Current Affairs 5th March 2017

Current Affairs 5th March 2017 - Important Points

• Hike in minimum wages by 37 per cent approved by - Delhi LG
• Bharti Airtel, Millicom International signed agreement to - Combine operations in Ghana

Current Affairs 5th March 2017 - Details

Hike in minimum wages by 37 per cent approved by - Delhi LG

Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal approved the Delhi government’s proposal to hike the minimum wages of labourers by 37 per cent on 3rd March 2017 . However, the notification for its implementation was issued on 6th March 2017. Once implemented, this hike will be the historic and the highest in the independent India. As per this Delhi Cabinet’s decision, for a fresher the minimum wage will be Rs 13350 per month against the existing Rs 9724 per month.  Also, for the semi-skilled and skilled workers, the wages will increase from Rs 10764 to Rs 14698 and from Rs 11830 to Rs 16182 per month, respectively.

Important Highlights

• The hike in minimum wages will benefit around 50 lakh people in capital.
•  Employers will will be providing online information regarding the payment of minimum wages by them. Earlier, there were inspectors who used to verify the same. 

Do you know?

In August 2016, Delhi government proposed a hike of 50 per cent minimum wages. However, the decision was struck down by the then Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung. 

Bharti Airtel, Millicom International signed agreement to - Combine operations in Ghana

Bharti Airtel and Millicom International Cellular SA signed an agreement to combine operations in Ghana on 3rd March 2017.

The agreement was signed between Airtel Ghana Limited, subsidiary of Airtel and Tigo Ghana Limited, subsidiary of Millicom. The transaction is subject to get approvals from the relevant authorities in Ghana and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Once it will get the approvals, opportunity will be provided to develop nationwide digital infrastructure and services in Ghana.

Interesting Highlights on Agreement - 

•  Airtel and Millicom will have 50-50 ownership and governance rights in the combined entity.
•  The combined business will serve nearly 10 million customers including 5.6 million data customers.
•  It is expected to cover more than 80 per cent of the population with high-speed data and provide the widest 3G coverage across the country.
• This deal is expected to fetch close to USD 300 million, making these two operators one of the largest communications service provider in Ghana.

Did you know?

Airtel Ghana contributes around 6-7 per cent to Bharti Airtel’s Africa revenue which was close to USD 900 million for the 3rd quarter of 2016.