Samie Modak And Shrimi Choudhary

Stories by Samie Modak And Shrimi Choudhary

Jhunjhunwala bullish about state-owned banks, says they are undervalued

Jhunjhunwala bullish about state-owned banks, says they are undervalued

Rediff.com   26 Mar 2021

Jhunjhunwala, one of India's well-known individual investors, was speaking at the India Economic Conclave organised by the Times Network. He said he won't rule out 5-10 times gains in state-owned banks over the next five years. Shares of PSBs have been on a tear this year. The Nifty PSB index is up 20 per cent so far this year.

NSE co-location case: ED to also investigate tech glitch

NSE co-location case: ED to also investigate tech glitch

Rediff.com   25 Mar 2021

Sebi had, in February, dropped allegations of fraudulent and unfair trade practices against NSE's former heads Ravi Narain and Chitra Ramakrishna in the co-lo case.

Non-govt PFs, gratuity funds can now invest in AIFs

Non-govt PFs, gratuity funds can now invest in AIFs

Rediff.com   17 Mar 2021

The government has brought in changes to the investment pattern for non-government provident funds, and superannuation and gratuity funds, enabling them to invest up to 5 per cent in the units of Category I and Category II alternative investment funds (AIFs), subject to some caveats. The development is part of the central government's strategy to channelise domestic savings and improve their returns to attract more investment in the said sectors. At present, these funds typically invest a minimum 45 per cent in government securities, besides new instruments, such as exchange-traded funds and real estate investment funds, while a portion in equity-related instruments.

Ahead of assembly polls, oil companies hold back price hike in March

Ahead of assembly polls, oil companies hold back price hike in March

Rediff.com   16 Mar 2021

Government-controlled oil-marketing companies (OMCs) have held back petrol and diesel price revisions for a week and are expected to continue doing so, ostensibly owing to political reasons. It appears that the Centre has informally conveyed to the three major OMCs to not revise fuel prices for the time being, two people in the government said. This informal directive follows the talks between the Centre and states on cutting taxes and bringing the auto fuels under the good service tax regime not fetching the desired results, so far.

Software royalty likely to cost Centre Rs 5,000 crore every year

Software royalty likely to cost Centre Rs 5,000 crore every year

Rediff.com   15 Mar 2021

Sources said about hundreds of companies, including Facebook and Amazon, could seek tax refund because they import software for sale in India.

Profit-making PSUs likely to go under the hammer first

Profit-making PSUs likely to go under the hammer first

Rediff.com   12 Mar 2021

The Centre is likely to privatise profit-making enterprises, reversing its previous position of first closing or merging loss-making state-run units. The NITI Aayog, which is in the process of selecting public sector units for privatisation, is likely to put out its first list, focusing on companies in non-strategic sectors, along with those that have got Cabinet approval for stake sale, or are in final stage of due diligence. "The shortlisted firms will be put out in three-four tranches, with the first list comprising non-strategic ones, followed by strategic sectors with a focus on privatisation and not divestment," said a senior government official privy to the plan. He said the first report was expected in early April. The think tank approach is in sync with the government's new strategies on privatisation and asset monetisation.

Sebi's expert panel to probe glitch at NSE, submit report by March 15

Sebi's expert panel to probe glitch at NSE, submit report by March 15

Rediff.com   10 Mar 2021

The Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) technical advisory committee has been mandated to probe the trading halt at National Stock Exchange (NSE) and fix accountability. The committee after a detailed examination would send its findings and recommendations to whole-time member Madbhi Puri Buch, to decide the future course of action, said two people in the know. The panel, which is currently chaired by Ashok Jhunjhunwala of IIT Madras, is learnt to have sought an explanation over two key issues from NSE: One on the effectiveness of interoperability as it was unable to migrate the trading positions; the other on laxity in switching it to the disaster recovery site.

