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The Leather Industry

The Leather Industry holds a very prominent place in the Indian economy and is one of the oldest manufacturing industries in India. It provides employment to about 2.5 million people in the country and has an annual turnover of approximately USD 5,000,000.

India is one of the best destinations in the world for investing in the leather industry because it is abundant with raw materials in the form of huge population of cattle. India accounts for 21% of the world’s cattle and buffalo and 11% of the world’s goat and sheep population.

Apart from the easy availability of raw materials, investors are able to enjoy easy and abundant supply of skilled manpower, world-class technology, competent and favourable environmental standards, and the devoted support of allied industries.

Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattle hide.

Several leading international leather goods manufacturing brand names, such as Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger, Versace, Guess, and DKNY, have invested in India and are engaged in sourcing leather goods from India.

Leather Industry in India is a mixture of both the organized and the unorganized sectors. About 75% of the leather output in India is generated by the small, cottage and artisan sectors (unorganized). Leather making dates back to pre-historic age.  However, the modern method of leather production was introduced to India by the English and the French in 1857.

Traditionally, the leather industry in India produces hides and skins. However, there are also the secondary leather industries such as leather shoes, leather garments and other leather goods such as ladies’ bags, gloves, travel cases, wallets, belts and desktops. 

Over the years the leather industry in India has undergone drastic change from being a mere exporter of raw materials in the early 60’s and 70’s to now becoming an exporter of finished, value-added leather products.

The main reason behind the transformation is the several policy initiatives taken by the government of India. Indian leather industry has attained a prominent place in the Indian export and has become the top 7 industries that earn foreign exchange for the country. After the liberalization of Indian economy in 1991, the leather industry has flourished consistently in several ways and has contributed heavily to the Indian exchequer.

The government of India in its Foreign Trade Policy for 2000–2009 has identified the leather industry as a focus sector in view of its immense potential for export growth and triggering employment generation prospects.

Investment opportunities in the leather industry lie in different segments related to the industry, which include tanning and finishing of leather products, manufacturing of leather garments, manufacturing of leather footwear and footwear parts, and manufacturing of leather goods, such as harness and saddlery amongst a host of other opportunities.

However, the footwear industry in particular holds greater potential for investments in India. India produces approximately 700 million pairs of leather footwear every year and accounts for an 18% share of the total Indian leather export. After footwear manufacturing, leather goods or products, such as wallets, travel wares, belts, and handbags offer great returns on investment.

The structure of the leather industry is spread in different segments, namely, tanning & finishing, footwear & footwear components, leather garments, leather goods including saddlery & harness, etc.

Indian Leather Goods Industry : Items produced by this sector include, in addition to bags, handbags, hand gloves and industrial gloves, wallets, ruck sacks, folios, brief cases, travelware, belts, sports goods, upholstery and saddlery goods. With products ranging from designer collections to personal leather accessories, this sector has a share of 20.53 per cent in the leather industry, while maintaining an average growth rate of 11 per cent recorded in the last five years.

Indian Saddlery Industry : India is one of the largest producers of saddlery and harness goods in the world. The saddlery industry was established in the 19th century primarily to cater to the needs of military and police. From then on initiatives were taken to develop, the industry and today there are over 150 units in the organised sector, out of which approximately 105 are 100% export oriented units. Kanpur, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, is a major production centre for saddlery goods in India accounting for more than 95% of the total exports of saddlery items from India. The major importers of Indian saddlery are Germany, USA, UK, France, Scandinavia, Netherlands, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

Indian Leather Garments Industry : The Leather Garment Industry occupies a place of prominence in the Indian leather sector.  The product classification of leather garments comprise of jackets, long coats, waist coats, shirts, pant/short, children garments, motorbike jackets, aprons and industrial leather garments. The major export destination of leather garments from India is Germany.

Tanning is the process of converting putrescible skin into non-putrescible leather, usually with tannin, an acidic chemical compound that prevents decomposition and often imparts colour. With tanning and finishing capacity for processing 1192 million pieces of hides and skins per annum spread over different parts of the country, most of which is organised along modern lives, the capability of India to sustain a much larger industry with its raw material resource is evident.

In order to augment the domestic raw material availability, the Government of India has allowed duty free import of hides and skins from anywhere in the world. It is an attraction for any foreign manufacturer who intends to shift his production base from a high cost location to low cost base.

