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The Ministry of Labour and Employment recently directed the Employees' Provident Fund Organization (<keyword id="19966712" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="EPFO" source="keywords">EPFO</keyword>) to ensure the activation of UAN (<keyword id="20789489" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="universal-account-number" source="keywords">Universal Account Number</keyword>) via Aadhar-based OTP. The outreach is part of announcements made during the Union Budget 2024-25, which aim to maximize the net of beneficiaries under the Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme. The central government has already directed concerned ministries and departments to ensure that payment of all subsidies and incentives under all welfare schemes occurs via the Aadhar Payment Bridge and that 100% biometric Aadhar authentication is achieved. Notably, Aadhaar-based verification eliminates the need for producing multiple documents to prove one's identity. In the first stage, all employers must complete <keyword id="24089674" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="UAN-activation" source="keywords">UAN activation</keyword> through Aadhar-based OTP for all employees who've joined the company in the current financial year by November 30, 2024. Starting with their latest recruits, employers will have to finish this process for all their employees. As per the budget announcements, the government will implement 3 schemes for 'Employment Linked Incentive' as part of the Prime Minister's package. These will be based on enrollment in the EPFO and focus on recognition of first-time employees and support to employees and employers. The ELI Scheme aims to create over 2 crore jobs in the country in 2 years. This will significantly contribute to increasing employment opportunities and enhancing livelihoods. UAN activation provides employees with seamless access to EPFO's comprehensive online services, enabling them to efficiently manage their Provident Fund (PF) accounts, view and download PF passbooks, submit online claims for withdrawals, advances, or transfers, update personal details, and track claims in real-time. This allows employees 24/7 access to EPFO services from the comfort of their homes, eliminating the need for physical visits to EPFO offices. For the uninitiated, UAN is a 12-digit number allotted to each member of EPFO (Employee Provident Fund Organization). Think of UAN as a single-point number that brings together multiple member IDs that have been allocated to a particular employee. In September this year, EPFO added 18.81 lakh members, registering a 9.33% YoY growth.

EPFO to ensure UAN activation for employees through Aadhaar-based OTP

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Tech mogul <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a> has an estimated net worth of $264 billion.</li><li>His estimated fortune peaked at around $340 billion in November 2021 as Tesla shares soared.</li></ul>Elon Musk has a net worth of around $264 billion, according to estimates by <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloomberg</a>.His net worth, which is closely tied to Tesla's share price, received a huge boost in the wake of the news that Donald Trump had won reelection as Tesla shares soared to their highest level since the beginning of the year.But the tech mogul's wealth comes from a number of sources and it isn't stable. Musk is currently the world's richest person and other billionaires are close on his heels, too: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-life-career-education">Jeff Bezos</a> is $43 billion behind Musk, while Meta CEO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg">Mark Zuckerberg</a> is currently $18 billion below Bezos.<h2>How has Musk's net worth changed over time?</h2>Musk, who was born in South Africa, moved to Canada and dropped out of a Ph.D. at Stanford, became a millionaire before he hit 30. Musk started Zip2, a website that provided city travel guides to newspapers, with his brother Kimbal Musk, and sold it to Compaq for more than $300 million in 1999. Musk, then aged 27, is believed to have got $22 million from the deal.He went on to cofound online bank X.com in 1999. It soon merged with Peter Thiel's Confinity to become PayPal, and the company was bought for $1.5 billion by eBay in 2002. Despite having been ousted as CEO, Musk walked away with around $165 million. Musk cofounded space-exploration company <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-elon-musk">SpaceX</a> in 2002. In 2004, he became an investor in and chairman of EV company Tesla.During the financial crisis in 2008, he saved Tesla from bankruptcy with a $40 million investment and a $40 million loan. That same year, he was named <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-ceo-elon-musk">Tesla's CEO</a>.Musk said 2008 was "the worst year of my life." Alongside problems in his personal life, Tesla kept losing money and SpaceX was having trouble launching the first version of its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-falcon-9-launches-updates-schedule">Falcon rocket</a>. By 2009, Musk was living off personal loans.But <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla">Tesla</a> went public in 2010, and Musk's estimated net worth steadily climbed. In 2012 he debuted on Forbes' Billionaires List with an estimated wealth of $2 billion. In 2016, Musk set up the tunnel-digging business <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-the-boring-company">the Boring Company</a>.The next year, he founded neurotechnology startup <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/neuralink">Neuralink</a>.Musk's net worth began a rapid ascent at the start of the pandemic as <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/tsla-stock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tesla stock</a> prices soared. Musk started 2020 with an estimated net worth of just under $30 billion and was worth around $170 billion just a year later – a more than five-fold increase in just a year. His estimated fortune peaked at around $340 billion in November 2021.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/did-elon-musk-buy-twitter-acquisition-details">Musk also bought Twitter</a> for $44 billion in October 2022, serving as its CEO until he stood down in early June 2023.But it's tumbled since then: Tesla stock was down 56% by the end of January 2024, slashing the company's value from over $1.2 trillion to below $600 billion.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-net-worth-tesla-robotaxi-event-2024-10">Musk's net worth declined by $15 billion</a> after Tesla's "We, Robot" day on October 10 when it unveiled its highly anticipated robotaxi lineup. While the event turned heads with dancing robots and sleek autonomous vehicles offering rides to guests, it left investors with question marks surrounding the economics of the ride-hailing service. Following a big earnings beat later that month, Tesla's stock surged by 22%, leading <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/elon-musk-net-worth-gains-tesla-stock-price-earnings-tsla-2024-10">Musk's net worth to increase by about $30 billion</a>. The morning of Trump's reelection on November 6, which Musk heavily campaigned for, Tesla's stock was up about 15% to $289.37 per share after the market opened, the highest it's hit all year. <h2>Where does Musk's fortune come from?</h2>Musk's wealth is largely dependent on Tesla shares. Though he takes no <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-salary-dropped-zero-2020-pay-electric-vehicles-2021-8">salary from Tesla</a>, he's awarded stock options when the company hits challenging performance metrics."Elon will receive no guaranteed compensation of any kind — no salary, no cash bonuses, and no equity that vests simply by the passage of time," Tesla said in 2018 when the company announced a 10-year performance award for Musk. "Instead, Elon's only compensation will be a 100% at-risk performance award, which ensures that he will be compensated only if Tesla and all of its shareholders do extraordinarily well."Investors had initially approved the $55 billion compensation plan in 2018, but a Delaware judge <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/judge-strikes-down-elon-musk-tesla-compensation-pay-package-2024-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voided it in January</a> on grounds that Musk had undue influence over the package and its approval due to close ties with several board members.At its annual shareholder meeting in June, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-pay-package-approved-tesla-shareholders-vote-results-2024-6">investors voted to approve Musk's pay package</a>.According to Bloomberg, close to half of Musk's net worth comes from Tesla shares, while just over 20% comes from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-stock">SpaceX stock</a>.The rest of his wealth comes from shares in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-twitter">Twitter</a> and The Boring Company, as well as other miscellaneous liabilities.

What is Elon Musk's net worth? Find out the wealth of the Tesla, SpaceX CEO

<ul><li>The Central Board of Employees' <keyword id="45028" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="provident-fund" source="Orion">Provident Fund</keyword> Organisation (<keyword id="6372438" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="epfo" source="Orion">EPFO</keyword>) has recommended an 8.15% interest rate to be credited on provident funds for the financial year 2022-23.</li><li>In March 2022, the government declared an 8.1% interest rate for more than its six crore members, which was the lowest since 1977-78.</li><li>The recommendation involves the distribution of more than ₹90,000 crore in the members' account on the total principal amount of about ₹11 lakh crore.</li></ul>The Central Board of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has recommended an 8.15 per cent interest rate to be credited on provident funds for the financial year 2022-23. In March 2022, the government declared an 8.1 per cent interest rate for more than its six crore members, which was the lowest since 1977-78. The recommended interest rate for 2022-23 would be officially notified in the government gazette after approval of the Ministry of Finance, following which EPFO would credit the rate of interest into its subscribers' accounts. The recommendation involves the distribution of more than Rs 90,000 crore in the members' account on the total principal amount of about Rs 11 lakh crore. In 2021-22, the payment outgo and principal amounts were Rs 77,425 crore and Rs 9.56 lakh crore, respectively. "The total income recommended for being distributed is the highest to date. The growth in income and the principal amount is respectively more than 16 per cent and 15 per cent as compared to the last financial year 2021-22," the Ministry of Labour and Employment said in a release on Tuesday. EPFO is a social security organization responsible for providing social security benefits in the form of Provident, Pension and Insurance Funds to the organized workforce of the country. Separately, the provisional payroll data showed a total of 14.86 lakh net members were added in the month of January 2023. Out of the total members added during the month, around 7.77 lakh new members have come under the ambit of EPFO for the first time. Among the newly joined members, the highest enrolment is registered in the age group of 18-21 years with 2.26 lakh members, followed by the age group of 22-25 years with 2.06 lakh members. The age groups of 18-25 years constitute 55.52 per cent of the total of new members during the month of January. For the month of January 2023, it said 3.54 lakh members have exited the fold of EPFO. This is the lowest exit in the last four months. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/top-chatgpt-4-plugins-from-math-physics-and-language-tutor-to-vacation-planner/articleshow/99036667.cms">Top ChatGPT 4 plugins: From math, physics and language tutor to vacation planner</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/rbis-mpc-could-pause-rate-hikes-in-april-to-gauge-the-impact-of-hikes-so-far-sbi-research/articleshow/99030220.cms">RBI’s MPC could pause rate hikes in April to gauge the impact of hikes so far: SBI Research</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/layoffs-coming-to-the-indian-it-sector-analysts-say-accentures-jobs-cuts-offers-a-blueprint/articleshow/98970175.cms">Layoffs coming to the Indian IT sector? Analysts say Accenture’s jobs cuts offers a ‘blueprint’</a>

