New Delhi, Mar 23 : Tata Steel, one of the leading steel producers in the world with an annual crude steel capacity of 27.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), on friday announced that it has won a bid to acquire bankrupt Bhushan Steel Ltd, for an undisclosed sum of money.
Though the amount is not disclosed by TATA Group, but sources said the all-cash deal was worth over Rs 35,000 crore.
On the completion of the acquiring process, this will help Tata Steel to become India’s biggest steel maker.
While announcing the bid, Tata Steel in its statement said, ‘Tata Steel Limited (Tata Steel) hereby informs that it has been declared as the successful resolution applicant by the Committee of Creditors (CoC) of Bhushan Steel Limited (BSL) on March 22, 2018, subject to obtaining necessary regulatory approvals, including approval from the NCLT and the Competition Commission of India.
‘Tata Steel has accepted the Letter of Intent for BSL under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (IBC),’ the statement added.
As per the estimates, Bhushan Steel will add 5.6 million tonnes of capacity to Tata Steel’s current 13 MTPA production capacity.
BSL, which was on the RBI’s first list of 12 companies to be referred to the bankruptcy court, claims to be India’s third largest secondary steel producer, with an annual capacity of 5.6 million tonnes.
Washington, Mar 23 : US National security adviser HR McMaster has resigned and will be replaced by former US ambassador and Fox News analyst John Bolton, President Donald Trump has announced in a tweet.
“I pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Adviser. I am very thankful for the service of General HR McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/19.”
“The two have been discussing this for some time. The timeline was expedited as they both felt it was important to have the new team in place, instead of constant speculation,” a White House official said.
“This was not related to any one moment or incident, rather it was the result of ongoing conversations between the two.”
“After 34 years of service to our nation, I am requesting retirement from the US Army effective this summer after which I will leave public service. Throughout my career it has been my greatest privilege to serve alongside extraordinary servicemembers and dedicated civilians,” McMaster said in a statement released by the White House.
“I am thankful to President Donald J Trump for the opportunity to serve him and our nation as national security adviser. I am grateful for the friendship and support of the members of the National Security Council who worked together to provide the President with the best options to protect and advance our national interests,” the statement said.
Trump and Bolton have been discussing for weeks how he could replace McMaster. According to a source familiar with those negotiations, Bolton promised Trump “he wouldn’t start any wars” if he was selected.
Shortly after the news broke, Bolton said on Fox News that he wasn’t expecting an announcement to be made Thursday afternoon.
Bolton’s hard edged, hawkish views on issues like North Korea, Iraq and Syria make him a controversial pick to become the next national security adviser — particularly considering that talks with North Korea may soon be possible.
Seoul, Mar 22 : Japan, China and South Korea are considering setting a proposed summit among the three countries for early May, an executive at the office of South Korean President Moon Jae In has said.
If the tripartite summit, to be hosted by Japan, is arranged, Moon would visit the country for the first time since he took office in May 2017.
Beijing, Mar 22 : China warned today that it was ready to retaliate as US President Donald Trump prepared to announce sanctions against Beijing for the “theft” of intellectual property.
“China will not sit idly by and let its legitimate rights and interests be harmed, and will certainly take all necessary measures to resolutely defend its legitimate rights and interests,” the commerce ministry said in a statement.
