 "News digest: Srikrishna panel, Sensex at new high, power projects, and more")
Panel for local storage of all personal data
Recognising privacy as a fundamental right, the draft personal data protection Bill has mandated that explicit consent must be taken for processing sensitive personal data like biometrics, sexual orientation, and religious or political belief. Also, at least a copy of such personal data should be stored in India.
The Justice B N Srikrishna-led panel submitted the Bill along with the recommendations on personal data protection to the government on Friday, after deliberating on the issue for one year. Read more here
Sensex hits new high of 37,336, Nifty up 111 pts; mid-caps play catch-up
After six days of gains, the Indian markets have taken out their previous all-time highs, which were touched in January. The Sensex on Friday closed at 37,336, gaining 352 points, or 0.95 per cent, while the Nifty rose 111 points, or 0.99 per cent, to end at 11,278.
The broader-market small- and mid-cap indices gained in line with the benchmarks. Read more here
ICICI Bank slips into first-ever quarterly loss on bad loans
Private sector lender ICICI Bank reported its first-ever loss amounting to Rs 1.2 billion for the June 2018 quarter (Q1) on Friday as provisions for bad loans doubled. The bank had made a net profit of Rs 20.49 billion in the same period last year.
The loss would have been higher if it weren’t for the Rs 11.1 billion profit on the sale of its 2 per cent stake in the life insurance arm, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance. Read more here
JSW revises offer for Bhushan Power & Steel
In a dramatic twist, Sajjan Jindal's JSW Steel has revised its offer for Bhushan Power & Steel to Rs 180 billion, prompting the committee of creditors (CoC) to invite fresh offers from bidders.
JSW Steel sent a letter with the revised offer to the CoC on Thursday night, a day before the committee's meeting to finalise the offer. JSW is offering lenders an upfront payment of Rs 180 billion. Read more here
Govt wants IBC relief for select power projects
The Centre, in its submission to the Allahabad High Court, could seek regulatory relief for a dozen power projects with an overall debt exposure of around Rs 1 trillion out of a total of 34 stressed assets.
Already under resolution plans, these stressed operational power plants include projects of GMR Energy, Essar Power and Rattan India, among others. The government has asked for an additional 180 days to resolve these stressed assets that have a total capacity of 12,000 Mw. A high-level empowered committee constituted by the Ministry of Power would identify the projects. Read more here
