Planning of Investment in Bharat

1. European Investment Bank to invest 650 million euros into Kanpur metro rail construction

Key points:

1. The European Investment Bank (EIB) said it will invest 650 million euros into the construction of Kanpur’s first metro line, enabling about three million people in the city to benefit from green, fast and affordable public transport. 
2. The EIB, in a statement, said the new metro rail system will reduce commuting hours and unlock new employment and education opportunities in Kanpur, the industrial capital of Uttar Pradesh.
3. This is the second metro rail project supported by the EIB in Uttar Pradesh, following the 450 million euros investment in the development of a metro rail system in the city of Lucknow.
4. The second biggest EIB operation outside the EU to date will finance the construction of a 32.4 km urban rail line, with 18 elevated and 12 underground stations, the statement said.
5. Once completed, Kanpur metro rail will create 1,100 new jobs and enable around 116 million more affordable commutes each year, it said.
6. This is the fifth EIB investment in green infrastructure and connectivity in India. The EU bank has invested in metro rail systems in Bhopal, Pune, Bangalore and Lucknow.

(Business Today, 1 September 2020) News Link

• India’s target to gasify 100 MT coal to entail investment of over Rs 4 lakh cr: Joshi

Key points:

1. India’s target to gasify 100 million tonnes of coal by 2030 will entail an investment of over Rs 4 lakh crore, Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Monday. 
2. This 100 MT coal gasification will happen in three phases. In the first phase — from 2020-2024 — 4 million tonnes (MT) of coal will be gasified and around Rs 20,000 crore will be invested for the same.
3. In the second phase — from 2020-2026 — 6 MT of coal will be gasified which will involve an investment of Rs 30,000 crore.
4. In the third phase — from 2022-2030 — 90 MT of coal will be gasified and Rs 3.6 lakh crore will be invested for the same.
5. Coal India also plans to set up at least three gasification plants (besides Dankuni) on build, own, operate (BOO) basis through global tendering and has signed pact with GAIL for marketing synthetic natural gas.

(Economic Times, 1 September 2020) News link

Investment in Bharat by other countries

1. Venture Catalysts raises Rs 100 cr for investing in over 100 startups

Key points:

1. Angel investor Venture Catalysts (VC) on Tuesday said it has raised Rs 100 crore for a new fund which will invest in over 100 Indian startups.
2. The ‘9unicorns Accelerator Fund’ of VC is built along the lines of Silicon Valley’s accelerator fund Y Combinator’s strategy which has over 2,000 investments.
3. This is the first close of Rs 100 crore or USD 14 million for the fund, which will focus on identifying startups early and would prefer to be the first external investor in a company’s journey, a company statement said.
4. VC’s founding team members Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Anuj Golecha, Anil Jain and Gaurav Jain are the founders for the fund, it said.

(Business Standard, 1 September 2020) News link

Views: Make in India

1. Foreign companies rush to register in India to meet new ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ rules

Key points:

1. The tweaked public procurement order disqualifying companies with less than 20% domestic content from most government tenders has prompted foreign firms to set up their shops in India.
2. The chartered accountancy (CA) firms have seen growing requests from various foreign companies to incorporate their wholly-owned subsidiaries in India to meet the revised tender criteria.
3. In order to promote local manufacturing, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) amended the public procurement rules to ensure that only items with minimum 20% local content can participate in tenders floated by the government or any of its entities.
4. Also, items with more than 50% local content will get purchase preference over other items. 
5. The government had announced that no global tender will be issued for procurement of items worth less than Rs 200 crore.
6. In a bid to support local manufacturing, the government has taken a slew of tariff and non-tariff measures especially to contain import of cheap items from China.

(Business Today, 1 September 2020) News Link

Bhartiya companies manufacturing in Bharat

• Defence Min inks Rs 2,580-crore deal with Indian companies to procure Pinaka rocket launchers

Key points:

1. In a boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, the defence ministry on Monday sealed a deal with Tata Power Company Ltd (TPCL) and engineering major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) to procure Pinaka rocket launchers. 
2. The defence public sector undertaking Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) will also be part of the project.
3. TPCL and L&T will manufacture rocket launchers for six Army regiments at a cost of Rs 2,580 crore.
4. The BEML will supply the vehicles on which the rocket launchers will be mounted.
5. The six Pinaka Regiments will be supplied to the Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army at an approximate cost of Rs 2580 Crores.
6. The six Pinaka Regiments comprise 114 launchers with Automated Gun Aiming and Positioning System (AGAPS) and 45 Command Posts.
7. BEML will manufacture 330 vehicles on which the domestically made rocket launchers will be mounted. 
8. The Pinaka Regiments will be operationalised along the northern and eastern Borders of the further enhancing the operational preparedness of the armed forces. The Pinaka Regiments are is planned to be completed by 2024.
9. The Pinaka Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) has been indigenously designed and developed by DRDO and the production will be done by the above-mentioned defence industries. 

(Times Now, 1 September 2020) News Link