GOA, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2018 DoT Secy ......1.21 lakh panchayats with optical ibre cable-based...
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voice of business 9 GOA, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2018 PTI, NEW DELHI: Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundarara- jan has directed state- owned BBNL and BSNL to initiate disciplinary action against oficials who failed to ix non-functional broad- band equipment under the ambitious BharatNet proj- ect, sources said. This is the second time in little over a month that Sundararajan has lagged the issue as Bharat Broad- band Network Ltd (BBNL) and BSNL are yet to take steps that could have led to disciplinary action or iling of "chargesheet" against the oficers who are ac- countable for maintenance of broadband lines under the BharatNet. The secretary has sent a strongly-worded commu- nication, dated December 14, to the heads of Bharat Broadband Network Ltd and BSNL after she came to know that broadband equipment in over 50,000 village panchayats are non- functional, the sources said. Under BharatNet gov- ernment has enabled over 1.21 lakh panchayats with optical ibre cable-based high speed broadband net- work. Citing the communi- cation, the sources said the secretary has called for "chargesheet/ disciplinary action be initiated against the supervisory oficers in BBNL responsible". It is regrettable that both CMD BSNL and CMD BBNL have not complied with the directions issued on No- vember 14 as there is yet to be any improvement with respect to the non- functional equipment, the sources said quoting the communication. As per the communica- tion, dated December 14, Sundararajan has also pointed out that the mat- ters of non-functional BharatNet lines have been mentioned in Parliament and critical observations have also been made by the Prime Minister's Ofice in several meetings. BSNL is a vendor of Bharat Broadband Net- work Ltd with respect to rolling out BharatNet proj- ect. Queries sent to Bharat Broadband Network Ltd and BSNL remained unan- swered. The sources said BSNL has submitted its response to the secretary wherein it has stated that operation and maintenance mecha- nism put in place by Bharat Broadband Network Ltd has no mechanism to alert ground staff about faults. US Dollar 70.56 British Pound 89.47 Euro 80.33 Russian Ruble 1.05 Kuwaiti Dinar 232.09 Bahraini Dinar 187.67 Qatari Riyal 19.38 Emirati Dirham 19.21 Omani Rial 183.55 currency bullion Silver (Rs/Kg) 37,563 Gold (Rs/10gm) 31,265 markets Sensex 36,347.08 Nifty 10,908.70 Team Herald PANJIM: Despite all the talk of Make in Goa, the state government has awarded a ‘healthy heart’ project con- tract for STEMI Goa to a non-Goan company even though an advanced, cost-effective and much superior solution has been developed and implemented by Kal- lows, a company headquartered in Goa, who had pre- viously been awarded the tender for the project. Addressing a press conference, Kallows’ Managing Director, Gajanan Nagarsekar said the STEMI Goa pro- gram launched by the Government of Goa a few days back is not utilising the minimum acceptable standard of ECG recording for their programme. “At irst glance one can see that the technical speciication is improper. A STEMI cardiac program anywhere in the world is run using a 12-channel ECG not a 4-channel ECG machine like the one selected by the Goa government. Any car- diologist worth his salt will tell you this has a potential for diagnostic error,” said Nagarsekar. When asked about possible irregularities in the award of contract, Nagarsekar noted that the Health Department, in a last minute rejection, pointed to some additional paper work that could have been cleared within a few days, rather than an outright rejection. “How did the Bangalore company get approved when it did not participate in the tender process, and when it does not have the necessary certiications? De- spite the Prime Minister asking high tech Goan compa- nies like us to Make in India, the end result is we were excluded. This result also deies the processes set up by the Central government, which state that MSMEs like us should be given preference in awarding govern- ment contracts,” he said. Kallows found support in the Goa Technology Asso- ciation (GTA) president Mangirish Salelkar who said, “Goa has some of the inest technology companies de- livering world class quality products and services across the globe. It’s a shame that the government ig- nores giving contracts to these local companies. Ghar ki murgi, daal barabar.” Local medical technology company, Kallows Engi- neering, on Tuesday announced that they have appar- ently been removed from a Goan programme to provide widespread ECG testing and remote ECG recording across the State. The aim of this programme, STEMI Goa, is to reduce deaths from cardiovascular dis- eases, and improve survival rates for heart attacks. This apparent removal has occurred after the tender was initially awarded to Kallows, and in spite of the estab- lished track record of Kallows’ ECG technology used in health programmes and hospitals across India. Kallows has a totally home grown team of 15 plus en- gineers, investment from a Goan industrialist, a granted US patent, numerous awards by the Government of India and Goa CM’s ofice among others, and supports many projects larger than STEMI Goa across India. Kallows is currently working with several luminary heart projects--most importantly, STEMI India, a NGO under the leadership of Dr Thomas Alexander of Coim- batore. STEMI India is pioneer of this type of pro- gramme, which STEMI Goa is emulating after extensive lobbying and guidance by Kallows. Kallows has been, and still is, the exclusive technology partner of STEMI India, which is approved by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Goan co feels ‘left out’ by State government PTI, NEW DELHI: Fi- nance Minister Arun Jait- ley Tuesday said the government did not seek resignation of Urjit Patel as RBI Governor over dif- ferences on some issues, and went on to cite how central bank heads were made to resign under prime ministers Jawahar- lal Nehru and Indira Gandhi and when Yash- want Sinha was inance minister. Defending his govern- ment's demands from the Reserve Bank to address certain issues including liquidity or fund problem in certain sectors, he said that there is no threat to the autonomy of the cen- tral bank. Patel, who was brought in by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-govern- ment in 2016 after a sec- ond term was denied to outspoken former IMF chief economist Raghuram Rajan, in a surprise move resigned as RBI Governor on December 11. Many blamed the pres- sure brought by the gov- ernment on the central bank to ease lending re- strictions and release more of its capital to bol- ster the economy for Patel's resignation. "Sarkar ki unse koi istife ki apeksha nahi thi (The government did not seek Patel's resignation)," Jait- ley said when asked about Patel's resignation at 'Agenda Aaj Tak' pro- gramme here. The government had cited the never-used-be- fore provision of the RBI Act that gives it powers to issue directions to the Governor, to get the cen- tral bank to discuss its areas of concerns. Two board meetings after that were "cordial" and decisions were taken on three-four issues while there were also some on which no decision was taken, he said, adding the issue of paring of some of RBI's over Rs 9 lakh crore reserves after deciding on an appropriate size of buffer was decided to be referred to an expert com- mittee. While the committee was decided to be formed in the RBI board meeting held on November 19, a consensus on the compo- sition eluded till Patel re- signed. Jaitley said the expert committee would be an- nounced in few days time. "So if you are saying that raising these issues is an in- fringement on autonomy, this is wrong," he said. He then went on to cite past RBI governors who had resigned. "The irst governor to resign (was in) 1955 when (Prime Minister) Pt Jawa- harlal Nehru wrote to Gov- ernor B Rama Rau (that) economic policy is to be framed by Government of India (and) monetary pol- icy is to be framed by you. But your other policies like credit policies have to be in support of the govern- ment's economic policies. And if are suggesting you would resign, 'I am unable to advise you to the con- trary'. So he resigned," he said. Indira Gandhi got Sarukkai Jagannathan to resign after he refused to give an enhanced loan to Maruti. "Yashwant Sinha, who became the high priest of RBI autonomy, during the Chandra Shekhar govern- ment called (RBI) Gover- nor R N Malhotra and said I want your resignation," he added. Former inance minister P Chidambaram, Jaitley said, was "not on speaking terms with two Governors Govt did not seek Urjit’s resignation: FM GOVTRBI RELATIONSHIP LIKE OF 'HUSBANDWIFE': MANMOHAN F ormer prime minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday said the relationship between the government and the RBI is like of "husband-wife" and the dierence of opinions must be resolved in a manner that the two institutions work in harmony. The comments came against the backdrop of Urjit Patel resigning as RBI Governor earlier this month amid a tussle between the central bank and the finance ministry on matters ranging from the appropriate size of reserves the central bank must hold to the easing of lending norms for sectors such as small and medium enterprises. