India Inc has pitched for rate cut to boost economic activities.
The Reserve Bank is unlikely to lower the interest rates.
'Nobody will wait now. Everyone will come to deposit their old notes. The confidence is shaken.'
Modi will also need to reconcile market demands with those from forces within his own administration
DBS called Rajan's decision not to seek an extension as a 'negative surprise'.
The Ambani brothers, Mukesh and Anil, came together on Thursday to raise the issue of stalled projects plaguing India Inc and implored the Maharashtra government and the Centre to make Mumbai, India's financial capital, an easier place for business and investments. "Several projects are stuck for many years in Mumbai and we would like to know how the government intends to improve the financing and execution of projects, including those relating to infrastructure and education which have been in limbo for long and are affecting the growth of the city," Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani told Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Seated on the same table was his brother, apart from Tata Group Chairman Cyrus Mistry and State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya. Jaitley was addressing the Mumbai Next MMR Transformation conclave, organised by the Maharashtra government and Mumbai First here, through video conference. In his reply, Jaitley said the government was exploring several options of infrastructure financing in India and that a number of international bodies were ready to fund infrastructure development projects. He added the government was keenly considering these funding sources. While praising Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for honesty, Jaitley also had a word of advice. Apart from being honest, the government had to be decisive, he said. On his part, Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani told the chief minister about his experience of decisions being delayed due to an indecisive bureaucracy and the need to protect officials who wanted to take quick decisions. "Through the past many years, we have faced a number of obstacles in decision-making," he said, adding he was speaking as someone who had lived and invested in Mumbai. Fadnavis responded by saying he would bring about a transparent process to ring-fence officials. Both the Ambani brothers have announced a number of infrastructure projects in and around Mumbai, including a world-class convention centre in Bandra Kurla Complex by RIL, but very few have actually fructified. RIL's special economic zone project failed to take off due to land acquisition problems in Raigarh, while a second SEZ near Mumbai is stuck due to lack of clarity in SEZ norms. The first phase of the Mumbai Metro, set up by Anil Ambani's Reliance Infrastructure, was marred by cost overruns and run-ins with the government over fares. Subsequently, the company withdrew from the second and larger phase, citing inordinate delay. Anil Ambani also withdrew from Mumbai's sea link project on the same grounds. The brothers had also bid for a trans-harbour sea link between Navi Mumbai and Mumbai under the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government, but their bid was rejected. Reliance Infrastructure is also the power supplier to more than half of this city. Participating in the conclave, some of India Inc's leading bankers said making Mumbai a financial hub would take at least a decade. SBI's Bhattacharya said the Indian currency should be made fully convertible and facilities should be created for it. "However, for this, the economy needs to look up and that will happen only in the next 7-10 years, not immediately," she added. Sunil Kaushal, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered, India, pitched for strong infrastructure to support development. "We will take a long time to develop into a global financial centre. We need to solve transport bottlenecks in Mumbai and have lifestyle facilities for people working in and around these areas," he said.
SBI might present the first result for the combined entity at the end of the first quarter of 2017-18
Kaushik Basu, whose stint at the World Bank ends on July 31, was being looked at as a serious contender, the sources said
RBI is closely monitoring monsoon.
Bankers said high interest rate could make Indian economy sluggish given that inflation is around 5%
.jpg)
Foreign investment cap in insurance sector raised to 49 per cent.
The prime minister's sop is expected to give a massive boost to priority-sector housing loans, thereby pulling the entire housing loan portfolio of banks.
Saudi Aramco chairman and head of the Kingdom's cash-rich wealth fund PIF Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan will join the board of Reliance Industries Ltd as an independent director in a precursor to a $15 billion deal. Reliance chairman and Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani, who had two years back disclosed the talks to sell a 20 per cent stake in the company's oil-to-chemical unit to Saudi Aramco, announced the appointment of Al-Rumayyan at the company's annual meeting of shareholders. Harvard educated Al-Rumayyan, 51, will replace Yogendra P Trivedi, 92, who has expressed a desire to retire, Ambani said. On the sale of a 20 per cent stake in the O2C business, he said the deal is likely to conclude this year.
The ministry seeks to make lending requirements flexible for banks financing key stalled projects.
Any revision in loan rates would be visible next month.
Within hours of rate cut announced by RBI, United Bank has reduced the benchmark lending rate by 0.25 per cent, while other banks including market leader SBI have indicated that they would follow suit.
SBI has been reeling under a mountain of bad loans for the past few years as the key sectors in the economy are faltering.
Women dominate Indian banks's clerical and officer rolls, but few make it to the executive office these days, notes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Higher provisioning drags net profit down by 7.8 per cent.
.jpg)
Bankers remained ambivalent on the impact of Tuesday's policy announcement by Reserve Bank on the cost of funds and refrained from giving a guidance on the direction in which lending rates are headed.
RBI rule, applicable prospectively, also for non-group guarantors.
The mergers will not involve any cash but only share swaps
With the 50 bps rate cut now more banks are expected to reduce their base rate.
Barring stray references such as the 'dual control' of banks and shifting the goalposts during demonetisation, he is not in a fault-finding mode with the government, notes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
State Bank of India chief Arundhati Bhattacharya, ICICI bank head Chanda Kochhar, Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and HT Media chair Shobhana Bhartia are among the world's 100 most powerful women.
Lenders fret over stubbornly weak credit growth and still high funding costs.
Most say a rate cut could come in RBI's June policy.
Issues related with intellectual property rights, including piracy of films and software, figured prominently during the India-US CEO Forum in New Delhi attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama.
Stung by the crisis arising out of the Syndicate Bank bribery case, lenders have gone into a fire-fighting mode to avoid fresh bad loans from their exposure to Bhushan Steel, one of the most indebted steel companies in the country.
The search committee will forward the names to the selection committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India or his nominee, Lok Sabha Speaker, the leader of the largest opposition party and an eminent jurist.
SBI Caps readies plan, identifies 4 assets; bankers say there are enough bidders.
'RBI and the economy will gain tremendously from Urjit Patel's experience in both private and public sectors'
In an interview with Business Standard, Arundhati Bhattacharya says she expects stalled projects coming back on track in two quarters.
Given that it is only a temporary breather for PSBs, the government now needs to look at the harder options.
Employee integration and branch rationalisation are major challenges.
'Consolidation was part of the Indradhanush package.'
It was an unprecedented challenge that required meticulous planning, innovative solutions and quick action.
The gross non-performing assets of public sector banks rose to 6.03% at the end of June.
Why are investors gung-ho about State Bank? asks Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Rather, the existing ones should be implemented speedily to clean up the mess.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances