The Daily Brief – 27th July 2018

In the global optimism index, India was ranked 6th with business optimism tepid in second quarter (Q2) of 2018 where as Indonesia topped the list. The index was released as part of Grant Thornton’s International Business Report (IBR), a quarterly global business survey. The report was based on results of quarterly global business survey of 2,500 businesses in 32 economies. Globally business optimism has dropped from record high net 61% in Q1 2018 to net 54% in Q2 in 2018.

Invest India has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Business France to promote investment facilitation and cooperation between startups of India and France. The MoU will facilitate direct foreign investment by providing practical investment information to enterprises and will support companies pursuing those opportunities which contribute positively to economic growth of two countries. Invest India is official Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency of Central Government where as Business France is executive agency of French government under supervision of Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International development.

According to recent study, rising carbon emissions is turning ocean water into more acidic. CO2 is absorbed by seawater forming carbonic acid. Due of ocean acidification, fish will lose some of their smelling sense, making it more difficult to survive. Fish use their sense of smell for essential things such finding food and safe parts of ocean to re-produce, recognising each other and most importantly sniffing out danger so they can avoid predators.

According to 2018 Kearney FDI Confidence Index, which was released by report published by global consultancy firm A T Kearney, India has fallen out of top 10 destinations for Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in terms of its attractiveness in which it was ranked 11th, down from 8th in 2017 and 9th in 2016. The index is an annual analysis of how political, economic, and regulatory changes will likely affect FDI inflows into countries in coming years.

Parliament has passed Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018 (the Lok Sabha had cleared the bill on July 19) that aims to curb practice of evading criminal prosecution by economic offenders fleeing from country to evade clutches Indian law by remaining outside jurisdiction of Indian courts. The bill will replace an ordinance promulgated by President in April 2018. Its implementation is expected to restore law and order, as the fugitive economic offenders would be forced to return to India to face trial for their offences. The bill also provides the creation of a ‘Special Court’ under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002 to declare a person as a Fugitive Economic Offender.

Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has amended Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules 1959 to include shale in definition of petroleum. The amendment of definition of petroleum will open up exploration of all hydrocarbons in existing fields which is line with new Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy (HELP). It will help in enhancing domestic exploration and production of hydrocarbons and increasing India’s energy security and reducing dependency on imports. Shale gas is natural gas formed from being trapped within shale formations. It is unconventional source of methane, like coal-bed gas and tight gas.

The Supreme Court on July 25, 2018 ruled that the Compensation Scheme for Women Victims/Survivors of Sexual Assault/Other Crimes-2018 should include child victims of sexual assault. The ruling was made by a bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta. The scheme was prepared by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) in consultation with the Union Government. Under the scheme, a compensation fund will be set up that will be managed by State Legal Services Authority (SLSA).

The NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission and MyGov platform on July 26, 2018 jointly launched the ‘#InnovateIndia Platform’, collaboration between both the platforms. It was launched by R Ramanan, Mission Director of Atal Innovation Mission and Arvind Gupta, CEO of MyGov. The #InnovateIndia portal will serve as the common point for all the innovation happening across the nation. With the launch of the platform, citizens will be able to view, comment, share, upload and rate their and their organizations innovation on the platform.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and the two leaders discussed ways to expand the bilateral ties in a number of sectors, including trade and investment, IT and defence. Mr. Modi and Mr. Ramaphosa signed three MoUs on cooperation in exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, setting up of Gandhi-Mandela Centre of specialisation for artisan skills and agricultural research and education. Mr. Modi, who arrived in Johannesburg on July 25, met Mr. Ramaphosa on the sidelines of the two-day BRICS summit whose theme this year is ‘BRICS in Africa’.