Page 21 - Finance Sector

Conundrum of the credit-deposit ratio: Understanding RBI's concerns

The RBI is also concerned that the banks have turned to bulk deposits and certificates of deposit to mobilise funds, as retail deposits (both savings and term deposits) have become stagnant

Govt aims to extend additional Rs 5 trn via credit guarantees in 2 years

The government aims to ramp up credit guarantees extended to micro and small enterprises through the CGTMSE scheme by another Rs 5 lakh crore in the next two years, a top official said on Tuesday. According to Rajneesh, Additional Secretary and Development Commissioner (Micro Small and Medium Enterprises), credit guarantees worth of Rs 4 lakh crore were extended in the last two years via the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE). "In a span of 22 years the cumulative credit guarantees extended by CGTMSE amount was 2.6 lakh crore. But in last two years, we have been able to give credit guarantees worth of Rs 4 lakh crore and in the next two years we intend to ramp it up to another Rs 5 lakh crore," Rajneesh said at a FICCI event here. He further shared that the government has bridged a large gap in formalisation of MSMEs in the last few years, with the total number of Udyam registered MSMEs rising to 5 crore from 1.65 crore units over a year ago. "The

No funding issue for semicon projects, committed Rs 62K cr incentive: Meity

The government has committed about Rs 62,000 crore in incentives for electronic plants and there is no issue in funding semiconductor projects, Electronics and IT Secretary S Krishnan has said. He told PTI that out of Rs 76,000 crore approved earlier, the government still has scope to accommodate small projects and will approach authorities when there are new projects in place. "Out of the Rs 76,000 crore intended for the semiconductor mission, we have committed about Rs 62,000 crore, including the last scheme which was cleared for Kaynes. As of now, wherever claims have come up, we are settling them with maximum dispatch, and there is no funding issue right now at all," Krishnan said. The government has approved five semiconductor projects entailing investments of around Rs 1.52 lakh crore or about USD 18 billion. He said that some funding is required for the Semiconductor Laboratory's modernization in Mohali. "We still have some funds to take up some smaller projects and approv

Life Insurance companies' new business premium rises 22% in August

Non-life insurers report muted growth in premiums in August

We want to be the trust marker for fintech industry: FACE CEO Saxena

There is a vast universe of fintechs out there and we would be reaching out to everyone to be a part of FACE. We do not have a threshold of scale or business model, said Sugandh Saxena, CEO, FACE

Consider interest rate, collateral, cosigner terms when selecting lender

Indian students typically approach banks, NBFCs, and a few international lenders for foreign education loans

Road ahead for RRBs: Why consolidation is key to improving rural banking

All stakeholders in RRBs must aim to improve their efficiency and competitiveness. Smaller, loss-making banks should be allowed to be subsumed by sponsor banks or any other commercial bank

NaBFID MD says infra loan losses low, questions RBI's 5% provision proposal

Infra financier NabFID's managing director Rajkiran Rai on Friday questioned the RBI proposal to make lenders set aside 5 per cent on under construction projects, saying the reverses on such loans are very low. Stating that there is a need to change perceptions surrounding infrastructure finance, Rai said the incidence of loans turning sour has reduced in the recent past and added that the same is evident in the risk-based pricing for such finance by banks. "Where is 5 per cent coming from? Actually it (NPAs on infra loans) is less than 1 per cent," Rai said addressing the annual Fibac event here. He conceded that if one looks at a ten-year period, the 5 per cent number may look true, but the same has improved drastically and added that infra loans are coming at as low as 8.75 per cent, as per a NaBFID study. It can be noted that a few weeks ago, the RBI came up with draft guidelines reviewing the rules governing project finance which call for banks to set aside 5 per cent as ...

Provide more employment opportunities to women, RBI Guv Das tells banks

Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday said the financial sector can help in bridging the gender gap by providing more employment opportunities to women and creating tailored schemes for businesses promoted by them. Highlighting the importance of inclusive growth, the governor said a truly developed India must ensure that every citizen, regardless of their socio-economic status, has access to financial services and has the required financial literacy. In his inaugural address at the Annual FIBAC 2024 Conference organised jointly by FICCI and IBA, Das said India's female labour force participation remains lower than the global average. This gap, he said underscores the urgent need for targeted initiatives such as improving girls' education, skill development, workplace safety, and addressing societal barriers. He said entrepreneurship is a vital component of economic empowerment, yet in India, less than one fifth of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are owned by

Will try to convince finmin to raise steel duties to 10-12%: HD Kumaraswamy

Union Steel Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday said he will try to convince the finance ministry to raise duties on steel imports to 10-12 per cent from the current 7.5 per cent. The minister expressed concerns on the manner in which China was dumping steel into India, and said several players from the steel industry visited him in the last two months and discussed the problems they were facing in the growth of the steel industry. "The problem which you are facing from China for that I will try to convince... the finance ministry to look at (raising the duty on steel imports) from 7.5 per cent tax to 10-12 per cent tax," he said while speaking at the Fifth Steel Conclave organised by the Indian Steel Association. The minister also stressed on the need to remain vigilant against challenges such as the global demand slowdown, especially from the ramifications of a demand meltdown in China. The steel ministry, he said, is committed to ensuring that the journey towards Aatmanirbhar

Mis-selling of life insurance policies at alarming level, says Irdai

According to Satyajit Tripathy, Member-Distribution of Irdai, life insurance grievances are often related to the product, while non-life grievances usually concern claim payments and exclusions

UPI numbers scale fresh peak in August; volume up, value dips marginally

The Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) transaction volume was down by 8 per cent in August at 453 million, as compared to 490 million in July

Passive funds, luxury bedding: Top personal finance stories of the week

Our newsletter this week tells you how to invest in passive funds and where to find luxury bedding

UPI transactions can touch 100 bn in next 10-15 years: Dilip Asbe

He was responding to a question posed by Kunal Shah, serial entrepreneur and founder of Cred, at the Global Fintech Fest on what will bring the next millions to the UPI ecosystem

'Finternet' the future of financing systems, says Nandan Nilekani

According to Nilekani, Finternet will be user-centric, unified, which means it will cover all types of assets, with a universal infrastructure

Paytm Payments gets govt nod; can now resubmit its PA application

The company said that, in the meantime, PPSL will continue to provide online payment aggregation services to existing partners.

Lot of headroom for digital payments platform UPI to grow: Google Pay V-P

Speaking at the Global Fintech Fest, Kenghe said close to 400 million customers are transacting on UPI currently

No NPS rollback; UPS an attempt to improve it: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

'Fresh scheme not compulsory for states'

What are account aggregators, why do you need them, how do they work

The Account Aggregators framework gives you complete control over your financial data. You decide which entities can access your data, for how long, and for what purpose

Chief secretaries of 18 states, UTs appear in SC over SNJPC non-compliance

Chief secretaries of 18 states and union territories appeared before the Supreme Court on Tuesday over alleged non-implementation of the Second National Judicial Pay Commission's (SNJPC) recommendations on payment of pension arrears and retirement benefits to judicial officers. The top court took note of compliance affidavits of states and union territories like Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Kerala and Delhi and ordered the closure of proceedings against them. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said the chief secretaries and finance secretaries of states which have complied with the top court's directions on payment of arrears relating to pay, pension and allowance to judicial officers need not appear before the court any more. "We have (find) no pleasure in calling the chief and finance secretaries of the states, but consistently the counsels of states have