There are over 2,000 tanneries in India. Many of them are scattered in small scale and cottage sector all over India especially West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. It is anticipated that the leather industry in India will generate an estimated USD 7 billion by 2011.  It is no wonder that India is one of the top exporters of leather along with France and the UK. 

The major production centres for leather and leather products are located at Chennai, Ambur, Ranipet, Vaniyambadi, Trichi, Delhi, Dindigul in Tamil Nadu, Kolkata in West Bengal, Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, Jalandhar in Punjab, Bangalore in Karnataka and Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh.

There exists a large raw material base in the Indian leather industry. This is on account of population of 194 million cattle, 70 million buffaloes and 95 million goats. According to the latest census, India ranks first among the major livestock holding countries in the world. In respect of 48 million sheeps, it claims the sixth position. These four species provide the basic raw material for the leather industry. The annual availability of 166 million pieces of hides and skins is the main strength of the industry.
 
India is the world’s second largest producer of footwear ; its production estimated over 700 million pairs per annum. At about USD 300 million per year, footwear accounts for 18 percent share of total exports of leather exports.

Various types of shoes produced and exported from India include dress shoes, casuals, moccasins, sports shoes, horacchis, sandals, ballerinas, and booties. Most of the modern footwear manufacturers in India are already supplying to well establish brands in Europe and USA.

Generally there are three types of leather which is sold in three forms : Full-grain leather, Corrected-grain leather and Suede.

There are a number of processes whereby the skin of an animal can be formed into a supple, strong material commonly called Leather like Vegetable-tanned leather, Chrome-tanned leather, Aldehyde-tanned leather, Synthetic-tanned leather, Alum-tanned leather and Raw.

Today the share of the value added finished products in the total exports from leather sector are 80% as against 20% in 1970s. The top ten Indian leather exporters are : Tata International Ltd., Florind Shoes Ltd., Punihani International, Farida Shoes Ltd., Mirza Tanners Ltd., T. Abdul Wahid & Company, Hindustan Lever Ltd., Super House Leather Ltd., RSL Industries Ltd., Presidency Kid Leather Ltd and Indian Leather Footwear Industry.

Even though most of the leather and leather products from the industry in India are exported, the leather shoe manufacturers or exporters in India for instance, will import soles, insoles, shoe lasts, counters, toe puffs, polishers and stiffeners. The value of such imported items can make up to 10% to 20% of the total value of the leather goods. 

India being one of the top exporters of leather is facing few challenges in the Leather Industry :

  • Historically, the slaughter of cattle in India is banned in respect of the government legislation due to the animal’s sacred status.  Leather producers wait for the cattle to die from natural causes such as old age, starvation or diseases.  Unfortunately, cattle with diseases cannot produce high quality leather.
  • Cattle died from natural causes must be quickly processed to prevent decay and hide deterioration. This makes it challenging for leather producers because the dead cattle must be processed wherever the carcass is found instead of doing it within a leather production facility.
  • For vegetable dyed leather, the supply of chrome salts used in leather production is limited in supply to the leather producers. When producers tried to switch to a chemical dye, PCP (Pentachlorophenol), it was eventually banned in India due to the chemical being a carcinogen.
  • Apart from this effluent management, non-tariff barriers, quality specifications and cost of compliance to various standards hinder the export growth of the Indian leather industry.

However, going by the future forecast of the Indian leather industry gives ample scope to the sector to progress. With its rich resource base of raw hides, skins and human capital the industry has the capability to increase its share in global leather trade. The global leather industry is in the process of shifting its manufacturing base from developed to developing nations. This provides an opportunity for increased flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into India.

In such a scenario, factors like abundance of leather, increasing awareness for quality, manufacturing know-how and designing capabilities all work in favour of India. 

Over 1 million stranded Indians have benefited from Vande Bharat Mission: Hardeep Singh Puri

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that more than one million stranded Indians have now benefited from Vande Bharat Mission.

In a tweet, Mr Puri said, more than 9 lakh Indians have returned to India through various means and more than 1 lakh 16 thousand have flown out to various countries since 6th May of this year. He said, yesterday three thousand 124 Indians have returned from various countries. Mr. Puri expressed hope that Phase 5 of the mission will provide benefit to more citizens.

COVID-19 recovery rate improves to 65.43 pct in country

A record 51 thousand 255 recoveries from Covid-19 have been registered today in the country. This is the highest number of recoveries in a single day since the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. With this, the recovery rate has improved to 65.43 per cent. The case fatality rate of coronavirus has further declined to 2.13 per cent.