Employees' provident fund interest rate fixed at 8.15% for 2022-23

<ul><li><keyword id="6372438" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="epfo" source="Orion">EPFO</keyword> has reduced interest rates to the lowest in more than 40 years for the current financial year.</li><li>The government body has slashed interest rates to 8.1% from 8.5% in the previous fiscal year.</li><li>Despite EPFO’s interest rates being the lowest in its history in decades, it is higher compared to many other <keyword id="1791040" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="government-saving-schemes" source="Orion">government saving schemes</keyword> currently. </li></ul>The popular retirement saving scheme followed by many corporations for its employees has slashed its interest rates to a 40-year low amid such a challenging environment. On Saturday, the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation’s (EPFO) announced that it has recommended to reduce the interest rate of the retirement fund to 8.1% from 8.5% last year. The rate will now be approved by the Finance Ministry. While this is reportedly the lowest interest rate by EPFO since 1977-78, it still offers the highest returns than many other government saving schemes and bank deposits. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Saving instruments </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">% interest rate </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Employees Provident Fund </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">8.1% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Public Provident Fund Scheme </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">7.1% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Senior citizen savings scheme </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">7.4% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">7.6% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Post Office time deposit (5 year) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">6.7% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">National Saving Certificate </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">6.8% </td></tr></tbody></table>Source: Department of Posts Ministry, Ministry of Communications Employees’ Provident Fund is a government retirement fund mandatory for employees earning up to ₹15,000 a month in firms with over 20 workers. Here the employee and the employer contribute to the EPF scheme on a monthly basis in equal proportions of 12% of the basic salary and dearness allowance. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Fiscal year </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">EPF interest rate </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">FY16 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">8.80% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">FY17 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">8.65% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">FY18 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">8.55% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">FY19 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">8.65% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">FY20 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">8.50% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">FY21 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">8.50% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">FY22 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">8.10% </td></tr></tbody></table>K E Raghunathan, member of central board of trustees after announcing the reduction, reportedly said that it is understood that this is going to be the most unpredictable year because of the war and market conditions, among other things. Hence, the government body doesn’t want to overcommit with high rates. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/paytm-payments-bank-denies-report-claiming-it-leaked-data-to-chinese-firms/articleshow/90203210.cms">Paytm Payments Bank denies report claiming it leaked data to Chinese firms</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/four-years-later-sachin-bansal-is-still-battling-eight-lawsuits-from-his-flipkart-days/articleshow/90202495.cms">Four years later, Sachin Bansal is still battling eight lawsuits from his Flipkart days</a>

EPFO continues to give attractive interests rate compared to other government schemes

<keyword id="2467342" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="vistara" source="Orion">Vistara</keyword>, a joint venture of <keyword id="46894" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="tata-sons" source="Orion">Tata Sons</keyword> and <keyword id="6368386" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="singapore-airlines" source="Orion">Singapore Airlines</keyword>, has reported a net profit (excluding unrealised foreign currency loss and non-operating income) for the quarter that ended December 2022. The airline crossed the $1 billion revenue mark and remained EBITDA positive in the current fiscal year and reported break-even for the first time in the quarter. Vistara on Monday said that it delivered remarkable results for the first time since its inception in 2013. The airline achieved its highest-ever domestic market share of 10.4 per cent in July 2022 and maintained its position as the second largest domestic airline in India since then, flying more than 11 million passengers in the calendar year 2022. Vistara also registered an 11 per cent year-on-year growth in the member base for its frequent flyer program, Club Vistara. Vistara grew its international network by over 180 per cent in 2022, by adding seven additional routes including three new destinations (Jeddah, Abu Dhabi and Muscat). It also grew its domestic network by over 50 per cent, by adding six new routes including two new destinations (<keyword id="6361828" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="coimbatore" source="Orion">Coimbatore</keyword> and Jaipur). For the quarter that ended December 2022, the airline grew its capacity by 37 per cent and passengers by 47 per cent compared to the same period last year. The airline recorded the second-highest on-time performance at four key metros and over 85 per cent domestic load factor for most of the year in 2022. This year, Vistara became the only Indian airline to be featured in Skytrax's list of the World's Top 20 airlines. The airline currently has over 5,000 employees and operates close to 8,500 flights per month. <keyword id="7656482" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="vinod-kannan" source="Orion">Vinod Kannan</keyword>, Chief Executive Officer of Vistara, said: "With significant network and fleet expansion and sustained growth over the last few months, 2022 has been a phenomenal year for Vistara in terms of our operational and financial performance. Each member of the Vistara family is incredibly proud of our collective achievements in an extremely challenging business environment that included the third wave of the pandemic and escalating costs. We are now aiming for higher goals as we enter the next phase of our growth journey." Vistara has augmented its operations from its hubs in Delhi and Mumbai and currently operates more than 75 and 50 daily domestic departures from the two cities, respectively. With the delivery of 10 aircraft and the re-delivery of eight aircraft, the airline expanded its fleet size to 53 in 2022, said the airline. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/amazon-launches-dedicated-air-cargo-service-for-faster-deliveries-in-india/articleshow/97246478.cms">Amazon launches dedicated air cargo service for faster deliveries in India</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/over-9-in-10-indian-consumers-want-all-in-one-platform-for-entertainment-accenture/articleshow/97247178.cms">Over 9 in 10 Indian consumers want all-in-one platform for entertainment: Accenture</a>