New Delhi, Mar 22 : Laying emphasis on environment, health and education sectors, the AAP government on Thursday presented a Rs 53,000 crore budget for 2018-19 fiscal, while making a slew of announcements, including a major thrust on “green” initiatives for pollution reduction and launching ‘health insurance for all scheme
The government also announced installation of CCTV cameras in schools, providing self-defence training for girl students, allocating Rs 100 crore for free Wi-Fi, which was a major pre-poll promise by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and installation of 1.2 lakh CCTV cameras in the city by June next year
It also promised implementation of doorstep delivery of government services by June 15, and Rs 1,500 crore for infrastructure development in unauthorised colonies
This is the first “Green budget” of the government for effective containment of pollution in the city, the deputy chief minister said in the budget session of the Assembly in the presence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
The chief minister congratulated Sisodia for presenting a “splendid budget”
“In the budget, government had taken care of all sections of society. There is a lot for poor people, women, middle class and students. It is a first of its kind Green Budget in the country. Besides education and health, we have focused on roads, sewer and water. We have also stressed on investment in these three areas,” Kejriwal said
Sisodia, who is also holds the finance portfolio, said the budget follows “trickle up” economics aiming to benefit poor and middle class people in Delhi
“The budget estimates for 2018-19 are pegged at Rs 53,000 crore which is 19.45 per cent more than the revised budget estimates of Rs 44,370 crore for the previous financial year,” he said in his speech which lasted more than one-and-a-half hour
“We are going to thread 26 programmes and schemes of transport, power, environment and PWD for devising a unified system of pollution control, bringing down levels of different pollutants,” Sisodia said, adding the government has also proposed to set aside Rs 1,000 crore for repair and maintenance of smaller roads owned by the municipal corporations
The budget also put thrust on reducing pollution levels in the national capital by proposing various measures, including concession in registration of CNG cars
Presenting the budget estimates, Sisodia announced 50 per cent concession in registration of CNG cars and said solar panels will be installed over 16 km cycle track
As many as 1,000 indoor display boards will be installed in government buildings to provide information on air pollution levels. There will also be subsidy for restaurants to encourage them to move from using coal to electricity or gas-based tandoors
An allocation of Rs 6,729 crore, which is 12 per cent of the total budget, has been made for the health sector, and the launch of a ‘health insurance for all’ scheme was announced in the budget
Rs 100 crore has been allocated for the ‘health insurance for all’ scheme. First response vehicle will also be launched from East Delhi with 16 bike ambulances Sisodia said, adding Rs 403 crore will be allocated for setting up ‘mohalla’ and poly clinics in the national capital
Yesterday, while tabling the first Outcome Budget 2017- 18, he had said that the Delhi government has managed to set up 160 Mohalla clinics till December 31 this fiscal, against a target of 1,000 such facilities
For the education sector, the government has allocated Rs 13,9997 crore, which is 26 per cent of the total budget. In the budget for the financial year 2017-2018, 23.5 per cent of the total budget amount was allocated for the education sector
Installation of CCTV cameras in school buildings, self- defence training for girl students, promotion of sports in schools and setting up of a world-class skill centre are among the big-ticket promises made by the the AAP government in today’s budget proposal
Sisodia said Rs 175 crore will be allocated for installation of CCTV cameras in school buildings. A total of 1.2 lakh cameras will be installed
“The government has allocated Rs 10 crore for self- defence training of girl students in Delhi and Rs 20 crore has been allocated for promotion of sports in schools,” he said, and also announced allocation of Rs 315 crore for setting up a world-class skill centre in the national capital to train the youth in getting jobs.
Washington, March 21 : The US Citizenship and Immigration Services will accept petitions for H-1B visa from April 2.
The federal agency, however, said it has suspended premium processing of all H-1B petitions which
is expected to last until September 10, 2018.
The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that enables US companies to employs foreign workers in jobs that require theoretical or technical skills. Technology companies mostly use this visa to hire thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
The USCIS said it is temporarily suspending premium processing of all cap-subject visas for fiscal 2019, including petitions seeking an exemption for individuals with a U.S. master’s degree or higher.
This suspension is expected to last until September 10, 2018. “During this time, we will continue to accept premium processing requests for H-1B petitions that are not subject to the FY 2019 cap,” the USCIS said on Tuesday in a release.
During this temporary suspension, it will reject any Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, filed with an FY 2019 cap-subject H-1B petition. If a petitioner submits one combined check for the fees for Form I-907 and Form I-129, Petition for a Non-immigrant Worker, we will reject both forms.
The agency said it will notify the public before resuming premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions or making any other premium processing updates.
The agency said the temporary suspension would help in reducing overall H-1B processing times.
“By temporarily suspending premium processing, we will be able to process long-pending petitions, which we have currently been unable to process due to the high volume of incoming petitions and the significant surge in premium processing requests over the past few years; and prioritize adjudication of H-1B extension of status cases that are nearing the 240 day mark,” it said.
New Delhi, Mar 21 : Lt Governor Anil Baijal has rejected the Delhi government’s proposal for doorstep delivery of ration, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said and alleged that the “important” measure had fallen victim to “petty politics”.