The Health and Family Welfare Ministry today said, a total of 11 lakh 45 thousand 629 people have recovered in the country so far. In the last 24 hours, 54 thousand 735 new cases of Covid-19 have been reported, taking the total number of cases to 17 lakh 50 thousand 723. Presently, the total number of active corona cases in the country is five lakh 67 thousand 730. In a single day, 853 deaths have also  been reported taking the nationwide toll to 37 thousand 364.

Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Medical Research said that a total of four lakh 63 thousand 172 tests were conducted by various laboratories within 24 hours. So far, one crore 98 lakh 21 thousand 831 tests have been conducted in the country. At present, one thousand 344 laboratories across India are conducting Covid-19 tests that includes 913 government laboratories and 431 private laboratory chains.

EU calls for united efforts from its member countries against China

European Union has called for a more united approach from its 27 member countries against an authoritarian China. In an interview to German media, EU’s High Representative for foreign and security policy, Josep Borrell said, China has become more aggressive in its neighbourhood, especially in the South China Sea or on the border with India. He said, Chinese leaders did not hesitate to leave aside international commitments with the imposition of the Hong Kong National Security Law.

Borrell also called for a more coordinated approach among the EU, US and other democratic powers like India. He said, EU and US should be at the heart of this effort, but we should also be working closely with Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and others.

Pondering steps to deal with China, Borell said, we can consider measures such as extending visas for Hong Kong citizens, restricting student exchanges with China, banning exports of tear gas.

Coronavirus pandemic likely to be lengthy, warns WHO

The World Health Organization has warned that the coronavirus pandemic is likely to be lengthy. The statement comes after an emergency committee of WHO met to evaluate the crisis six months after sounding the international alarm.

The committee also warned of the risk of response fatigue given the socio-economic pressures on countries. The panel gathered for the fourth time over the coronavirus crisis, half a year on from its January 30 declaration of a public health emergency of international concern – the WHO’s highest level of alarm.

The committee highlighted the importance of sustained community, national, regional, and global response efforts.

The committee urged the WHO to provide nuanced and pragmatic guidance on COVID-19 reactions to reduce the risk of response fatigue in the context of socio-economic pressures.

The committee also urged the agency to accelerate research into the remaining critical unknowns of the virus.

Odisha govt allows private labs to conduct COVID-19 tests

In a bid to augment the testing facilities, the Odisha government has allowed private hospitals, nursing homes and laboratories to conduct COVID-19 tests through Rapid Antigen and RT-PCR methods. The government issued a separate set of guidelines for conducting sample tests both under Rapid Antigen and RT-PCR.

The private health establishments have to abide by the ICMR norms.

The sample test results should first be informed to the state authorities before being released to the person whose test was conducted, the notification said.

For Rapid Antigen tests, the private bodies can charge a maximum of 450 rupees, while the price for RT-PCR tests is fixed at 2,200 rupees per test. The nursing homes, hospitals and laboratories should be mandatorily registered under the Odisha Clinical Establishment (control & regulation) Act, 1990.

The manpower to be deployed for the purpose must be trained properly in consultation with the chief district medical and public health officers.

Odisha govt allows private labs to conduct COVID-19 tests

In a bid to augment the testing facilities, the Odisha government has allowed private hospitals, nursing homes and laboratories to conduct COVID-19 tests through Rapid Antigen and RT-PCR methods. The government issued a separate set of guidelines for conducting sample tests both under Rapid Antigen and RT-PCR.

The private health establishments have to abide by the ICMR norms.

The sample test results should first be informed to the state authorities before being released to the person whose test was conducted, the notification said.

For Rapid Antigen tests, the private bodies can charge a maximum of 450 rupees, while the price for RT-PCR tests is fixed at 2,200 rupees per test. The nursing homes, hospitals and laboratories should be mandatorily registered under the Odisha Clinical Establishment (control & regulation) Act, 1990.

The manpower to be deployed for the purpose must be trained properly in consultation with the chief district medical and public health officers.

Death toll in spurious liquor tragedy rises to 86 in Punjab; ED begins probe

The death toll in Punjab’s spurious liquor tragedy has risen to 86. Tarn Taran alone accounted for 63 deaths, followed by 12 in Amritsar and 11 in Gurdaspur’s Batala. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh suspended seven excise officials and six policemen. Among the suspended officials are two deputy superintendents of police and four station house officers. State government also announced a compensation of 2 lakh rupees for each of the families of the deceased.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has begun investigations into the Majha tragedy. ED has started collecting information about the financial transactions by those named or booked in the case. The recoveries and assets of the key accused need to be thoroughly probed. 

New Education Policy will transform job seekers into job creators: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that New Education Policy (NEP) will transform job seekers into job creators. Addressing Smart India Hackathon 2020, he said the NEP is not just a policy but a compilation of aspirations of all the Indians.

The Prime Minister gave a mantra to students and said, never stop three things in life – learning, questioning and solving. The Prime Minister said that the time has come for increased focus on learning, research and innovation in the field of education. He said, the 21st century is the era of knowledge and this is exactly what New Education Policy does.

The Prime Minister said we are focussing on the quality of education in the country. Elaborating on the Centre’s attempts to transform the content and method of imparting education in the country, Mr Modi said, the New Education Policy emphasizes on inter-disciplinary study, which will ensure that the focus is on what the student wants to learn instead of being compelled to learn.

Mr Modi also said that India is shifting from the burden of school bags to the boon of learning. He said, Languages of India will develop more due to the changes brought about in the education policy. This will not only increase India’s knowledge but will also increase the unity among its people, the Prime Minister told the students participating in the Smart India Hackathon 2020. This year, around 10,000 students are participating in the hackathon.

The grand finale of Smart India Hackathon 2020 (Software) is being held from August 1 to 3. He also interacted with students and enquired about their projects ranging from women’s hygiene products to crime detection technologies to water harvesting. This year, over 4.5 lakh entries were received for the competition.

Innuendo: The other kind of Defamation

Innuendo is used to describe defamation from libel or slander. It is derived from a Latin term “innuere”, “to nod toward”. In lawsuit for defamation, usually to show that the party suing was the person about whom the defamatory statement was made. Example: ‘the former Mayor is a crook,” and Joe Alexander is the only living ex-Mayor, thus by innuendo Alexander is the target of the statement.

Defamation is the injury to the reputation of a person. If a person harms the reputation of another he does so at his own risk. As in the case of interference with the property, a man’s reputation is his property, and if possible, more valuable, than other property.

Any intentional false, defamatory statement or communication, written or spoken that decrease the respect, regard or confidence of a person will be called defaming him. Essential of defamation include, the statement being published, the statement should not be truth and it must refer to the plaintiff.

The intention to defame is not necessary  as held in the Scottish  case of Morrison v. Ritchie and Co.[1] ,where damages were recovered against the proprietors of a newspaper who in all innocence had announced in the paper that a lad, who had in fact been married only a month, had given Innuendo is a concept that is related to tort law and is a personal injury law. The word is derived from ‘innuere’, which is a Latin word and means to ‘nod forward’. In legal terms, Innuendo is used to describe defamation from either libel or slander. It usually shows that the plaintiff had bad comments made about him and those comments were in fact defamatory.

The innuendo is usually just used in actions for slander, when a defamation made by words or gestures. Innuendo typically refers to a condition where a person explains a factual situation which on the first note might not sound defamatory but, yet after interpreting can cause or has caused damage to the person.

Thus, when Innuendo is on the table to be proved, it must always show the entire scenario from start to the end of the declaration. This serves to be very important to prove that the intent can be mistaken, or when it cannot be directly obtained from the forms of slander or libel.

There are two major types of innuendo. True Innuendo and False Innuendo. False innuendo is a defamatory statement made that has an implied meaning. So, only individuals who have the necessary contextual knowledge can understand that the comment made is defamatory.

Secondly, legal or true innuendo. While this is not defamatory on its face, a true innuendo statement can be defamatory when combined with certain outside circumstances. This contextual information may cause a statement to be considered defamatory in a certain way while not another.

A statement may be prima facie defamatory when their natural, obvious and primary sense is defamatory. Sometimes, the words may prima facie be innocent but because of some latent or secondary meaning, it may be considered to be defamatory.

Where the words alleged to be defamatory do not appear to be such on their face, the plaintiff must make out the circumstances which made them actionable, and he must set forth in his pleading the defamatory sense he attributes to them. Such an explanatory statement is called an innuendo.

When the natural and ordinary meaning is not defamatory but the plaintiff wants to bring an action for defamation, the burden of proof lies on him to prove the innuendo.

In the absence of an innuendo, no evidence can be admitted to prove a special meaning and the suit will be dismissed.

An innuendo is necessary where the imputation is made in an oblique way, or by way of question, exclamation, or conjecture, or irony.

An innuendo, properly so called, which provides a separate cause of action, must be supported by extrinsic facts or matter and cannot be founded on mere interpretation.

[1] 1902 SLR 39

YouTubers and YouTube Web Series

Amidst the pandemic, I found it hard to be productive. Being thankful for my privilege, I spent times exploring YouTube.

Here’s a list of Youtubers and YouTube Brands I love:

  • Mostly Sane
  • Bake with Shivesh
  • The Detail Geek
  • Cooking Shooking
  • Jordindian
  • Filter Copy
  • Gabriel Iglesias
  • The Ellen Show
  • East India Company
  • Safiya Nygaard
  • The Try Guys
  • Jess and Gabriel
  • Ladylike
  • Shitty Ideas Trending
  • KKandbabyJ
  • Cupcake Jemma
  • Collins Key  
  • Sejal Kumar
  • OKbaby
  • Keren Swan
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live
  • Chloe Rose Art
  • Jess Conte
  • 8 Passengers
  • Cody and Lexy
  • Rebal D
  • Gabriel Conte
  • OK Tested
  • Dice Media
  • Penn Masala

WEBSERIES:

  • Operation MBBS – “Operation MBBS chronicles the lives of three first year students – Huma, Sakshi and Nishant in one of the best MBBS colleges in the country. Follow their journey as they navigate through friendships, hardships and medical student life.”
  • Wrong Number – “Story revolving around a hilarious confusion where Karan, a 2nd year engineering student, receives a message from Khushi, a medical student, on his (not so) new number. The catch here is that Karan’s new number previously belonged to Rajat, who was Khushi’s ex-boyfriend. Rajat broke contact with Khushi after a fight they had around the time when school ended and never contacted her again. But Khushi never gave up her efforts of contacting him. So now, when this number switch happens, Khushi is under the illusion that she is talking to Rajat whereas it’s Karan on the other side.”
  • College Romance – “Three best friends look for love, laughs and some lifelong memories while attending college together.”
  • Girlsplaining – “How can two girls, a batchmate and a senior, teach and train a guy who is clueless about relationships and sex?”
  • Girl in the City – “This show is about a young girl who comes to Mumbai to live her dreams and aim at her aspirations. It is about her journey in the big city.”
  • Adulting – “Adulting is a coming of age story about two young women trying to handle the responsibilities of being independent adults in the fast-paced, urban bustle of Mumbai.”
  • Kota Factory – “Dedicated to Shrimati SL Loney ji, Shri Irodov ji and Maanniya HC Verma ji, ‘Kota Factory’ is TVF’s latest original. India’s first ‘Black and White’ show highlights the problems present day IIT-JEE aspirants face in their day-to-day lives.”
  • Engineering Girls – “Three engineering students deal with dorm drama, date around, and do whatever it takes to make their dreams come true.”
  • What the Folks – “’What The Folks’ is a journey of how modern families are breaking stereotypes, overcoming generation gaps, and growing to love one another, despite having starkly different world views.”
  • Soulmates – “The story revolves around the two ex-schoolmates who bump into each other while on the trip to Shillong. Priyanshu, an aspiring music composer who is in Shillong chasing the girl of a rock band accidentally meets his schoolmate Anshul Chauhan who is on a solo bike trip across northeast. Two meet unexpectedly and fall in love, or maybe they don’t, but both of them have been giving some really adorable vibes.”
  • The Reunion – “Aarya, Dev, Deva and Gaurav go back to school after 10 years only to realise its important to look back to move forward. Friendships, relationships and some memories are at stake. Amidst the Bourbon High Batch of 2008, they find answers to what was left behind.”

India to become a knowledge hub :PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that that the New Education Policy will transform millions of lives by making India a knowledge hub in an era where learing, research and innovation are important.

In a series of tweets, Mr. Modi said NEP is based on the pillars of ‘access, equity, quality, affordability and accountability.’

He stated that the policy will bring 2crore ‘out of school’ children back into the mainstream. “Aspects such as widening the availability of scholarships, strengthning the infrastructure for open and distance learning, online education and increasing the usage of technology have recieved great attention in NEP. These are vital reforms for the education sector”

“A truly remarkable day in the history of Indian Education System! Under the visionary leadership of PM Modi , the Union Cabinet approved ‘New Education Policy 2020’, which brings in much needed historic reforms in both School and Higher Education,” said Home Minister Amit Shah. “No nation in the world can excel by giving up its culture and values”, he added.

