Usha Martin is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of wire rope. Established in the year 1960, today Usha Martin is a multi-unit and multi-product organization. The wire rope manufacturing facilities located in Ranchi, Hoshiarpur, Dubai, Bangkok and UK produce one of the widest ranges of wire ropes in the world. Rajeev Jhawar, the son of Brij Jhawar, is the managing director of Usha Martin Limited since May 19, 2018, and in the three decades that he has been at the helm of the Usha Martin Group. According to Rajeev Jhawar, the various measures announced by the Central government to boost the economy are likely to start yielding results post-monsoon of 2020.
Wire rope manufacturer Usha Martin Ltd (UML) is expecting domestic demand, particularly in the construction and auto sectors, to start picking up post-monsoon. According to Rajeev Jhawar, Managing Director, UML, the various measures announced by the Central government to boost the economy are likely to start yielding results post-monsoon. According to Mr Rajeev, they expect post-monsoon things should be better. There should be a pick-up in demand during the festival season post-September-October, by which time they hope that the Covid situation would also be brought slightly under control. The economy was badly struck by the pandemic and lockdown. But the stimulus package by the government and the lifting of restrictions post lockdown shows a sign of fresh growth, says Rajeev Jhawar. While the demand for wire rope has been “fairly decent” in international markets, the domestic demand across various sectors has been very low due to the lockdown in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, he added. The reverse migration of labourers had affected industries such as construction, particularly in the western and northern regions of the country. This impacted the demand for wire rope. UML’s wire rope business manufactures wire, strands, LRPC and wire ropes, which cater to various industries, including steel, infrastructure, construction and auto. Rajeev says that the demand from the construction, auto and oil sectors is down. Their plant has reduced its manufacturing and is currently operating at 50–55 per cent of the installed capacity. The export demand is, however, good and the rupee depreciation is supporting UML. The company is hopeful of ramping up capacities by the second half of this fiscal once the Covid situation is brought under control and the domestic demand starts picking up. Rajeev Jhawar Usha Martin says that they have a manufacturing capacity of around 2,30,000 tonnes per annum across its two facilities in India — at Ranchi (Jharkhand) and Hoshiarpur (Punjab) — and three overseas units in the UK, Thailand and Dubai. Talking about exports, Rajeev Jhawar said the demand for wire rope has been “fairly decent”, if not strong, from markets such as Europe, the US, South America, Australia and South-East Asia.
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Christopher Geidt’s resignation frustrates Johnson’s ability to move on from the saga that saw him become the first sitting prime minister found to have broken the law.
The spotlight is back on Boris Johnson’s conduct during the Partygate scandal following the resignation of his ethics adviser, Christopher Geidt, just a day after suggesting in Parliament that the prime minister had breached the ministerial code. “With regret, I feel that it is right that I am resigning from my post as independent adviser on ministers’ interests,” Geidt said Wednesday in a statement on the UK government website. His resignation comes as a surprise and mystery to Johnson and his team, according to a government official. Geidt’s resignation frustrates Johnson’s ability to move on from the saga that saw him become the first sitting prime minister found to have broken the law. Police fined him for attending a gathering for his birthday in Downing Street in June 2020, in breach of the Covid lockdown rules his own government brought in. Last week, Johnson vowed to “bash on” with his agenda after narrowly winning a vote on his leadership, in which 41% of Tory MPs opposed him. Geidt told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday it’s “reasonable” to say Johnson may have breached the ministerial code by taking part in a rule-breaking gathering in Downing Street during the Covid-19 pandemic that led to the premier being fined by police. He also said he had felt “frustration” and that the option of resignation was always “on the agenda,” though he said there wasn’t a point when he formed “a single direct proposition” in his mind. Johnson Adviser Suggests UK Premier Broke Ministerial Rules Last week, Tory MP John Penrose, who led Johnson’s anti-corruption agenda, also resigned his position, telling Sky News “it’s pretty clear” the premier had broken the country’s ministerial code “in a very material way.” Ministers “are always going to be guided by the rules and the principles in that code,” the UK’s Attorney General Suella Braverman, who said she didn’t know the reason for Geidt’s resignation, told ITV on Wednesday. “The ministerial code is very clear in that the sole jurisdiction over it is commanded by the Prime Minister himself, and that’s why, that’s how, we ensure there’s good administration, good governance,” she said. Johnson’s being investigated by the House of Commons Committee of Privileges to determine whether he committed a contempt of parliament by misleading the chamber when answering questions about Partygate. Breaking the ministerial code or intentionally misleading Parliament are usually regarded as resigning offenses, though there is no compulsion to quit. UAE's economy ministry cited interruptions to global trade flows as the reason for its move, but added that India had approved exports of wheat to the UAE for domestic consumption.