Electing Union Bank of India chairman V Leeladhar as the new chief, the Indian Banks Association on Thursday said it has constituted a committee to draw up a long-term perspective 'Vision Plan' for the banking industry.
While some states like Kerala and Telangana were badly hit by the strike, the impact was partial in Punjab, Haryana and Maharashtra
Banking on the Budget's tax relief, the BJP seeks to energise Delhi's middle class; the AAP is doing its bit too. But will their outreach mobilise this politically crucial yet disengaged electorate?
Dr T V Somanathan is the first finance secretary to be appointed Cabinet secretary since 1985. His appointment at this juncture seems to carry much meaning for the forthcoming trajectory of reforms and restructuring of India's steel frame.
The Enforcement Directorate arrested Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor under money-laundering charges in Mumbai in the early hours of Sunday, officials said. The banker was held under the provision of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) around 3 am as he was allegedly not cooperating in the probe, they said.
The Union government will soon make amendments to the foreign trade policy (FTP) to enable exporters to claim export benefits for settling trade in rupees. These benefits are, so far, available for export payments received in foreign currencies. After the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) unveiled a mechanism to settle international trade transactions in the local currency on Monday, exporters have been demanding that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry come up with a clarification on the matter.
Caste census politics took centre stage on Thursday with the Congress terming the government's decision as a 'diversionary tactic' and a move for headlines management and the Bharatiya Janata Party saying it has exposed the difference between the Centre's 'true intentions' and the 'empty sloganeering' of the opposition party.
The CBI has shared its findings with the Enforcement Directorate.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said she is likely to introduce the new income tax bill, which will replace the six-decade-old I-T Act, in the Lok Sabha in the coming week.
The combined entity is set to be the third largest bank in India, behind State Bank of India and ICICI Bank.
In the broader market, BSE midcap and BSE smallcap indices underperformed the larger counterparts and ended flat with a negative bias.
'There is no scope for any doubt. This was a scheme designed to enrich the ruling party.'
Ten central trade unions except Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh are observing one-day general strike on Thursday to protest against various government policies.
The year 2022 saw the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) start acting on the policy repo rate after a gap of two years. The six-member monetary policy committee of the RBI reduced interest rate sharply - by 115 bps - when Covid-19 struck in 2020. In March 2020, days after the nationwide lockdown was announced, MPC in an unscheduled meeting reduced the repo rate by 75 bps, followed by another 40 bps in May. Status quo was maintained for the next two years since the May repo rate hike.
India Inc has pitched for rate cut to boost economic activities.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Vice President JD Vance have expressed satisfaction with the progress made in negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement. The two leaders met in New Delhi and discussed a range of bilateral issues, including cooperation in energy, defense, strategic technologies, and other areas. They also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.
The increasing involvement of Big Tech in the financial system could give rise to concentration risk and there are potential spillovers, which call for closer attention, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Tuesday. "...enormous amounts of consumer data is being generated and leveraged upon by a few entities (the so-called Big Tech) by virtue of their huge customer base. "Such developments raise concerns on concentration risk and potential spillovers as their level of engagement with the financial system strengthens in the years to come," Das said at the Global Fintech Fest 2022.
Despite its admirable competence and proven track record, the RBI doesn't have the capacity to supervise an economy that's growing so fast and becoming larger by the year, points out T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.
Moody's on Monday slashed India's growth forecast for 2020 to 5.4 per cent from 6.6 per cent projected earlier, on slower than expected economic recovery. In its update on Global Macro Outlook, Moody's Investors Service said India's economy has decelerated rapidly over the last 2 years and economic recovery is likely to be 'shallow'.
FinMin officials say an announcement could be made in the Budget.
The staff and officers of banks and insurance companies are expected to go on a day long strike following a call by major central trade unions on Tuesday (February 24) demanding a wage revision.
Issuance of new bank licences proves that the apex bank wants the financial sector to flourish.
Short-term government bonds fell behind longer-dated securities in demand this month so far due to a liquidity crunch in the banking system and expectations of a delay in a rate cut, said market participants. Investors have favoured longer-tenure government bonds, or g-secs, with insurance companies and pension funds leading the charge by stocking up on those with maturities of 30 years and more. Preference for longer-term securities was strengthened by the conclusion of the borrowing programme, which compelled institutional investors to fulfil their requirements in the secondary market.
The CBI has been carrying out searches at various locations for the past few days to locate assets acquired from the proceeds of the scam, officials said.
Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday said underlying economic activity in India continues to be strong, but external factors will cause some "dent" to the economy. Speaking at the BFSI Insight Summit 2022 organised by Business Standard, Das said the RBI tracks 70 fast moving indicators and most of them are in the "green box". It is the external sector, mired by a fear of recession or clear visibility about slowing growth in a large part of the world, where the challenges lie, he said, adding that the impact of external demand will "dent" the economy.
The two-day nationwide strike called by central trade unions to protest the Centre's alleged anti-worker policies evoked mixed response all over country on Tuesday.
The ED said that the investigation further revealed that there are 78 companies owned by the accused and his family members and it needed to probe whether the money went into these companies.
As per norms, sanction for prosecution of government employees accused of corruption has to be given within four months' stipulated time.
With over 3,000 species of plants, 26 interconnected lakes and the 250-year-old Great Banyan Tree -- the largest in the world -- the Indian Botanic Garden is a veritable treasure, discovers Payal Singh Mohanka.
While the capital spending is being maintained at 3.1 per cent of the GDP, a little more would have boosted economic growth even further, suggests Rajiv Memani.
Journalist and author Chitra Subramaniam has demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) make public its findings from the "box of evidence" received from Switzerland regarding the Bofors payoffs. Subramaniam, author of 'Boforsgate: A Journalist's Pursuit of Truth', expressed concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the evidence, questioning who opened the box, when it was opened, and what it contained. She also raised doubts about the official narrative regarding the alleged bribe in the Bofors case, suggesting the sum of Rs 64 crore may not reflect the full extent of the corruption. Subramaniam also alleged that the CBI planted stories about Hindi film actor Amitabh Bachchan to derail the investigation and launched a political vendetta against the Bachchans. She recalled that Bachchan had come to her home and asked if she had seen his name. The CBI has recently requested assistance from the United States in the case, seeking information from private investigator Michael Hershman, who claims to have crucial details about the scandal. The Bofors scandal, a major bribery case involving the Indian government and the Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors in the 1980s, pertains to allegations of a Rs 64-crore bribe in a Rs 1,437-crore deal for the supply of 400 155mm field Howitzers.
'The PSBs ended up recording Rs 7,709 crore losses in the March quarter compared to the Rs 11,688 crore profits of their private peers,' reveals Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Vigilance Commissioner Suresh N Patel was on Wednesday appointed as the Central Vigilance Commissioner, a year after the post fell vacant.
The Union Budget's focus on capital expenditure is expected to crowd-in private investment and push the GDP growth rate close to 7 per cent in the next financial year beginning April 1, said a Reserve Bank article on 'State of the Economy'. In 2023-24, capital expenditure is budgeted at Rs 10 lakh crore which will constitute 3.3 per cent of GDP. "We believe that India will decouple from macroeconomic projections of current vintage and also from the rest of the world.
The 'Rating Level 4' means that the financial market regulators have all regulatory measures "fully in force"
In a tough action, the Government on Thursday barred Greenpeace India from receiving foreign funds with immediate effect by suspending its licence for six months and froze all its accounts, alleging it has "prejudicially" affected the country's public and economic interests.
Piramal Enterprises' bid for debt-ridden DHFL received the most votes from lenders at the close of the voting process on Friday, sources said. Piramal Enterprises' bid received 94 per cent votes as compared to 45 per cent for the US-based Oaktree Capital. Voting was done on various parameters, including qualitative and quantitative.
The Indian rupee is expected to trade between 80 and 84 against dollar in the first three months of 2023 with support from overseas inflows though worsening current account deficit (CAD) and reduced interest rate differential between the US and India pose challenges. According to a Business Standard Poll of 10 participants, most said the rupee could gain strength in January due to foreign inflows, and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is not expected to allow the currency to depreciate ahead of the Union Budget scheduled on February 1. The rupee depreciated 10.15 per cent in 2022, its worst performance since 2013 as the war in Europe and the interest rate increase by the US Federal Reserve prompted investors to flee emerging markets.
It was a protest which held a mirror to the government of a state taking pride in its commitment to democracy, gender equality and social indices.One person, who in his employed days had known governments and political parties at close quarters, told me that public perception of how the Kerala government handled the ASHA workers' strike had been terrible, reports Shyam G Menon.
The Bharatiya Janata Party regime will have to make good on this election slogan to restore state-owned banks to health, says Rajiv Lall.
