FM Raises Visa Issue with US Officials

Washington: Finance minister Arun Jaitley has raised the issue of reforms in the H-1B and L1 visa processes during his talks with US treasury and commerce secretaries and asked them to appreciate the contributions of Indian professionals to the US economy.

Jaitley, who is in the US on a week-long tour, held bilateral meetings with his US counterpart and treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross and discussed Indo-US Economic cooperation, in particular, how bilateral trade and investment can be improved between the two countries.

The finance minister highligh- ted the structural reforms India has undertaken through a series of bold measures, including the Goods and Service Tax (GST), financial inclusion and action against the shadow economy, an official statement said.

He also highlighted the contributions skilled Indian professionals have made to the US economy, and that this must be suitably appreciated by the US side, it said. He made a strong case for reforms in H1B/L1 visa processes and social security contribution so that high calibre Indian professionals serving American interest are not unfairly deprived of their well-earned money, the statement said. The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations. It is the most sought after by Indian IT professionals.

The L-1 visa facilitates the temporary transfer of foreign worker in the managerial, executive

TOP CONCERNS

or specialised knowledge category to the US to continue employment with an office of the same employer, its parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate.

During his election campaign, President Donald Trump had promised to increase oversight of our H-1B and L-1 visa programmes.

Earlier, the secretary, depart- ment of economic affairs (DEA), ministry of finance, Subhash Chandra Garg delivered a keynote address on micro pension where he highlighted the big challenge of convincing policymakers and the potential young persons needing pension after their active life.

He appreciated the efforts of organisers in bringing a well-researched book as country and thematic reforms action needed to realise the dream of providing pensions to over1.2 billion people world-wide.

Secretary (DEA) also met with the CEO, World Bank; CEO, Global Infrastructure Hub and the executive vice president and CEO, MIGA besides the India World Bank team led by vice president South Asia.

Spain shows unity on national day

Madrid, Oct. 12: Spain marked its national day on Thursday with a show of unity by opponents of Catalonian independence, a day after the central government gave the region’s separatist leader until next week to clarify whether he intends to push ahead with secession.

The country is in the midst of its worst political crisis in a generation after separatists in the wealthy northeastern region voted in a banned referendum on October 1 to split from Spain.

Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and King Felipe VI are due to attend a traditional military parade in central Madrid, where Spanish flags were tied to balconies and windows around the city by pro-unity supporters on the nationwide holiday.

Armed forces marched down Madrid’s Paseo de la Castellana boulevard to mark the day that Christopher Columbus first arrived in the Americas in 1492 while a pro-unity rally by members of the far-right is expected in the Catalan capital Barcelona.

Mr Rajoy has vowed to do everything in his power to prevent Catalan secession and his government said Wednesday that it would take control of the region if it insisted on breaking away.

The warning came after Catalonia’s president Carles Puigdemont announced on Tuesday that he had accepted the mandate for “Catalonia to become an independent state” and signed an independence declaration but asked regional lawmakers to suspend it to allow for dialogue with Madrid.

The legal validity of the declaration was unclear.

After holding an emergency cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Rajoy told lawmakers that Mr Puigdemont had until next Monday to decide if he planned to push ahead with secession and until next Thursday to reconsider, otherwise Madrid would suspend Catalonia’s regional autonomy.

The deadline set the clock ticking on Spain’s most serious political emergency since its return to democracy four decades ago.

World leaders are watching closely and uncertainty over the fate of the region of 7.5 million people has damaged business confidence, with several listed firms already moving their legal headquarters out of Catalonia.

The region itself is deeply divided on the issue, with polls suggesting Catalans are roughly evenly split on whether to go it alone.

While Mr Puigdemont insists the October 1 referendum gave him a mandate for independence and has said he still wants dialogue with Madrid, Mr Rajoy has refused to negotiate on anything until the separatists abandon their independence drive.

He has also rejected calls for mediation.

“There is no mediation possible between democratic law and disobedience, illegality,” he told parliament. — AFP

Samsung CEO steps down after record profit

The chief executive officer of Samsung Electronics is stepping down in a surprise resignation after decades at the company, saying the business needed new leadership following a bribery scandal that led to the imprisonment of its de facto chief.