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has ordered a four-month suspension in exports and re-exports of wheat and wheat flour originating from India, the world’s second biggest producer of the grain, state news agency WAM said on Wednesday. The Gulf nation’s economy ministry cited interruptions to global trade flows as the reason for its move, but added that India had approved exports of wheat to the UAE for domestic consumption. India banned wheat exports in a surprise move on May 14, except for those backed by already issued letters of credit (LCs) and to countries seeking to ensure food security. Since then, it has allowed shipments of 469,202 tonnes of wheat. Companies wishing to export or re-export Indian wheat brought into the UAE before May 13, when India’s suspension began, must first make an application to the economy ministry, it said in a statement. The UAE and India signed a broad trade and investment pact in February that seeks to cut all tariffs on each other’s goods and aims to increase their annual trade to $100 billion within five years.. The pact, known as the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Trade Agreement (CEPA), took effect on May 1. Pope Francis said the situation was not black and white and that the war was "perhaps in some way provoked". Rome: Pope Francis has taken a new series of swipes at Russia for its actions in Ukraine, saying its troops were brutal, cruel and ferocious, while praising "brave" Ukrainians for fighting for survival. But in the text of a conversation he had last month with editors of Jesuit media and published on Tuesday, he also said the situation was not black and white and that the war was "perhaps in some way provoked". While condemning "the ferocity, the cruelty of Russian troops, we must not forget the real problems if we want them to be solved," Francis said, including the armaments industry among the factors that provide incentives for war. "It is also true that the Russians thought it would all be over in a week. But they miscalculated. They encountered a brave people, a people who are struggling to survive and who have a history of struggle," he said in the transcript of the conversation, published by the Jesuit journal Civilta Cattolica. "This is what moves us: to see such heroism. I would really like to emphasize this point, the heroism of the Ukrainian people. What is before our eyes is a situation of world war, global interests, arms sales and geopolitical appropriation, which is martyring a heroic people," he said. 'Pastors of the People' Francis said that several months before President Vladimir Putin sent his forces into Ukraine, the pontiff had met with a head of state who expressed concern that NATO was "barking at the gates of Russia" in a way that could lead to war. Francis then said in his own words: "We do not see the whole drama unfolding behind this war, which was perhaps somehow either provoked or not prevented". Asking himself rhetorically if that made him "pro-Putin," he said: "No, I am not. It would be simplistic and wrong to say such a thing". Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation" to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists, a characterisation previously criticised by Francis. Ukraine and the West say the fascist allegation is baseless and that the war is an unprovoked act of aggression. In his comments, Francis also noted Russia's "monstrous" use of Chechen and Syrian mercenaries in Ukraine. Francis said he hoped to meet Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill at an inter-religious event in Kazakhstan in September. The two had been due to meet in Jerusalem on June but that trip was cancelled because of the war. Kirill, who is close to Putin, has given the war in Ukraine his full-throated backing. Francis said last month that Kirill could not become "Putin's altar boy", prompting a protest from the Russian Orthodox Church. In the conversation with the Jesuits, Francis said he had told Kirill during a video call in March: "Brother, we are not clerics of the state, we are pastors of the people". Russia-Ukraine War | There’s a gap between ground realities and Western policy illusions. Here’s why6/14/2022 The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war is an example wherein despite the increasing difficulty faced by the Ukraine military, write ups and policy suggestions cropping up in Western journals are openly hinting towards a possible victory for Ukraine