Kejriwal said that he had repeatedly requested the L-G to give him an audience before taking a decision but the Lt Governor did not do so.
Earlier this month, the Delhi Cabinet had approved the proposal for delivering rations in sealed packets at the doorstep to PDS beneficiaries.
Taking to Twitter, the chief minister said, “V sad that Hon’ble LG has rejected doorstep delivery of ration scheme. I had repeatedly requested him to give me an audience before taking a decision but he did not (sic).
“Feeling really really sad that such imp proposals are becoming victims of petty politics.”
The proposal advocates providing doorstep delivery of wheat/flour, rice and sugar for eligible beneficiaries.
According to a government official, there are around 72 lakh PDS beneficiaries in the city.
After the Cabinet’s decision, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had said that attempts were made to put roadblocks in the passage of the scheme, adding that he would request the L-G to consider it keeping in mind the poor residents of Delhi and pass it.
“Theft of ration, poor quality of supplies and shops remaining closed were the major issues that residents were facing and the implementation of this new scheme would put an end to these harassments,” Sisodia had said.
Yangon, Mar 21 : The president of Myanmar Htin Kyaw has resigned, his office has announced.
No reason was given, but there have been growing concerns in recent months about the 71-year-old’s health after he appeared frail at official functions, the BBC News reported on Wednesday.
Htin Kyaw was sworn in as president in 2016 after landmark elections which ended decades of military leadership.
But he was essentially a ceremonial leader, with long-time opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi acting as de facto president.
The statement posted on the presidency’s Facebook page said Htin Kyaw wanted to “take a rest”.
Vice-President Myint Swe, a former general, would act as president until a new president is chosen within seven days, it said.
Ms Suu Kyi, who was jailed for years under the military junta, was banned from taking the top job. A clause in the constitution — widely seen as being deliberately designed to keep her from office — states that no-one with children of another nationality can be president.
She had two children with her late British husband.
Htin Kyaw was her childhood friend, long-time advisor and some time driver. He was widely seen as quiet and dependable, and someone she could trust entirely.
Ms Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy had a landslide win in elections held in November 2015.
But the leadership has been dogged by issues since it took power, most prominently the crisis in Rakhine state.
Tens of thousands of stateless Rohingya migrants have fled amid a military crackdown sparked by deadly attacks on police stations.
The government said it was targeting militants, but the scale of the operation has led to accusations that it could amount to genocide.
It has also seen Ms Suu Kyi’s global popularity plummet, and she has found herself increasingly isolated by her former international allies.
New Delhi [India], Mar. 20 : In a historic decision, on Tuesday, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has granted autonomy to 60 Higher Educational Institutions which have maintained high academic standards.
This was announced by the Minister of Human Resource Development, Prakash Javadekar at a media briefing in the national capital. Javadekar said that the Government is striving to introduce a liberalized regime in the education sector and emphasis is on linking autonomy with quality.
Giving further details, Javadekar said that the 60 institutions which have been granted autonomy includes 52 Universities (five central universities, 21 state universities, 24 deemed universities, and two private universities) and eight Collages.
Javadekar also explained that these universities will remain within the ambit of UGC but will have the freedom to start new courses, off campus centers, skill development courses, research parks and any other new academic programs.
They will also have the freedom to hire foreign faculty, enroll foreign students, give incentive based emoluments to the faculty, enter into academic collaborations and run open distance learning programmes.
The eight autonomous collages will be free to set their own syllabus, hold examinations, carry out evaluation as well as declare results. In this case, only the degree will be awarded by the respective university.
New Delhi, Mar 20 : Thirteen-year-old Delhi schoolboy Prithu Gupta has bagged his maiden GM norm recently during the Gibraltar Masters tournament, where he also became the International Master.
Prithu achieved his norm with two rounds to spare, which took his ELO Rating above 2400 oints (2450) necessary for the IM title. Earlier, Prithu had logged first IM norm in June, 2017 at the Silverlake Open in Serbia and second norm at the Golden Prague chess festival in July.