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the launch of his six-volume series of books titled 'Changing India' here, Singh, who is also a former RBI governor, said one has to respect the autonomy and the independence of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). DoT Secy directs BBNL, BSNL to take disciplinary action against ocials for BharatNet faults Chief guest Joytilaxmi Kurup, General Manager Sales, MVR Homes receiving a memento at the 54th installation ceremony of JCI Vasco, at Ravindra Bhavan, Vasco. IGNITE - EDC Innovation Hub inaugurated PANJIM: IGNITE - EDC Innovation Hub, an initiative of EDC Limited was inaugurated by Chief Minister, Manohar Parrikar recently. IGNITE is a high quality facility to promote and empower startups to succeed and grow into scalable and successful companies. It oers incubation facilities for emerging startups and also oers a high quality co-working space for more mature companies to enable high performance working. The team at IGNITE - EDC Innovation Hub (IGNITE) has been keenly listening to the feedback from startups and other enablers of the startup ecosystem. As part of its endeavour to deliver to the startup ecosystem, IGNITE has taken up a couple of important and relevant initiatives. At the Investor Pitch Day startups who apply before December 24, 2018 and get selected for the incubation programme of IGNITE, will be trained to make more eective pitches to an audience comprising of members from the country’s select investor fraternity. The event will be held on Feb 1, 2019. Virtual Incubation programme allows startups to take the benefit of access to select mentorship sessions, service providers, investor community and events without having to be pay the desk fees at IGNITE. The programme has been priced at Rs 3,000 inclusive of taxes per year. This fee may be waived o in case of deserving student- run ventures. Further details can be obtained from IGNITE at 4th floor, EDC House, Dr A B Road, Panjim, [email protected] or www.edcignite.com. bizinfo during his tenure." Many central banks around the world main- tain 8 per cent of gross assets as reserves while conservative ones main- tain at 13-14 per cent. RBI maintains it at 28 per cent, Jaitley said. "In 2013 they said that you have Rs 1.46 lakh crore in excess you give. Then no one said that it is raiding the Reserve Bank," he said. pg 9 new1_Layout 1 12/19/2018 12:28 AM Page 1
Transcript of GOA, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2018 DoT Secy ......1.21 lakh panchayats with optical ibre cable-based...
voice of business 9GOA, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2018
PTI, NEW DELHI: TelecomSecretary Aruna Sundarara-jan has directed state-owned BBNL and BSNL toinitiate disciplinary actionagainst oficials who failed toix non-functional broad-band equipment under theambitious BharatNet proj-ect, sources said.
This is the second timein little over a month thatSundararajan has laggedthe issue as Bharat Broad-
band Network Ltd (BBNL)and BSNL are yet to takesteps that could have led todisciplinary action or ilingof "chargesheet" againstthe oficers who are ac-countable for maintenanceof broadband lines underthe BharatNet.
The secretary has sent astrongly-worded commu-nication, dated December14, to the heads of BharatBroadband Network Ltd
and BSNL after she came toknow that broadbandequipment in over 50,000village panchayats are non-functional, the sourcessaid.
Under BharatNet gov-ernment has enabled over1.21 lakh panchayats withoptical ibre cable-basedhigh speed broadband net-work. Citing the communi-cation, the sources said thesecretary has called for
"chargesheet/ disciplinaryaction be initiated againstthe supervisory oficers inBBNL responsible".
It is regrettable that bothCMD BSNL and CMD BBNLhave not complied with thedirections issued on No-vember 14 as there is yetto be any improvementwith respect to the non-functional equipment, thesources said quoting thecommunication.
As per the communica-tion, dated December 14,Sundararajan has alsopointed out that the mat-ters of non-functionalBharatNet lines have beenmentioned in Parliamentand critical observationshave also been made by thePrime Minister's Ofice inseveral meetings.
BSNL is a vendor ofBharat Broadband Net-work Ltd with respect to
rolling out BharatNet proj-ect. Queries sent to BharatBroadband Network Ltdand BSNL remained unan-swered.
The sources said BSNLhas submitted its responseto the secretary wherein ithas stated that operationand maintenance mecha-nism put in place by BharatBroadband Network Ltdhas no mechanism to alertground staff about faults.
US Dollar 70.56British Pound 89.47Euro 80.33Russian Ruble 1.05Kuwaiti Dinar 232.09Bahraini Dinar 187.67Qatari Riyal 19.38Emirati Dirham 19.21Omani Rial 183.55
currency bullionSilver (Rs/Kg)
37,563Gold (Rs/10gm)
31,265
marketsSensex 36,347.08 Nifty 10,908.70
Team Herald
PANJIM: Despite all the talk of Make in Goa, the stategovernment has awarded a ‘healthy heart’ project con-tract for STEMI Goa to a non-Goan company eventhough an advanced, cost-effective and much superiorsolution has been developed and implemented by Kal-lows, a company headquartered in Goa, who had pre-viously been awarded the tender for the project.
