Page 69 - Business Finance
Karna govt announces farm loan waiver will be made in one go
Karnataka government has ordered release of money toward farm loan waiver in commercial banks in one-go as against four instalments announced in the budget last year. The money will be deposited in the accounts of eligible farmers in one instalment, the government said in its June 11 order. The loan waiver comprises of restructured loans of Rs 2,812 crore, overdue loans of Rs 3,057 crore and incentive for regular loans Rs 720 crore, which farmers had taken from the nationalised banks, it said. The government, however, has not taken a call on the non-performing asset (NPA) loans, which are eligible for waiver. There are 1.08 lakh farmers having a loan of Rs 965 crore under the NPA loan category. The government has cleared the loans of 7.5 lakh farmers by paying Rs 3,930 crore to the commercial banks. It has paid Rs 4,830 crore to the cooperative banks benefiting 11.2 lakh farmers. Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy had in July last year announced waiver of farm loans to the
PM's EAC junks Subramanian paper, plans rebuttal
A day after Arvind Subramanian's sensational disclosure that India's GDP has been overestimated by an astronomical 2.5 percentage points between 2011-12 and 2016-17 which immediately attracted a strong reaction from the government, the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council came to the Centre's defence, saying that proper methodology was followed and that experts were consulted in calculating the country's overall economic growth estimates.
Inflation rises to 7-mth high in May, IIP growth at 3.4 pc in April; still room for RBI to cut rate
Retail inflation spiked to a seven-month high of 3.05 per cent in May, though still within RBI's comfort level, providing room for further interest rate cut to boost industrial output which expanded by 3.4 per cent in first month of the current fiscal. According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, the jump in the retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) was mainly due to rise in prices of kitchen items like vegetables, meat and fish. The latest inflation imprint is higher than the revised 2.99 per cent in the preceding month, but below 4.87 per cent recorded in May 2018. The previous high was in October 2018, when the retail inflation print came in at 3.38 per cent. Inflation for the overall food basket increased to 1.83 per cent in May as against 1.10 per cent a month earlier, the data showed. The CSO's data on Index of Industrial Production (IIP) showed that while growth in April was subdued, it was still at a six-month high on account of improvement in mining ..
NITI Aayog VC Rajiv Kumar's son joins Ola; could take leaf out of father's EV plan
Prashant Kumar, son of NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar, has recently joined Ola as the Director for Public Policy.
Adani Ports & SEZ suspends operation at Tuna & Mundra ports
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) said Wednesday it has suspended vessel operations at its Tuna and Mundra Port in Gujarat for next 24 hours in the wake of cyclone Vayu hitting the state. Further, APSEZ will also continue to monitor development at Dahej and Hazira Port. "We would like to inform that the company has suspended its vessel operations at Tuna and Mundra Port today at 8.00 pm until next 24 hours," the company said in regulatory filing. "The suspension of vessel operations is being done in view of an advisory issued by of India Metrological Department that the cyclone can knock Gujarat with the speed of 110-120 kmph on the morning of June 13, 2019." Promoted by Adani Group, APSEZ is India's largest ports developer and operator company.
US blacklists Iraq firm as Revolutionary Guard guns front
The US Treasury placed Iraq-based South Wealth Resources on its sanctions blacklist Wednesday, saying the company is an important weapons trafficking and financial front for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Treasury said the company, Manabea Tharwat al-Janoob General Trading Company, was used by the IRGC to smuggle "hundreds of millions of dollars' worth" of weapons to IRGC allies in Iraq. South Wealth Resources has also helped move millions of dollars to Iraq "for illicit financial activity benefitting" the IRGC and Iraq militias it supports. The company and two Iraqis who worked with it were placed on the US sanctions blacklist, which seeks to lock them out of the international financial system by forbidding Americans and companies with US units, particularly banks, from doing business with them. The company and the two Iraqis, Makki Kazim Abd Al Hamid Al Asadi and Muhammed Husayn Salih al-Hasani, were also placed on the US State Department's list of "Specially ...
Laxman Narasimhan to be next CEO of Reckitt Benckise
UK-based global FMCG major Reckitt Benckiser on Wednesday named PepsiCo executive Laxman Narasimhan as its next Chief Executive Officer succeeding Rakesh Kapoor. Narasimhan (52) would join RB as CEO-designate and then would be appointed to the board of the company as an Executive Director with effect from July 16, 2019, said a company statement, which own brands which inclues Dettol, Durex, Harpic, Harpic and Air Wick. The India-origin executive will become Group CEO with effect from September 1, 2019, it added. Narasimhan would succeed Kapoor, who has been leading RB as CEO since 2011. Reckitt Benckiser in January had announced that Kapoor would retire as CEO by the end of 2019 after a 32-year stint at the firm. Commenting on the development Chris Sinclair, Chairman of the Board said: "The Board is delighted to have appointed Laxman as our new Chief Executive Officer after a thorough and rigorous global selection process from a strong bench of internal and external ...
