Provisions in the Central GST Act say reduction in GST rates or the benefit of ITC must be passed on to consumers.
The Centre should privatise all public sector banks (PSBs), except the State Bank of India (SBI). This is because private banks have emerged as a credible alternative to PSBs with substantial market share. Also, government ownership hinders the ability of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to regulate the sector, according to a report by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER).
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is considering a proposal to make insurance frauds a parameter for calculating credit scores in an attempt to put a lid on the increase in such activity. The proposal, which is a part of the recommendations made by a working group formed by Irdai and the General Insurance Council, suggests that insurance frauds should feature when the risk profiles of individuals are evaluated and should be used to calculate their credit scores. A poor credit score can deprive a person of financial services such as loans and credit cards, and deter him from indulging in fraud.
The depreciation in rupee may pose a problem for students who have taken loans from Indian lenders.
Spending on international travel tripled in April 2022 as Covid-related curbs were eased in various countries in FY22.
Department of financial services secretary Sanjay Malhotra held a meeting with heads of PSBs, insurance companies and financial institutions for identifying ways to support Agniveers on completion of their tenure of duty.
There are loans to salaried people where the borrower is employed, but has failed to make repayment. Such loans would be identified and sold in a pool to ARCs.
The Centre is looking to continue maintaining an arms length in financial sector appointments.
The Centre has increased the premium rates for its flagship insurance schemes, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), for the first time in seven years due to "long-standing adverse claims experience", and to make them economically viable. The premium for PMJJBY would increase from Rs 330 to Rs 436 a year effective June 1, and the PMSBY premium would rise from Rs 12 to Rs 20, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement. PMJJBY provides life insurance cover worth Rs 2 lakh to all account holders aged 18-50 years.
Flow of money into non-resident Indian (NRI) deposits moderated sharply to $3.23 billion in April 2021-March 2022 from $7.36 billion in the same period of the previous year. Outstanding deposits have also gone down to $139.02 billion at the end of March 2022. This compares to $141.89 billion a year ago, according to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data.
Five cities -- Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Surat -- ceded their power of procurement and agreed to a different procurement model to operate state-run buses.
The number of times public sector undertakings (PSUs) have held conference calls with investors, their capital management, and debt financing are among the parameters that the Centre will use to judge their performance for the first time, a senior official in the know said. The government will evaluate PSUs for FY22 based on new parameters that were finalised by the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) in consultation with the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) last year, the official said. The government had included more conditions in the memorandum of understandings (MoUs) - used to set annual targets - that public sector enterprises sign with the DPE every year. These included a consistent dividend policy, which seeks to transfer dividends by PSUs every quarter; and market capitalisation or share price improvement over the sectoral index on an annual average basis for listed companies.
Global rating agency Moody's on Monday said the high commodity prices and supply chain disruptions due to further escalation in the Russia-Ukraine crisis could expose about 42 per cent of rated Indian companies to significant risks. They are mainly in the oil and gas and automotive sectors. The impact may be seen under two scenarios: first, revised base line and second being downside economic scenarios incorporating a global recession and a more severe liquidity squeeze, it said. The military conflict between Russia and Ukraine is impacting companies in Asia Pacific, adding to existing challenges from supply chain disruption and the coronavirus pandemic.
The Indian lenders are worried over the fast depleting asset base of the Future group companies which would make their recovery of dues difficult. The asset base of Future group has eroded in the last two years due to lockdown and takeover of 947 stores by rival Reliance Retail after Future group's lease on the properties expired. Bankers said they have approached bankruptcy court so as to avoid any duplication of legal action and reduce time at the legal forums.
Global investors have cited the ongoing war and high valuations of Indian equity markets as a reason to skip the IPO.
For the initial public offering (IPO) of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the Centre has shortlisted 50-60 anchor investors, which include BlackRock, Sands Capital, Fidelity Investments, Standard Life, and JP Morgan, and will soon finalise its anchor book. The feedback from anchor investors has led to price discovery in LIC shares, valuing India's largest insurer at around Rs 7 trillion, said an official aware of the development. The "attractive valuation" is seen widening the investor base by providing an opportunity to more of them to participate in the IPO, the official added.
The Centre is unlikely to reduce its shareholding in Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) for at least 2 years following the insurer's listing because such a move could affect returns for investors participating in the mega initial public offering (IPO). The government's stance was communicated to prospective investors during roadshows after many of them sought clarity on the Centre's plan for lowering its shareholding in the insurer to meet the minimum public shareholding norms. To this, the Centre maintained its stand that it would not look at any equity dilution in the insurer for at least two years to avoid downward pressure on LIC's shares.
The Centre has completed asset monetisation worth Rs 96,000 crore during FY22, surpassing the target of Rs 88,000 crore. For FY23, it has set itself a goal of Rs 1.62 trillion, and already has a pipeline of assets worth Rs 1.6 trillion under advanced stages of implementation, an official said. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday reviewed the progress made by several ministries and nudged departments to achieve the targets set for them, the official added.
Transiting from "survival mode", which took most of the management time in FY21, the bank has been able to take a long-term view in terms of growth and preparing technology in the past 12 months.
The Centre's decision to not reduce the face value of shares of India's Crown Jewel - Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) - was taken to make shareholders feel they are acquiring something 'precious'. The face value of LIC's shares was retained at Rs 10, quoted in the draft prospectus, as it would also align the insurer's shares with those of its private sector peers. Even as the LIC Act was amended to "consolidate or reduce the nominal or face value of the shares", with the Centre's approval, it was decided to stick to the current face value of shares at Rs 10 without splitting the existing 6.32 billion shares.