News digest: Banks under PCA, Congress moves SC, Modi's schemes, and more

Prominent banks under PCA are IDBI Bank, Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Dena Bank, Corporation Bank and Allahabad Bank

1. PCA shadow on PNB, Canara, Union Bank; DFS to meet 11 executives today

Three more public sector banks — Punjab National Bank (PNB), Canara Bank and Union Bank of India — may come under Reserve Bank of India’s prompt corrective action (PCA) framework.

All three have net non-performing assets (NPAs) above 6 per cent, a trigger for the RBI to consider putting a lender under PCA to restore their health.

At end of March 2018, PNB — hit by the Nirav Modi-Mehul Choksi scam — reported net NPAs of 11.2 per cent, Union Bank of India’s NPAs were at 8.4 per cent and Canara Bank’s at 7.5 per cent. Under RBI rules, breaching any of the three conditions — net NPA levels below 6 per cent, two years of consecutive losses or capital adequacy ratio (CAR) below the regulatory requirement — could put banks under PCA. Read more...

2. Congress moves SC as Governor asks BJP to form govt in Karnataka

After a day-long drama and allegations of horse-trading over government formation in Karnataka, Governor Vajubhai Vala late on Wednesday evening invited Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader B S Yeddyurappa to form the government.

Yeddyurappa has been asked to take oath as the chief minister at 9 am on Thursday. In the communique from Raj Bhavan, the 75-year-old BJP leader has been asked to prove his majority within 15 days of assuming office.

Congress, which had jointly staked claim to form the government with Janata Dal (Secular), said it approached the Supreme Court seeking an immediate invervention by Chief Justice Dipak Misra. Read more...

3. 4 years of Narendra Modi govt: More hits than misses under flagship schemes

Catchy acronyms and high-pitched launches have often defined the flagship schemes of the Narendra Modi government. Peppered with social media campaigns, these outreach plans have been able to go to the remotest corners of the country in messaging. As this government enters its last year in office, the signature programmes have started performing. Some say many contributed to the BJP’s electoral successes.

A series of reports, starting Friday, will show how the Modi government’s report card looks good, if not excellent yet, when flagship schemes are a benchmark. From Swachh Bharat to Ujjwala, Jan-Dhan to Bharatmala, numbers tell a story of progress that has clearly taken off.

Underscoring the significance of flagship programmes, M Ramachandran, former secretary, ministry of urban development, says such schemes set targets and then try to achieve them. “The specificity of targets and the willingness to work towards them is very important.” Read more...

4. After Walmart-Flipkart deal, Amazon scouts for offline ally

In the retail war between Walmart and Amazon in India, it is the Jeff Bezos-led technology giant’s turn to make a move. According to sources, the global e-commerce giant has started preliminary discussions with Indian supermarket, hypermarket and retail companies to buy a stake in any one of these firms. 

While the talks are still at a preliminary stage, sources said major retail players had held discussions with Amazon. Recently, after the announcement of the Flipkart-Walmart deal, the Future Group’s founder, Kishore Biyani, had indicated he was ready to sell a stake to the strongest global retailer. 

Sources said Biyani had held discussions with Amazon and Walmart. Some of the regional hypermarket and supermarket players have also had held discussions with Amazon. Read more...