German history, Merkel’s record-equalling fourth term in a national election marks a revival of sorts of her political fortunes from the depths of the refugee crisis. It puts Germany’s first female leader and the first from the formerly communist east on track to match former Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s record of 16 years in office.
“A year and a half ago, people were talking about her exit—and here we are,” Carsten Nickel, an analyst at Teneo Intelligence in Brussels, said in an interview. “Given the electoral changes in western Europe, to be able to control this changing field from the political centre is impressive. It shows how completely she dominates the scene.”
All the same, the first task for Merkel, 63, is to forge a coalition that enables her to govern, a process that’s likely to take months. Once a government is in place, Merkel will face huge global expectations -- from shoring up the euro area together with France, to setting Europe’s tone in its dealings with the U.S. under President Donald Trump, and tackling the diesel-emissions crisis that threatens Germany’s dominance in producing luxury cars.
The better-than-forecast performance of the Free Democrats allows them to re-enter the Bundestag after a four-year absence. While there is speculation that the FDP’s relatively hardline stance toward Europe could threaten efforts to work with French President Emmanuel Macron on euro-area integration, “this argument is often overdone,” according to Holger Schmieding and Florian Hense at Berenberg in London, who say the party’s views would likely moderate over time.
Schulz Fades
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Schulz’s defeat to Merkel means the Social Democrats haven’t won an election since 2002, and raises a question mark over his fate as leader. Schulz, 61, a former president of the European Parliament, appeared a formidable contender when the SPD pulled virtually even with Merkel’s bloc soon after he entered the race in January.
But his surge quickly faded and he failed to convince voters to turn their backs on Europe’s longest-serving leader, who projected herself as a force for stability in a world buffeted by concerns from North Korea’s atomic weapons program to uncertainty over the US direction under Trump.
The Alternative for Germany’s two lead candidates, Alice Weidel and Alexander Gauland, revelled in provocations as they capitalized on the legacy of Germany’s biggest refugee influx since the war.
Founded as an anti-euro party opposed to financial bailouts for Greece and other southern European nations, the Alternative for Germany narrowly missed out on Bundestag seats four years ago. With new leadership and a campaign focused on immigration—its platform demands shutting the border to new asylum seekers and calls Germany’s Muslim majority “a great danger to our state”—it succeeded in tapping into a well of discontent with Merkel’s policies.
3. CNR Rao selected for 2017 Von Hippel Award.
Eminent scientist, Professor C.N.R Rao, has become the first Asian to be chosen for the prestigious Von Hippel Award for his immense contribution in materials research.
The award is the US-based Materials Research Society’s (MRS) highest honour.
It recognises “those qualities most prized by materials scientists and engineers - brilliance and originality of intellect, combined with vision that transcends the boundaries of conventional scientific disciplines,” according to the MRS.
The award citation noted Mr. Rao’s immense work on novel functional materials, including nanomaterials (having particles of nanoscale dimensions), graphene (the strongest and thinnest material) and 2D materials, superconductivity, and colossal magnetoresistance (change in electrical resistance of a material in a magnetic field).
The award will be presented in Boston on November 29, during an MRS meeting, according to a release issued by the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research here of which Mr. Rao, a Bharat Ratna awardee, is the founder president.
4. Sports Ministry Recommends P.V. Sindhu for Padma Bhushan Award.
Olympic silver medallist shuttler P.V. Sindhu has been recommended for the prestigious Padma Bhushan, country’s third highest civilian award, by the Sports Ministry here on Monday.
“Yes, we have recommended Sindhu for Padma Bhushan,” a Sports Ministry official told PTI.
A two-time bronze medallist at World Championship, Sindhu has been simply unstoppable ever since becoming the first Indian to win a silver at Rio Games last year.
The 22-year-old from Hyderabad clinched the 2016 China Open Super Series Premier, India Open Super Series, bagged a historic silver at the Glasgow World Championship last month before laying claim to her third Super Series title at Korea Open this month.
A three-time Macau Open champion, Sindhu also won the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold in Lucknow this year.
Riding on a series of good performances, Sindhu achieved a career-best world ranking of number two in April for a brief period. Last week, she climbed back to her number two position, following a good week at Seoul.