Vistara reports net profit, crosses $1 billion revenue mark in FY23

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11910362" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="florida" source="Orion">Florida</keyword> Gov. <keyword id="11913103" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ron-desantis" source="Orion">Ron DeSantis</keyword> is a prominent politician with a relatively low <keyword id="12211917" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="net-worth" source="Orion">net worth</keyword>.</li><li>He doesn't hold stocks or own property, and still has student loans. </li></ul>Former <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-trump-becomes-president-again-in-2024-2022-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">President Donald Trump</a>'s investments are exotic, impenetrable, and monumental.But the finances of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-ron-desantis-president-election-campaign-2024-florida-2022-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis</a>, who is seen as Trump's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rolling-stone-trump-may-launch-2024-run-in-florida-to-troll-desantis-2022-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lead competitor</a> for the Republican nomination for president in 2024, are conservative, straightforward, and boring.The net worth for the 43-year old DeSantis is $318,986.99, according to a financial disclosure he filed last week with the state Division of Elections.He doesn't trade stocks, still has $21,284.92 in student loans, and doesn't own property.Compare that to Trump, who turned 76 on Tuesday and was likely the wealthiest man ever to live in the White House after overseeing a vast real estate empire that included golf courses, condos, and opulent private clubs under the umbrella of the privately owned Trump Organization.<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/donald-trump/?sh=253d2ea447bd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Forbes estimates</a> Trump's net worth at $3 billion, through Trump himself has pegged the figure <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/donald-trump-claims-hes-worth-10-billion-n392706" target="_blank" rel="noopener">at $10 billion</a>. It's a huge matter of debate given that Trump famously refused to publish his tax returns that would reveal his annual income (though some of the documents <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/27/us/donald-trump-taxes.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">leaked</a> to the New York Times). DeSantis is up for reelection in Florida and has not yet said if he's running for president. He tends to brush off questions about it when asked. But Trump is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rolling-stone-trump-may-launch-2024-run-in-florida-to-troll-desantis-2022-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">closely watching the governor</a> as the former president constantly hints that he'll run again. Political insiders assume DeSantis will run because he has raised an enormous amount of campaign cash and has been unafraid to insert himself into high-profile battles against the Biden administration.<h2>DeSantis less wealthy than many prominent politicians </h2>Some politicians like to highlight their lack of relative wealth as a positive attribute. President <keyword id="99719" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="joe-biden" source="Orion">Joe Biden</keyword> once called himself the "<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/06/joe-biden-says-he-is-the-poorest-man-in-congress" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poorest man in Congress</a>" when he was vice president, as a way to say that he understood people's financial troubles. (Today, he's worth $9 million, <a href="https://www.gobankingrates.com/net-worth/politicians/joe-biden-net-worth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Forbes estimates</a>.) DeSantis was raised by working class parents and attended Ivy League schools before joining the Navy. He hasn't said much about his money but appears to hold fewer dollars personally than anyone else running for Florida governor.Democratic gubernatorial Charlie Crist, 65, has a net worth close to $2 million, his financial disclosures show. The other Democratic challenger, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, 44, filed a disclosure with the state Division of Elections on Tuesday but it wasn't posted yet, her campaign said. She <a href="https://thecapitolist.com/fried-report-shows-drop-in-net-worth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listed</a> her 2020 net worth at $970,244, <a href="https://thecapitolist.com/fried-report-shows-drop-in-net-worth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the Capitolist</a>.Sen. Rick Scott, who was governor just before DeSantis, is the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wealthiest-members-congress-house-senate-finances-2021-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wealthiest person in Congress</a>. Before going into <keyword id="11893346" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics" source="Orion">politics</keyword> Scott cofounded two <a href="https://www.insiderintelligence.com/insights/digital-health-ecosystem/">healthcare companies</a> and worked as a venture capitalist.DeSantis' finances have fallen from where they were in 2020, when he reported a net worth of $348,832. The change can be attributed to the market downturn that caused reductions in his USAA checking and savings account and in his thrift savings plan, which is a type of retirement savings and investment plan, the governor's office confirmed. In his financial disclosures, DeSantis writes that his only income for 2021 was the $134,181 he made as governor. The salary represents a pay cut from the $174,000 he made when he was a member of the US House representing Florida's 6th District from 2013 to 2018. At the time DeSantis didn't have a separate home in Washington, DC, but instead slept on a couch in his congressional office and showered in the House gym. Today, DeSantis lives in the governor's mansion and holds no property after selling his Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, home in March 2019 for $460,000, according to <a href="https://www.news4jax.com/news/florida/2021/11/05/governors-former-house-included-in-booming-housing-market/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Associated Press</a>. The DeSantises placed the earnings from the house into the USAA account. In 2021 DeSantis continued to pay down his Sallie Mae student loan. The balance fell from $22,225 at the end of 2020 to $21,285 as of December 31. DeSantis received an undergraduate degree in history from Yale University and a law degree from Harvard University. DeSantis <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ron-desantis-slams-bidens-possible-student-loan-forgiveness-plan-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has criticized</a> Biden's forthcoming plans to have the government pay off some student loan debt, saying taxpayers shouldn't have to shoulder the burden. Instead he favors holding colleges liable for their high prices, he has said at numerous public events. DeSantis doesn't hold individual stocks, his gubernatorial disclosures indicate, though an annual report he filed in Congress in 2018 <a href="https://disclosures-clerk.house.gov/public_disc/financial-pdfs/2017/10023144.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shows</a> he held two stocks, each valued between $1,000 and $15,000, in Sirius XM and United States Steel Corporation. He did not buy or sell the stocks during his time in Congress, according to an Insider review of his past financial documents. <h2>DeSantis could still get rich</h2>The financial disclosures DeSantis released look similar to that of many Americans. "We do want our elected officials to be in touch with the struggles that everyday people go through," said Ben Wilcox, research director at Integrity Florida, a nonpartisan transparency and anti-corruption research group. "It does seem more and more that we are electing a wealthy, elite, kind of candidate to positions of power."But, Wilcox added, some politicians who do have tremendous wealth can still have strong policies geared toward helping working people. As Florida's chief executive, DeSantis is a fiscal conservative. He recently vetoed <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/02/just-the-way-it-goes-desantis-axes-3b-from-legislatures-budget-in-front-of-republican-leaders-00036893" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$3.1 billion</a> in proposed spending from the Florida legislature and announced that Florida would have a <a href="https://www.flgov.com/2022/05/20/governor-ron-desantis-announces-record-budget-surplus-as-floridas-economy-continues-to-outperform-the-nation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$20 billion surplus</a> for the next fiscal year. DeSantis is still a rising star in politics and could become tremendously wealthy in the future even by staying in politics.One way politicians grow their wealth is through <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/members-of-congress-made-18-million-as-book-authors-in-2020-2021-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">landing enormous book deals</a>. Democratic Sen. <keyword id="11984291" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="elizabeth-warren" source="Orion">Elizabeth Warren</keyword> of Massachusetts, for instance, last year <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elizabeth-warren-scored-book-advance-last-year-per-disclosure-2022-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scored</a> a $730,350 book deal. DeSantis <a href="https://disclosures-clerk.house.gov/public_disc/financial-pdfs/2013/8212038.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">did report</a> getting some royalties from his book "<a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FDreams-Our-Founding-Fathers-Principles-ebook%2Fdp%2FB005PAF960" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dreams From Our Founding Fathers</a>: First Principles in the Age of Obama," for a total of $7,834, in 2012. The book was about constitutional law, however, and was not a memoir. Other politicians parlay their experience into high paying lobbying jobs or get high-dollar rates for paid speeches. There are other ways DeSantis could enhance his lifestyle. For instance, DeSantis has raised $124 million for his reelection campaign. That's a startling amount of cash. As a point of comparison, the <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/raising-bythenumbers/?office=S" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highest-raising</a> candidate in the Senate is Democratic Sen. Rafael Warnock of Georgia, who's campaign war chest is $73 million. Campaign laws are lax in Florida and there are few restrictions on how that money can be used, Wilcox said. Some of that money could be used for personal expenses that get billed as "consulting" or "travel." Citing a hypothetical scenario, Wilcox said DeSantis could pay his wife, for instance, to consult for the campaign, and increase their net worth that way. The rules would be more strict if DeSantis wanted to seek federal office. "If he was going to try to enhance his personal wealth through his political committee there are ways he could do that," Wilcox said, "but I don't have any evidence that he has done any of those things."

With $319,000 of net worth, Ron DeSantis is the anti-Donald Trump when it comes to his own money, new records show

