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Author: News Polite
Bharti Airtel Defers Payment of AGR Dues Up to FY19 After DoT’s Moratorium Offer
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Thursday said it has opted to defer the payment of AGR dues up to FY 2018-19, that are not tabulated in the Supreme Court’s order, by up to four years.
It has retained the right to pre-pay instalment amounts and would not avail the option of conversion of the interest dues that would accrue into equity.
Sources at the company said the amount of dues add up to about Rs. 3,000 crore for the additional years.
“We wish to inform you that the company has informed to DoT (Department of Telecom) that the company shall avail the option to defer the payment of the AGR (Adjusted Gross Revenue) dues up to FY 2018-19 which are not tabulated in the Hon’ble Supreme Court order, up to four years (applicable from FY 2021-22 to FY 2024-25) while retaining the right to pre-pay the instalment amounts,” Bharti Airtel said in a regulatory filing.
The company also made it clear that it will “not avail the option of conversion of the interest dues that accrue under aforesaid option into equity”.
Airtel said DoT had offered the option of four-year moratorium (applicable from FY 2021-22 to FY 2024-25) for AGR dues up to FY 2018-19 which are not tabulated in the Supreme Court order pertaining to statutory dues as well as for the conversion of the interest dues that accrue into equity.
The government calculates its share of revenue from telecom operators based on their AGR, which is considered to have been earned by them from the sale of services.
Last week, debt-ridden telecom operator Vodafone Idea (VIL) decided to defer payment of additional AGR dues of Rs. 8,837 crore by a period of four years.
In a filing on June 22, the company said DoT, on June 15, raised AGR demand for additional two financial years beyond 2016-17, which were not covered under the Supreme Court order on the statutory dues.
VIL had mentioned that its board of directors “has approved the exercise of the option of deferment of the AGR related dues by a period of four years with immediate effect, in accordance with the said DoT letter”.
“The amount of the AGR related dues as stated in the said DoT letter is Rs. 8,837 crore, which is subject to revision on account of disposal of various representations,” it had said.
Telecom service providers had got a shot in the arm with the government last year approving a blockbuster relief package that included a four-year break for companies from paying statutory dues, permission to share scarce airwaves, change in the definition of revenue on which levies are paid and 100 per cent foreign investment through the automatic route.
According to official data, telecom operators owe over Rs. 1.65 lakh crore to the government in adjusted gross revenue up to the financial year 2018-19.
The fresh calculation shows total AGR liability on Bharti Airtel is Rs. 31,280 crore, Vodafone Idea Rs. 59,230 crore, Tata Group Rs. 12,930 crore, Reliance Jio Rs. 630 crore, BSNL Rs. 16,220 crore and MTNL Rs 5,010 crore up to the financial year 2018-19.
Most of the telecom operators have made part payment of AGR demand raised till fiscal year 2016-17.
Bharti Airtel had an outstanding of Rs. 25,970 crore, VIL Rs. 50,400 crore, Tata Group companies Rs. 12,600 crore, BSNL Rs. 5,840 crore and MTNL Rs. 4,350 crore as on March 31, 2021.
The demand was also raised for some of the telecom companies like Sistema Shyam, Etisalat DB Telecom, S Tel, Reliance Communications that have shut down their telecom services business.
This week on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, we discuss iPhone 13, new iPad and iPad mini, and Apple Watch Series 7 — and what they mean to the Indian market. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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Skate 4: New Trailer Revealed, EA Asking for Playtesters
Since Skate 3’s release over 12 years ago, fans and newcomers alike have eagerly awaited the release of Skate 4 (also known as skate.). Though it’s been almost a year since Full Circle’s last update, the newly-formed team wants players to know that they’re “still working on it.”
Today, the team released a trailer for the game showing footage of the game’s various prototypes (or, as the trailer puts it, “pre-pre-pre-alpha” versions).
The trailer is noticeably transparent about the game development process, giving players a glimpse of various processes like character rigging and dealing with bugs, though there are a few segments of gameplay with more polished graphics to show players what the game’s future might have in store
It also seems that player feedback is a big component of Skate 4 — the trailer shows a variety of comments that the development team took into account, supposedly confirming features like nonbinary player customization options, the ability to climb up to skate spots, and cross-platform play.
EA is also recruiting playtesters for the game here. However, it is a closed playtest, so only certain players will be selected (and those who are won’t be able to share any content from the game).
While not much else is known about what the final game might look like, EA previously released a trailer for the game teasing an open-world design. It’ll also be available on PC (a franchise first) and will likely include opportunities for user-generated content.
Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.