India’s fatality rate among the lowest

“Fatality rate of India’s Covid-19 is gradually declining and is now standing at the rate of 2.18%, which is one of the lowest, globally while just 0.28% of the total active cases are on ventilator”, said Union Health Minister Dr.Harsh Vardhan on Friday.

He further added, out of total 5,45,318 active cases, 1.61% need ICU care and 2.32% are on oxygen support.

In a meeting of group of ministers via video conferencing on Covid-19 on Friday, Dr. Harsh Vardhan told that India has reached a milestone of more than 10 lac recoveries with a recovery rate of 64.54%.

“Approximately 1/3rd of total positive cases are active cases under medical supervision”, he was quoted as saying in the health ministry statement.

The meeting has also suggested some measures including revamping of strategy for effective management of containment zones through stricter perimeter control, widespread rapid antigen tests, intensive and rapid door to door tests.

Meanwhile, India’s Covid-19 case tally zoomed past 16lacs on Friday, registering a record single day jump of 55,078 infections. The death-toll has reached to 35,747 with 779 fatalities being reported in 24hour span according to a health ministry bulletin.

CoronaVirus India: Record 57000 Covid-19 cases in last 24 hours

Total Covid-19 positive cases stand at 16,95,988 including 5,65,103 active cases, 10,94,374 cured/discharged/migrated and 36,511 deaths, the health ministry said.

With 57,117 people testing positive for coronavirus in a day, India’s COVID-19 tally neared 17 lakh mark today, while the recoveries jumped to 10,94,374. The country’s death toll rose to 36,511 with 764 fatalities being recorded in a day. The fatality from covid currently stands at 2.18% in India as compared to global average of about 4%.

This is the third consecutive day that COVID-19 cases have increased by more than 50,000. The total number of confirmed cases also includes foreigners.

A day after Maharashtra added the highest number of Covid-19 cases, the state’s tally dropped marginally to 10,320 on Friday, its third highest addition so far. This is the second day in a row that the state has added over 10,000 cases. Active cases in the state crossed the 1.5-lakh mark.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Pune city touched 54,255 after 818 people were detected with the infection in the last 24 hours, According to Worldometer.

Odisha Announces Weekend Shutdown in Rourkela City, 4 Districts Till Aug 31 Meanwhile in India, the Odisha government on Friday announced a weekend shutdown in four districts and Rourkela city till August 31 in the wake of a spike in coronavirus cases.

Andhra was also among eight states that recorded their highest single-day jump in cases on Friday.

The others were Uttar Pradesh 4,453 new cases, Bihar 2,986, Bengal 2,496, Assam 2,112, Telangana 1,986, Kerala 1,310, Delhi 1195 and Punjab 665.

Microsoft is in Talks to Acquire TikTok, as Trump to demand TikTok Chinese owner divest application

Microsoft is in advanced talks to acquire the United States operations of the Chinese owned video app TikTok, according to people with knowledge of the discussions, in a deal that would be a concession to White House pressure and make the software giant a major player in social media.

A sale to Microsoft, likely for billions of dollars, would be a win for both TikTok and its parent company, Bytedance Ltd., where executives had feared that the U.S. government would force device makers to take TikTok out of their app stores, according to another person familiar with the matter.

As U.S. president, Trump previously has issued three orders stopping M&A deals involving foreign parties, through the inter-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

A deal could be completed by Monday, according to people familiar with the matter. The talks involve representatives from Microsoft, Bytedance and the White House. Talks are fluid, and a deal may not come together.

In a statement to Media, a TikTok representative said: “While we do not comment on rumors or speculation, we are confident in the long-term success of TikTok. Hundreds of millions of people come to TikTok for entertainment and connection, including our community of creators and artists who are building livelihoods from the platform. We’re motivated by their passion and creativity, and committed to protecting their privacy and safety as we continue working to bring joy to families and meaningful careers to those who create on our platform.”

A group of ByteDance investors including Sequoia and General Atlantic, who want to acquire control of TikTok amid the concerns over its Chinese ownership, have valued TikTok at about $50 billion,

Source- Reuters, Wall Street Journal, CGTN