The Mumbai Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday approved Piramal Group's resolution plan for the beleaguered Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL), which has been reeling from the insolvency process since 2019. The plan put forward by Piramal Group, which has offered to pay Rs 37,250 crore, has been approved by the committee of creditors (CoC), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
'I would recommend two parts to fiscal support. One, support the lower end of the society by direct intervention through ways such as direct benefit cash transfer. Second, give fiscal support to the stressed sectors in line with the Rs 3-lakh crore (Rs 3 trillion) emergency credit line guarantee norms'
India's economy is unlikely to see double-digit growth and may grow between 8 per cent and 9 per cent this fiscal year (2021-22, or FY22), against the estimated 11.5 per cent, according to leading economists and rating agencies. The downward revision of growth projections to as low as 10 per cent is mostly on account of stringency in restrictions by states, relatively slow vaccination pace, and the possibility of a third wave of the pandemic. However, they say the impact will not be as severe as the first wave, and expect the first quarter to see positive growth.
Public sector banks, including the country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI), have come out with a templated approach for restructuring retail and small business loans of up to Rs 25 crore under the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Covid restructuring package 2.0. They have also come out with standardised products to make funds available to business entities for improving healthcare infrastructure and to individuals for meeting Covid treatment expenses. Business loans have been divided into three categories.
The two central premier investigative agencies - Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate - have asked their officials to focus more on digital evidence, e-forums and social media to crack down on offenders. These are a crucial part of prosecution amid the second wave of the pandemic. The Income Tax Department is going full throttle on data analytics to issue notices in time-bound cases. Further, sleuths have been given electronic devices including laptops with secure connections, which keep data encrypted and inaccessible.
The finance ministry has asked the tax department to impose hefty penalties on those hospitals found with unaccounted cash, and such entities could be booked under anti-money laundering laws and prosecuted, reports Shrimi Choudhary.
These products are extremely transparent and are the lowest charged products in the insurance space. The policyholder has to only pay the fund management charge. Hence, from the cost side, ULIPs are very competitive.
The Maharashtra police has booked Indiabulls group companies, including its flagship Indiabulls Housing Finance (IBHL), for allegedly siphoning off funds and for accounting irregularities committed by the promoters and directors of the company between 2014 and 2020. A first information report was registered by the Palghar police on April 13 under various sections of Indian Penal Code dealing with cheating, fraud and criminal conspiracy. The move comes after Palghar's judicial magistrate passed an order under Section 156 (3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (power to direct police/agency to investigate the matter), following a complaint filed by Ashutosh Kamble, a shareholder of IBHL.
The bank has decided to embark on a 'Technology Transformation agenda' to provide its customers smoother, faster, and better banking experience.
The unprecedented rise in Covid-19 infections in the country, which many are terming as the second wave, has also resulted in a rise in Covid-related claims for general and health insurance companies as hospitalisations have gone up. The insurers have received more than a million Covid-related claims as of April, 2021. According to the data compiled by General Insurance Council, the reported claims total 1.014 million, amounting to more than Rs 14,800 crore.
'Quite a few notices have been issued in both black money and benami transactions.'
The government is considering a provision to provide an exit window to holders of cryptocurrencies (cryptos), keeping in mind that banning them outright could deal a blow to investors sitting on them for years. According to sources in the government, the framework in the making may propose a grace period of three to six months for investors before prohibiting the possession, trading, mining, and issuing of cryptos. A group of secretaries chaired by the Cabinet secretary is learnt to have met in mid-March and discussed issues associated with cryptos, including the consequences of banning them and also on possible substitutes of blockchain technology - an advanced technology Bitcoin uses.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday proposed to make interoperability mandatory for digital payments firms. It also allowed users to withdraw cash from e-wallets and fintech companies to process RTGS and NEFT transactions. The RBI expressed dissatisfaction over prepaid payment instruments' (PPIs') failure to migrate towards full-KYC (know your customer) PPIs, and therefore interoperability, even two years after guidelines were issued.
The idea is to do away with the need for the approval of the Core Group of Secretaries on Divestment for privatisation of companies, especially in non-strategic sectors.
RuPay is working on how to increase offers to customers. It is also focused on technology innovation in the card payment system.
As of March 25, life insurers have paid Rs 1,986 crore towards 25,500 Covid death claims
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.
Lenders can now initiate recovery proceedings since the SC has lifted the standstill on asset classification, which protected stressed accounts from slipping into NPAs.
'We will be looking to prune our portfolio to make GIC Re a healthier entity.'