While wars between two countries are always determined by the relative asymmetry of military capabilities, the eventual outcomes are often clouded by false illusions and misconstrued public opinion. Yet, we lay individuals often fall prey to such artificial constructs masquerading as ‘gospel truth’, even if they eventually turn out to be untrue. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war is one such example wherein despite the increasing difficulty faced by the Ukraine military, write ups and policy suggestions cropping up in Western journals are openly hinting towards a possible victory for Ukraine. The current edition of the Foreign Affairs, published in the United States, for instance, has come out with some fascinating but one-sided write ups on the ongoing war. For instance, one write up makes us believe that ‘(Ukraine’s) victory in the war would not end the conflict with Russia’. Another one is quite emphatic, ‘Can Ukraine’s military keep winning?’ Yet another one sermonises as to ‘how not to invade a nation?’ This is based on the assumption that ‘Russia’s attack on Ukraine is a case study in bad strategy’. Or consider these: ‘Russians at war: Putin’s aggression has turned a nation against itself’; and ‘the Russian military’s people problem: it’s hard for Moscow to win while mistreating its soldiers’. But the funniest is captioned as ‘A Ukraine strategy for the long haul: the West needs a policy to manage a war that will go on’! We’ve been watching the war for a few months now. While it does seem to be protracted, the losses in terms of men, material, and territories are, without any doubt, quite significant on the Ukraine’s side. Every day, Ukraine is losing 100 to 200 soldiers. More than 20 percent of Ukraine’s territory is now under Russian occupation. Ukraine’s military-industrial base is badly damaged. The hapless small country is waging a lone battle against a military Leviathan without any diplomatic solution in sight. The West has not moved beyond verbal gymnastics and piecemeal material support. Yet, such write ups would like us to perceive and imagine an altogether different war outcome. There could be many reasons for the wide gap between the ground realities in the war zone and the intellectual research and policy illusions being churned out in Western think-tanks, journals, and op-ed articles. First, Ukraine is probably turning out to be a testing ground for Russia’s tactical mistakes, and internal fissures. Despite months of strategic planning, the Russian attack has not been as short and swift as initially expected in Kremlin. Russia’s military fate will probably decide its pecking order among the lead military powers. Failure to clinch Ukraine’s surrender on its own terms will probably cost Russia the capacity to take on the West either in Cold War-like politics, or direct conflicts. Second, this is the first major conflict in the post-Cold War period involving Russia, a known power in military technology and weapons exports, tangentially involving NATO powers. The ongoing war is, therefore, a testing ground for Russian weapons’ performance and tactical advantage. For instance, the Russian Iskander-M short range ballistic missiles have proved to be quite effective by evading Ukraine’s air defence and hitting targets in far-off places. However, more than the test of Russia’s weapons’ system, it is Russia’s preparations for future war that is being scrutinised. Third, both before the war and thereafter, there has been no serious effort in encouraging the two parties towards a diplomatic and negotiated solution. It was certainly possible to cater to Russia’s legitimate security apprehensions vis-à-vis Ukraine’s aspirations for NATO membership. Such negotiated outcome would have been a win-win solution for the two countries, and would have prevented the trappings of huge war costs and regressive economy. When two countries clash, the powerful one may have some sense of over confidence and (rightful) illusions about its victory. However, even smaller powers sometimes develop a sense of overconfidence and false illusions about their military capabilities. Pakistani forces, for instance, had false illusions of victory in East Pakistan in 1971 due to external support expectations. It is debatable if Ukraine would have gone for the whole hog against a much powerful neighbour ‘on its own’ since it readily gave up the nuclear option when it signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1994 as a non-nuclear weapons state. Since then, it has only been at the receiving end of Russia’s ire and incremental territorial annexation. It, therefore, emerges that Ukraine was popped up as the sacrificial lamb at the altar of great power politics and military competition. Russia considers Ukraine as its ‘strategic backyard’, and would not allow preponderant alignment of forces within its sphere of influence. However, rather than engaging the international community on the contours of an agreeable diplomatic solution, syndicated disinformation and false hopes about an impending victory for Ukraine are at best, playful warmongering. They will only prolong Ukraine’s ongoing military misfortune. Crypto Crash Update (6/14): Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, DOT, DOGE, XRP, BNB fall upto 15%6/14/2022 Crypto Market Crash Latest News Today (14th June): Top cryptocurrencies have suffered worst price drop in two years as the global crypto market cap fell below the $1 trillion mark.
