The CBI has registered a new case against Anil Ambani and Reliance Communications Ltd for allegedly causing a loss of Rs 3,750 crore to the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that raising the FDI limit to 100 per cent in the insurance sector will help attract more capital, improve competition and increase insurance penetration by making policies more affordable.
The Union Cabinet on Friday approved 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector, a move that was welcomed by industry as it would help attract more capital and global expertise, while boosting insurance coverage in the country. A bill to amend the insurance law is likely to be tabled on Monday in Parliament, whose winter session is slated to conclude on December 19.
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High energy costs, long a drag on India's manufacturing competitiveness, are finally easing. Power and fuel expenses accounted for 1.98 per cent of net sales in 2024-25, the lowest level in data compiled by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) over the past two decades.
Most think tax-saving deductions exist only in the old regime. But the New one quietly retains 40+ ways to ease your tax load
'The Election Commission is conducting the National Register of Citizens in Bihar through the backdoor.'
'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.'
The Life Insurance Corporation of India has the wherewithal to acquire a composite license, a top source aware of the development told Business Standard, adding that the insurance behemoth may look into entering the health and general insurance segments. "LIC has the scale, capacity, IT infrastructure, and the distribution reach to take advantage of the composite license. "LIC is looking at organic as well as inorganic growth opportunities.
The government banks on the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party to push the Insurance and LIC Bills in the next Parliament session, but it seems to have adopted different tactics on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill.
The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to grant any interim relief and stay the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) IPO share allotment on a batch of pleas filed by some policy holders. A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, Surya Kant and PS Narasimha said that the court should be reluctant to grant any interim relief in matters of commercial investments and IPO. "We are not inclined to grant any interim relief", the bench said as it issued notice to the Centre and LIC on the batch of pleas seeking their response within eight weeks.
'The government wants foreign companies to capture the insurance market.'
The government has reached out to investors to apprise them about Life Insurance Corporation of India's (LIC's) growth and prospects as it prepares for the country's largest initial public offering (IPO). Preliminary presentations have been made to inform investors on how the organisation is being restructured ahead of the IPO, along with its financials, so that the IPO process can be hastened once its embedded value is derived. "A detailed presentation has been made to investors, giving them details on how LIC is positioned beyond what is known. "This includes how LIC is being restructured ahead of the IPO, and investors are keen to know that," said an official. In the Finance Bill, 2021, the government had proposed a slew of changes to the LIC Act, 1956.
'How can you explain the necessity of selling an institution that has been delivering regular returns to the government, that has never asked for any capital from the government, that has invested Rs 38 lakh crores in the Indian economy and that owns 4 per cent of the market capitalisation in India?'
LIC employees plan to observe a two-hour walk-out strike on August 4 to protest against the LIC (Amendment) Bill, 2009, introduced by the finance minister in the Lok Sabha on Friday, a senior office-bearer of an employees association said. The Bill says that the minimum capital of LIC would be increased from the present Rs 5-crore (Rs 50-million) to Rs 100-crore (Rs 1 billion).
The buyout will cost LIC about Rs 100 billion, based on the Rs 248 billion market capitalisation of IDBI Bank as on Friday, and assuming it acquires a 40 per cent equity stake from the government.
The opposition parties will meet on Monday morning to evolve their strategy in both Houses of Parliament after protests by them on the Hindenburg-Adani issue overshadowed most of the first half of the Budget session.
Following are comments from economists at leading financial institutions, banks and rating agencies on the interim Budget:
Domestic quarterly earnings, global trends and foreign fund trading activity would dictate the movement in equity markets, which may face volatility amid the scheduled monthly derivatives expiry this week, analysts said. Equity markets took a breather last week. The BSE Sensex declined 298.22 points or 0.48 per cent and the Nifty dipped 111.4 points or 0.60 per cent.
The Bill will come up for discussion in the upcoming winter session of the Parliament.
The session will commence with the maiden address of President Droupadi Murmu to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament. The address essentially highlights the government's achievements and policy priorities.
Replying to the no-confidence motion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Thursday that the opposition's move is auspicious for his government as he expressed confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies will break old records to retain power at the Centre in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has just released a proposal to alter the regulations pertaining to the sponsor system for mutual funds. One of the reasons for the proposed changes is that there are two conflicting regulations that need to be clarified. The other reason is that the sponsor system may itself be outdated as it stands, and the proposed changes would allow new entities such as private equity funds and portfolio management services to enter this space.
