Fighter jet selection will begin soon, says Parrikar

• The government will initiate the process for selecting a new single engine fighter jet to be built in India with extensive technology transfer as soon as the guidelines for giving a bigger role to the private sector in defence manufacturing is finalised, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said .
• He said the criteria for selection would be the cost and the extent of technology transfer. While the price discovery and selection of local partner would be through competitive process, the final deal would also have a government to government agreement.
• In anticipation of the major order for upwards of 100 jets, U.S.-based Boeing and Lockheed Martin and the SAAB of Sweden had already submitted detailed offers on their F-18, F-16 and Gripen fighters. However, F-18 is a twin engine jet which rules it out of the competition.

Trinamool Lok Sabha leader held in Rose Valley chit scam

• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Trinamool Congress MP and party’s leader in the Lok Sabha Sudip Bandyopadhyay in connection with the ongoing investigation in the chit fund scam case.
• Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called the arrest “political vendetta” and targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.
• After several summons, Mr. Bandyopadhyay appeared before the CBI earlier in the day in connection with the probe against the Rose Valley Group of companies. After hours of questioning, he was arrested by the CBI.
• The officer said that the investigation against the Rose Valley Group was started as per the Supreme Court order in the chit fund scam dating to May 2014. The TMC MP will be produced before a “competent court,” the CBI official said. He is likely to be taken to Bhubaneswar where the agency has registered the case.

China’s state media notes India’s rise as next workshop

• Anticipating India’s rise as the next workshop-of- the world, a leading Chinese daily affiliated with the Communist Party of China (CPC) is strongly advocating that Beijing should rapidly shift to high-end manufacturing, and take advantage of the low labour costs that are still available in its less developed zones.
• An op-ed in the Global Times on Wednesday highlighted the likelihood of Apple shifting manufacturing to India—as well as its larger implications for China.
• “If Apple expands in India, more global tech giants may follow suit and China is likely to see a further transfer of the supply chain given India's abundant supply of working-age labour and low labor costs.”
• In order to “plug in the hole if manufacturers continue to move elsewhere,” the op-ed advocated that China should take advantage of the low labour costs in its central and western regions. “Certainly China has options. The country's central and western regions, with cheaper labour, could become an investment haven for manufacturers as these regions need capital to boost the local economy and are certainly ready to offer preferential policies to attract investment. It will be easier for these areas to replicate the success of the country's eastern coastal region as a manufacturing hub.”

Equities may fare better in 2017: Analysts

• The year 2016 was a roller coaster ride for the Indian equity market which made significant gains in the first half followed by loses in the later months.
• The benchmark Sensex clocked monthly gains in six consecutive months starting March till August. Thereafter, it has been mostly a downward slide barring October when it managed to post a negligible gain of 64 points.
• Foreign investors, meanwhile, bought Indian shares worth nearly $10 billion between March and September and since then have been net sellers at almost $4.5 billion. India – just like most emerging markets – saw a massive pull out by overseas funds on the back of global factors like U.S. presidential election, Brexit and Fed rate hike.

Ganguly dismisses suggestion he is front-runner for top job

• The transition phase for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will be dictated by the administrators who will take over soon.
• The Hindu learnt on Tuesday that the process of transferring power to the new set of office- bearers is to be finalised under the supervision of the administrators. “It is a long way off,” said a source when asked who the next president could be.
• According to sources in the Lodha Committee, the administrators, to be picked by senior advocate Gopal Subramanium and Anil Divan, would run the cricket affairs in the country until things are in place for a new set of office-bearers to take over.