Page 61 - Business Finance
Platform for first-time entrepreneurs launched in city
A group of IIT and IIM alumni has launched a platform for first-time entrepreneurs to mentor them on ideation, networking and fund raising. 'Fincubation' is positioned to contribute to the startup ecosystem of India in a meaningful way, a release said Thursday. The platform will help budding entrepreneurs in ideation, feasibility testing, developing and validating business plans, business and entrepreneurship training, networking opportunities and fund raising, it said. "We believe that the financial inclusion in our country has just begun, and we need more and more tech-enabled solution providers to cater to the various needs of retail participants," the release added.
Maha Guv pushes for cultivation, consumption of nutricereals
Maharashtra Governor Vidyasagar Rao Thursday called for formulating a policy for promoting cultivation and consumption of nutricereals. Such a policy, he said, would result in enhancing the income of marginalised farmers and in tackling the issue of malnutrition and other lifestyle diseases, especially in the scheduled areas of the state. The governor was speaking at a meeting of ministers for agriculture, women and child development, tribal development and food and civil supplies at Raj Bhavan here. Rao asked these ministers to work closely to introduce a policy of procurement and distribution of nutricereals through public distribution system in Maharashtra. The meeting was convened by the governor to discuss the findings of a report on nutricereals prepared by the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, under the leadership of Academic Director of the Bharati Institute of Public Policy Ashwini Chhatre. The report noted that Maharashtra is a surplus state in terms .
Sebi, MCA probing PWC's resignation as auditor of RCap, Reliance Home Fin
Regulator Sebi and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs are looking into the sudden resignation of PWC as auditor of Reliance Capital and Reliance Home Finance and have asked the stock exchanges to collect all necessary information including trade details and statements made by the three entities. The development assumes significance in the wake of the auditors' role coming under the scanner of multiple agencies in cases involving various corporate houses, including listed companies. The regulator, the ministry and the exchanges may also seek additional details from the auditor and two companies, if required, said senior officials. Reliance Capital said its continuing auditor Pathak H.D. & Associates has been mandated by the audit committee to submit its independent report on PWC's observations within 15 days. Anil Ambani-led Reliance Capital and Reliance Home Finance Wednesday said Price Waterhouse & Co Chartered Accountants (PWC) has resigned as statutory auditor of both the ...
Ness Digital Engineering completes acquisition of Sovereign CRM
IT firm Ness Digital Engineering Thursday said it has completed acquisition of consultancy company Sovereign CRM. Sovereign CRM will further expand the capabilities of Ness' Cloud & Platform Engineering Practice to capitalize on rapidly increasing demand for salesforce expertise globally, Ness Digital Engineering CEO Paul Lombardo said. "Ness Digital Engineering has completed an acquisition of Sovereign CRM, a rapidly-growing salesforce consultancy," the IT firm said in a statement. The company did not disclose the deal value. Many companies rely on salesforce as their platform for launching highly complex, digital applications to drive their businesses, and Sovereign CRM has already distinguished itself as an innovator in this area, the CEO said.
Infra sector representatives demand steps in Budget to promote investment
More measures to boost investments in the infrastructure sector, promotion of renewable energy and steps to bring down cost of projects were some of the suggestions made by representatives of the infrastructure and climate change sectors during their customary pre-Budget meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here Thursday. The main areas of discussion during the meeting included issues relating to bringing in more capital to the infrastructure sector such as highways, railways, telecom and automobiles, including incentives for electric vehicles as well as for the renewable energy sector, a finance ministry statement said. "Two important issues that I raised before the Finance Minister was re-introduction of the tax-free bonds and also raising the cap under the 54 EC from current Rs 50 lakh to Rs 5 crore and lock-in period from five years to three years," NHAI Chairman Nagendranath Sinha told reporters after the nearly two-hour meeting. The 54 EC bonds, or capital gains ...
Stimulus, tax rejig needed to rev-up auto sector
A stimulus package along with reduction in GST tax rate and a scrappage policy are required to rev up India's automobile sector which faces recessionary downtrend.