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12857134" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="james-harden" source="Orion">James Harden</keyword> has a reputation for enjoying the nightlife.</li><li>Reports indicate Harden continued to enjoy going out as he forced his way off the Rockets and Nets.</li></ul>James Harden is not different from many <keyword id="11910343" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nba" source="Orion">NBA</keyword> players who enjoy the nightlife.What is different is how Harden's enjoyment of the nightlife has seeped into the discussion around his last two ugly exits from teams and a future contract worth $200-plus million."His off-the-court habits are legendarily bad," an NBA GM told Insider last December, as Harden was hoping to get traded from Houston.Indeed, Harden has at times seemingly used partying as a way to convey his desire to be in different places.After Harden requested a trade from the <keyword id="12832270" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="houston-rockets" source="Orion">Houston Rockets</keyword> before the 2020-21 season, he missed the start of the team's training camp to attend rapper Lil' Baby's party in Atlanta. Later, he was seen partying in Las Vegas before reporting to camp.<div type="image" title="James Harden reacts and raises his hands during a Rockets game in 2020." height="1000" width="2000" msid="89691084" hostid="261"></div>Now, following his <a href="https://www.insider.com/james-harden-trade-nets-sixers-stunning-nba-blockbuster-2022-2">explosive exit from the Brooklyn Nets</a> to the 76ers, further reports indicate that Harden's off-court habits were seen as flaking on his commitment to the team.<a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/insider/story/_/id/33267737/inside-tense-negotiations-led-james-harden-ben-simmons-superstar-swap">ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne reported</a> that Harden "continued his late-night social activities" this season, raising eyebrows from teammates as the team was on a losing streak and Western Conference road trip.<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2953512-inside-kevin-durants-role-in-brooklyn-nets-james-harden-trade">Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer reported</a> that Harden didn't arrive at a February 4 game against the Utah Jazz until halftime (he was out with a hamstring injury). Fischer noted that at the end of the game, Harden flew to Las Vegas while the team flew to Denver for a game against the Nuggets.Harden's final game with the Nets was a listless, 4-point, 6-turnover performance against the Sacramento Kings on February 2. Harden's apparent lack of effort made members of the Nets believe he was trying to send a message, ESPN and Bleacher Report both reported.The 76ers did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.Harden scheduled time for off-court socializing in the past, even when he wasn't trying to force a trade. <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30528130/james-harden-houston-rockets-breaking-point">ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported in December of 2020</a> that Harden had a major influence over the Rockets' travel schedule, with the team often staying overnight in cities that were "among Harden's favorite stops."According to MacMahon, if the Rockets had several days between games, Harden would often charter a private jet to Las Vegas to party.Of course, it should be noted that Harden has been among the NBA's most dominant players over the last decade. He led the NBA in scoring for three straight seasons from 2017 to 2020 while posting one of the league's highest usage rates ever.As one former Rockets assistant coach had told MacMahon: "If they have multiple days off, everybody knows: James is going to fly somewhere else and party. But he's going to come back and have a 50-point triple-double, so they're OK with it."<div type="image" title="James Harden looks up during game in 2021." height="800" width="1600" msid="89691086" hostid="261"></div><h2>"The worst contract in NBA history"</h2>The marriage of these two things — Harden's heavy usage, combined with his less-than-ideal treatment of his body — raises concerns about how he'll age.Both ESPN and Bleacher Report reported that Harden was out of shape entering training camp this year. Harden faced similar critiques at the beginning of last season with the Rockets.As <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tim-macmahon-and-kevin-pelton/id986595124?i=1000501648581">ESPN's Zach Lowe had said on his podcast last year</a>, when Harden wanted out of Houston, some teams weren't thrilled with the idea of getting Harden as he played into his 30s."There are teams that are concerned about how he is going to age, how his game will age, in part because of the perception, and certainly recently, the reality, that he is out at night a lot," Lowe said.Harden has a $47 million player option for the 2022-23 season that he said he would pick up. He will also be eligible for a four-year, $223 million extension. If he opts out of his player option, he can sign a five-year, $270 million contract with the 76ers.ESPN analyst Bobby Marks, a former assistant GM with the Nets, said on "NBA Today" that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x24MOdppG9c">Harden's next contract will be the worst in league history</a>."In three years — and I know it's all about winning a championship — we're gonna be talking about James Harden like we're talking about Russell Westbrook and like we're talking about John Wall from a contract standpoint. And that contract will be the worst contract in NBA history ... $62 million when he is 38 years of age."That is a massive number that would make any team queasy, but Harden's history almost certainly makes it worse.That type of label — "the worst contract in NBA history" — is not thrown around with players like LeBron James (set to make $47 million next year as he turns 38) or Kevin Durant (set to make $53 million in his age-37 season). Though there are injury concerns with Durant, the Nets were not criticized for giving him a $194 million extension before the 2021-22 season.Of course, Harden's salary will be significantly higher still than James and Durant's.<div type="image" title="James Harden dribbles a ball up the court." height="1000" width="2000" msid="89691090" hostid="261"></div>And there is some debate within the NBA world if Harden has already begun to decline. His scoring average has dipped in consecutive years, and this season he is shooting 41% from the field and 33% from three, producing his least efficient season since his rookie year.Are those numbers the sign of wear-and-tear? The burden of years carrying Rockets offenses on a body that hasn't been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lebron-james-body-care-workouts-diet-insane-2017-10">cared for like, say, LeBron's</a>? Or was it simply Harden going through the motions and losing interest in playing for an injury-riddled team? Perhaps all three?The 76ers actively pursued Harden; they didn't simply end up with him. Led by GM Daryl Morey, Harden's GM in Houston, know Harden's game and they know about his off-court habits.The 76ers are all-in on a championship pursuit and acquired a second star they believe can get them there. But how successful this pairing will be and for how long remain major questions.

James Harden's off-court habits have been called into question as a $223 million contract hangs in the balance

<keyword id="4343578" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Adani-Green" source="Orion">Adani Green</keyword> Energy Ltd (<keyword id="4621631" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AGEL" source="Orion">AGEL</keyword>), the world's largest solar power developer and the renewable energy arm of the diversified Adani Group, has received approval for being a member of the <keyword id="13121680" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="GRI-South-Asia-charter" source="Orion">GRI South Asia Charter</keyword> on <keyword id="13121679" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sustainability-Imperatives" source="Orion">Sustainability Imperatives</keyword>. AGEL had initiated this pursuit in response to a call from GRI by becoming a signatory to the GRI <keyword id="52011" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="south-asia" source="Orion">South Asia</keyword> charter in April 2021. Firming up its commitment, the company has now submitted a declaration with clearly identified UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) where it can make an impact in following years. These SDGs are aligned with AGEL's sustainability strategy and show its measurable impact. Organizations that sign up to the GRI Charter agree to uphold three principles: Compliance: Adhere to all applicable national and sub-national laws and regulations wherever they operate. Ethics and governance: Act with the highest ethical standards and integrity, taking decisions and implementing actions in good faith. Transparency and disclosure: Make public their performance on economic, environmental and social dimensions. "AGEL is committed to ramp up its sustainability performance and build credibility as an effective corporate citizen while strengthening internal data management and reporting systems," said Vneet S. Jaain, MD &amp; CEO, AGEL. "Sustainability is integrated into the business and is evident at each stage of the project cycle. Being a pure play renewable energy company, our business goals are in line with climate change concerns and global efforts to mitigate its impacts. Going beyond the obvious advantages of the green business, we have taken many initiatives to make this a responsible corporate organisation." Aditi Haldar, Director of GRI South Asia, said: "The GRI South Asia Charter commits organizations to increase their engagement in support of sustainable development, acting as a catalyst for responsible business practices. I am delighted that AGEL has committed to the aims of the Charter. I would encourage other organizations in India and the wider region to join with us and work together in support of a sustainable future for all." Understanding the three SDGs where AGEL is set to make an impact: SDG 7 which entails access to affordable, modern, and clean energy for all which is essentially reliable and sustainable. To achieve SDG 7, the average tariff across the portfolio will be lower than the national APPC. The cost reduction will be achieved by improvement of technology, optimisation of resources using IoT and machine learning related digital interventions. SDG 9 has a more investment appetite which calls on to build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation, to achieve the ambitious goal of renewable capacity addition by keeping the average tariff below national level. In addition, many digital interventions like IoT, machine learning and innovations are in the pipeline. Digitalisation is perceived as the key to future-ready remote operations, improved efficiencies, resource optimisation and energy efficiency, leading to cost reduction and keeping tariffs competitive. SDG 13 encourages companies to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. AGEL has announced a target of having operating renewable energy generation capacity of 45 GW by 2030. AGEL has aligned its operations and capex plans to meet these objectives. Through these measures, the company is committed to mitigate climate change and contribute to global sustainable development goals. In our journey towards this goal, we displaced 14.64 million tCO2 until March 2021. The GRI South Asia Charter on Sustainability Imperatives - a unique creation by GRI South Asia Hub - is a clarion call for decision and action for business and its stakeholders. It is anchored to a framework of transparency and disclosure, as enshrined in the GRI Standards, and provides an ameliorating way out of the climate change quagmire. Given the Covid-19 recovery context, it is essential to focus on the SDGs and respond to the call to build back better while keeping in mind the underlying principle of leaving no one behind. The Charter serves as an important stimulus to implement sustainability-oriented imperatives that help to realise the UN Sustainable Development Goals by the end of the current decade. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/meesho-allows-employees-to-permanently-work-from-anywhere/articleshow/89404646.cms">Meesho allows employees to permanently work from anywhere</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/bank-of-baroda-surges-10-as-net-profit-doubles-aims-to-grow-loan-book-by-12-next-year/articleshow/89404686.cms">Bank of Baroda surges 10% as net profit doubles, aims to grow loan book by 12% next year</a>