Having started playing chess only four years back, Prithu has had a good record, having drawn with world No 23, GM Le QuangLiem (rated 2737 from Vietnam) and GM ItturizagaBonelli Eduardo (rated 2650 from Venezuela). His victims also include French GM Fabien Libiszewski, and a hat-trick of draws against GMs Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine), Svane Rasmus (Germany) and Perez Ponsa Federico (Argentina).
Prithu is an eighth standard student of Modern School (Vasant Vihar) and the Delhi Chess Association felicitated him for his recent achievements. All India Chess Federation president Bharat Singh Chouhan said that the Delhi lad has it in him to make it big at the international level.
Tirunelveli/Chennai Mar 20 : A VHP-backed yatra aimed at mobilising support for a Ram temple in Ayodhya entered Tamil Nadu today amidst opposition by DMK, pro-Tamil and some Muslim outfits which claimed it would disturb communal amity.
Showering petals, hundreds of devotees and cadres of Hindu outfits welcomed the “Ram Rajya Rath Yatra” as it entered Shencottah in Tirunelveli District from neighbouring Kerala.
Some activists, including those from the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK), threatened to block the yatra, which left Ayodhya on Feb 13 and traversed through six states.
Police said they arrested over 300 people, including Thirumavalavan of VCK and Jawahirullah of MMK, for violating ban orders and proceeding to block the yatra.
Chief Minister K Palniswami defended the AIADMK government’s decision to allow the yatra in the state saying all religions have equal rights and accused the opposition of trying to give political colour.
Actor-turned politician Kamal Haasan criticised the permission granted to the yatra, saying it had been taken up with “a divisive political agenda”.
‘Superstar’ Rajinikanth, who is set to enter active politics, struck a note of caution, saying any kind of communal tension should be prevented.
Tight security was provided as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad-backed yatra entered the state.
DMK raised the issue in the state assembly stalling proceedings before its members led by Leader of the Opposition M K Stalin were evicted en masse as they kept protesting even after the Chief Minister’s reply.
Stalin then sat on a protest along with party MLAs near the assembly, but police removed and briefly detained them in a marriage hall before releasing all.
“The yatra has entered Tamil Nadu today…permission has been given for yatra organisers who have planned to instigate communal riots,” Stalin alleged.
When the Supreme Court was seized of the Ram temple case, organising a yatra to construct the shrine “is contempt of the top court,” he claimed talking to reporters.
He also sought to know whether the state government was run by “the AIADMK or the BJP.”
Defending permission for the yatra, Palaniswami told the assembly: “As regards Tamil Nadu, all religions have equal rights. Nobody can ban it. This is a democratic country and no religion can be differentiated.”
After covering districts including Tuticorin, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari and entering Rameswaram on March 22, the yatra, being organised by Shri Ramdasa Mission Universal Society, will reach Tiruvananthapuram a day later, he said.
Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said if communally provocative or divisive words were used in the yatra, the government would take stern action.
Pointing out that Left ruled Kerala and Congress governed Karnataka had allowed the yatra, he asked the Congress members to ponder if it was appropriate for them to join hands with the DMK on the matter.
Congress MLAs staged a walk out and sat on the road near the Secretariat opposing the yatra.
Protests were held in Chennai, Ambur, Vellore, Tirunelveli and some other places in the state against the yatra by the cadres of parties including DMK, VCK, and some Muslim outfits.
A strong contingent of police led by district SP Arun Sakthi Kumar had been deployed for security duty in the district, they said.
Police warned against meetings or demonstrations against the yatra for which due permission has been given.
BJP Tamil Nadu unit president Tamilisai Soundarajan said the yatra was facing opposition only in Tamil Nadu. Hailing Tamil Nadu as a land nurtured by spiritual gurus, she questioned why there should be opposition to it.
Rajinikanth said Tamil Nadu was secular and “Police should protect communal harmony… I am confident that our government will definitely do it… It (Rath yatra) should not give room for any communal flare-up and protecting the harmony is important,” he told reporters.
Makkal Neethi Maiam chief Kamal Haasan, charged that the state government was “dancing to someone else’s tune”.
In a tweet, he said “Voices for social harmony being throttled with 144 (ban orders) & arrests. Procession with divisive political agenda allowed with protection” and accused the state government of “dancing to someone else’s tune”.
The yatra is slated to reach Rameswaram after covering Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka among other states.