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Natalie Portman & Christian Bale Reveal Surprising Thor Cameos
Thor: Love and Thunder may feature the cutest Marvel cameos to date.
Chatting with E! News’ Daily Pop about the latest MCU installment—which premieres July 8—stars Natalie Portman and Christian Bale revealed that director and co-star Taika Waititi made filming quite the family affair.
“All of our kids are in it,” Portman revealed. “Christian’s kids are in it, my kids, Chris‘ [Hemsworth] kids, Taika’s kids.”
Eagle-eyed fans may have already spotted Hemsworth’s 8-year-old son Tristan as a young Thor in the film’s trailers, but fans will have to check out the movie to spot the other celeb children, including Bale’s daughter Emmeline, 17, and son Joseph Bale, 7.
Though Natalie admitted she doesn’t share any screen time with her children—Aleph, 11, and Amalia Millepied, 5—she told Daily Pop that the other kiddos had plenty of fun on set.
“That was a big gift of Taika’s that he wanted to include everyone’s families,” said Portman, “and make it special for all the kids, too.”
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REPORT: Kevin Durant Requests a Trade From the Nets
Kevin Durant has officially requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Durant requested a trade with the team today, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/BkNEHwkrc0
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2022
The trade request comes on the eve of free agency starting on Thursday. Durant was reportedly mulling his future with the Nets last week as Brooklyn’s front office was negotiating an extension with Durant’s long-time friend, Kyrie Irving. Irving ended up signing his player option to remain with the Nets for at least one more season and to fulfill his four-year commitment to Durant and the Nets.
Woj said that Durant and Irving haven’t been in contact with the Nets since Irving opted into his player option on Monday. Due to the lack of communication, the Nets believed that KD would request a trade.
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving had no contact with the franchise after Irving opted into his deal on Monday, and a sense of inevitability existed that Durant would eventually ask for a trade, sources tell ESPN. It happened today.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2022
Durant has reportedly marked Miami and Phoenix as a part of his wish list of trade destinations according to Woj. However, the Nets plan on moving Durant to where they receive the best return. Durant has four years remaining on his current deal and will be a free agent at 38-year-old.
Phoenix and Miami are among two of the teams that Kevin Durant has on his wish list, sources tell ESPN, but the Nets plan to move Durant where they can get the best possible deal. With four years on his contract, there’s no shortage of teams willing to unload assets for Durant.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2022
Durant averaged 29.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game on 51.8 percent shooting from the field.
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‘Effort and patience’ required to restore Iran nuclear agreement — Global Issues
In the landmark accord, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – reached in 2015 between Iran, the United States, China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom – Iran agreed to dismantle much of its nuclear programme and open its facilities to international inspections in exchange for sanctions relief.
In 2018, then-President Trump withdrew the US from the agreement and reinstated the sanctions.
“Achieving the landmark JCPOA took determined diplomacy. Restoring it will require additional effort and patience,” said UN political affairs chief, Rosemary DiCarlo.
Although the landmark Joint Commission to restore the Plan resumed in November 2021, she acknowledged that despite their determination to resolve the issues, the US and other participants are yet to return to “full and effective implementation of the Plan, and [Security Council] resolution 2231”.
Appealing to both
Together with the Secretary-General, she urged Iran and the US to “quickly mobilize” in “spirit and commitment” to resume cooperation under the JCPOA.
They welcomed the reinstatement by the US in February of waivers on nuclear non-proliferation projects and appealed to the country to lift its sanctions, as outlined in the Plan, and extend oil trade waivers.
Together they also called on on Iran to reverse the steps it has taken that are inconsistent with its nuclear-related commitments under the Plan.
Monitoring enrichment
While the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been unable to verify the stockpile of enriched uranium in Iran, it estimates that there is currently more than 15 times the allowable amount under the JCPOA, including uranium enriched to 20 and 60 per cent, which Ms. DiCarlo called “extremely worrying”.
Moreover, on 8 and 20 June, IAEA reported that Iran had started to install additional advanced centrifuges at the Fuel Enrichment Plant at Natanz and began feeding uranium into advanced centrifuges at the Fuel Enrichment Plant at Fordow.
In his latest report, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, informed the Council that the UN agency’s ability to verify and confirm the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear activities are key to the JCPOA’s full and effective implementation.
Iran’s decision to remove site cameras and place them and the data they collected under Agency seals, “could have detrimental implications”.
Improved relationships ‘key’
Bilateral and regional initiatives to improve relationships with Iran remain “key” and should be encouraged and built upon, according to Ms. DiCarlo.
