Private portal
Along with its NDA allies, the number swelled to 336 in the 543member lower house.
“I started this initiative on my own to test the waters. I did not consult any BJP leader. My thinking behind the portal was to see how many people are willing to commit to support Prime Minister Modi when elections are due next year,” said Chada, who has over 73,000 followers on Twitter.
The man behind the portal said he has met Modi twice. He added that his attraction for the BJP grew after he heard the speeches of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former BJP chief LK Advani. “Now I want the BJP to reach the next level,” he said.
BJP spokesperson Sanjay Mayukh said that the initiative, though not taken by the party, shows how popular Modi is. “There is overwhelming support for the PM and his development agenda. Such initiatives prove his popularity and we respect that.”
A March 2017 parliamentary report on the declining levels of naval force had warned that India would be without a single minesweeper in 2021 even if the Korean deal went through. The latest setback means that there may be no minesweepers even beyond 2021.
The construction of the first vessel was supposed to begin in April 2018, and deliveries of all 12 MCMVS were to be completed between 2021 and 2026. “The timeline will have to be revised. This has certainly upset our calculations,” said an officer familiar with the force’s modernisation programme.
Mital admitted that the project would be delayed but stressed that GSL had finalised all intricate technical details and specifications for the vessels during the last two years. The vessels are expected to have 60% indigenous content.
“The decision to issue a fresh RFP by the defence minister is in line with numerous clearances accorded to pending acquisition cases,” he said.
Kangnam Corporation and Italian firm Intermarine could bid for India’s latest tender, experts said.
The Centre’s mid-day meal scheme, one of the largest free nourishment programmes in the world, feeds an estimated 100 million children across the country every day. Launched to encourage children to attend school regularly, it aims at increasing enrolment and attendance.
The house committee pointed out that MDMS contributed to an increase in attendance in schools, but said that “it does not seem to have any significant impact on fresh enrolments”.
“This particular scenario, the Committee recommends, requires to be considered by the government and requisite measures be taken,” the report said.
Annie Namala, executive director of the Centre for Social Equity and Inclusion, who has served as a member of the National Advisory Council for the implementation of the RTE, said that this new trend was in line with expectations.
“The community is preferring quality of education to mid-day meal, and “quality education” is interpreted as English-medium education. Being able to speak English is a matter of great status in our community,” she said. the research firm wrote in a note on 5 January.
Kotak Institutional Equities Research sees net income of Sensex companies growing 15.2% year-on-year and 9.2% quarteron-quarter. It estimates EPS of Sensex companies at Rs1,480 for fiscal 2018 and Rs1,825 for fiscal 2019.
“Metals, non-banking financial companies, oil and gas, autos, cement and consumer companies are likely to lead earnings growth while telecom, IT (information technology) and pharma may drag,” said Gautam Duggad, head of research at Motilal Oswal Institutional Equities. “We expect 14% and 18% revenue and earnings growth in Q3FY18 for Sensex firms and 15%/22% revenue and earnings growth in FY19.”
Analysts are concerned about the impact of rising oil and commodity prices that could hurt the margins of consumer companies. Rupee appreciation could take its toll on export-oriented sectors. Brent crude prices jumped 16.21%, the rupee gained 2.2% and the Bloomberg commodity index rallied 4.39% in the three months ended December. Elevated bond yields, which will dent treasury income, and higher bad-loan provisions may hurt banks, said Dhiraj Sachdev, vice-president and senior fund manager at HSBC Asset Management.
“Earnings growth is likely to be over 20% in FY19 for broader indices. GST fallout on growth in first half will sustain downgrades for FY18 earnings estimated at the beginning of the year. However, this should recede with possible upgrades on cyclical recovery in FY19,” Sachdev added.
Earnings revival is critical for the rich market valuations to sustain. The Nifty is trading at 18.95 times its expected earnings for the current fiscal. Bloomberg data shows Nifty companies’ consensus earnings per share forecast for the current fiscal has fallen 8.5% since April; for fiscal 2018-19, it has been cut by 3.3%.
Though the Indian markets were among the best performers of 2017, high valuations amid continuous earnings downgrades may dam the flow of liquidity. member of his family is with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).