Adani Green gets GRI South Asia charter member status

<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-conflicts-congress-members-rated-2021-12"></a><div type="image" title="Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat of Illinois, made more on books than any other member of Congress in 2020." height="1333" width="1778" msid="88304604" hostid="261"></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>In 2020, at least 26 members of <keyword id="11893699" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="congress" source="Orion">Congress</keyword> cashed in on books they wrote.</li><li>Together they collected handsome royalties and advances, an Insider analysis found. </li></ul>It's no secret that tell-all books about the Trump White House are guaranteed to grab headlines — and big paydays for their authors — thanks to their jaw-dropping revelations and anecdotes of backstabbing. But members of Congress are also making serious money with their own literary works. A few are even making more cash from writing books than they are from writing laws while earning $174,000-a-year congressional salaries. An Insider analysis of financial disclosures found that members of Congress together raked in $1.8 million in 2020 from book advances and royalties. The total was uncovered as part of the exhaustive <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-conflicts-congress-members-rated-2021-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Conflicted Congress project</a>, in which Insider reviewed nearly 9,000 financial-disclosure reports for every sitting lawmaker and their top-ranking staffers.The analysis identified at least 26 members of Congress who earned royalties or advances in 2020, with some capitalizing on a legal loophole that allows them to earn considerable income from their side hustles as authors. The highest earner among them was Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat of Illinois who is up for reelection in 2022 and whom Joe Biden <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/07/21/892585038/tammy-duckworths-stock-rises-as-a-possible-vp-choice-after-a-high-profile-few-we" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was rumored</a> to have considered as a possible running mate before selecting then-Sen. Kamala Harris of California. Duckworth's book, "<a href="https://www.twelvebooks.com/titles/tammy-duckworth/every-day-is-a-gift/9781549185540/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Every Day is a Gift: A Memoir</a>," which came out in March, earned $382,500 in advance payouts and royalties, according to federal financial records. The book charts Duckworth's life, including her traumatic account of how Iraqi insurgents fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the Army helicopter she was piloting, causing her to lose both her legs. Duckworth, the first woman who uses a wheelchair to be elected to Congress, <a href="https://people.com/politics/sen-tammy-duckworth-recaps-her-action-packed-life-in-a-new-memoir/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told People</a> that she decided to write the book after her daughter Abigail asked why she was willing to lose her legs in the military, making her unable to run with her daughter "like other mommies." Duckworth said that's when she started collecting her thoughts to put on paper. "I was just sort of jotting down things that I'd want to talk with her about when she got older, that would be my explanation why America is worth it," <a href="https://people.com/politics/sen-tammy-duckworth-recaps-her-action-packed-life-in-a-new-memoir/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Duckworth said</a>. Duckworth's office didn't comment on the payments, and her financial documents don't parse out what share of the earnings were from royalties alone. Her 2019 financial disclosure cites a $302,500 advance but doesn't spell out the terms of the book agreement. Amazon ranked "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Every-Day-Gift-Tammy-Duckworth/dp/1538718502/ref=asc_df_1538718502/?tag=hyprod-20&amp;linkCode=df0&amp;hvadid=508953752346&amp;hvpos=&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvrand=10805330114154058848&amp;hvpone=&amp;hvptwo=&amp;hvqmt=&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvdvcmdl=&amp;hvlocint=&amp;hvlocphy=9067609&amp;hvtargid=pla-1212657050319&amp;psc=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Every Day is a Gift</a>" as No. 19 on its "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/10757/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_books" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. Congresses, Senates &amp; Legislative</a>" category as of Tuesday.<div type="image" title="Sen. Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, was among the highest book earners in 2020." height="1333" width="1778" msid="88304605" hostid="261"></div><h2>'Box you have to check'</h2>Writing a book can help politicians tell voters about who they are as people and why they decided to run for public office."It's a necessary piece of the box you have to check if you want to be a prominent political operator," said Howard Yoon, a literary agent in Washington, DC, and principal of the Ross Yoon Agency. "You need that book under your belt. In some cases, these politicians have several." High-profile members of Congress rank among six-figure book earners. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont and hero among many liberals, appeared to have earned $170,000 in 2020 from a contract with Penguin Random House to write a book about "the future of progressive <keyword id="11893346" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics" source="Orion">politics</keyword> in America," according to his 2020 financial disclosure. His office didn't reply to questions about the forthcoming book. Sanders, who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 2016 and 2020, also in 2020 continued earning smaller royalties, of $1,064.24, from two previous books he wrote. They include his 1998 memoir, "<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/233377/outsider-in-the-house-by-bernie-sanders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Outsider in the House</a>" about his race for the US House, where he served for 16 years, and his more recent, 2019 autobiographical book "<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/535381/outsider-in-the-white-house-by-bernie-sanders/9781788737692/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Outsider in the White House</a>," which was published when he was seeking the 2020 presidential nomination.Sanders wrote both books alongside Stanley "Huck" Gutman, who was his chief of staff from 2009 to 2013. Beyond books, Sanders in 2020 even received <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bernie-sanders-money-books-record-congress-stocks-investing-2021-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$216.97 in royalties</a> from a folk-music album, "We Shall Overcome," that he recorded in 1987.Sen. <keyword id="11984291" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="elizabeth-warren" source="Orion">Elizabeth Warren</keyword>, a Democrat from Massachusetts, received a $250,000 advance from Macmillan Publishers in 2020. The book, "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Persist-Elizabeth-Warren/dp/1250799244" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Persist</a>," which came out in May 2021, chronicles how Warren's personal experiences as a mother and teacher shaped her positions on issues such as universal child care and free college. The book was the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2021/05/23/combined-print-and-e-book-nonfiction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">No. 7 New York Times bestseller</a> when it came out — six slots behind "Killing the Mob," a book cowritten by the former Fox <keyword id="11893589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news" source="Orion">News</keyword> host Bill O'Reilly that also debuted that same week. Warren's book dropped off the bestseller list the following week.Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican of Iowa, received a $108,750 advance in 2020 from Simon &amp; Schuster for her book that came out in June, "<a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Daughter-of-the-Heartland/Joni-Ernst/9781982144876" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daughter of the Heartland: My Ode to the Country That Raised Me</a>," her personal financial disclosures show. Books from Republican Sens. <keyword id="12297627" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tom-cotton" source="Orion">Tom Cotton</keyword> of Arkansas and Tim Scott of South Carolina appear to have netted some of the highest royalties in 2020. The annual disclosures for Cotton, who is making <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tom-cotton-laying-groundwork-2024-presidential-run-new-hampshire-2020-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">early moves</a> toward a 2024 presidential run, say that he earned $202,500 in royalties for his 2019 book, "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Duty-Soldiers-Arlington-National/dp/0062912348" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sacred Duty: A Soldier's Tour at Arlington National Cemetery</a>," about the cemetery's Army unit that honors service members. But disclosures from past years don't detail the terms of the book deal, including what his book advance was and whether the $202,500 sum also includes advance payments. Amazon listed Cotton's book as No. 2,188 in its "Political