What is it? The total business Toyota Kirloskar Motors claims it has lost due to the ban on diesel vehicles in the Delhi-NCR region since last December.

Why is it important? The company says it has lost business of around 8,500 units of Innova and the Fortuner and that the ban has halted the company’s future investments in the country. The Supreme Court had banned the registration of diesel vehicles of 2,000 cc and above in Delhi in December 2015 as a measure to curb the high pollution levels in the city. This comes at a time when the government is aggressively trying to promote its ‘Make in India’ campaign, which is aimed at attracting foreign companies to help convert the country into a global design and manufacturing hub.

Tell me more: Mercedes-Benz, another auto firm hit by this ban, has moved the Supreme Court, asking that it be lifted. It has said it is ready to pay 1% environmental cess on the sale of diesel cars.

6.5%

What is it? The stake the promoters of Max Financial would get in the merged entity approved by the boards of HDFC Life Insurance Co. and Max Life Insurance Co. in addition to a Rs850 crore non-compete fee, subject to the approval of public shareholders.

Why is it important? With this deal, the merged entity would have Rs1.1 trillion in assets and overtake ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. and become India’s largest private life insurer and the second biggest life insurer after Life Insurance Corp. of India. After the merger, the entity would have a 10.8% market share. This could also signal the beginning of consolidation in the insurance sector.

Tell me more: The merger involves a three-step process: Max Life would be merged with its parent Max Financial Services, after which the insurance unit would be demerged from this entity to be combined with HDFC Life and the non-insurance businesses of Max Financial would be merged with group company Max India.

Rs5,000 crore

What is it? The additional amount India’s flagship rural employment guarantee scheme will get in 2016-17, taking the total to Rs43,500 crore.

Why is it important? This is likely to aid many in the rural areas affected by two consecutive years of drought in 2014-15 and 2015-16. Ten states had declared drought last year. However, since the current year is expected to be one with above-normal monsoon, there are concerns about inflationary pressures due to an increase in the budget. The increased budget overlay reportedly lays to rest doubts about whether the scheme would be continued or not.

Tell me more: Under the scheme, jobs to 48.2 million families were provided in 2015-16.

105,630

What is it? The number of government elementary and secondary schools in India which are run by a single teacher, according to a report tabled in Parliament on Monday.

Why is it important? It indicates the extent of paucity of teachers in the country, especially in state-run schools and partially explains the clamour for private ones, despite the huge difference in fees. According to the Right to Education rules, the recommended student-teacher ratio is 30:1 for primary classes and 35:1 for upper primary classes.

Tell me more: Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of single-teacher schools, followed by Uttar Pradesh. These two states together account for a third of such schools. The next three worst states in this regard—Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand—account for nearly 29% of single-teacher schools.

$52.7 billion

What is it? India’s trade deficit with China in 2015-16.

Why is it important? The deficit might widen further if India cuts its tariff on Chinese imports in line with tariff reductions for other members in Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). So far, India has been favouring a three-tier system for tariff reductions, offering more cuts to some countries, and less to others, including China. Now it has changed its approach. This is likely to benefit China more with whom India does not have a free trade agreement (FTA). It remains to be seen what India is offered in return for agreeing to such a deal.

Tell me more: The RCEP is a proposed FTA between the 10 members of the Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN and the six countries with which the ASEAN has existing FTAs.

howindialives.com is a search engine for public data

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.

Share Via