September 2023 – Page 711 – Safir News Agency

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US Firm KKR Invests $250 Million In Reliance Retail

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US Firm KKR Invests $250 Million In Reliance Retail

In 2020, Reliance Retail raised $5.71 billion by selling 10.09 percent stake (Representational)

New Delhi:

US Investment firm KKR & Co Inc has increased its stake in billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail Ventures by investing an additional $250 million at a valuation of $100 billion, adding to its bet on the country’s biggest retailer.

The private equity firm’s follow-on investment translates into an additional equity stake of 0.25 percent in Reliance Retail on a fully-diluted basis, taking KKR’s total equity stake in the Indian company to 1.42 percent, the retailer said on Monday.

The investment marks growing interest in Mukesh Ambani’s retail operations which stretch from groceries to electronics, and include foreign partnerships with brands such as Jimmy Choo, Marks & Spencer and Pret A Manger. It has more than 18,000 stores and also competes with Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart.

In 2020, Reliance Retail raised $5.71 billion by selling a 10.09 percent stake to investors including KKR, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, General Atlantic and the United Arab Emirates’ Mubadala.

That year, KKR had invested 55.5 billion rupees ($669.65 million) in Reliance Retail. Ambani recently said the 2020 fundraising valued the business at around $52 billion, and “in less than three years, the valuation of retail has almost doubled.”

KKR’s latest investment comes primarily from its Asian Fund IV and the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, Reliance said. Morgan Stanley acted as financial adviser to Reliance Retail.

Reuters exclusively reported this month Reliance was in advanced talks with global investors to raise around $2.5 billion by the end of September, ahead of a potential stock market listing. Mr Ambani said in 2019 that the group planned to list the retail business in five years.

The plan is part of a combined $3.5 billion target the firm set for itself, of which it raised $1 billion from Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) at a $100 billion valuation last month.

Reliance Retail reported a consolidated net profit of 91.81 billion rupees ($1.11 billion) for the financial year that ended in March 2023, on revenue of 2.6 trillion rupees.

Since last year, Reliance has been acquiring dozens of small grocery and non-food brands as it tries to build a consumer business with annual sales of $6 billion within five years to challenge foreign giants like Unilever.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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India-Mid East-Europe Corridor Shouldn't Become Geopolitical Tool: China

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India-Mid East-Europe Corridor Shouldn't Become Geopolitical Tool: China

China said it welcomes initiatives that help developing countries build infrastructure (Representational)

New Delhi:

China said on Monday that it welcomes the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor announced on the sidelines of the G20 summit so long it doesn’t become a “geopolitical tool”, even as it downplayed Italy’s plan to pull out of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

China welcomes all initiatives that truly help developing countries build infrastructure and sincere efforts to promote connectivity and common development, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

“At the same time, we advocate that various connectivity initiatives should be open, inclusive, and form synergy, and should not become geopolitical tools,” the ministry said in a written response to news agency PTI to a question on China’s reaction to the new corridor.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced plans to launch the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor which includes India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the European Union, France, Italy, Germany and the US.

“Today we all have reached an important and historic partnership. In the coming times, it will be a major medium of economic integration between India, West Asia and Europe,” PM Modi said.

The corridor will give a new direction to connectivity and sustainable development of the entire world, he said.

“This is a big deal. This is a real big deal,” US President Joe Biden said while announcing the pact, aimed at promoting clean energy and better communities.

“As we work to address infrastructure gaps across low- and middle-income countries, we need to maximise the impacts of our investments,” he said.

Analysts say the new corridor is the first global connectivity project to rival China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which drew criticism for its debt sustainability, especially from smaller countries.

The ambitious multi-billion-dollar BRI launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 envisions connecting China with Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Gulf region, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea routes rebuilding the old Silk Road trade route.

But with the decade-old BRI running into billions of dollars of investment, China faces a major challenge as Italy has announced its plans to quit the initiative, which according to the Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, “did not bring the results we expected” and many Italian parties were against Italy’s participation.

Italy’s decision comes at a time when China announced plans to hold the third conference of BRI in Beijing next month.

If Italy pulls out, it will be regarded as an embarrassment for President Xi’s pet project.

BRI reportedly figured in the talks between Chinese Premier Li Qiang and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi on Saturday.

Asked whether the BRI issue figured in the Li-Meloni talks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing in Beijing that both leaders had exchanged views on important issues in bilateral relations and agreed to strengthen dialogue and cooperation in joint pursuit of prosperity and development.

On the BRI, she said, “Ten years since the Belt and Road Initiative was put forward, more than 150 countries and cooperation partners in a wide range of areas have joined the initiative, which has delivered tangible benefits to the people of participating countries”.

“It serves the interests of all partner countries to further tap into its potential for cooperation,” she said.

Skirting a direct response on BRI, she said China and Italy are both ancient civilizations on either end of the ancient Silk Road.