Addressing a press conference, Kallows’ ManagingDirector, Gajanan Nagarsekar said the STEMI Goa pro-gram launched by the Government of Goa a few daysback is not utilising the minimum acceptable standardof ECG recording for their programme. “At irst glanceone can see that the technical speciication is improper.A STEMI cardiac program anywhere in the world is runusing a 12-channel ECG not a 4-channel ECG machinelike the one selected by the Goa government. Any car-diologist worth his salt will tell you this has a potentialfor diagnostic error,” said Nagarsekar.
When asked about possible irregularities in theaward of contract, Nagarsekar noted that the HealthDepartment, in a last minute rejection, pointed to someadditional paper work that could have been clearedwithin a few days, rather than an outright rejection.
“How did the Bangalore company get approvedwhen it did not participate in the tender process, andwhen it does not have the necessary certiications? De-spite the Prime Minister asking high tech Goan compa-nies like us to Make in India, the end result is we wereexcluded. This result also deies the processes set upby the Central government, which state that MSMEslike us should be given preference in awarding govern-ment contracts,” he said.
Kallows found support in the Goa Technology Asso-ciation (GTA) president Mangirish Salelkar who said,“Goa has some of the inest technology companies de-livering world class quality products and servicesacross the globe. It’s a shame that the government ig-nores giving contracts to these local companies. Gharki murgi, daal barabar.”
Local medical technology company, Kallows Engi-neering, on Tuesday announced that they have appar-ently been removed from a Goan programme toprovide widespread ECG testing and remote ECGrecording across the State. The aim of this programme,STEMI Goa, is to reduce deaths from cardiovascular dis-eases, and improve survival rates for heart attacks. Thisapparent removal has occurred after the tender wasinitially awarded to Kallows, and in spite of the estab-lished track record of Kallows’ ECG technology used inhealth programmes and hospitals across India.
Kallows has a totally home grown team of 15 plus en-gineers, investment from a Goan industrialist, a grantedUS patent, numerous awards by the Government ofIndia and Goa CM’s ofice among others, and supportsmany projects larger than STEMI Goa across India.
Kallows is currently working with several luminaryheart projects--most importantly, STEMI India, a NGOunder the leadership of Dr Thomas Alexander of Coim-batore. STEMI India is pioneer of this type of pro-gramme, which STEMI Goa is emulating after extensivelobbying and guidance by Kallows. Kallows has been,and still is, the exclusive technology partner of STEMIIndia, which is approved by Indian Council of MedicalResearch (ICMR).
Goan co feels ‘left out’ byState government
PTI, NEW DELHI: Fi-nance Minister Arun Jait-ley Tuesday said thegovernment did not seekresignation of Urjit Patelas RBI Governor over dif-ferences on some issues,and went on to cite howcentral bank heads weremade to resign underprime ministers Jawahar-lal Nehru and IndiraGandhi and when Yash-want Sinha was inanceminister.
Defending his govern-ment's demands from theReserve Bank to addresscertain issues includingliquidity or fund problemin certain sectors, he saidthat there is no threat tothe autonomy of the cen-tral bank.
Patel, who was broughtin by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi-govern-ment in 2016 after a sec-ond term was denied tooutspoken former IMFchief economist RaghuramRajan, in a surprise moveresigned as RBI Governoron December 11.
Many blamed the pres-sure brought by the gov-ernment on the centralbank to ease lending re-strictions and releasemore of its capital to bol-ster the economy forPatel's resignation.
"Sarkar ki unse koi istifeki apeksha nahi thi (Thegovernment did not seekPatel's resignation)," Jait-ley said when asked aboutPatel's resignation at'Agenda Aaj Tak' pro-gramme here.
The government hadcited the never-used-be-fore provision of the RBIAct that gives it powers toissue directions to theGovernor, to get the cen-tral bank to discuss itsareas of concerns.