Mining operations begins at NMDC mine in Chhattisgarh
The indefinite protest by tribals against NMDC's mining operations at deposit 13 in Bailadila hills range at Dantewada in Chhattisgarh ended Thursday, following which operations have resumed. Following a protest last week, the company had to suspend mining operations at deposit 13 of its Bailadila iron ore mines situated on a hill, which the tribals revered as the shrine of a local deity. "The protest has ended and NMDC would be preparing a report on it," a steel ministry official said, adding that its senior officials are in Raipur to address the issue. Meanwhile, in a statement, NMDC said operations have resumed at its Bailadila mining complexes in Chhattisgarh. "NMDC CMD N Baijendra Kumar had meeting with Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel and senior government of the state Wednesday. NMDC has received timely support from the state government and local administration and... after almost a week long agitation at Bailadila, Chhattisgarh, the mining operations at both ...
IndiGo launches ATR flights on Buddhist circuit
Budget carrier IndiGo on Thursday announced daily non-stop ATR flight services on the Buddhist circuit, connecting Kolkata, Gaya and Varanasi.
BSE stock options: Sebi fines Rector Investments Rs 19.5 lakh for 'non-genuine' trades
Markets regulator Sebi Thursday imposed a fine of Rs 19.5 lakh on Rector Investments Pvt Ltd for executing non-genuine trades in the illiquid stock options segment on BSE. "The trading behaviour of the Noticee (Rector) confirms that such trades were not normal and wide variation in prices of the trades in the same contract in a short time without any basis for such wide variation, all indicate that the trades executed by the Noticee were not genuine," the regulator said in an order. The regulator had conducted a probe into the trading activity in illiquid stock options on BSE covering the period April 2014 to September 2015 after it observed large scale reversal of trades in the segment. Following the probe, Sebi observed that total 2.91 lakh trades comprising over 80 per cent of all the trades executed in stock options segment during the investigation period were non-genuine. Rector Investments was among the various entities that indulged in non-genuine trades, the Securities and ...
DCC clears spectrum allocation norms for 5G trials; decision on Huawei expected soon
The Digital Communications Commission (DCC) -- the apex decision-making body of the Telecom Department -- Thursday cleared norms for 5G trials in India, even as the government mulls a "calibrated" view on the question of Chinese giant Huawei's participation. A decision on the contentious issue of use of Huawei equipment in telecom infrastructure, particularly for futuristic 5G networks, is expected to be taken soon, said a senior government official who did not wish to be named. The official asserted that India will take a considered view on the matter "maximising its self interest". When contacted, Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan said: "...it will be a calibrated decision. We will ensure all security certifications, and there will be no compromise on security and equally we will drive a hard bargain to ensure that there is space for Indian intellectual property rights (IPRs) in new 5G rollouts". "India is engaged with global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and India is .
NMDC resumes mining operation at Bailadila mine in Chhattisgarh
State-owned miner NMDC Thursday said it has resumed operations at its Bailadila mining complexes in Chhattisgarh. Following a protest last week, the company had to suspend mining operations at deposit 13 of its Bailadila iron ore mines situated on a hill, which is revered as the shrine of a local deity. "After almost a week long agitation at Bailadila, Chhattisgarh, the mining operations at both Bailadila Mining Complexes i.e Kirandul and Bacheli have resumed today (Thursday)," NMDC said in a statement. NMDC CMD N Baijendra Kumar had meeting with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and senior government officials Wednesday. Kumar said NMDC has received timely support from the state government and local administration, and assured that it would continue to focus on local development activities with thrust on education, health, skill development and integrated village development. He also said that company will put all its efforts to make up for the production loss during this ...
World cannot afford major confrontation in the Gulf: UN chief
The world cannot afford a major confrontation in the Gulf, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday following suspected attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. Guterres strongly condemned the "security incidents," which came a month after four tankers were damaged in the same strategic sea lane, a vital corridor for much of the world's oil supplies.
CVC awaits orders against 123 officials for prosecution
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) on Thursday said that it is waiting for the sanctions from different government organisations to prosecute over 123 employees for over last four months for their alleged involvement in corruption cases, sources said.
Goa stops allotment of land; to formulate industrial policy
Goa government has decided to freeze allotment of land for new industrial investments till the State formulates the policy giving direction to the sector. It has sought details from state run Industrial Development Corporation, about the availability of land bank with Goa government, which could be disbursed to the industries in future, State Industries Minister Vishwajit Rane told reporters here. He said that till government gets proper data of the land available and formulates the policy for industrial sector, there would be no further allocation of lands. Rane, who was allotted industries department during the recent portfolio distribution by the chief minister, has said that industrial policy would be framed by engaging the experts from the field. The minister stated that the details of land bank would be shared with state governments Investment Promotion Board (IPB), which is an agency to approve new investments in Goa. He said that the industrial clusters would be
Telecom panel again defers decision on telcos' penalty
The Digital Communications Commissions, the inter-ministerial panel of the Telecom Ministry which is also its highest decision-making authority, has deferred a decision on imposing penalty on Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular for not providing adequate inter-connection to Reliance Jio during its network trial time in 2016.
Non-life insurers' premium rises 16% rise to Rs 12,235 cr in May
The total premium collected by non-life insurance companies rose 16.4 per cent to Rs 12,234.78 crore in May 2019, Irdai data showed Thursday. All the 34 non-life insurance firms had collected Rs 10,508.61 crore in May 2018. In May 2019, 25 general insurers posted 13.7 per cent rise in their total premium underwritten to Rs 11,076.15 crore. For the seven standalone private sector health insurance companies, the premium income jumped by 59 per cent to Rs 1,039.73 crore. Two specialised PSU insurers - Agricultural Insurance Company of India Limited and ECGC Limited - witnessed flat growth in their collective premium income at Rs 118.90 crore, as against Rs 116.70 crore in May 2018. Cumulatively, all the non-life insurance firms witnessed a rise of 15.33 per cent in May premium at Rs 28,126.62 crore. For the 25 general insurers, the premium was up by 13.61 per cent at Rs 26,050.65 crore; standalone health insurers (pvt sector) saw premium income rising by 47.74 per cent to Rs 1,871.80 ...
Facebook invests in Indian start-up Meesho
In its first-ever equity investment in an Indian start-up, Facebook on Thursday announced an investment in Meesho, a platform that enables Indian entrepreneurs to establish online businesses via social channels.
CAIT releases White Paper on GST, asks FM to lower rates
Traders body CAIT on Thursday urged the government to lower GST rates on various products, including auto parts and aluminium utensils.
Wipro sets up new tech centre in Minneapolis, to add 100 local jobs
IT major Wipro Thursday said it is setting up a new centre of excellence in the Minneapolis-St Paul region in the US, and the move is expected to add 100 local jobs over the next two years. "Wipro and client teams will collaborate on digital solutions, with a focus on financial technology, and will add 100 local jobs over the next two years to its already substantial presence in the twin cities," Wipro said in a statement. Wipro specifically plans to leverage local Minnesota talent in addition to providing opportunities for recent university graduates and experts keen on developing their technology-related skills, it added. "By applying Wipro's No-Shore delivery model, where geography is not a limitation but a gateway for developing the best new products and services, we maximise local talent and customer value," Wipro Senior Vice President and Global Head (BFSI) Angan Guha said. The Bengaluru-based company, whose IT services revenue was at USD 8.12 billion in 2018-19, saw Americas ...
Exim Bank inks $245 mn loan agreement with Ghana, Mozambique to support agri, rail projs
Export Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) will provide line of credit worth USD 245 million to Ghana and Mozambique for agricultural and railway projects. Exim Bank supported line of credit of USD 150 million to Ghana and USD 95 million to Mazambique, the Reserve Bank of India said in two separate notifications Thursday. The USD 150 million for Ghana will be used for financing strengthening of agriculture mechanisation services centres, while line of credit for Mozambique will be used for financing procurement of railway rolling stock including locomotives, coaches and wagons, the RBI said. The agreements are effective from June 3, 2019. Under the LoC, the terminal utilisation period is 60 months after the scheduled completion date of the project, the apex bank said.