Reeling under high prices? Finance ministry says it's downside to growth

Reeling under high prices? Finance ministry says it's downside to growth

Rediff.com   6 Mar 2021

'While intensification of fuel prices and broad-based domestic cost pass-through pressures is a downside risk, core inflation is expected to strengthen further as demand recovers to pre-Covid levels,' the ministry said on Friday.

NSE trading outage: Calls for more stock exchanges likely to grow

NSE trading outage: Calls for more stock exchanges likely to grow

Rediff.com   5 Mar 2021

Sebi proposes to relax ownership rules to allow more entrants in the exchange space, which is seeing a disruption globally with the emergence of new technologies such as block chain.

How successful is India in catching economic offenders?

How successful is India in catching economic offenders?

Rediff.com   5 Mar 2021

Despite Nirav Modi win, in the last five years, India managed to bring only about 20 fugitive offenders.

ED slaps money laundering case on Franklin MF

ED slaps money laundering case on Franklin MF

Rediff.com   4 Mar 2021

The ED case follows the police complaint for alleged criminal conspiracy and defrauding investors.

Govt likely to ease restrictions on Chinese FDI

Govt likely to ease restrictions on Chinese FDI

Rediff.com   3 Mar 2021

However, that could only be for sectors where 100 per cent FDI is allowed under the automatic route and pose no risk to national security.

Further rise in bond yields seen; oil likely at $100/barrel

Further rise in bond yields seen; oil likely at $100/barrel

Rediff.com   1 Mar 2021

The rise in US bond yields spooked investors last week and there could a further increase given the inflation dynamics, according to Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies. "The US bond market sell-off has continued over the past week, and with it the increased potential for an inflation scare. "Still, there is plenty of scope for bonds to sell off more since the last time the 5-year forward inflation expectation rate was running at current levels (namely in early December 2018), the 10- and 30-year bond yields were significantly higher at 2.91 per cent and 3.17 per cent, respectively," the market guru said in his newsletter GREED & fear. The 10-year and 30-year US Treasury finished at 1.34 per cent and 2.13 per cent, respectively, last week.

Trading glitch: Sebi, FinMin seek detailed report from NSE

Trading glitch: Sebi, FinMin seek detailed report from NSE

Rediff.com   25 Feb 2021

The exchange cited issues with its telecom service providers that prevented stocks and index quotations from getting updated.

Stressed asset cases likely to be resolved soon

Stressed asset cases likely to be resolved soon

Rediff.com   22 Feb 2021

Government may also consider giving relief to some of the worst-affected sectors.

India Inc's profit contribution to GDP likely to jump three times

India Inc's profit contribution to GDP likely to jump three times

Rediff.com   22 Feb 2021

The bulk of the incremental profits will come from oil & gas and automobile sectors.

Sebi paves way for LIC's mega float

Sebi paves way for LIC's mega float

Rediff.com   18 Feb 2021

Sebi's change of rules will give the government -- which owns 100 per cent of LIC -- the flexibility to assess market demand and opt for lower dilution.

FM Sitharaman seeks Parliament nod for Rs 6.3-trillion extra spending

FM Sitharaman seeks Parliament nod for Rs 6.3-trillion extra spending

Rediff.com   12 Feb 2021

Of the cash outgo, Rs 64,598 crore is for enhanced expenditure on fertiliser subsidy under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan 3.0 and Rs 20,466 crore for the capital outlay in defence services.

Finmin pins hope on vaccine drive for robust recovery in services sector

Finmin pins hope on vaccine drive for robust recovery in services sector

Rediff.com   11 Feb 2021

FY22 will be the year to rebuild with the IMF projecting output growth at 11.5 per cent, economic survey at 11.0 per cent and the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee at 10.5 per cent.

'Rating agencies are like Bollywood'

'Rating agencies are like Bollywood'

Rediff.com   11 Feb 2021

'Rather than cutting and pasting from advanced economies, we should use basic economic principles to think about what is right for India at the stage of development at which we are,' says Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian.