Blessings of Surya Devta
If you thought that power from solar energy in India is cheap because of generation technology and technique hear this. The Minister of New and Renewable Energy, Pralhad Joshi, speaking at a BNEF Summit, said that India was the cheapest source of solar power because it has special blessings of “Surya Devta”.
He was basically saying that India is blessed with a good number of sunny days, hence making it a leader in renewable power.
PSL dilemma
Looks like even the auto bigwigs couldn’t make RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das budge on including electric vehicles (EVs) within the priority sector lending (PSL) ambit of banks. At a banking conference this past week, an astute auto industry honcho tried to pin the RBI Governor down on whether EVs — two-wheelers, three-wheelers and four-wheelers and the creation of charging infrastructure for them — could be included as part of the PSL framework.
A case was being made for their inclusion, more so when tractors have already been allowed to be part of PSL. However, the RBI Governor, with his signature calm, dodged the question, reminding everyone that PSL is already replete with claims. Das didn’t outrightly dismiss EVs though, noting that “they’re important”. But here’s the kicker! The RBI Governor highlighted that the benefits of anything that is brought under PSL need to go down to the lower rungs of society and for now, it’s still up in the air.
New bull at NSE
The National Stock Exchange‘s new bull sculpture unveiled on Friday has made some feel uneasy. “The bull, a symbol of financial strength and upward momentum, has deep roots in stock market history.
What makes this sculpture unique is the inclusion of figures surrounding it, each representing diverse participants and contributors to India’s progress,” said CP Radhakrishnan, Governor of Maharashtra, while inaugurating the event. However, superstition -struck market-men think otherwise. According to them, on January 12, 2008, BSE had installed a bronze bull statue on the lines of the New York Stock Exchange, indicating boom time in the share bazaar.
However, after that the market crashed across the globe and it took nearly seven years for the BSE Sensex to regain its peak. With the NSE now installing the “bull” statue, almost in similar market and economic conditions, has the market achieved its peak already, wondered some worried market experts. However, some are hopeful this time the jinx will be broken.
‘External elements’
In a world where every office mishap is attributed to ‘external elements,’ SEBI’s latest explanation about its internal staff unrest takes the cake. Faced with vociferous protests from its employees complaining about a toxic work culture (read: shouting, scolding, and public humiliation), SEBI’s response was pure gold: It’s all the fault of those pesky “external elements”! Perhaps, the winds from the Bandra Kurla Complex? May be even the neighbour’s cat? Or even ISI? While the employees claim they’re simply tired of public shaming at work, the official stance seems to suggest a conspiracy theory worthy of a Bollywood thriller. Will these external elements ever be unmasked? Perhaps we need a new SEBI task force or a JPC probe to get to the bottom of this!
Organic rice exports
After businessline raised the issue of irregularities in the export of organic rice, APEDA and the Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) swung into action. APEDA came up with measures to check the irregularities, while DRI prevented ships from setting sail. However, a little bird says both agencies lowered their guard last week after having worked “wonderfully” the week before.