News digest: Guv for RBI autonomy, Sensex jumps 629 pts, and more

Shaktikanta Das replaced Urjit Patel, who abruptly resigned on Monday after a long-drawn feud with the government over issues related to governance and the autonomy of the central bank

Shaktikanta Das promises to uphold RBI autonomy; will meet PSB heads today

Hours after assuming charge as governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday, Shaktikanta Das spelt out his priorities, asserting that he would uphold the autonomy, credibility and integrity of the “great institution”. Das also said he would extensively consult various stakeholders, including the government, on key issues.

The former bureaucrat has replaced Urjit Patel, who abruptly resigned on Monday after a long-drawn feud with the government over issues related to governance and the autonomy of the central bank. “I will try to uphold professionalism, core values, credibility and the autonomy of the Reserve Bank as an institution,” Das said in his first media interaction as RBI governor. Read more 

Sensex surges 629 points as new governor comes in; global stocks also rally

Indian stocks and bonds closed higher on Wednesday after the new Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor, Shaktikanta Das, took charge. A rally in the global markets on hopes of improvement in trade talks between the US and China further boosted investor sentiment.

The rupee, however, declined by 16 paise to close at 72.01 against the US dollar amid strengthening of the greenback and rising crude oil prices.

The benchmark BSE Sensex surged 629 points, or 1.8 per cent, to end at 35,779, while the Nifty 50 index rose 188 points to 10,738. The 10-year government bond yield ended at 7.41 per cent, down 12 basis points over the previous day’s close of 7.53 per cent. The yield was 7.63 per cent at the start of the month, and had climbed to 8.2 per cent in September. Financial stocks HDFC, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were the biggest contributors to the Sensex gains. All the 30 components of the Sensex ended in the green. Read more 

Tata Trusts appoints Vijay Singh, Venu Srinivasan as vice chairmen

As part of its succession plan, Tata Trusts, a cluster of charitable organisations controlling 66 per cent of Tata Sons, has appointed trustees Vijay Singh, former defence secretary, and Venu Srinivasan, chairman of TVS Group, vice chairmen of the various trusts under its ambit.

The trustees met on Wednesday and unanimously decided to appoint Singh and Srinivasan vice chairmen of the trusts, according to a statement issued by the organisation. Read more 

Govt planning IPOs for two rail PSUs by March-end to meet divestment target

The government is planning initial public offerings (IPOs) of equity for two railway subsidiaries, Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) and Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL), this financial year, in an effort to meet its disinvestment target of Rs 800 billion for 2018-19.

With the addressing of IRFC’s earlier tax issues, a senior official with the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam) told Business Standard that the plan was to also list it and RVNL on the bourses in the January-March quarter. Read more 

Retail inflation eases to 2.3% as pressure cools off, IIP grows 8%

Two key indicators of macro economy— industrial production and retail price inflation — improved their performance in October and November, respectively. Industrial activity grew at an 11-month high of 8.1 per cent in October, while the retail inflation rate fell to a 17-month low of 2.33 per cent in November, showed the latest data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). Read more