“We can further deepen practical cooperation in various fields and work for further growth of our comprehensive strategic partnership,” she said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Babul Supriyo Gets New Ministry As Mamata Banerjee's Bengal Reshuffle

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Babul Supriyo Gets New Ministry As Mamata Banerjee's Bengal Reshuffle

Babul Supriyo has been relieved from the Bengal tourism minister (File)

Kolkata:

A day before leaving for a tour of Spain and Dubai, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee effected a ministerial reshuffle, relieving minister Babul Supriyo of his responsibilities of the tourism department and handing him the charge of renewable energy, a senior official said.

Mr Supriyo will continue to hold the Information Technology portfolio besides his new responsibility.

Another singer-politician Indranil Sen, who was the minister of state for the technical education, training, and skill development department, was given the independent charge of the tourism department, he said.

Incidentally, Mr Sen was earlier the minister of state (independent charge) of the tourism department before Babul Supriyo was made the minister-in-charge of the department.

Indranil Sen will also continue looking after the Information and Cultural Affairs Department.

Forest Minister Jyoti Priya Mallick was given additional charge of the Department of Public Enterprises and Industrial Reconstruction, the bureaucrat said.

Arup Roy will be looking after the Department of Food Processing Industries and Horticulture after Banerjee took away the cooperation department from him and entrusted it with Pradip Mazumdar, who will continue to be the minister-in-charge of the panchayat department.

Mohammed Ghulam Rabbani, who was removed as the minister of the food processing department, will be looking after the environment department.

“I have held meetings with administrative officials to ensure that things go smoothly in my absence. The cabinet reshuffle was approved by the governor last night and we released it today,” she told reporters at the state secretariat.

The Chief Minister said that as promised by Trinamool Congress’ national secretary Abhishek Banerjee during a campaign before the recently-held bypoll in Dhupguri to make it a sub-division, the government has started the process.

“Dhupguri sub-division will be created along with a few anchals (areas) of Banarhat. The decision was taken today and I will ensure its implementation,” she said.

Abhishek Banerjee, while campaigning at Dhupguri in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district, had on September 2 promised voters to make Dhupguri a sub-division within three months.

A sub-division is an administrative unit below the district level and above the block level and is administered by a sub-divisional officer (SDO). West Bengal has 69 sub-divisions.

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Court Relies On Aadhaar To Decide Girl's Age, Acquits Man In Sex Assault Case

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Court Relies On Aadhaar To Decide Girl's Age, Acquits Man In Sex Assault Case

New Delhi:

The Delhi High Court has upheld an order discharging a man of charges of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a girl, relying on the age mentioned on her Aadhaar card which showed her to be a major at the time of the alleged crime.

The high court said the July 2016 order of the trial court rightly observed that the date of birth of the girl in the school record was not based on birth certificate issued by the municipal corporation or any other statutory authority.

“… in the absence of these documents, the trial court has rightly relied upon the Aadhaar card to ascertain the age of prosecutrix as per mandate of section 94 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, which reflects the date of birth of the prosecutrix as January 1, 1994. It is also pertinent to mention that the prosecutrix was not subjected to the ossification test to determine her approximate age,” Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain said.

The high court said the trial court’s order discharging the man under the provisions of Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and IPC does not call for any interference.

The high court’s order, passed on September 4, was made available on Monday.

In the case, the girl’s mother stated in a police complaint that her 16-year-old daughter had gone missing, but the Aadhaar card showed the girl’s age to be 21 years at the time of the alleged incident, which took place in September 2015.

The girl in her statement before a magistrate testified that she had gone with the man on her own will and after getting married to him, they established physical relations.

She said her year of birth was 1994 and she was about 21 years then.

The state challenged the trial court’s acquittal order with the prosecutor arguing that the documents collected during the investigation from the concerned school showed that the girl was a minor at the time of the offence.

The counsel for the man argued that the trial court had rightly relied upon the Aadhaar card as per which, the girl’s date of birth was January 1, 1994.

The counsel also argued that the age of the girl as appeared in the school record was not based on any birth certificate issued by the MCD or any other statutory authority.

The high court, in its order, said that the investigating officer did not collect any birth certificate from the girl’s school or birth certificate issued by MCD or any other statutory authority or panchayat.

It referred to the decision of a coordinate bench of the high court which relied on the Aadhaar card to determine the age of the girl.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Kerala High Court Bans Arms Training By RSS Inside Sarkara Devi Temple

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Kerala High Court Bans Arms Training By RSS Inside Sarkara Devi Temple

The High Court directed the police to ensure compliance to the order (File)

Kochi:

The Kerala High Court said that no mass drill or weapons training will be allowed on the premises of the Sarkara Devi Temple in Thiruvananthapuram District. The temple is under the management of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB).

The court’s direction came when it was disposing of a petition by two devotees seeking an order to prevent the “illegal use and unauthorised occupancy” of the temple premises by the RSS and its members.

The High Court directed the police to provide necessary assistance for the strict compliance of an earlier TDB order banning RSS ‘shakhas’ (branches) and mass drills at the shrines managed by the board.