Crypto Crash Latest News (14th June): Top cryptocurrencies have suffered worst price drop of 2022 as the global crypto market cap fell below the $1 trillion mark. This is the first time since January 2021 when the global crypto market cap is below $1 trillion. In fact, around $100 billion has been wiped out from the crypto markets in a day. The global crypto market cap has fallen to $912 billion, down from the $1.04 billion recorded yesterday morning. At the time of writing, almost every top crypto was in the red with prices of many touching new lows in the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data (9.10 am, India time). Bitcoin (BTC) price has dropped by 14 percent percent in the last 24 hours to $21,966. The top crypto’s dominance has decreased nearly 2 percent to 45 percent of the total crypto market. In the last 7 days, Bitcoin price has decreased by massive 26 percent. Meanwhile, the total cryptocurrency market volume over the last 24 hours increased by 62 percent to $153 billion, indicating massive sell-off of crypto holdings by investors. The total volume in DeFi was $10.55 billion, which is 7 percent of the total crypto market 24-hour volume. Stable coins volume was $136 billion, which is 89 percent of the total crypto market 24-hour volume. Why market crashed?The massive sell-off in crypto markets was triggered due to fears of another systemic threat after crypto lending service Celsius announce pausing withdrawals due to “extreme” market conditions. “Bitcoin and the overall Crypto markets bled heavily with BTC falling by over 10% in a single day and dropping below the $21K level as the Dollar Index(DXY) continues to strengthen. The weekly trend for the BTC has broken below the triangle pattern and has fallen below its last support of $24,000,” analysts at WazirX Trade Desk shared in a note. “The next immediate and key support is expected at $19,000. The market sentiment has dipped to a new fear level of 8, the lowest in almost 2 years. The crypto markets could lose more ground if the Dollar Index stays strong and the Stock market continues to correct,” they added. Crypto Rupe Index ChangeCrypto Rupee Index (CRE8) by CoinSwitch fell 27 percent in the last one day to Rs 2245. CRE8 tracks crypto market performance in INR the time of writing, the index was down by Rs 829 in 24 hours. CRE8 is an Indian Rupee denominated crypto index reflecting Indian marketing conditions. Read more about CRE8 here) Top Cryptocurrency Prices on June 13Ethereum (ETH): Ethereum price has dropped 15 percent to $1159 in the last 24 hours. In the last 7 days, ETH price has decreased by 34 percent. It is currently ranked second largest crypto asset in terms of market capitalisation. Binance (BNB): Binance Chain coin’s price decreased by 10 percent to $217 in the last 24 hours. In the last 7 days, BNB price has decreased by 24 percent. It is currently ranked as fifth biggest crypto asset in terms of market capitalisation. XRP: XRP coin’s price decreased by 6 percent to $0.3134 in the last 24 hours. In the last 7 days, XRP price has decreased by 20 percent. It is currently ranked as 8th biggest crypto in terms of market capitalisation. Solana (SOL): Solana price decreased by 4 percent to $28.14 in the last 24 hours. In the last 7 days, SOL price has decreased by 29 percent. It is currently ranked as 9th biggest crypto asset in terms of market capitalisation. Cardano (ADA): Cardano token’s price decreased by 2 percent to $0.4711 In the last 24 hours. In the last 7 days, ADA price has decreased by 21 percent. It is currently ranked as 7th biggest crypto asset in terms of market capitalisation. Popular memecoin Dogecoin’s (DOGE) price decreased by 10 percent in the last 24 hours. DOGE is currently ranked 10th in terms of market capitalisation. The price of DOGE at the time of this report was $0.05464. Price of Polkadot (DOT) decreased to $7.16 while Avalanche (AVAX) price was down by 2 percent to $16.26 in the last 24 hours. Both DOT and AVAX are currently ranked 11th and 16th respectively on CoinMarketCap. Polygon (Matic) price fell by 10 percent to $0.4258 in the last 24 hours. It is currently ranked 18th on CoinMarketCap. Meanwhile, Tron (TRX) price has also decreased by 18 percent in the last 24 hours to $0.06072. It is currently ranked 13th on CoinMarketCap. (Cryptos and other virtual digital assets are unregulated in India. They are considered extremely risky for investment. Please consult your financial advisor before making any investment decision) World stocks fell towards fresh 2022 lows and the Japanese yen slid to levels not seen in nearly a quarter of a century on Monday as red-hot U.S. inflation fuelled worries about even more aggressive policy tightening in a big week for central banks.
