Debit card payments remained sluggish due to the surge in digital transactions after the pandemic, and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has emerged as the most popular mode of money transfer, particularly for small value transactions, according to RBI data. In July 2020, the total debit card spends stood at Rs 2.81 trillion, as compared to Rs 3.15 trillion in July 2023, reflecting a growth of 11.96 per cent. UPI spends have seen a whopping growth of 428 per cent, zooming from Rs 2.90 trillion to Rs 15.33 trillion during the same period, the data revealed.
Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao on Wednesday said while the central bank will foster growth in the microfinance (MFI) sector, the lenders in the space should not throw caution to the wind to achieve higher asset growth and returns. MFIs should not try to mimic the strategies of mainstream finance, as those serving the microfinance borrowers have a greater need to balance the social objectives with their lending operations, he said.
'To the believers of crypto regulations, I have only one question to ask, how will you regulate it?'
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given HDFC Bank six months to migrate HDFC's home loan customers to external benchmark linked lending rate (EBLR), top sources in the bank told Business Standard. Almost half of HDFC's 5.4 million customers are home loan customers. It is mandatory for banks to link retail loans and loans to micro, medium and small enterprises to an external benchmark. Non-banking financial companies do not have such a mandate.
While banks are not as exposed as the corporate sector during the initial stage of the pandemic, the strain on lenders could ultimately be profound. Banks face a second-order hit compared with the corporate and household sectors.
High loan-to-value and high-yield buckets have reported higher delinquencies
The Indian startup ecosystem has lauded the inclusion of startups in the New Delhi Leaders' Declaration for the first time ever in the history of G20. Industry stakeholders say that the move will lead to easier access to capital, reduce regulatory hurdles, and may revive funding activity. The Declaration, through the Startup20 initiative, recognised startups as "natural engines of growth" and key to socio-economic transformation by driving innovation and creating employment.
The Department of Post, Tech Mahindra, Videocon Group and stock exchange NSE have joined big corporates like Ambanis and Birlas to seek entry into banking business through newly created niche category of Payments and Small Finance Banks.
Pant, a 1991-batch Indian Administrative Service officer of Rajasthan cadre, is currently secretary in the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways.
According to state officials, the project envisages lifting of 17.40 thousand million cubic feet of water from river Thunga to Bhadra reservoir and 29.90 TMC from Bhadra reservoir.
The BJP's manifesto speaks about the Prime Minister's vision of making 'Atmanirbhar Bihar'.
One of the factors behind the rise in securitisation deals was State Bank of India's (SBI) decision to buy portfolio worth Rs 45,000 crore from NBFCs
The niche banks - small finance and payments banks -have been set up to further the regulator's objective of deepening financial inclusion.
Race for Asia's No. 1 MFI spot: Bandhan now closes in on Grameen Bank
What connects P S Jayakumar of Bank of Baroda, V Vaidyanathan of Capital First Ltd and Chandra Shekhar Ghosh of Bandhan?
For smaller MFIs, resuming operations is more difficult because they haven't got any fresh bank credit sanctioned from their lenders.
Other reputed firms like McKinsey, Boston Consultancy Group, PwC, Ernst & Young and KPMG had also applied for getting the mandate from Bandhan.
'We do not know when we will get to the business-as-usual mode.' 'Many borrowers may not be able to pay up.' 'The incidence of cheque bouncing has doubled or even trebled, some lenders say,' says Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Mudra Bank will be a Rs 20,000-crore institution, which would "primarily be responsible for refinancing all micro-finance institutions.
Could it have been more reformist? Of course, but this is an election year Budget, observes Akash Prakash.
Retail investors now own a bigger slice of small-cap companies than a couple of years earlier, attributable to their growing conviction in mutual fund (MF) schemes focused on this space. Data from Capitaline shows MFs' average holding in the National Stock Exchange Nifty Smallcap 250 rising to 8.67 per cent, from 7.67 per cent in the past two financial years, with the number of companies with over 20 per cent MF holdings, rising from 15 to 24. At the end of May, the top five small-cap firms with the highest MF holdings were Carborundum Universal, Blue Star, Cyient, Gujarat State Petronet, and Cholamandalam Finance.
There have been many efforts in the past to develop Mumbai into an IFC, while an expert group was also set up by the government years ago to study this possibility.
Politicians and Twitter warriors around the globe have a new buzzword among them: Net zero. Everyone appears to be keen to state their commitment to net zero, with India providing an outlay of Rs 35,000 crore to achieve energy transition and net-zero objectives in its Budget for FY24, even as the latest and final report by the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that current efforts are not enough to curb global warming. A number of small factory owners and businesses, however, have pointed out that the transition to net-zero emissions will cost them hugely.
A vast majority of borrowers are in the essential services' supply chain with tiny and micro businesses, and this has sprung back.
Bringing in the untapped informal sector into the formal one will benefit business.
The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has arrested a person who the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) said has emerged as the mastermind of the racket of incorporating a large number of shell companies with Chinese links in India.
The microfinance vertical of the bank will provide loans of Rs 80,000 to Rs 1,00,000.
The Reserve Bank on Friday set up a three-member committee under former Governor Bimal Jalan to scrutinise applications for new bank licences, which are expected to be awarded by January.
The World Bank has approved loans totalling $1.75 billion (about Rs 13,834.54 crore) to fund India's PM Ayushman Bharat scheme and private investment to boost the economic growth. Of the total loan, $1 billion will go towards the health sector, while the rest $750 million will be in the form of development policy loan (DPL) to fill the financing gaps through private sector investment in the economy. The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved two complementary loans of $500 million each to support and enhance India's health sector.
'...for at least 6 months and give them peace of mind to get back on their feet.' 'Entrepreneurs are suffocating and not able to run their companies peacefully.'
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will kick start the customary pre-Budget consultation exercise with stakeholders from Wednesday by holding the first such meeting with experts of agriculture and agro-processing industry. She will be seeking inputs from various stakeholders, including industry bodies, farmer organisations and economists for reviving consumption and boosting growth hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The growth this year is expected to be in the double-digit during the current fiscal.
In an email interview with Ranju Sarkar, International Finance Corporation's South Asia director Mengistu Alemayehu explains why the firm is bullish on building affordable homes in India.
These include home, industrial development (mining), justice, labour, excise, environment conservation and climate change, disaster management and rehabilitation and civil aviation.
Experts say this is a good time to buy a house for self-use, points out Sanjay Kumar Singh.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) will soon start public consultation for a national retail trade policy, which is likely to include an insurance scheme aimed at providing financial protection against losses caused by theft, accidents or natural calamities. The policy will also spell out ways to give traders access to low-cost finance, promote digital inclusion, and create necessary infrastructure to support them, a senior government official told Business Standard. This is expected to offer relief especially to traditional traders, who are facing stiff competition from large e-commerce players.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday asked private sector companies to clear dues to small businesses within 45 days and admitted that the central departments and enterprises are also not making payments to them on time. She conceded that the Centre, states and state-owned enterprises too have outstanding dues to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The minister said that at a meeting with big businesses here two days ago, she had appealed to them to ensure that the dues of small businesses, who are the backbone of the economy, are cleared on time.
Only when we are part of the same family, which will happen down the line, then, of course, we will give them (PMC depositors) all the assurance and the comfort.'
Seek advice from Sebi-registered investment advisors whose names are available on Sebi's Web site.
Every political party loves to use the bait of loan waiver to woo the electorate. If their hearts bleed for the poor, they can always use the party funds to pay off the lenders, suggests Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The BJP MP said the guidelines for grant of licences were 'brazenly flouted'.
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