In 2014, Sindhu won four bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games, Incheon Asian Games, Uber Cup and Asia Championship.
In March 2015, Sindhu was awarded India’s fourth highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri.
5. Shashi Shanker appointed as ONGC Chairman.
Shashi Shanker will be the next chairman and managing director (CMD) of India’s biggest oil and gas producer, the Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC).
Government headhunter Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) selected Shanker to head ONGC from 1 October. Shanker is currently director (technical and field services), ONGC. He will replace Dinesh K. Sarraf, who retires on 30 September upon attaining superannuation age. PESB said it interviewed nine candidates, including Oil India director (HR) Biswajit Roy and ONGC Videsh Ltd director (finance) Vivekanand.
“PESB recommended the following name for the post of chairman and managing director, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC)—Shashi Shanker,” it said on its website. His name will now be vetted by the administrative ministry—the ministry of petroleum and natural gas—and after obtaining clearance from anti-corruption watchdog CVC and the CBI, sent to the appointments committee of the cabinet (ACC).
His appointment will be finalised after the ACC, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approves it. Shanker, 56, will have a nearly four-year term till March 2021.
6. Patanjali’s Acharya Balkrishna among Top 10 Richest Indians.
International research agency Hurun on Tuesday released its Hurun India Rich List 2017 report. With a staggering 58 per cent jump in his net worth, billionaire Mukesh Ambani`s Rs 2,57,900 crore wealth is 50 per cent more than the GDP of Yemen. Storming into Top 10 for the first time, Patanjali`s Acharya Balkrishna has become the 8th richest person in the country after 173 per cent rise in his wealth to Rs 70,000 crore.
Balkrishna owns close to 94 per cent of Patanjali Ayurved. The 44-year-old CEO of Patanjali has pushed the company`s revenues at a rapid pace. Balkrishna has not only encashed upon Baba Ramdev`s huge base of followers but also attracted Indian consumers by hitting the `swadeshi` idea. Balkrishna heads around 34 companies and three trusts associated with Patanjali brand.
Patanjali has secured a second place in Indian FMCG market share in under 5 years, the report said.
"It is rare to find a country with such a dominant richest person (Mukesh Ambani) whose wealth is thrice more than that of the no.2 in the list. We have never seen such a wide margin between the richest and the second richest in big countries that include USA, China, UK, Russia and so on," said Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Researcher, Hurun Report Global.
"The total number of rich list entrants increased 6 times since we launched the list six years ago; a good indication that Indian entrepreneurs are coming of age with global ambitions," Hoogewerf added.
Hurun India Rich List 2017 had 302 new faces. The sixth edition of the Hurun India Rich List 2017 saw 617 individuals with a cutoff of Rs 1,000 crores, compared to 339 last year. The cut off for the Top 100 has more than doubled to Rs 8,400 crore since 2013, it said.
Sun Pharma`s Dilip Shanghvi retained the second place despite shares of his flagship company going down by 36 per cent. With wealth increase of 320 per cent, Radhakishan Damani, the new retail king, of Dmart is the biggest gainer in Hurun India Rich List 2017.
The report credited better than expected corporate results in 2017 for offsetting the impact of demonetisation. Pharma and FMCG sector with their stellar performance doubled the number of entrants to 79 and 63 respectively. Pharmaceuticals dominate with 13% of the list, followed by FMCG and Chemical & Petrochemicals with 10% and 6% respectively.
Eklavya Juneja of Mankind Pharma is the youngest person in the list. Juneja owns 12% of Mankind Pharma which was founded by father Rajeev Juneja. Hurun India Rich List has eight self-made women this year, compared to two in last year.
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"The market capitalization of all listed companies is now equivalent to 84 per cent of India`s nominal GDP which is the highest in emerging markets. This year, we have expanded the list to highlight the success stories of some of the emerging entrepreneurs" said Anas Rahman Junaid, Hurun Report India, Managing Director and Chief Researcher.
With 182 individuals, Mumbai is the capital for India`s super-rich, followed by New Delhi (117) and Bengaluru (51). Ahmedabad broke into top 5 with 26 new entrants.