Yellow Messenger raises $ 4 million, on expansion mode
Yellow Messenger, a provider of conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions to enterprises, Wednesday announced that it has raised series A funding of USD 4 million from Lightspeed Venture Partners and angel investors. Yellow Messenger said in a statement that it intends to use the funds to advance its cutting-edge deep tech capabilities, and also to expand its customer success teams and presence in high-potential markets across Asia, the Middle East, and other emerging markets. The company said that redBus founder and Telangana chief innovation officer Phanindra Sama, Hypertrack founder Kashyap Deorah, McKinsey senior partner Anand Swaminathan, Limeroad co-founder Prashant Malik, former MD of LinkedIn India Nishant Rao, Snapdeal co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal were among the angel investors who participated in the round. Yellow Messenger quoted its CEO Raghu Ravinutala as saying: We are excited about partnering with Lightspeed and our eminent angel ..
Welspun Enterprises gets Rs 27 cr bonus from NHAI for early completion of Delhi-Meerut Eway
Welspun Enterprises said Wednesday it has received Rs 27 crore as bonus from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for early completion of Delhi-Meerut Expressway package 1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May last year had inaugurated the first phase of 9-km stretch of 14-lane Delhi-Meerut Expressway built at a cost of Rs 842 crore. "Welspun Delhi Meerut Expressway Private Limited (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company) has received Rs 27.09 crore (excluding GST) as Bonus from NHAI for early completion of Delhi-Meerut Expressway Package-1 on June 28, 2018, 332 days ahead of the scheduled completion date," Welspun Enterprises said in a regulatory filing to the BSE. The Delhi-Meerut Expressway Package-1 was the first Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) project of NHAI to achieve both financial closure as well as commercial operation date (COD), the filing said. The first annuity for the project was received in January 2019 and the next annuity is expected by July 2019, it added.
Growth concerns, fund outflows dent equities (Roundup)
Concerns over slowing growth along with the outflow of foreign funds pulled the Indian equity market lower on Wednesday. While the S&P BSE Sensex closed 193.65 points or 0.48 per cent lower at 39,756.81, the NSE Nifty50 was down 59.40 points or 0.50 per cent at 11,906.20.
India's factory output rises 3.4% in April
India's factory production expanded in April 2019 by 3.4 per cent from a revised growth of 0.35 per cent reported for March, 2019, official data showed on Wednesday.
Cabinet approves ratification of OECD's multilateral convention to check tax evasion
The Cabinet Wednesday approved ratification of a multilateral convention to implement OECD's project on checking tax evasion. The Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) was signed by the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Paris on June 7, 2017. The Union Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Wednesday approved the ratification of the convention. "The Convention will modify India's treaties in order to curb revenue loss through treaty abuse and base erosion and profit shifting strategies by ensuring that profits are taxed where substantive economic activities generating the profits are carried out and where value is created," an official release said. The Multilateral Convention is an outcome of the OECD/G20 Project to tackle Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), which is resorted to by MNCs through tax planning strategies by exploiting gaps and mismatches in tax rules. It helps them ...
India's retail inflation up 3.05% in May
Higher food prices accelerated India's May retail inflation to 3.05 per cent from 2.99 per cent in April, official data showed on Wednesday.
Huawei's Honor launches 2 new products in India amid US ban
Chinese technology company Huawei's smart devices brand Honor Wednesday launched two Android-based products in spite of the US barring its companies from supplying software and hardware to the parent firm. The US government has barred its companies, including Google, from supplying software and hardware to Huawei alleging security risk from the company. After the US ban, Google-owned Android platform had said it would comply with the US government rules on Huawei and services like Google Play & security from Google Play Protect would keep functioning on existing Huawei devices. Android services, however, would be available on the two new Honor devices that would go on sale from July, according to the company. The devices, Honor Pad 5 tablet PCs with 8-inch and 10.1-inch display, are based on the Android pie platform. The products are priced in the range of Rs 15,499 to Rs 18,999. While Honor officials have been tight-lipped on their future plans, according to sources closely ...
