The value of foreign portfolio investment (FPI) in Indian equities was at $542 billion in the March quarter of 2023, a decline of 11 per cent from the preceding year, largely due to the exodus of foreign money from the domestic market, according to a Morningstar report. In comparison, the value of FPI in Indian equities was $612 billion in the January-March quarter of 2022. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the value of FPI in Indian equities fell by 7 per cent from $584 billion recorded in the three months ended December 2022.
Indian start-ups raised issues, such as blockages in international wire transfers, disruptions due to threshold limits on withdrawals, lack of communication from US agencies, and the need for preferential access to credit, in a meeting with the government over the fallout of Silicon Valley Bank's collapse. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, minister of state for electronics and information technology, held a virtual meeting with over 450 members from start-ups, venture capitalists, and investors who have been directly affected by the closure of SVB. He assured them that the IT ministry would put together a list of suggestions and give it to the finance minister on behalf of start-ups.
Consolidation will help banks derive economies of scale, but integration will not be easy.
Goa Cricket Association president Chetan Dessai, secretary Vinod Phadke and treasurer Akbar Mulla were today arrested by police for alleged misappropriation of over Rs three crore belonging to the organisation.
'He asserted in his usual jovial style that he was not an MBA like his audience at IIM-Ahmedabad but perhaps had an even better business degree: MBB'. 'He went on to explain to his perplexed, blue chip B-School audience that MBB stood for "Marwadi by birth"!' Shivanand Kanavi salutes Shashi Ruia, co-founder of the Essar group who passed into the ages on November 25, 2024 in Mumbai.
The Indian Banks Association has suggested certain alternative proposals on pension after meeting the representatives of United Forum of Bank Unions, general secretary of the All India Bank Officers' Association R J Sridharan said.
Borrowers wanting to prepay home loans can look forward to some relief as RBI on Tuesday indicated that it would scrap prepayment penalties charged by banks.
Tax shortfall: Finmin asks banks to deposit March TDS by month end.
But there are challenges, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The move will help curb card frauds. Currently, customers use only personal identification number for automated teller machine transactions.
Do not underestimate the ingenuity of the Deep State in America to have its way. Keeping the guard down will be a catastrophic mistake on the part of the Delhi establishment. We could get hit when least expected. That's what happened in Bangladesh and Syria, warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
At 3.5 per cent per annum, interest on savings accounts is the only regulated rate in the banking system currently and a highly contentious one given its impact on the common man.
As their non-performing assets have risen sharply even as loans have remained stagnant, RBI steps in with stringent loan-management measures.
Shifting to floating rate deposits can work as an anaesthetic gel for some customers, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Banks Board Bureau chief Vinod Rai has proposed performance-linked incentives for bank employees, but the staff unions are dead against the idea.
The decision, the Reserve Bank of India said, "is expected to revolutionise the retail payments system of the country".
'It is the responsibility of industry to take the very bright talent whose knowledge of software engineering basics is very high, and then give them additional skills.'
Unlike the new private sector lenders, BoR employees' wages are still governed by the industry wage package negotiated by the Indian Banks Association with bank staff unions.
The unions have called for a strike against proposed closure of associate banks and their merger with the State Bank of India
The current wage revision for PSBs, as well as some private lenders, is due from November 2017 for five years - up to October 2022.
Lenders say settlements will cross over 100 accounts in the March quarter.
Bad loans of PSU banks rose by 28.5 per cent.
Over the years, India has enjoyed bipartisan support in the US and this asset must be kept intact and nurtured through across the board political and civil society engagement, suggests former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
'An in-house contest encourages employees to share yoga and well-being practices with their families.'
Ahead of the Union Budget, the banking sector, through the Indian Banks' Association (IBA), has made recommendations to the Union finance ministry on direct tax, including removing Section 194N of the Income Tax Act. According to Section 194N, tax deduction at source (TDS) has to be done if a sum or sums withdrawn in cash by a person in a fiscal year exceed Rs 20 lakh if no income-tax return (ITR) has been filed for the three previous assessment years, and Rs 1 crore if ITRs have been filed in all the three previous assessment years.
The commerce department has reaffirmed its plans to launch the 'Trade Connect' e-platform to help exporters connect with stakeholders of international trade, as a part of the new government's 100-day action plan, a senior government official said.
All banks are eligible for privatisation. A committee of secretaries will decide which banks will be privatised, says Financial Services Secretary Debasish Panda.
The AISBOF wants bank employees' wage revision in parity with that of the Indian Administrative Services officers. Last month, the IBA had given an initial offer of 10 per cent wage hike, or a package which would cost the industry Rs 2,750 crore (Rs 27.5 billion), against Rs 2,220 crore (Rs 22.2 billion) in the eighth bipartite meeting between bank unions and IBA.
Macroeconomic (macro) concerns, along with a cautious approach towards discretionary information technology (IT) spending, will see the revenue for Indian IT firms decelerate by 5 per cent through 2024-25 (FY25), from the highs of 12-18 per cent in 2022-23, said analysts from S&P Global Ratings. "The reason behind this slow growth is a macro slowdown. "Customers are cutting their discretionary IT spending, especially on projects that take longer to deliver quantifiable outcomes. "We also acknowledge that there are still strong economic headwinds for the next few years," said Spencer Ng, associate director, corporate ratings, S&P Global Ratings, over a call in a media briefing.
In a dazzling resurgence, foreign investors have graced the Indian equity markets with an influx of nearly Rs 1.5 lakh crore in 2023, fuelled by optimism over the country's resilient economic fundamentals amid shadows of a gloomy global scenario. Experts believe that the positive trend may continue in 2024. This follows Indian equities witnessing the worst-ever net outflow of Rs 1.21 lakh crore by FPIs in 2022 on aggressive rate hikes by the central banks globally after net inflows for three consecutive years.
The apex bank is scheduled to announce the quarterly review of its annual monetary policy on January 29, when it is widely expected to hike the cash reserve ratio or the percentage of amount banks park with the RBI to absorb excess money from the system.
With the addition of the seven banks - South Indian Bank, Karur Vysya, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Bikaner, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Mysore, and Punjab and Sind Bank - the number of banks allowed to import the precious metals now stands at 30.
Soon, there will be an exchange-like platform for trading in loans.
'The last year's growth is a foretaste of things to come in the retail credit market.'
Of the three major Budget announcements related to the banking sector, privatisation of PSBs is the most audacious, says Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Officials said the IBA had three major agendas to discuss, the most important being to persuade the unions to accept the new pension scheme, otherwise known as the contributory pension scheme, for new bank employees. Currently, the bank unions are vehemently opposing it since unions of no other sector has accepted it to date.
Keeping up his tradition of celebrating the festival with soldiers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Sir Creek near the Indo-Pak border in Gujarat's Kutch district and offered sweets to jawans.
The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (Fada) has raised concerns over the rising inventory levels of four-wheelers at dealerships which have now reached a 60-day stockpile or around 550,000 units. This situation could mean a significant financial burden on dealerships due to the additional interest cost for the extended holding period. These 60-day inventory levels are nearing the 2018-19 levels when inventory days had approached 70 days, leading to the closure of around 282 passenger vehicle dealerships.