Leader Biographies" category ranking and No. 343 in its "Sociology of Death" ranking as of Tuesday.Scott's disclosures say that his memoir, "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Opportunity-Knocks-Community-Business-Improve/dp/154605913X/ref=asc_df_154605913X/?tag=hyprod-20&amp;linkCode=df0&amp;hvadid=508953752346&amp;hvpos=&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvrand=7736982656569017641&amp;hvpone=&amp;hvptwo=&amp;hvqmt=&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvdvcmdl=&amp;hvlocint=&amp;hvlocphy=9067609&amp;hvtargid=pla-929854021154&amp;psc=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Opportunity Knocks: How Hard Work, Community, and Business Can Improve Lives and End Poverty</a>," earned $85,000 in royalties but doesn't indicate whether he still received additional advance payouts in 2020 or whether those payouts are lumped into the total. His 2019 disclosure shows he received a $42,500 advance from the publisher, Hachette Book Group, that year.Scott's political profile has risen since he delivered the GOP response to Biden's joint address to Congress in April. He's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-gop-raised-56-million-online-donations-six-months-2021-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bringing in big-dollar donors</a> who are creating buzz around his own possible 2024 presidential run, particularly if former President Donald Trump decides against running for the Republican nomination. <div type="image" title="Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican of South Carolina, holds up a copy of fellow Republican Sen. Ted Cruz's book during a news conference to voice their opposition to adding justices to the Supreme Court." height="1333" width="1777" msid="88304608" hostid="261"></div><h2>Rules for campaigns </h2>Insider's list of Congress' highest book earners wasn't surprising, Yoon said. Books from "someone who is a prominent fighter on one side of the aisle tend to do well," as well as those that have a "fresh or original voice coming through," he said. "People want to show their support of the person by buying the book or try to gain insight into what's happening in politics," he said.That insight can help a candidate politically, too. Campaigns and political committees like to sell candidates' books for fundraising or mail them out as thank-you gifts to donors.Tammy for Illinois, Duckworth's campaign committee, <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/disbursements/?data_type=processed&amp;recipient_name=hachette&amp;min_date=01%2F01%2F2021" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bought</a> the senator's book in bulk purchases on two separate occasions this year. Federal Election Commission data shows the campaign spent more than $23,000 in all, and now the book is being <a href="https://shop.tammyduckworth.com/collections/frontpage/products/every-day-is-a-gift" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sold</a> on her campaign website for $35. The proceeds benefit Duckworth's reelection efforts. Benjamin Garmisa, Duckworth's communications director, said the publisher set up a separate account for Duckworth's book so the senator wouldn't get any royalties from books sold through her campaign. FEC rules say that politicians can buy and distribute their own books as long as they don't use campaign funds to buy the books and then collect royalties on them. They generally recommend the kind of arrangement Duckworth's campaign uses, which allows a publisher to withhold royalties from an author. The candidate can otherwise choose to give the royalties to charity.The campaign website for Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican of Texas, <a href="https://secure.anedot.com/tedcruz/pg-tedcruzorg">offers</a> donors an autographed copy of his book, "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Vote-Away-Supreme-History/dp/1684511348" target="_blank" rel="noopener">One Vote Away: How a Single Supreme Court Seat Can Change History</a>," in exchange for a $77 donation. "Help Keep Texas red and support the Supreme Court!" the ad reads. The book includes Cruz's personal recollections from the deaths of the Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg and explores high-court cases decided by one-vote margin.Cruz, who came in second behind Trump in the 2016 GOP presidential primaries, received a $319,673.67 advance in 2020 for his book, according to his annual personal financial disclosure. The book has been on Amazon's list of bestsellers. Steve Guest, Cruz's spokesman, told Insider that the book resonated with readers because "Americans know just how consequential Supreme Court decisions are and how close these decisions impacting our Constitutional rights and liberties get."But the Campaign Legal Center, a government watchdog group, took issue with how the Cruz campaign was marketing the senator's book. It filed <a href="https://campaignlegal.org/press-releases/clc-files-fec-and-senate-ethics-complaints-against-sen-ted-cruz-personal-use" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ethics complaints</a> with the Senate Ethics Committee and the FEC accusing Cruz's campaign of violating the law by paying up to $18,000 for Facebook ads imploring supporters to buy Cruz's book from Amazon and other online sellers."There was no real way to track how many books were purchased as a result, so no way to forgo royalties," said Brendan Fischer, federal reform director at the Campaign Legal Center. Cruz's team denied any wrongdoing. "Sen. Cruz has not received one cent of royalties in connection with any 'One Vote Away' book sales," Guest told Insider.Outside political-committee groups often purchase books from candidates, too. And that in turn can help them become bestsellers. Candidates are allowed to collect royalties on those books, Fischer said. In 2020, Senate Conservatives Action purchased <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/disbursements/?data_type=processed&amp;committee_id=C00524181&amp;recipient_name=regnery&amp;two_year_transaction_period=2022&amp;two_year_transaction_period=2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$25,144 worth of books</a> from Regnery, Cruz's publisher, just four days before his "One Vote Away" book was set to hit the shelves. But FEC data doesn't show details about these kinds of purchases. Therefore, it's not clear which specific book or books the Senate Conservatives Action bought. The group didn't respond to a request for comment. Also in 2020, a political committee jointly operated by Trump's presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-jersey-bookstore-trump-fundraising-dan-crenshaw-fortitude-rnc-books-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spent six figures at a New Jersey bookstore</a> to purchase what Insider discovered were "highly discounted" copies of "Fortitude: American Resilience in the Era of Outrage," written by Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas. The National Republican Congressional Committee also bought 25,000 copies of Crenshaw's book to use as fundraising come-ons, Politico <a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2020/05/21/could-infrastructure-week-make-a-comeback-489287" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> at the time.<div type="image" title="Rep. Chris Stewart, a Republican, co-wrote a memoir with Elizabeth Smart." height="1334" width="1778" msid="88304609" hostid="261"></div><h2>Other kinds of books are selling, too</h2>In general, members of Congress are not allowed to earn more than $29,595 in income outside of their federal salaries. But book advances and royalties are exempted from these limits, as are certain other earnings, including from stock trades or rental properties. While most members of Congress who write books pen works of nonfiction, there are exceptions. Take Warren's illustrated children's book, "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Pinkie-Promises-Elizabeth-Warren/dp/1250801028" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pinkie Promises</a>," which was published in October. It's a picture book about a girl, Polly, who runs for class president.But one of the most prolific writers in Congress is Rep. Chris Stewart, a Republican of Utah, who has written more than 17 books. Stewart started writing during the 1990s, churning out techno-thrillers such as "Shattered Bone" and historical books such as "Seven Miracles That Saved America." The hard work still pays off; the congressman earned $33,750.33 in royalties in 2020 from his body of work. The work also included a memoir — though not about himself. Stewart cowrote "<a href="https://www.abebooks.com/first-edition/Story-Smart-Elizabeth-Chris-Stewart-Martins/30469554474/bd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">My Story</a>" with Elizabeth Smart, the woman who gained nationwide attention after being abducted from her home as a 14-year-old, held captive, and finally rescued nine months later. "Honestly, it was much harder than I thought it would be," <a href="https://www.deseret.com/2013/10/7/20527271/rep-chris-stewart-talks-about-helping-to-write-elizabeth-smart-s-memoir#elizabeth-smart-has-written-a-memoir-about-her-experience-of-being-kidnapped-and-rescued" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stewart told the Deseret News in 2013 about the experience</a> of writing the book. "It was difficult for me at first to find the line between an honest story and what a horrible, horrible experience it was for her, and at the same time, make it so that people would read it and walk away with more faith, hope and belief in the goodness in life."