The substantially higher-than-expected U.S. CPI print on Friday was hard to digest for investors, who sold both bonds and equities and quashed expectations that policymakers were starting to gain the upper hand in capping soaring prices. With inflationary signs showing no signs of abating and new mass COVID-19 testing in China sparking concerns of more crippling lockdowns and squeezed global supply chains, investors cut exposure to risky assets. An index of world stocks is down 0.7%, just shy of a new 2022 low. European stock indices are a sea of red in early trading with benchmark shares down nearly 2% while U.S. stock futures indicated a lower start. "This is happening in spite of the actions that have so far been taken by central banks and which are stoking fears that they will have to go harder and faster if inflation is to be tamed, the cost of which is being increasingly seen as lower growth and potentially recession," said Stuart Cole, chief macro strategist at Equiti Capital in London. Bond markets faced the brunt of the selloff with short-dated U.S. bond yields surging to their highest levels since late 2007 while the yield curve as measured by the gap between 10 and 2-year U.S. debt yields teetered above zero, a level traditionally seen as a harbinger of recession. European bonds were also caught up in the broadening debt market selloff after a hawkish European Central Bank meeting last week, with two-year German bond yields rising above 1% for the first time in more than a decade. [GVD/EUR] Money markets are pricing in a total of almost 250 bps in rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve to the end of the year with only five meetings remaining with some investment banks pencilling in a 75-basis-point hike at a policy meeting this week. Expectations of even more aggressive rate hikes from global central banks prompted investors to ramp up their bearish bets on global growth. This is a big week for central banks with the Fed, the Bank of England and Swiss National Bank holding policy meetings. Multiple indicators of growth in markets slumped on Monday from technology shares in Hong Kong to the Australian dollar as investors fled to the perceived safe haven shelter of the U.S. dollar. The dollar climbed as high as 135.22 yen, its highest since October 1998, buoyed by a rise in Treasury yields that continued into Tokyo trading while the British pound was down more than half a percent after data showed the UK economy unexpectedly shrank in April. [GBP/] CHINA LOCKDOWNS Focus in Asia was on the risk of fresh COVID-19 lockdowns with Beijing's most populous district of Chaoyang announcing three rounds of mass testing to quell a "ferocious" COVID-19 outbreak that emerged at a bar. Chinese blue chips fell 1.42% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng suffered a 3.29% slide. Japan's Nikkei slumped 3.03% and South Korea's Kospi declined 3.27%. "Anyone trying to pick the bottom in China's growth and equity markets on the basis that China was 'one and done' on lockdowns is naive," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA. China's growth shares sagged, with tech giants listed in Hong Kong slumping 4.45%. Index heavyweights Alibaba (NYSE:BABA), Tencent and Meituan were each down between 4% and 6%. Leading cryptocurrency bitcoin slumped more than 6% to the lowest since December 2020 at $24,888.88. Meanwhile, crude oil prices dropped, with Brent crude futures down 2% to $119.20 a barrel as growth concerns dominated sentiment. GRAPHIC: CPI and wage growth (https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-STOCKS/gkvlgznropb/cpiwages.png |
MichaelMichael is Professor of Political Science and Head of Department. His research is on public administration and administrative reform, core executives, the role of civil servants in a transformed state, Archives
May 2024
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