LIVE updates: Banks going to be catalysts for economic revival, says FM

Chinese troops carried rods, spears, clubs and pole weapons in aggressively trying to close in on an Indian position in Mukhpari area in eastern Ladakh, reports PTI. Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news

3:32 AM

Amid Centre-states GST row, a white-knuckle moment for bond markets

The bond market is keenly interested in how the Centre manages to settle the shortfall in the goods and services tax (GST) compensation and how many bonds will finally hit the market.

 

Preliminary soundbites by finance ministry officials seem to suggest that bond issuances won’t be more than Rs 97,000 crore, which the government can work out through a special bond. These bonds will be issued by states, but will be effectively guaranteed by the Centre. Read more

3:29 AM

Suicides by businesspeople: Seeking help is necessary, say psychiatrists

A small businessman (details withheld to maintain anonymity), with international operations, lost between $2 million- $3 million during the Covid-19 crisis. He owed large amounts to local banks and private sources. His friend saw signs of depression and suicidal tendencies, and promptly got him help. A mental health professional guided him towards overcoming the shame of asking for financial and other assistance, and the man and his business are now on their way to recovery. Read more

3:26 AM

Weak demand continues to be a main challenge for companies: Survey

A survey, conducted by industry chamber Ficci and Dhruva Advisors, showed that weak demand continues to be the key bottleneck for companies as 68 per cent of the firms have called this their biggest challenge in August, against 57 per cent in June. Read more

3:24 AM

Commercial break: Television ad volumes rise 12% in July-August, shows data

Television ad volumes showed a 12 per cent rise in July-August from pre-Covid levels, as firms reverted to brand-building and promotional activities after the lockdown between April and June.

 

Data by Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) shows that the number of advertisers steadily increased between July and August, and was expected to grow as the festive season gets going. Read more

9:57 PM

Lighting lanterns for 9 minutes: RJD leaders Tejashwi Yadav, Rabri Devi protest against centre over unemployment

9:54 PM

Kushwaha writes letter to PM for OBC quota in medical colleges

Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) president Upendra Kushwaha Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to give necessary directions for ensuring reservation for OBC candidates in medical colleges in view of the recent Supreme Court judgement.
 

Kushwaha in his letter said that the Medical Council of India (MCI) has framed rules which has provision of zero per cent reservation for candidates belonging to Other Backward Class on seats contributed by states under all India quota in medical colleges.
 

In a judgment delivered by five-judge constitution bench on August 31, 2020, the apex court had said that the Medical Council of India, which has been constituted under MCI Act 1956, has no power to make provisions for giving reservation.
 

The court had also said that states are empowered to make special provisions for reservation of seats for in service doctors in postgraduate medical courses, Kushwaha said quoting the judgment.
 

The judgement further said that in a federal structure, both states and the Parliament have the constitutional mandate to take steps and act for the welfare of SC, ST and socially backward classes, he quoted.
 

Kushwaha said that despite the apex court judgment, no efforts have been made by the health ministry to dispose of the issue so far and drew the prime minister's attention to UG-2020 NEET exam which has not been held yet.
 

He urged the prime minister to give directions to the health ministry in this regard so that OBC reservation can be implemented from this academic session on seats contributed by states under all India quota in medical colleges.
 

9:44 PM

Rafale aircraft will be formally inducted into Indian Air Force tomorrow: Defence Minister

9:13 PM

Bengal's 'Sabooj Sathi' scheme gets UN recognition

After 'Kanyashree', another pet project of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, 'Sabooj Sathi', has received international recognition from the United Nations sponsored World Summit on Information Society.

 

According to state government sources, about 162 nations took part in the contest with 1,600-strong entries of various schemes from different nations. West Bengal's Sabooj Sathi scheme topped the chart and received global recognition on a virtual platform.

 

The scheme was launched in 2015 with an aim to empower school students (from Class IX-XII) by providing them free bicycles.

9:07 PM

Northern Railways announces special trains from Sept 12

The special trains will run from a few parts of the country including Delhi, Bengaluru, Amritsar, and Dibrugarh from September 12 

9:02 PM

Madhya Pradesh: 6 BJP leaders booked for holding processions amid pandemic

Three cases have been registered against six BJP leaders for allegedly violating Covid-19 guidelines by taking out processions during 'Narmada Kalash Yatra' at Sanver in Madhya Pradesh's Indore district, police said on Wednesday.

 

The processions that were taken out at different places in Sanver Assembly constituency had violated preventive orders issued by the district administration in view of the Covid-19 outbreak, deputy inspector general (DIG) of police Harinarayanachari Mishra said.

8:56 PM

Banks going to be catalysts for economic revival, says FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said banks are going to be the catalysts for economic revival. "At this stage, the catalysts for economic revival, the catalysts who have the pulse of every one of their customers, are banks," the finance minister said.

 

She was speaking after launching PSB Alliance-Doorstep Banking Services.

8:54 PM

Home Ministry approves FCRA license to Golden Temple for 5 years

The Union government has granted a Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence to Sri Harmandir Sahib at Amritsar in Punjab for five years. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) granted the licence after the Golden Temple management applied for FCRA registration on May 27, 2020.

 

At the Golden Temple, the management aims to run a free community kitchen, give financial assistance to the poor and needy, including children. So far, the management under the aegis of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee has been able to fulfil these objectives through domestic donations.

8:40 PM

Data consumption, gentle price hikes to drive telecom sector growth: Report

Rising data consumption and "gentle" price hikes are expected to drive Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) recovery, while upgrade to smartphones by subscribers and access to high-speed internet will be industry growth catalysts, according to a report.

 

Consolidation is expected to continue in favour of Reliance Jio and Bharti, as Vodafone Idea "keeps bleeding market share", JP Morgan said in a note on Wednesday. Read more

8:32 PM

Localized lockdowns slowing revival, impacting retail sales: Survey

Localised lockdowns are slowing down revival and impacting retail sales as retailers saw de-growth of 52 per cent in August as compared to the same month last year, although there is a marginal recovery from the preceding months this year, according to a survey by RAI.

 

As per the 6th edition of the Retail Business Survey by the Retailers Association of India (RAI), the only category that showed a significant improvement was consumer durables, though sales were still down 23 per cent compared to the year-ago month. Read more

8:24 PM

SBI YONO biggest start-up by a legacy bank, worth over $40 bn: Rajnish Kumar

Within three years of its launch, YONO, the digital banking platform of the country's largest lender SBI, has a valuation of over $40 billion, the bank's chairman Kumar said on Wednesday.

 

The bank is also working on creating a business-to-business (B2B) platform for bill receivables, called 'Bharat Draft', which will have all the MSMEs registered, he said. SBI had launched the YONO platform in November 2017 to help its customers' banking, investment and shopping needs.

 

Speaking at an event organized by ETBFSI.com, Kumar said YONO, which is an acronym for You Only Need One, is a profitable platform and rued that no one gets to know its valuation because it sits within the bank.