Kwon Oh-hyun, who also serves as co-vice chairman, announced his retirement on Friday as the Suwon-based company reported record operating income of 14.5 trillion won ($12.8 billion) on booming demand for displays and memory chips. He said the company faces an “unprecedented crisis” despite the financial success. Kwon, who turns 65 on Sunday, plans to stick around for six months until a successor, most likely from inside the company, is installed.

Kwon had emerged as the public face of Samsung Electronics after Jay Y Lee, grandson of the company’s founder, was detained on corruption charges and then sentenced to five years in prison in August amid a scandal that brought down South Korea’s president. While the latest financial results show Samsung’s busi- ness units operating smoothly, that in itself may present risks for Kwon, said Park Jugun, who tracks corporate executives at CEOScore.

“Nobody wants to be the chief of Samsung Electronics at a time like this; it’s too risky,” said Park. “It puts that person at odds with the controlling family. Only when he is in the shadow is he playing his role properly.”

Friday’s results didn’t include net income or break out divisional performance. Final numbers are usually released two weeks later. Samsung’s shares fell about 1.5% on Friday in Seoul. They have climbed about 50% this year.

Kwon, a semiconductor engineer, has met with President Moon Jae-in and attended events both at home and abroad since Lee was detained in February on corruption charges. Kwon will resign from the management board in March next year when his term ends, the company said. “As we are confronted with unprecedented crisis inside out, I believe that time has now come for the company start anew, with a new spirit and young leadership to better respond to challenges arising from the rapidly changing IT industry,” Kwon said in the statement.

Samsung has had a long tradition of stressing crisis even in good times for the business. Chairman Lee Kun-hee, who transformed the company from a copycat appliance maker to a global technology leader, said in 2010 that Samsung was entering a “real crisis,” just after the company achieved record annual sales of more than 130 trillion won.

Jay Y Lee has denied any wrongdoing and is appealing his conviction.

Mark Newman, senior research analyst at Sanford C Bernstein said Kwon’s top deputies, President J K Shin, who is in charge of mobile products, or Kim Kinam, president of Samsung’s semiconductor business, may be in line to succeed Kwon. “It’s definitely unexpected,” Newman said. “I think the company is going to be fine. The company just needs to find a way to fill this hole that Kwon is leaving.”

FIFA U-17 World Cup: India’s World Cup adventure ends in brutal 4-0 defeat to Ghana

The physical and emotional stress of playing against three top class teams in a space of two weeks was starting to show. As the Ghanaians celebrated, the Indian players were looking at each other for answers or crouching dejectedly.

India’s last group match turned out to be their biggest defeat in the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Ghana captain Eric Ayiah scored in the 43rd and 52nd minute before second half substitutes Richard Danso and Emmanuel Toku scored in the 86th and 87th minute respectively. The home side hence ended its sojourn in the U-17 World Cup bottom of their group table with one goal to their name.

The match can be best described as a story of two halves. In the first, India were making Ghana toe a line. The home side started the game aggresively, earning a corner within the first 10 seconds. It was taken short and the ball was driven into the box from a tight angle, the Ghanaian keeper collected it easily. The physical superiority of the African side started showing only towards the end of the first 10 minutes.

The first instance of this was a piercing run made through the middle by Sadiq Ibrahim. He found himself one on one with Dheeraj Moirangthem and passed it to Eric Ayiah who only had to turn it into the practically unguarded post. India were saved only by the linesman flagging Ayiah offside but that was a warning. Sanjeev Stalin and Anwar Ali were no match for Ibrahim’s pace.

In a bid to avoid Boris Singh, Ghana started concentrating their attacks down the right flank. As it turned out, Ibrahim was able to leave Suresh Wangjam biting the dust. He and Ayiah started creating many precarious situations for India. But every time, the home side would launch the ball forward, Boris being the player at the end of those hopeful passes most of the time.

That was the narrative for the first half, save for its last three minutes. Ghana were winning the second balls, their counter attacks were quick and created clear chances more often than not. But India never shied away from a chance to attack. The diminutive Boris Singh would cut and skip past the Ghanians and India would end up creating three chances for themselves. None of these produced a shot on target, a marked difference to what India got in the match against Colombia. In the end, though, it was the superior pace of Sadiq Ibrahim that cost India a chance to go into half time with a clean sheet. He darted down the right flank and found enough space to turn in a low pass. Dheeraj, who had needed some attention to his right leg just a couple of minutes earlier, dived to get a palm to the ball but he only ended up putting right in the path of the oncoming Ayiah. Ghana were 1-0 up and the half time whistle approached soon.

Ghana started the second half all guns blazing. Ibrahim and Ayiah stretched and ravaged the Indian defence and the Africans doubled their lead in the 52nd minute. The physical and emotional stress of playing against three top class teams in a space of two weeks was starting to show. As the Ghanaians celebrated, the Indian players were looking at each other for answers or crouching dejectedly. It was not a new situation for them. India were 2-0 down at one point against the United States. But India were not bossed around in any of their previous matches the way they had been here. They fended off consecutive waves of Ghanaian attacks after that and finally caved in the last 10 minutes of the match. Richard Danso and substitute Emamanuel Toku scored in the 86th and 87th minute and India were down and out. The final whistle came and with that ended India’s adventure in the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Tata Teleservices clutches 'free' Airtel lifeline

Country's largest telecom service provider Bharti Airtel will acquire consumer mobile business (CMB) of the Tata Group on a 'debt-free cash-free' basis.

The deal will allow Airtel to acquire 40 million subscribers of Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTSL) and Tata Maharashtra Ltd (TTML) across 19 circles, which represent bulk of country's population and customer base, according to a statement released by both the companies.

The deal will save the Tatas from the prospect of having to shut down the struggling unit.

It will enable Airtel to bolster its strong spectrum holdings with the addition of 178.5 MHz spectrum (of which 71.3 MHz is liberalised) in the 850, 1800 & 2100 MHz bands, which all are used for offering 4G services.

While all the debt will remain with the Tatas, Airtel will assume payment of Rs 1,500-2,000 crore, or close to 20% of the Rs 9,000-10,000 crore deferred payments of Tata's unpaid spectrum liabilities to the government. Tatas will pay the rest.

As of end-March, Tata Teleservices and its unit had combined debt of Rs 34,000 crore excluding spectrum liabilities.

All past liabilities and dues will be settled by Tata.

This is the second such big deal in the Indian telecom sector after Vodafone India and Idea Cellular in March this year announced plans to merge their business.

Bharti Airtel-Tata's CMB combined entity will have a market share, in terms of subscribers, to 27-28%, against round 35% of the Vodafone -Idea combined entity. Bharti Airtel has a mobile subscriber base of over 300 million.

Tata Teleservices had a debt of Rs 40,000 crore and the group had been looking to sell off its loss-making mobile business. It has about 5,000 employees.

Airtel will ensure quality services to Tata CMB's customers, while offering them the added benefits of its innovative product portfolio, access to superior voice & data services, mobile banking, VAS and domestic/ international roaming facilities. Tata CMB's operations and services will continue as normal until the completion of the transaction.

The deal is subject to regulatory approvals.

"This is a significant development towards further consolidation in the Indian mobile industry... The acquisition of additional spectrum made an attractive business proposition," Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said.

The transaction will create substantial long-term value for shareholders given the significant synergies, he said.

Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran said the agreement is the "best and most optimal solution" for the Tata Group and its stakeholders. "We have evaluated multiple options and are pleased to have this agreement with Bharti," he said.

Tata and Bharti Airtel will work together to further explore other mutual areas of cooperation, that will be value accretive for both the groups. The employees of Tata will be demerged on the lines of the two businesses ie CMB and EFL (Enterprise and Fixed Line and Broadband), and post an optimal manpower planning will be moved accordingly.

Tata is also in initial stages of exploring combination of its enterprise business with Tata Communications and its Retail Fixed Line and Broadband business with Tata Sky.

Any such transaction will be subject to respective boards and other requisite approvals.

Tata will also retain its stake in Viom, and will take care of the liabilities associated with it. The Boards of Bharti Airtel, Tata Sons, TTSL and TTML have approved the transaction. Goldman Sachs (India) Securities Private Limited is financial adviser to Tata, the statement said.