Two board meetingsafter that were "cordial"and decisions were takenon three-four issues while
there were also some onwhich no decision wastaken, he said, adding theissue of paring of some ofRBI's over Rs 9 lakh crorereserves after deciding onan appropriate size ofbuffer was decided to bereferred to an expert com-mittee.
While the committeewas decided to be formedin the RBI board meetingheld on November 19, aconsensus on the compo-sition eluded till Patel re-signed.
Jaitley said the expertcommittee would be an-nounced in few days time.
"So if you are saying thatraising these issues is an in-fringement on autonomy,this is wrong," he said.
He then went on to citepast RBI governors whohad resigned.
"The irst governor toresign (was in) 1955 when(Prime Minister) Pt Jawa-harlal Nehru wrote to Gov-ernor B Rama Rau (that)economic policy is to beframed by Government ofIndia (and) monetary pol-icy is to be framed by you.But your other policies likecredit policies have to bein support of the govern-ment's economic policies.And if are suggesting youwould resign, 'I am unableto advise you to the con-trary'. So he resigned," hesaid.
Indira Gandhi gotSarukkai Jagannathan toresign after he refused togive an enhanced loan toMaruti.
"Yashwant Sinha, whobecame the high priest ofRBI autonomy, during theChandra Shekhar govern-ment called (RBI) Gover-nor R N Malhotra and saidI want your resignation,"he added.
Former inance ministerP Chidambaram, Jaitleysaid, was "not on speakingterms with two Governors
Govt did not seek Urjit’s resignation: FMGOVT!RBI RELATIONSHIP LIKE OF'HUSBAND!WIFE': MANMOHAN
Former prime minister Manmohan Singh Tuesdaysaid the relationship between the government and
the RBI is like of "husband-wife" and the di!erence ofopinions must be resolved in a manner that the twoinstitutions work in harmony.The comments came against the backdrop of UrjitPatel resigning as RBI Governor earlier this monthamid a tussle between the central bank and thefinance ministry on matters ranging from theappropriate size of reserves the central bank musthold to the easing of lending norms for sectors suchas small and medium enterprises.Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the launch ofhis six-volume series of books titled 'Changing India'here, Singh, who is also a former RBI governor, saidone has to respect the autonomy and theindependence of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
DoT Secy directs BBNL, BSNL to take disciplinaryaction against o"cials for BharatNet faults
Chief guest Joytilaxmi Kurup, General Manager Sales, MVRHomes receiving a memento at the 54th installationceremony of JCI Vasco, at Ravindra Bhavan, Vasco.
IGNITE - EDC Innovation HubinauguratedPANJIM: IGNITE - EDC Innovation Hub, aninitiative of EDC Limited was inaugurated by ChiefMinister, Manohar Parrikar recently. IGNITE is ahigh quality facility to promote and empowerstartups to succeed and grow into scalable andsuccessful companies. It o!ers incubation facilitiesfor emerging startups and also o!ers a high qualityco-working space for more mature companies toenable high performance working.The team at IGNITE - EDC Innovation Hub (IGNITE)has been keenly listening to the feedback fromstartups and other enablers of the startupecosystem. As part of its endeavour to deliver tothe startup ecosystem, IGNITE has taken up acouple of important and relevant initiatives. At theInvestor Pitch Day startups who apply beforeDecember 24, 2018 and get selected for theincubation programme of IGNITE, will be trained tomake more e!ective pitches to an audiencecomprising of members from the country’s selectinvestor fraternity. The event will be held on Feb 1,2019. Virtual Incubation programme allowsstartups to take the benefit of access to selectmentorship sessions, service providers, investorcommunity and events without having to be paythe desk fees at IGNITE. The programme has beenpriced at Rs 3,000 inclusive of taxes per year. Thisfee may be waived o! in case of deserving student-run ventures. Further details can be obtained fromIGNITE at 4th floor, EDC House, Dr A B Road,Panjim, [email protected] orwww.edcignite.com.
bizinfo
during his tenure."Many central banks
around the world main-tain 8 per cent of grossassets as reserves whileconservative ones main-tain at 13-14 per cent.RBI maintains it at 28per cent, Jaitley said.
"In 2013 they said thatyou have Rs 1.46 lakhcrore in excess you give.Then no one said that it israiding the Reserve Bank,"he said.
pg 9 new1_Layout 1 12/19/2018 12:28 AM Page 1