Additionally, Member States and the private sector are urged to use available trade instruments to engage with Iran and Tehran is requested to address their concerns in relation to resolution 2231 (2015) on its nuclear issues.
The senior UN official also drew attention to annex B of the resolution, updating ambassadors in the Council on nuclear-related provisions, ballistic missiles and asset freezing.
We hope that diplomacy will prevail – UN political chief
Triumph for multilateralism
“The JCPOA was a triumph for non-proliferation and multilateralism,” said the UN political affairs head.
However, after many years of uncertainty, she warned that the Plan is now at “a critical juncture” and encouraged Iran and the US to build on recent momentum to resolve remaining issues.
“The Secretary-General is convinced there is only one path to lasting peace and security for all Member States, and that is the one based on dialogue and cooperation,” she said. “We hope that diplomacy will prevail”.
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Court Decision Leaves Biden With Few Tools to Combat Climate Change
Electric vehicle sales have doubled over the past year, making up about 5 percent of new vehicle sales in the United States in the first quarter of 2022, compared with about 2.5 percent in the first quarter of 2021. General Motors has pledged to stop producing gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035, with other carmakers setting similar goals. Ford Motor is producing an electric version of the F-150 pickup truck, the country’s best-selling vehicle, and has taken customer reservations for more than 200,000 of them.
With the cost of solar and wind energy dropping below the price of coal and natural gas in many parts of the United States, renewable sources of electricity now make up 20 percent of the nation’s energy mix, up from 15 percent a decade ago.
Understand the Supreme Court’s E.P.A. Ruling
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A key decision. The Supreme Court issued a ruling limiting the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate carbon emissions from power plants, dealing a blow to the Biden administration’s efforts to address climate change. Here’s what to know:
But the aftermath of the Covid pandemic, combined with the war in Ukraine and the related ban on Russian oil have scrambled global energy supplies, and prompted President Biden to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserves and urge producers to pump more oil, at least in the short term. Clean energy producers in the United States also face significant obstacles from an outdated electricity transmission system.
And the private sector is not moving quickly enough to cut emissions to the level that scientists say is needed to avert climate catastrophe. Mr. Biden wants half of new cars sold in the United States to be electric by 2030, and all electricity to come from wind, solar and other zero-carbon sources by 2035.
“We do see a powerful trend emerging in the private sector both driven by consumers who are demanding cleaner options, that is driving a shift in our energy mix, and toward electric vehicles, but that pace of change is really not sufficient to meet the long-term targets,” said Sasha Mackler, an energy analyst at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington research organization. “For that, you still need policy. The administration doesn’t have the right tools to get us all there. Success in the time that we need it, according to the scientific community — that requires Congress.”
Congress in the coming weeks could still pass a scaled-back version of the spending bill that has been stalled on Capitol Hill for months. A version of the bill that passed the House last year includes $300 billion in clean energy tax incentives for producers and purchasers of clean electricity and electric vehicles.
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FTX on the verge of purchasing BlockFi in $25M fire sale: Report
Cryptocurrency exchange FTX is close to purchasing digital asset lender BlockFi’s remaining assets for $25 million, according to CNBC.
According to sources close to the matter, BlockFi’s equity investors were wiped out and are now writing their positions off at a loss. In addition, the FTX deal could take multiple months to close, opening up the possibility that the price tag could shift over that period. In June 2021, BlockFi had a reported valuation of $5 billion.
Earlier this year, BlockFi had over 1 million clients, over $10 billion in assets and deposits, and had distributed more than $700 million in crypto rewards and interest. However, BlockFi’s fortunes quickly soured after it reportedly became a major creditor of the now troubled hedge fund Three Arrow Capital, also known as 3AC. As a result, it was forced to liquidate 3AC’s positions amounting to $1.33 billion, likely at a severe loss as the bear market intensified in June.
The situation was exacerbated by 3AC posting collateral for the loan in $400 million worth of Grayscale Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC) shares, which often trade at a discount or premium to spot Bitcoin (BTC) prices. At the time of liquidation, GBTC shares were trading at a 34% discount to the net asset value of its Bitcoin holdings, which plunged further as BlockFi began closing the position.
Related: FTX may be planning to purchase a stake in BlockFi
Earlier this month, BlockFi said it would fire 20% of its 850-strong staff due to profitability woes in the short term. Just last week, FTX had extended a $250 million line of credit to BlockFi and denied rumors that it was acquiring the ill-fortuned firm.
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Tesla’s Run of Record Deliveries May Take a Hit This Year Due to COVID-Related Shutdown, Predict Analysts
Tesla is expected to end its nearly two-year-long run of record quarterly deliveries as a prolonged COVID-related shutdown in Shanghai hit its production and supply chain, highlighting the risks of its reliance on China.
While Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has been pursuing the acquisition of social media platform Twitter, his crown jewel, Tesla, has grappled with production glitches in China and slow output growth at new factories in Texas and Berlin.
Analysts expect Tesla to report deliveries of 295,078 vehicles for the second quarter as early as Friday, according to Refinitiv data. Several analysts have slashed their estimates further to about 260,000 due to China’s prolonged lockdown.
This would be down from its record deliveries of 310,048 the preceding quarter, marking Tesla’s first quarter-on-quarter decline in deliveries since the first quarter of 2020.
The world’s most valuable automaker has posted record deliveries every quarter since the third quarter of 2020, weathering pandemic and supply-chain disruptions better than most automakers.
China has been instrumental in Tesla’s rapid increase of vehicle production and Musk has praised workers there for “burning the 3 am oil.”
But China’s prolonged zero-COVID lockdown — Wedbush analyst Dan Ives called it Tesla’s “albatross” this quarter — caused deeper disruptions to output than Musk predicted. Tesla’s low-cost, lucrative Shanghai factory produced roughly half of the company’s total cars delivered last year, and Ives estimated the shutdown wiped out about 70,000 units in the quarter.
Musk said in April that Tesla’s overall vehicle production in the second quarter would be “roughly on par” with the first quarter, driven by a China rebound. But he recently said Tesla had a “very tough quarter,” citing production and supply-chain challenges in China.
Musk also said Tesla’s new factories in Texas and Berlin are “gigantic money furnaces” losing billions of dollars as they struggle to increase production quickly. He said the carmaker’s supply-chain problems are not over and keeping the factories running remains a concern.
“The key question is the magnitude of the (China production) decline and whether the Fremont (California) factory was able to help support volumes,” CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson said.
He expects volumes to rebound strongly in the second half of the year, as Tesla boosts production at the Shanghai factory with the easing of a COVID-19 lockdown.
Gene Munster, managing partner at venture capital firm Loup Ventures, was cautious about the outlook, saying the third quarter will be difficult for Tesla and other tech firms, citing a risk of recession.
Tesla has been laying off hundreds of employees in the United States, after Musk early this month told executives that he had a “super bad feeling” about the economy and needed to cut about 10 percent of staff at the electric car maker.
Nevertheless, Musk has said demand for Tesla vehicles remains strong.
Tesla shares have fallen 37 percent since early April, hurt by Musk’s Twitter deal and the China lockdown.
Musk, a prolific Twitter user who this week passed the 100 million follower mark, has not been tweeting for over a week.
Cowen analyst Jeffrey Osborne said in a report, “investors are growing fatigued with Elon’s rants” on the Twitter saga, politics and other topics.
“Many we speak to are questioning if we have reached ‘peak Elon’.”
© Thomson Reuters 2022
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Halo Infinite Campaign Co-op Beta Drops Next Week
At last, it looks like Halo Infinite is nearing its long-promised campaign co-op. 343 Industries has announced that a two-week-long beta preview of the feature is dropping next week, running from July 11 through July 22.
The beta will include the entire campaign, and is available to anyone who either owns Halo Infinite or has Xbox Game Pass. Console players who are interested in trying it out will need to join the Xbox Insider Program, and the beta on Steam will only be available to Halo Insiders who are signed up for the program by July 5.
Players will need to download the campaign build and start a new playthrough, and won’t be able to carry any existing progress over. Beta progress will also not transfer back to the retail version of the game. However, this is only for the beta, and when the full feature releases players will not need an isolated co-op save, and co-op progress will count toward a regular playthrough for all players involved if so desired.
According to lead world designer John Mulkey, this is how it will work in the full release:
“The way we are handling this is through something we internally refer to as ‘No Spartan Left Behind’. When players join the Fireteam and choose their save slots to play on, the game aggregates the states of all missions across those saves and sets up a world state in which any missions completed by all Fireteam members are marked as complete while any missions not completed by all are marked as incomplete.”
Additionally, cross-platform play will be fully supported including with xCloud, and co-op experience should be the same regardless of platform.
For the beta, 343 says the goal is to catch any lingering performance or technical issues ahead of the full release of the feature, and encourages people who experience issues to report them on the Halo Support site.
Per Halo Infinite’s roadmap shared in May, the plan is for a full rollout of both campaign co-op and the option to replay missions in August. Revisiting the campaign with friends should hopefully be a good experience given how we felt about the single-player campaign in our review last year, calling it “exactly what this series needed.”
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.
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