In the state of the economy report, the RBI said bond vigilantes could undermine the recovery, unsettle financial markets, and trigger capital outflows from emerging markets.
The ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) has launched a probe into the books of Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company (EARC) following allegations by a whistleblower of fund diversion and irregularities. The whistleblower, Paras Kuhad, a former additional solicitor general of India, had written to the Prime Minister's Office and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Kuhad has alleged that Edelweiss Group and Caisse de depot et placement du Qubec (CDPQ), a Canadian institutional investor, which hold stakes in the ARC, diverted funds and did not adhere to norms while making investments in EARC's instruments. Sources have indicated that a probe has been initiated, but the MCA did not comment on the issue.
The Cabinet has cleared a Bill to set up a government-owned development finance institution (DFI) with initial paid-up capital of Rs 20,000 crore so that it can leverage around Rs 3 trillion from the markets in a few years to provide long-term funds to infrastructure projects as well as for development needs of the country. To put it in perspective, Rs 3 trillion constitutes slightly less than 3 per cent of the Rs 111 trillion to be spent on over 7,000 projects in the National Infrastructure Pipeline from 2019-20 to 2024-25. Besides, the government will give Rs 5,000 crore as grant to the institution, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday told the media after the Cabinet meeting.
The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam) has asked ministries, government departments, and public sector undertakings (PSUs) to send a list of assets that can be monetised under the proposed National Monetisation Pipeline. The list will be used for creation of an asset monetisation dashboard, which will keep a track of such assets. The government, meanwhile, has asked CRISIL to prepare a road map for monetising assets of PSUs and government departments.
Indian corporate are fast tapping the international bonds market to raise funds for their operational expenses even as they reduce their presence in the rupee bond market. As bonds are costlier for companies and investors are more sceptical than the banks, chief financial officers say they are looking at other avenues for raising funds in the coming months as dollar bond rates are lower in the range of 100 to 250 basis points. "For corporate with reasonable credit quality, the Indian bond market has become less of an option from a cost point of view. "In addition, conditions imposed in the Indian bond market by investors post Franklin episode have also become very onerous," said Prabal Banerjee, president-finance of Bajaj group. "Hence very few corporate are looking at the local bond market for resource mobilisation, since both, bank loans and the overseas bond markets are much more attractive," he said.
Senior officials in the MF industry say while the finance ministry and regulators communicate regularly, this is one of the very few instances in many years where an issue between the two has come out into the open.
The bank will now be in a position to resume normal lending activity, including corporate lending, with tightened risk management framework.
In India, it is not easy to fight it out with the large banks which are nimble-footed and technology-savvy and are continuously innovating on the retail turf with newer products for customer acquisition.
The bond market is not in a mood to reason with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on keeping yields low. The 10-year bond yields continued to rise for the fourth straight session to close at 6.202 per cent from its previous close of 6.135 per cent. The yield was at 6 per cent a week ago. The RBI wants the yields to remain at 6 per cent, but bond dealers say the central bank will have to step up its bond-buying programme.
Operationalising the ban is being fleshed out: it will entail which cryptocurrencies will be banned and how.
The combined deposits of its Indian operations stood at SGD 9 billion and net advances were at SGD 5.6 billion at the end of December 2020.
The central bank bought the 10-year bonds at 50 paise above the prevailing rate, and brought down the yields from 6.08 per cent to 6 per cent mark.
The government has revised its divestment target downwards from Rs 2.1 trillion, as its ambitious privatisation programme has been deferred to next year.
However, the RBI is still not in a mood to issue an OMO calendar, which was the expectation in some sections of the market.
The government is set to divest its shareholdings in defence PSUs, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd and Mishra Dhatu Nigam Ltd (MIDHANI). It will also divest its shareholding in BEML Limited, said Shripad Naik. Minister of State for Defence, on Monday. The government has invited preliminary bids to sell its 26 per cent stake in BEML along with transfer of management control.
The Reserve Bank of India has issued several warnings that the public should not fall prey to such unscrupulous activities and verify the companies offering loans online and through apps.
The department of investment and public asset management (Dipam) can also seek in-principle approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) for strategic divestment of PSUs on a case-to-case basis considering investor appetite and sectoral trends.
The continuing fiscal stimulus is heavily tilted towards capex, to the extent that it chips away a part of revenue spending. Accounting for other areas of revenue expenditure, such as salaries, pensions, subsidies and defence (committed spend), the room to spend on welfare schemes, health and education will narrow in FY22.
The policy was part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat package announced by Sitharaman in May 2020 as a coherent policy where all sectors would be opened for private sector participation.
Digital lending apps extend small amounts at exorbitant rates. Payment delays invite messages to customer or close family members, often with sensitive information such as Aadhaar and PAN Card scans.