.jpg)
EPFO had paid 8.5 per cent interest rate to subscribers in 2012-13, which was higher than 8.25 provided in the 2011-12 fiscal.
The infrastructure spending target for 2020-25 was revised because of additional and amended data provided by central ministries, state governments since the release of the summary NIP Report in December 2019 when it was pegged at Rs 100 trillion.
The government will launch the mega public offer of LIC by March and file draft papers with market regulator Sebi by the end of this month, an official said. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had last week reviewed the progress of the initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) in a meeting with top officials of the ministry. The official said the September 2021 quarter financials of LIC are getting finalised as well as fund bifurcation is in progress.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said the recent interest rate hike by the Reserve Bank was not surprising for her but the timing was, asserting that the rising cost of funds will not impact the government's planned infrastructure investments. For the first time since August 2018, RBI had on May 4 delivered a blunt 40 basis points increase in key repo rate to 4.40 per cent, and also hiked the cash reserve ratio by 50 basis points to 4.5 per cent after an unscheduled meeting of the rate setting panel, citing increased inflation pressures following the Ukraine war and the resultant spike in crude oil prices. Retail inflation printed at 6.9 per cent in March and the April reading is forecast to top 7.7 per cent.
'The entire value of LIC is created by its shareholders because after the initial invest net of Rs 5 crores in 1956, the government has not given any additional capital to the LIC.' 'If the corporation has expanded and emerged as the biggest financial institution in the country, it is only because of the policyholders.'
Investors are pushing back more often against companies' resolutions on what is paid out to top executives. In the first four months of financial year 2022-23 (FY23), there have already been five such rejections, according to shareholder voting data from tracker Adrian, a platform maintained by the proxy advisory firm Institutional Investor Advisory Services India (IiAS). Two of these have been at multiplex chain PVR and direct-to-home company Dish TV India.
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.
Of the three major Budget announcements related to the banking sector, privatisation of PSBs is the most audacious, says Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Merely bringing down the government stake below 51% may not find any taker for the PSBs. The government must bring down its holding to at least 26%, recommends Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4 per cent and decided to continue with its accommodative stance against the backdrop of an elevated level of inflation.
Seen as a major initiative, the 'strategic partnership model' aims to create a vibrant defence manufacturing ecosystem in the country through involvement of both the major Indian corporates as well as the MSME sector.
Piramal Enterprises on Friday claimed that its bid for resolution of debt-ridden mortgage lender DHFL is highest and fully compliant with regulatory norms. Since the conclusion of the fifth and final round of the bidding process last month, Piramal Enterprises and the US-based Oaktree Capital are claiming that their bids are the highest and fully implementable. According to sources, suitors have submitted bids in the range of Rs 35,000-37,000 crore.
Operationalising the ban is being fleshed out: it will entail which cryptocurrencies will be banned and how.
The country was, in February, put on the list of jurisdictions that require increased monitoring. These are done to counter money-laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing in a more efficient manner.
The EPFO is likely to decide soon the rate of interest on PF deposits for 2013-14, which is expected to be over 8.5 per cent.
While the government has not made the report public, sources said the panel had recommended a sharp cut in all taxes on the gold business, including import duty and goods and services tax which amounts to over 13%.
In Chanda's defence, one can always say, why would the Videocon Group take care of her husband as a quid pro quo to get a loan? After all, the group has taken money from the entire banking industry and ICICI Bank's share in the pie is not even 10 per cent. So, if it had a quid pro quo with Chanda to get the money, it must have had similar arrangements with other banks, too. If this is not the case, one must accept that it had got money from all banks, including ICICI, without any under-the-table conditions, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
In a significant move, markets watchdog Sebi on Tuesday decided to implement the requirement to separate the positions of chairperson and managing director at listed companies on a voluntary basis and not make it mandatory for now. The development also comes against the backdrop of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently saying the regulator should hear if Indian companies have a view on the matter even as she made it clear that she was not "giving a diktat". The top-500 listed entities were required to split the roles of chairperson and managing director/chief executive officer before the April 2022 deadline.
India believes no country would emerge victorious in the Russia-Ukraine war as all will suffer losses and there will be a "more serious" impact on developing and poor countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday after holding talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as both leaders reiterated the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
But their trajectory and direction have been largely influenced by politics and the political leadership's understanding of how the economy needs to be managed, explains A K Bhattacharya.
The Central Bureau of Investigation had called Karti for questioning on Thursday in connection with the foreign investment clearance given in the Aircel-Maxis deal in 2006 when his father Chidambaram was the finance minister.
Investors must remember that only resident Indians can open a PPF account and a person can have only one PPF account.
Currently, there is no regulation or any ban on the use of cryptocurrencies in the country.
Equity benchmarks extended their decline for the fourth straight session on Wednesday, with the Sensex falling 214.85 points after the Reserve Bank raised the key interest rate by 50 basis points. Continuous foreign fund outflows and surging crude oil prices also weighed on markets. The 30-share BSE benchmark dropped 214.85 points or 0.39 per cent to settle at 54,892.49.
The Rajya Sabha on Thursday approved a bill to raise the foreign investment limit in the insurance sector to 74 per cent, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying while control will go to foreign companies, the majority of directors and key management persons will be resident Indians who will be covered by law of the land.
Armed with necessary macro and micro growth drivers, India is on its way to becoming the fastest growing major economy in the world, a finance ministry report said. Rapid vaccination and teeming festivities will push India's ongoing recovery resulting in narrowing of demand-supply mismatches and greater employment opportunities, as per the monthly Economic Review prepared by the ministry.
Expecting an annual CSR spending of Rs 15,000-20,000 crore (Rs 150-200 billion) by India Inc, Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot has asked companies to see the new law as an investment opportunity to create a better work environment, rather than a forced expenditure.
The high-level panel also asked the government to work towards re-orienting subsidies in a targeted manner from the crop sector to the non-crop sector and redesign the electronic National Agriculture Market.
Pranab Mukherjee's stewardship of the economy will stand out as much for the manner in which he managed controversies as for creating quite a few of them, says A K Bhattacharya.
The pre-Budget proposals sent to the finance ministry aim to bring uniformity in tax treatment for investments in different financial sectors, mitigate hardship to retail taxpayers, and encourage participation in mutual funds.
Blackstone, KKR, and Bain Capital, among others, are in the race for its general insurance arm, and Bandhan Bank, Bain, and Dabur Investments have shown interest for RCap's 51 per cent stake in the life insurance business.
'Rahul inspired Indian industry with an ethos, an ethos of being more confident, more independent, more thorough, more competitive, more generous, more public-spirited, and more national and more international all at once,' remembers Naushad Forbes.
The panel also suggested that Know Your Client rules should be based on the risk profile of investors.
"As FM, I granted approval in the normal course of business," he said in a statement.
In power, Mamata Banerjee has tried to bury the ghost of the past, but it might still be work-in-progress. Big-ticket and eye-grabbing (in terms of investment size) projects are still few and far between, reports Ishita Ayan Dutt.
There are lessons for the Congress to learn from the Karnataka elections of how burying the hatchet among top leaders and not washing dirty linen in public can help, says Ramesh Menon.
All banks are eligible for privatisation. A committee of secretaries will decide which banks will be privatised, says Financial Services Secretary Debasish Panda.
The final policy may be out only after formation of the new government, according to sources
"I have appointed a task force to speedily identify the projects so that money can be frontloaded," she said.
The key assets put on the block include its entire stake in Reliance General Insurance Company, the third-largest private sector insurer, and a 49 per cent stake in Reliance Nippon Life Insurance, a joint venture with Nippon Life, which is among the top five private-sector insurance companies.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances