Page 14 - Banking Finance MAY 2017

ROUNDUP

India to face WTO dispute settlement panel over safe- Drunk driving causes

guard duties just 1.5% of all acci-
India will face a dispute settlement panel at the World Trade Organization (WTO) dents: NCRB data
after Japan made a second request for judging over
safeguard duties forced by India on iron and steel prod-
ucts from Japan that Tokyo claim are inconsistent with
global trade rules.

At a dispute settlement body meeting, Japan pressed
ahead with its second request for establishing the panel against the duties im-
posed by India on hot-rolled flat products since September 2015.
India was unable to prevent the panel's establishment as WTO rules do not As pub and liquor vend owners across
permit a country to block a second request. the country protest the Supreme
Court order shuttering establish-
Manufacturing rose to 5 month high ments selling and serving liquor near
Manufacturing activity in the country's factories rose to a five-month high in highways, here is an important sta-
March on the back of rising new orders and foundations tistic - drunk driving accounts for just
seem to be in place for robust expansion in months 1.5per cent of all road accidents in
ahead, a survey showed. the country, according to latest data
compiled by the National Crime
The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Manager's
index (PMI) rose to 52.5 in March from the previous Records Bureau (NCRB).
month's 50.7. The 50-point mark separates contraction The most common cause of accidents
from expansion. This was the third straight month when the health of the on India's roads is "overspeeding",
country's manufacturing sector improved, overcoming the impact of the which accounted for over 43 per cent
government's decision to scrap some high value notes in November last year. of all accidents in 2015, the last year
Incoming new orders expanded at a stronger pace, thereby leading to quicker for which NCRB data is available.
increases in production and input purchasing. "Reckless driving", which included of-
fences such as lane-changing and over-
Firms hired additional employees to cope with greater workloads. Although both taking wrongly, came next - account-
input costs and output charges rose further, inflation rates softened from those ing for over 31 per cent of accidents.
seen in February. "Looking ahead, production volumes are likely to rise further
as businesses will seek to replenish their stocks," Pollyanna DeLima, economist Weather conditions (3.7 per cent)
at HIS Markit said. and mechanical defects (1.7 per
cent) led to more accidents than
Wider reach for creditors under insolvency drunk driving in 2015.
With the regulator, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India, notifying in- However, accidents due to drunk driv-
solvency rules recently, Indian creditors can now ing have the highest fatality rate
lay claim to the foreign assets of an insolvent among all accidents, the NCRB data
company in addition to its assets in India. The showed. Some 42 per cent of drunk
foreign creditors will also be able to claim all as- driving victims ended up dead in 2015
sets of the company. - this was a far higher rate than that
Customers who have made advance payments to of speeding accidents and reckless
the company can claim assets in proportion to their payments but they will not driving accidents, where the fatality
be given priority. rates were 30 per cent and 33 per
cent respectively. The fatality rate in
In the absence of rules, foreign creditors could not be part of the insolvency accidents due to bad weather was
process, while the foreign assets of the company were out of the reach of do- 36 per cent, according to the data.
mestic creditors.

14 | 2017 | MAY | BANKING FINANCE

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