With 22 and 11 India Rich Listers, Chennai and Kanpur respectively breaks into top 10 cities of residence for Hurun India Rich Listers. Number of dollar billionaires in India also increased to 136 from 126 last year, the report said.
The combined wealth of India`s richest is a staggering $640 billion, equating to 1/4th of India`s GDP last year and similar to the GDPs of Switzerland ($660bn), and combined GDP of South Africa ($317bn) & Israel ($340bn).
7. Mahtab Bamji selected for living legend award of International Union of Nutritional Sciences (IUNS).
Mahtab Bamji, a noted scientist, has been selected to receive the Living Legend Award of the International Union of Nutritional Sciences ((IUNS).
In a communique, the IUNS said the award will be presented at its General Assembly to be held at the IUNS-ICN in Buenos Aires, Argentina on October 18.
The IUNS Council presents Living Legend Awards to individual members of Adhering Bodies in good standing who are eighty (80) years or above, the communique from the Secretary General Catherine Geissler said.
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The award is a recognition for those who have significantly contributed to the work of national nutrition society or regional organisation and contributed to the advancement of nutrition at national, regional and global level through professional activities such as research, teaching, services.
A former Director-grade scientist of the Hyderabad-based, National Institute of Nutrition, the 82-year old Bamji is associated with the Dangoriya Charitable Trust. She contributes to the efforts of the trust to help improve the nutrition and health status of poor farmers and villagers in Narsapuram on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
Bamji is a honorary scientist of the Indian National Science Academy. She contributed to various national projects directed to reducing malnutrition and improving nutrition status during her long stint at NIN.
8. Angola Swears in its First New President After 38 Years.
Jose Eduardo dos Santos`s 38-year reign over Angola finally came to an end on Tuesday when his hand-picked successor Joao Lourenco was inaugurated as president at a ceremony in Luanda.
Lourenco read an oath in which he vowed "on my honour to devote myself" to the role of president, as he took power after the ruling MPLA party won last month`s election.
Dos Santos, who was at the ceremony but is reportedly in poor health, surprised many by announcing his retirement earlier this year, saying he would not be a candidate in the election.
The People`s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) has governed since Angola`s hard-fought independence from Portugal in 1975, with Dos Santos taking power in 1979.
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The party won 61 percent of the vote in August, a sharp drop in support from the previous election in 2012 as the country suffers an economic crisis triggered by the fall in oil prices.
Lourenco, until recently defence minister, has vowed to attract more foreign investment and said he wants to be recognised as a leader who brought an "economic miracle" to the southern African country.
Though seldom seen in public, Dos Santos has been a looming presence in daily life for as long as most Angolans can remember, maintaining fierce control over the country throughout its devastating civil war and a short-lived oil boom.
9. India ranks 40th in 2017 Global Competitiveness Index.
India has been placed at 40th spot in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) 2017-18.
According to a World Economic Forum report, India is ranked 40th among 137 economies on the Global Competitiveness Index.
Switzerland, United States, and Singapore continue to be the world’s top three competitive economies, while China (27th) and Russia (38th) outshine India among the BRICS group of large emerging markets.
According to the WEF report, India is 3rd among the BRICS countries on the Global Competitiveness Index.
The WEF report highlights that India, which remains the top-ranked economy in South Asia, has significantly improved in infrastructure, higher education, and labour market efficiency.
“Among the emerging markets seen as having great potential in the early 2000s, Brazil and Turkey have now lost much of the ground they gained before 2013, but China, India and Indonesia continue to improve,” the WEF report said.
While India has been placed at the 40th spot, it is one position lower than last year. However, media reports quoted the WEF as saying that though India`s ranking is one lower than last year’s, the two rankings cannot be compared because of a change in the methodology.
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The GCI report, which measures the factors that are crucial to future productivity and prosperity of countries, highlights how 10 years after the 2008 global crisis the financial sector is still vulnerable and unprepared for the next wave of innovation and automation.
The WEF report comes at a time when India is trying hard to improve the 2017-18 ranking in the World Bank’s ease of doing the business survey.
It is to be noted that the GCI scores are calculated on the basis of 12 categories called ‘pillars of competitiveness’, which include parameters like institutions, infrastructure, health and primary education, labour market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness and market size.