Bharti Airtel is also in the process of acquiring India operations of Norway's Telenor.

In February, Tata agreed to pay NTT DoCoMo $1.18 billion to buy out the Japanese firm's stake in the telecoms joint venture, settling a long-standing dispute.

WILL RAIN DANCE RUIN T20 BASH?

Hyderabad: The big question ahead of the deciding T20 International against Australia here on Friday is whether the rain gods will be kind enough to finally relent and allow some cricket. It has been raining incessantly here for the past week. The heavens have opened up like never before in the recent past, making life difficult not only for the citizens but also for t he groundstaff, who have had to battle hard to protect the outfield from damage.

It has been a tough task for curator YL Chandrasekhar but he and his team have done a good job in ensuring minimal damage. The pitch is as good as ever but there are a couple of wet spots in the outfield towards the east end of the ground.

“There will not be much change in the character of the wicket and it will stay true for the entire period. There are two wet patches and we are working on them. We have used a couple of fans to speed up the drying process but it all depends on the weather. We have our fingers crossed. If it doesn’t rain tonight and tomorrow, we will have a full game,” Chandrasekhar told ToI on the eve of the game.

To the delight of the staff and players, the sun was out in all its brilliance on Thursday. It turned out to be a hot day but some dark clouds gathered on the horizon again by evening. The Met department has predicted rain for the next few days and that is not music to the ears of the 30,000-odd fans who hope to see their stars in action.

The Indians were ambushed by left-arm speedster Jason Behrendorff in the previous game. The top-order swung and danced to the tune of the Australian bowler, who used the conditions well to bring his side back into the series. With the sides locked 1-1, there is everything to play for in the decider. Skipper Virat Kohli and his band will be keen to prove that the Guwahati show was just an aberration. Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Kohli will love to give it back to the Australian bowlers, especially Behrendorff.

The Indian bowlers have done well in the series and it remains to be seen if the team management gives left-armer Ashish Nehra, who has announced his retirement from the game after the T20I on November 1, a chance in this game.

The visitors, who were thrashed 1-4 in the preceding ODI series, have a golden chance to leave these shores with a series win. This Australian side may not be in the same class of previous ones but they still have quality players. Hyderabad has been ‘home’ to skipper David Warner and he knows the wicket and conditions here like the back of his hand. The aggressive opener has played a key role for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL in the last few seasons and will be eager to use all that knowledge for one last hurrah.

The Indians though will have something to say about it.

SMART MONEY ON BENNI

While some footballers would rather sit on the fence and never dare to predict the MTN8 final between Cape Town City and SuperSport United, some have no problems picking the winner, and most of those we spoke to are going with the Citizens.

Lebogang Manyama: former Cape Town City and SuperSport United forward

“Benni [McCarthy] or [Eric] Tinkler? Whoever wins, I will be happy for him. It’s the same as the players ...

“I have close friends in both teams and pity they all can’t win. May the best team win.”

Mark Mayambela: Chippa United

“City will win. One of my favourite players is Thabo [Nodada], they are captained by my former colleague (Robyn Johannes) and I have a lot of friends there.

“Ayanda Patosi is from my hood (Khayelitsha). Besides that, I’m confident City can win because of the type of players they have – players like Patosi, [Lehlohonolo] Majoro and Teko Modise have played high-level football. Benni was also coached by one of the best coaches in Jose Mourinho and I’m sure he has learnt a lot from him. Of course, SuperSport have great players, but I still back City.”

Gift Motupa: Baroka

“As much as I would like my former coach Eric Tinkler to win it, I am giving it to Cape Town City. Majoro and Patosi will play a big role.

“I think Benni needs it more than SuperSport and they [City] are on form.”

Tapelo Nyongo: AmaZulu

“I give it to City, but they will win in penalties. “I trust their hunger will motivate them. “SuperSport might suffer from complacency as they have already won the Nedbank Cup.”

Thabiso Semenya: Polokwane City

“I’m going with SuperSport United because my friend Thuso Phala is there. I want him to have the champions’ medal.”

Prince Nxumalo: Ajax Cape Town

“I am vouching for SuperSport. “They have been in the finals more than City, which gives them an advantage. They will win it in extra-time.”