Reading pays for members of Congress: they just made $1.8 million in book advances and royalties

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Rishi Sunak will soon become the new prime minister of the UK.</li><li>His family's wealth clocks in at an estimated $825 million, making him one of the richest people in Britain.</li></ul>Rishi Sunak is set to become Britain's newest prime minister, taking over from Liz Truss after her astonishingly short — and chaotic — time in office. Truss's slashing of taxes and subsequent policy U-turns during her brief <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/liz-truss-resigns-as-uk-prime-minister-2022-10">six weeks in office</a> spooked the markets and plunged Britain into <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/bonds/recession-uk-economy-tax-cuts-markets-crash-warning-global-leaders-2022-10">financial turmoil</a>. Her aggressive tax-cutting plan coupled with already soaring interest rates and a squeeze on energy prices worldwide has left many Brits with distinct financial worries and in a cost of living crisis.The UK now has more food banks than McDonald's, and many people are making the choice between eating and heating their homes, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cost-of-living-there-are-more-food-banks-mcdonalds-uk-2022-9">as Insider's Bethany Dawson reported</a>. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/29/almost-quarter-of-uk-plans-to-go-without-heating-this-winter-energy-price-cap">The Guardian reported</a> in August that almost a quarter of the country is planning not to turn on the heating this winter. On Monday, October 24, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rishi-sunak-penny-mordaunt-next-uk-prime-minister-2022-10">Sunak secured the backing of his Conservative Party to become its leader</a>, thereby becoming the UK's presumptive PM. As a former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sunak's grasp of fiscal policy may be welcomed by a country facing immense financial difficulties.However, Sunak also faces fierce criticism for his family's extraordinary wealth. With a net worth that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/14/the-sovereigns-wealth-uk-royal-familys-finances-explained">rivals that of King Charles III</a>, many <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/oct/22/rishi-sunak-rich-730m-fortune-prime-minister">fear</a> that Sunak will not be able to understand the daily financial struggles the British public faces, especially as Britain <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/uk-recession-outlook-liz-truss-quits-economy-tax-goldman-sachs-2022-10">faces the prospect of a painful recession</a>.Political research consultancy <a href="https://comresglobal.com/">Savanta ComRes</a> summed up public sentiment in a tweeted word cloud on Monday, based on the most common responses given to the surveyed question, "How would you describe Rishi Sunak in one word?""Clever," "good," and "okay" were prominently featured, but they were dwarfed by one word: "Rich." At the time of publication, the survey's methodology was not made public.<h2>A privileged childhood</h2>Sunak's parents were <a href="https://www.tatler.com/article/rishi-sunak-chancellor-of-the-exchequer-feature">born in colonial Africa</a> — his father, Yashvir, in Kenya, and his mother, Usha, in Tanzania. They met and married in the UK, where his father became a general practitioner and his mother went on to run a pharmacy. In a story for <a href="https://www.tatler.com/article/rishi-sunak-chancellor-of-the-exchequer-feature">Tatler</a>, a family friend described the pair as "passionately British." Sunak was educated at Winchester College — a fee-paying school that, in 2022, cost $38,500 to $52,000 a year to attend. In an <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/rishi-sunak-donates-more-than-100-000-to-his-old-boarding-school-winchester-college-12582879">interview with Sky News</a>, he expressed an understanding of how beneficial attending Winchester was for his career: "I was really lucky to have that opportunity. It was something that was really extraordinary, it certainly put my life on a different trajectory."Sunak became head boy at the distinguished boarding school before taking a path well-trodden for British politicians, studying philosophy, politics, and economics at Oxford. There, he received a First, the highest accolade for an undergraduate degree. It was during a Fulbright scholarship at Stanford in 2006, where Sunak gained an MBA, that his future fortune first entered his life. It was there where he met Akshata Murthy, the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/rishi-sunak-wife-akshata-murty-marriage-b2209298.html">daughter of Infosys billionaire Narayana Murthy</a>. The couple married in 2009 in an extravagant two-day wedding in Bangalore. Together, the couple's wealth is estimated at $825 million, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rishi-sunak-first-uk-politician-to-enter-sunday-times-rich-list-2022-5">according to the Sunday Times Rich List</a>, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/giacomotognini/2022/09/15/how-rich-is-king-charles-iii-inside-the-new-monarchs-outrageous-fortune/?sh=c03f0f6757f1">rivaling the net worth of King Charles III</a>.It's a union that made Sunak <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rishi-sunak-first-uk-politician-to-enter-sunday-times-rich-list-2022-5">the first frontline UK politician to enter The Sunday Times' annual wealth listing</a>.<div type="image" title="Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murthy" height="526" width="702" msid="95069520" hostid="261"></div>After becoming the Conservative Party's MP for Richmond in North Yorkshire in 2015, he was soon seen as a rising star and became Boris Johnson's chancellor between 2020 and 2022.In that role, he oversaw several fiscal stimulus measures amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-business/uk-unveils-420-billion-lifeline-for-firms-hit-by-coronavirus-idUSKBN2140VY">nearly $420 billion lifeline</a> of loan guarantees for affected businesses. But after Johnson was embroiled in numerous scandals, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boris-johnson-ministers-sajid-javid-rishi-sunak-quit-cabinet-2022-7">Sunak resigned</a> and entered the race for the top job himself. <h2>Clumsy displays of wealth</h2>In the leadership election that ensued — which Liz Truss eventually won — Sunak played up his parents' humble beginnings, <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/rishi-sunaks-privileged-childhood-no-27567616">emphasizing</a> how much they had "sacrificed" to give him an expensive education.But despite his attempts to portray a down-to-earth image, the British public has had numerous reminders that Sunak has a very different experience with money than most people. In August, a video clip of Sunak holding his contactless debit card up to the barcode scanner — rather than tapping it on the payment device — went viral, giving the impression that he rarely buys things in person. He <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/rishi-sunak-admits-someone-teach-27702443">later confessed</a> that someone had to teach him how to use the card reader. In another resurfaced <a href="https://youtu.be/p9bbBYcwFOk">clip</a> from a 2007 interview with the BBC, Sunak suggested he didn't have any "working-class friends."He has also come under fire for his overt displays of wealth, including splashy purchases such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/jul/07/rishi-sunak-prepares-for-mini-budget-with-help-of-180-smart-mug">a $200 self-heating "smart" coffee cup</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2022/jul/30/liz-truss-rishi-sunak-no-10-race-dress-prada-claires-fashion">$500 Prada loafers.</a> ("Values are what are important, what I'm wearing is irrelevant to all of that," Sunak <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/oct/22/rishi-sunak-rich-730m-fortune-prime-minister">told</a> the Guardian about his extravagant purchases.)<div type="image" title="Rishi Sunak" height="3000" width="4000" msid="95069522" hostid="261"></div>Sunak's wealth, however, has provided more than just the odd, embarrassing photo-op. <h2>Tax and visa scandals</h2>In November 2020, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/nov/27/huge-wealth-of-sunaks-family-not-declared-in-ministerial-register">The Guardian reported</a> that Sunak had failed to mention his wife's massive wealth on the ministers' register of interests. While ministers are supposed to declare anything that might represent a conflict of interest, a subsequent investigation found that <a href="https://www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/article/sunak-cleared-of-ministerial-code-breach-over-tax-affairs">he had not breached the UK's ministerial code</a>. Earlier this year, Sunak's wife Murthy was also embroiled in a tax scandal after it <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/apr/07/rishi-sunaks-wife-says-its-not-relevant-to-say-where-she-pays-tax-overseas">emerged that she had "non-domiciled" status in the UK</a>, which allowed her to avoid paying British taxes on the income she earned abroad, primarily from Murthy's stake in Infosys, which is based in India. Murthy is also the <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fakshata-murty-5a04232%2F%3ForiginalSubdomain%3Duk">director</a> of her father's venture capital firm, Catamaran Ventures, and has shares in several other companies.Around the same time, Sunak faced scrutiny for holding a US green card while he was chancellor, despite his primary residence not being in the US, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-61044847">provoking questions</a> about whether he enjoyed tax benefits as a result. He relinquished his green card in October 2021, according to his spokeswoman.It's yet unclear whether Sunak and his family's wealth will prove to be an issue. His supporters, including British chancellor Jeremy Hunt, argue that Sunak's experience in finance and at the treasury make him the right man for the job."To restore stability and confidence, we need a leader who can be trusted to make difficult choices," Hunt, who will be looking to keep his position as chancellor, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/10/23/why-backing-rishi-sunak-prime-minister/">wrote</a> in the Daily Telegraph. "We also need someone who can explain those choices to members of the public who are worried about jobs, mortgages and public service. We have a leader who can do just that in Rishi Sunak."Correction: October 25, 2022 — An earlier version of this story misrepresented King Charles III's net worth. It has been updated to reflect that while Rishi Sunak's family's net worth rivals King Charles III, it is not double that of the royal's.Correction: October 25, 2022 — An earlier version of this story overstated Britain's economic crisis. It has been updated to reflect that while the UK faces the prospect of an economic recession, it is not a certainty.

New UK PM Rishi Sunak married into almost $1 billion in tech money, has a net worth that rivals King Charles, and takes over a country struggling to afford heating

Energy for all is the need of the hour, especially in an emerging <keyword id="34412" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="economy">economy</keyword> like <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> where a big chunk of the population still can’t access <keyword id="1977921" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Modern-energy-sources">modern energy sources</keyword> and the overall growth of the country suffers due to such non-inclusion. The outlook is not exactly bright at this point as India ranks 69th among 124 <keyword id="6407494" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="countries">countries</keyword> in the recently released <keyword id="1970968" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="global-energy-architecture-performance-index">Global Energy Architecture Performance Index</keyword> (<keyword id="1977925" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="EAPI">EAPI</keyword>) Report 2014, prepared by the <keyword id="69007" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="World-Economic-Forum">World Economic Forum</keyword> in collaboration with <keyword id="6370971" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Accenture">Accenture</keyword>. 
 India, with an overall score of 0.48, has the second lowest <keyword id="1379968" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="energy-performance">energy performance</keyword> in the <keyword id="1977931" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="BRICS-cluster">BRICS cluster</keyword> that also includes <keyword id="6355226" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Brazil">Brazil</keyword>, <keyword id="6358826" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Russia">Russia</keyword>, <keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="China">China</keyword> and <keyword id="6355117" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="South-Africa">South Africa</keyword>. Interestingly, China lies at the bottom among the <keyword id="175259" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Brics">BRICS</keyword> (85th with a score of 0.45), but other countries in this group are way ahead of India and its neighbour. Ranked 22nd, Brazil tops the BRICS group with a score of 0.64, extracting 50% more <keyword id="35050" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="gdp">GDP</keyword> per unit of energy use than the average of the other <keyword id="486040" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="BRICS-countries">BRICS countries</keyword>. It is followed by the Russian Federation (28th, with a score of 0.62) and South <keyword id="12925" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="Africa">Africa</keyword> (54th, with a score of 0.54). 
 The top 10 performers are mostly EU and/or <keyword id="1977933" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="OECD-nations">OECD nations</keyword> – <keyword id="6356961" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Norway">Norway</keyword>, <keyword id="22501" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="New-Zealand">New Zealand</keyword>, <keyword id="6354785" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="France">France</keyword>, <keyword id="23050" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sweden">Sweden</keyword>, <keyword id="103" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Switzerland">Switzerland</keyword>, <keyword id="49968" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Denmark">Denmark</keyword>, <keyword id="6363645" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Spain">Spain</keyword> and <keyword id="106735" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="latvia">Latvia</keyword> – with the exception of <keyword id="15385" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Colombia">Colombia</keyword> (7th) and <keyword id="57870" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Costa-Rica">Costa Rica</keyword> (9th). The US came in 37th, followed by <keyword id="6355311" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Japan">Japan</keyword>. The regions covered in the report include <keyword id="1977935" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="EU28">EU28</keyword>, <keyword id="195393" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="MENA">MENA</keyword>, BRICS, <keyword id="6378080" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="North-America">North America</keyword>, <keyword id="303353" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sub-Saharan-Africa">Sub-Saharan Africa</keyword> and the <keyword id="5891" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="ASEAN">ASEAN</keyword>. 
 