“No mass drill or weaponry practices (sic) shall be permitted on the premises of the said temple, which is under the management of the Travancore Devaswom Board. The Station House Officer of Chirayinkeezhu Police Station shall render necessary assistance to the Administrative Officer to ensure strict compliance of the prohibition…,” Justices Anil K Narendran and PG Ajithkumar said in a recent order.

The TDB, which manages the temples in Kerala, had on May 18, issued a fresh circular asking officials to strictly follow its earlier order banning RSS ‘shakhas’ (branches) or mass drills in the shrines under it.

In that circular, the TDB said that stern action would be taken against officials who refuse to follow its 2021 order in the same regard.

The TDB had in 2016 issued a circular banning all types of arms training in the temple complexes by the RSS. Later, on March 30, 2021, the board reissued the circular asking officials to take action.

In 2016, the then Devaswom Minister, Kadakampally Surendran, had claimed that the RSS was trying to turn temples into storehouses of arms in Kerala and that the government had been receiving a large number of complaints in this regard.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Cartoon: September 12, 2023

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Iran sees no obstacle in way of renewing JCPOA revival talks: Top negotiator

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Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Ali Bagheri Kani says there is no obstacle to the resumption and finalization of the talks aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement if the sides adopt a realistic approach and avoid previous mistakes.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran sees no obstacle to resuming negotiations and finalizing an agreement if the other parties act realistically and prevent repeating the past mistakes,” Bagheri Kani, who is also Iran’s chief negotiator, said on Monday.

He reaffirmed the Iranian administration’s seriousness to pursue the talks to revive the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and remove the sanctions re-imposed on the country following the unilateral US withdrawal from the agreement three years after its conclusion.

“The [Iranian] administration has never blocked the path to diplomacy, negotiations and efforts to secure the national interests through achievement of a balanced agreement,” the senior diplomat said.

Iran proved the peaceful nature of its nuclear program to the world by signing the JCPOA with six world powers. However, Washington’s exit in May 2018 and its subsequent re-imposition of sanctions against Tehran left the future of the deal in limbo.

Multilateral diplomatic efforts to revive the JCPOA have been stalled since August 2022, with Iran blaming the United States for failing to guarantee that it will not leave the deal again.

Iran has repeatedly said that the JCPOA revival is possible if the US and the European signatories to the agreement — Britain, France and Germany — have the will to reach that aim, warning that the opportunity will not last forever.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Bagheri Kani stressed the need for constant vigilance and prudence in foreign policy, maintaining that sustainable security and development hinge on remaining committed to ideals and values.

The senior diplomat emphasized that Iran’s ‘Look East’ policy of strengthening ties with neighboring countries and Eastern powers is not tantamount to overlooking the capacities elsewhere in the world.

Europe has never been and would never be on the “black list” of Iran’s foreign relations and Tehran welcomes European countries’ role in its development plans, he said.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi has always emphasized that the country’s development, progress and prosperity as well as people’s welfare should not be tied to the will and decision of a few Western countries, he added.

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Updated Asia Cup Super 4 Points Table After India's Big Win Over Pakistan

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India vs Pakistan: Updated Asia Cup 2023 Super 4 Points Table After India's Massive Win

Kuldeep Yadav registered a five-wicket haul while Virat Kohli and KL Rahul smashed unbeaten centuries as India outplayed Pakistan by 228 runs in the Asia Cup 2023 Super 4 match in Colombo on Monday. The game that started on Sunday but was moved to the reserve day due to rain eventually saw India finishing on a high with the bat as well as the ball. Resuming at the score of 147 for 2 in 24.1 overs on Monday with Kohli and Rahul at the crease, India posted a daunting total of 356 for 2 in 50 overs against Pakistan.

Kohli scored 122 not out while Rahul hit unbeaten 111 to steer India to the big total. Only if India’s dominance in the game lacked anything, Kuldeep returned with figures of 5 for 25.

After the big victory, India rose to the top spot in the Asia Cup 2023 Super 4 table. They have two points to their credit but a superb net run rate (NRR) of +4.560 has put them at helm.

On the other hand, Pakistan slipped to the number three spot with an NRR of -1.892.

Sri Lanka are at the second spot with an NRR of +0.420 while Bangladesh are at the bottom place in the four-team table with an NRR of -0.749.

Here is the updated table:

Talking about the game, Kohli’s supreme fitness was evident in his 47th ODI century while comeback man Rahul produced an equally engaging ton on comeback as India thrashed a listless Pakistan by record 228-run margin in the rain-marred contest.

This is India’s biggest win in terms of runs against the cross-border neighbours.

India posted an imposing 356 for 2, as Kohli (122 not out off 94 balls) and Rahul (111 not out off 106 balls), which was his sixth ODI hundred, pummelled a hapless Pakistan, whose chase ended at 128 for 8 as Kuldeep Yadav (5/25) scythed through them.

(With PTI Inputs)

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