Under the Goods and Services Tax, effective midnight of June 30, most of the financial services would attract a higher tax of 18 per cent as against 15 per cent as of now.
The Left parties, Janata Dal (United), and two other Opposition members on the committee opposed raising the foreign direct investment limit in the insurance sector from 26 per cent to 49 per cent.
From the enactment of the capital control Act to the recognition of the BSE as a stock exchange and the infamous Harshad Mehta scam, here are the 18 biggest events for stock markets from 1947 to 1993.
At the customary post-Budget media interactions, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her topmost bureaucrats touched upon a number of issues. The minister said the government taxing income from digital virtual assets did not give them legitimacy and that issue was being dealt separately in the planned cryptocurrency Bill. She also expressed confidence that the Budget targets were achievable.
Kavitha attacked the BJP government at the Centre, alleging it of using the investigation agencies to target political parties and leaders who do not subscribe to its ideology.
Public sector banks have lost nearly Rs 2.85 lakh crore on account of loan dues of 13 corporates even as the banks are used to bail out ailing financial institutions such as Yes Bank and IL&FS, United Forum of Bank Unions alleged on Monday. In a press release, UFBU's convener B Rambabu said the organisation calls for a two-day all India bank strike on December 16 and 17 protesting against Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill 2021 and opposing the Centre's alleged move to privatise PSBs. According to the statistics given by the UFBU, the 13 corporates' outstanding dues were at Rs 486,800 crore and it was resolved at Rs 161,820 crore resulting in a loss of Rs 284,980 crore.
Lakhs of employees of public sector banks continued their strike on the second day on Friday as well to protest against proposed privatisation of banks by the government impacting normal operation across the country. Shutters of branches across many parts of the country on Friday were down following the strike call given by the United Forum of Bank Union (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine bank unions including All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW). As a result, services such as deposits and withdrawal at branches, cheque clearance and loan approvals remains paralaysed due to the two-day strike ending later in the day.
The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine unions, has given a call for a two-day strike from December 16 to protest against the proposed privatisation of two state-owned lenders. In the Union Budget presented in February, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the privatisation of two public sector banks (PSBs) as part of its disinvestment plan. The government has already privatised IDBI Bank by selling its majority stake in the lender to LIC in 2019 and merged 14 public sector banks in the past four years.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday slammed the opposition alliance INDIA as a collection of arrogant dynasties who will take India back by two centuries as he exuded confidence that people will bless the "garib ka beta" with a record-breaking mandate in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Employees of public sector banks (PSBs) on Thursday went on two-day strike against the move to privatise public sector banks impacting normal banking operation across the country. Many branches across different parts of the country were shut as the United Forum of Bank Union (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine bank unions including All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW) had given two day strike call. As a result, services such as deposits and withdrawal at branches, cheque clearance and loan approvals might be affected due to the strike. But ATMs are expected to function as usual.
The Life Insurance Corporation of India, the country's largest insurer, is pulling out all stops to mop up Rs 25,000 crore (Rs 250 billion) through Jeevan Aastha, a single-premium product which offers at least 9 per cent guaranteed returns, in an attempt to reverse the trend of falling sales.
Mihir Tanna, Associate Director, S K Patodia & Associates, will answer your personal income tax queries.
Those spending over Rs 2 lakh on foreign travel, incurring more than Rs 1 lakh electricity bills, or depositing over Rs 1 crore in current account will have to mandatorily file ITR even if their total income is below the taxable limit. The last date for filing has been extended to Nov 30 from Jul 31.
This month, advertisements for managing directors and the senior management team for the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development or NaBFID, should be out, signalling the start of a financial institution (FI) like no other the country has ever had. For this and other reasons government managers associated with the NaBFID project are convinced it should remain a 100 per cent government-owned entity. This is somewhat different from what former economic affairs secretary Tarun Bajaj said when the NaBFID Bill was being tabled in Parliament earlier this year: "To begin with, it will be 100 per cent government owned.
The government of India holds 24.5 per cent stake in GSTN while states together hold another 24.5 per cent
The government said on Monday it planned to bring a Bill to amend the Insurance Act, which among other things, provides for increasing FDI cap in the sector from 26 per cent to 49 per cent.
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