Why we need EAPI Before we consider why India is lagging behind the rest, it is important to understand the dimensions of the ‘<keyword id="1977936" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Energy-triangle">energy triangle</keyword>’ and what it takes to achieve top-level energy performance. During the past three years, the World Economic Forum has been working on the <keyword id="1978006" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="New-Energy-Architecture">new energy architecture</keyword>, defined as the integrated physical system of <keyword id="689119" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="energy-sources">energy sources</keyword>, carriers and demand sectors. The ‘energy triangle’ frames the key objectives of the <keyword id="1977939" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Energy-architecture">energy architecture</keyword> – the ability to provide secure, affordable and <keyword id="1977947" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Environmentally-sustainable-energy-supply">environmentally sustainable energy supply</keyword>. Accordingly, the Global Index has used 18 indicators to assess 6 regions and 124 countries under three baskets – <keyword id="1977948" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Economic-growth-and-development">economic growth and development</keyword>, <keyword id="585025" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="environmental-sustainability">environmental sustainability</keyword> and <keyword id="1714410" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Energy-access">energy access</keyword> &amp; security – while analysing the complex trade-offs and dependencies that affect the efforts of each country under review. 
 “Resource, wealth or <keyword id="352701" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Economic-Development">economic development</keyword> alone do not guarantee high performance on the Index,” said Roberto Bocca, senior director and head of energy industries at the World Economic Forum. “For an <keyword id="1977954" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Effective-energy-system">effective energy system</keyword>, countries need to focus on all three sides of the energy triangle – environmental sustainability, security of supply and affordability,” he added. Undoubtedly a difficult task, if you look at the toppers or any other country, for that matter. No single country has got a top score of 1/1 for the overall Index (an average of the scores posted under the three heads) and no one has hit a ‘perfect 1’ either, under any of the three baskets. 
 
 
 
Four factors hindering India’s energy performance 
Low access: Let’s look at the grassroots first. Energy access across BRICS is high, with the exception of India and South Africa which continue to face <keyword id="1977958" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Lower-electrification-rates">lower electrification rates</keyword> for rural and low-income groups. In fact, India is the lowest performer within the BRICS cluster (0.54/1), with only 75% accessing modern energy sources. It means around 293 million people go without those, compared to just 4 million in China. 
 However, there are longer-term solutions on the cards. Alongside a number of national and international initiatives, the government is currently running the Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reform Programme or <keyword id="398803" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="R-APDRP">R-APDRP</keyword>, directing around $10 billion over the coming years for <keyword id="1977960" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Grid-modernisation">grid modernisation</keyword>. India has also launched a <keyword id="856064" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Remote-Village-Electrification">Remote Village Electrification</keyword> programme while the <keyword id="386624" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ministry-of-New-and-Renewable-Energy">Ministry of New and Renewable Energy</keyword> is targeting the installed capacity from new <keyword id="430844" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="renewables">renewables</keyword> to reach 21,700 MW by 2017 (more on India’s <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Five-Moves-That-Will-Power-Indias-Green-Shift/articleshow/23463110.cms">green power</a> here). 
 
Increasing <keyword id="1977962" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Reliance-on-energy-imports">reliance on energy imports</keyword>: Large-scale economic expansion across the country has triggered bigger <keyword id="6417014" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="energy-consumption">energy consumption</keyword> and a crippling dependence on imports – a major factor behind the ballooning trade and <keyword id="894126" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="current-account-deficits">current account deficits</keyword>. India is one of the biggest importers of crude oil and more than half of its $191 billion <keyword id="113688" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="trade-deficit">trade deficit</keyword> in FY2013 – $109 billion, to be precise – accounted for oil, with the country importing around 82% of its requirements, mostly from the <keyword id="138623" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gulf-countries">Gulf countries</keyword>. Overall, 28% of the country’s <keyword id="1977965" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Net-energy-consumption">net energy consumption</keyword> is met through imports and among the BRICS, India has the <keyword id="1977966" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Highest-spend-on-fuel-imports">highest spend on fuel imports</keyword> relative to GDP (10%). 
 It’s a kind of vicious cycle, to say the least, which is negatively impacting the <keyword id="6356076" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="indian-economy">Indian economy</keyword>. “The whole mess in the <keyword id="52599" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="100" keywordseo="CAD">CAD</keyword> is due to the imports of both coal and oil,” Vivek Pandit, senior director for energy at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (<keyword id="6355001" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="FICCI">FICCI</keyword>) told FT. Worried by the current account deficit, <keyword id="44528" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="FDI">FDI</keyword> and <keyword id="68968" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="institutional-investors">institutional investors</keyword> gradually started withdrawing their support since March this year. This fuelled a substantial weakening of the <keyword id="6355302" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Rupee">Rupee</keyword> and resulted in a drawdown of <keyword id="6368276" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Foreign-exchange">foreign exchange</keyword> to the tune of $12.8 billion. According to a PwC report, the drawdown could have been avoided, had India produced 17 million tonnes more oil than its current domestic production. 
 Worse still, <keyword id="1977973" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indias-oil-import-dependency">India’s oil import dependency</keyword> is forecast to grow another 10 percentage points to exceed 90% by 2031. While increasing domestic exploration will help to a certain extent, India must try and curb the <keyword id="1977977" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Oil-bills">oil bills</keyword> further by seeking new suppliers and buying more stake into African and other <keyword id="1977979" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Non-Gulf-oil-and-gas-assets">non-Gulf oil and gas assets</keyword>. 
 This part of the strategy is slowly taking shape as <keyword id="81864" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="ONGC-Videsh">ONGC Videsh</keyword>, the overseas investment arm of <keyword id="55282" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="India-Government">India government</keyword>’s flagship oil and gas explorer <keyword id="118729" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Oil-Natural-Gas-Corp">Oil &amp; Natural Gas Corp</keyword>, has been pushing hard to build up a <keyword id="1977984" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Diversified-portfolio-of-foreign-assets">diversified portfolio of foreign assets</keyword> to minimise the country’s dependency on the Middle East. <keyword id="6354737" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="ONGC">ONGC</keyword> Videsh has recently signed two multi-billion-dollar deals to buy into offshore natural gas assets in <keyword id="6372754" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mozambique">Mozambique</keyword>. It has a significant presence in <keyword id="48890" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Latin-America">Latin America</keyword> and is also looking for exploration assets in <keyword id="6356970" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Myanmar">Myanmar</keyword>, <keyword id="6354759" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</keyword>, <keyword id="30174" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Lebanon">Lebanon</keyword> and <keyword id="6355478" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Australia">Australia</keyword>. 
 
Prevalence of <keyword id="1896941" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="energy-subsidies">energy subsidies</keyword>: Another factor that is dragging India down by increasing oil demand and widening the budget deficit. Both India and Russia are the lowest performers for the indicator on <keyword id="1977989" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Liquid-fuel-subsidies">liquid fuel subsidies</keyword>. India’s subsidies for diesel put it in the lower quartile globally for this indicator even as the country is trying to improve <keyword id="1977991" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Energy-affordability">energy affordability</keyword> and access for lower-income groups. 
 
Coal-dependence hurts: At present, coal dominates the country’s <keyword id="1798751" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="energy-mix">energy mix</keyword> with a robust 53% share in <keyword id="1977995" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Primary-energy-consumption">primary energy consumption</keyword>, affecting India’s score in terms of environmental sustainability. The country has scored 0.41/1, underlining the challenge it faces in diversifying the energy mix beyond <keyword id="181402" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="fossil-fuels">fossil fuels</keyword>. Although energy trade can have positive impacts here, it can also pose economic and <keyword id="1977997" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Energy-security-risks">energy security risks</keyword>, especially as we are dependent only on a few trading partners. 
 Interestingly, 41% of the <keyword id="1200645" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="energy-supply">energy supply</keyword> in the top 10 countries comes from low-carbon energy sources, compared to a global average of 28%. India, too, is rolling out low-carbon power generation through plans to increase <keyword id="43870" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="nuclear-capacity">nuclear capacity</keyword> from the current 4.4 GW to 5.3 GW by 2016. 
 
The bottom line “Our analysis concludes that there is no single way forward; each country must work with its own resources and constraints, making difficult choices and trade-offs,” said Arthur Hanna, Managing Director, Energy Industry, Accenture, and a Member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on New Energy Architecture. “The Index helps nations take stock of their energy transition challenges and address key barriers to success, such as market distorting subsidies, continued uncertainty around energy policy and funding for research and development of <keyword id="1978009" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="New-energy-sources">new energy sources</keyword> and technologies.” 
 
Keeping that in mind, can India cope with the transition and morph its energy policies accordingly? 
 
Top Image: Wikipedia 
Data chart: World Economic Forum

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