UAE govt's permanent residency initiative will strengthen economic ties with India: NRI businessman
A leading Dubai-based Indian businessman has said the UAE government's move to introduce 100 per cent ownership and permanent residency initiative for expats will further strengthen the economic relations between India and the Emirates. Welcoming the initiative, Firoz Merchant, chairman of Pure Gold Group said, "I am grateful and very much thankful to the government of the United Arab Emirates for introducing the 100 per cent ownership and lifetime Permanent Residency initiative." Following the initiative, Merchant, who moved to the UAW 30 years ago, received 100 per cent ownership of the business (without any local sponsor) in the UAE. Thereafter, he and his entire family received the lifetime permanent residency permit. The initiative, Merchant said, will further strengthen the growing economic relations between India and the UAE. "The initiative will open doors to entrepreneurs, investors and outstanding professionals in various fields like science, technology, finance, law, ...
Get bridge money for your dream home with Bajaj Finserv's Flexi personal loan
Buying your own house is a major financial decision and one of the most important milestones of your life.Since it is a significant monetary commitment, it is important to have a clear picture of your finances beforehand. While a housing finance company can help you with a home loan to purchase your dream house, you still need to bring your contribution to the table - the down payment.Usually, the down payment is about 20 per cent of the total cost of the property, which you must pay on your own; the remaining 80 per cent is financed by the lender. Arranging sufficient funds for down payment can be an uphill task for many, especially in urban and metro cities where the prices of property are soaring wildly.There are several costs associated when you plan to buy a house - broker fee, stamp duty, registration fee, loan processing fee etc apart from the monthly EMIs. You might also find it difficult to arrange funds for the down payment. But, with a flexi personal loan, you can easily ...
BSE's India INX launches dedicated platform for trading green bonds
BSE-owned India International Exchange Wednesday said it has launched an exclusive platform for trading in green bonds. The platform -- GSM (Global Securities Market) Green -- has gone live Wednesday, India International Exchange (India INX) said in a statement. "On Wednesday, BSE's international arm, India International Exchange, unveiled its exclusive green listing and trading platform simultaneous with issuance and listing of USD 500 million green bonds of three subsidiaries of Adani Green Energy Limited," it said. Parampujya Solar Energy Pvt Ltd, Prayatna Developers Pvt Ltd and Adani Green Energy (UP) Ltd are the three subsidiaries of Adani Green Energy Ltd whose bonds were listed on the platform. "... with a dedicated green platform, issuers, investors and traders will find it more convenient to list and trade green, social and sustainable bonds," India INX MD and CEO V Balasubramaniam said. This is the first issuance by a private non-banking company on GSM, the exchange's debt ..
Banks asked to issue KCC to eligible farmers within 2 weeks of submitting application
With many farmers still out of the ambit of institutional credit, the Centre Wednesday said it has directed concerned banks to issue Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to eligible ones within two weeks of the submission of completed application. Currently, there are 6.95 crore active KCCs, under which crops loans are given at a subsidised interest rate. The KCC has been extended to farmers involved in animal husbandry and fishery activities as well. Normally, farm loans attract an interest rate of 9 per cent. But the government is providing 2 per cent interest subsidy to ensure farmers get short-term farm loan of up to Rs 3 lakh at an effective rate of 7 per cent per annum. An additional incentive of 3 per cent is being given to farmers for prompt repayment of loans within due date, making the effective interest rate 4 per cent. "There are still a large number of farmers who do not have access to institutional credit either because they have not been issued a KCC or the KCC issued earlier were ..
Developers want Budget to ease liquidity, make changes in GST
As the new Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the Union Budget for the fiscal 2019-20 on July 5, the real estate players want the Budget document to feature steps to improve the liquidity situation with a proposal to re-introduce Input Tax Credit (ITC) for under-construction properties.
Cap personal income tax rate at 25 pc to boost demand: PHDCCI
The maximum personal income tax rate in the country should move towards 25 per cent to increase disposable income, thereby boosting demand in the economy, the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) said Wednesday. The industry body, in a statement, said liquidity infusion, job creation and low cost export finance would be crucial at this juncture to revitalise the economy and accelerate it to a higher growth trajectory. The maximum personal income tax rate presently stands at 30 per cent. The government must expedite liquidity infusion through gradual reduction in CRR from the current level of 4 per cent to 2 per cent and in SLR from 19 per cent to 15 per cent, PHDCCI President Talwar said. Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) is the portion of the deposits which banks are required to park with the RBI, whereas SLR or Statutory Liquidity Ratio is the portion of funds which banks are required to park in treasury bills and other instruments. We appreciate the recent cut in repo rate by 25 ...