Banking operations including cheque clearance across the country got affected on Monday as bankers under the aegis of the United Forum of Bank Unions have gone on a nationwide strike to protest against the proposed privatisation of two state-owned lenders.
Customers will not be charged for ATM withdrawals from April 1, Reserve Bank of India deputy governor V Leeladhar announced in Mumbai on Monday.
Continuing their massive selling spree for the ninth consecutive month, foreign investors dumped Indian shares worth Rs 50,203 crore in June -- the highest net outflow in over two years -- amid aggressive rate hike by the US Federal Reserve, elevated inflation and relatively higher valuation of domestic equities. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have now pulled out around Rs 2.2 lakh crore from domestic equities in the first six months of 2022 -- the highest-ever net withdrawal by them. Before that, FPIs withdrew Rs 52,987 crore in the entire 2008, data with depositories showed.
Fitch Ratings on Monday said it expects a moderately worse sector outlook for Indian banks for the next fiscal beginning April 1 based on muted expectations for new business and revenue generation, and deteriorating asset quality. Fitch believes that the disproportionate shock to India's informal economy and small businesses, coupled with high unemployment and declining private consumption, have yet to fully manifest on bank balance sheets. The rating agency said the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to pose challenges to Indian banks' improving financial performance once asset-quality risks manifest in the financial year ending March 2022.
'If supply of cash is not sufficient from the RBI, it may create difficulty for both banks and people.'
"The people are completely frustrated with this government. Now, people are raising their voice, they are saying that everyone (political parties) will have to come together under Congress' leadership to fight against them (BJP)," he added.
On Friday, Putin formally announced the annexation of four regions -- Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia -- and claimed that "this is the will of millions of people".
With the new facility, settling PF withdrawal claims would just take few hours.
Services such as deposits and withdrawal at branches, cheque clearance and loan approvals would be affected due to the strike.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said, "We are not inclined to entertain this petition under Article 32 (writ jurisdiction). Petitioner can approach the high court concerned for appropriate relief."
For five consecutive policy reviews in 2023, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) chose to hold rates, citing inflation threat. And when the prices did cool off a bit, it reminded all about the target to get the headline consumer price inflation at 4 per cent and the risks from food inflation. Heading into the new year, all eyes are on when RBI will cut the rates, especially after one of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members stressed on the need for such an action in the face of the US Federal Reserve's guidance for easing rates.
This facility will be available to all those subscribers whose Universal Account Number (UAN) is activated and seeded with the KYC details like bank account and Aadhaar number.
Conflict forces Palestinian team Jabal Al Mukaber to withdraw from AFC Cup
"No Yes Bank," Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Friday, taking a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government over the moratorium placed on Yes Bank, and alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his "ideas" had destroyed the country's economy.
The Reserve Bank of India has allowed withdrawal of cash from point-of-sale terminals, where customers swipe their credit or debit cards to pay for purchases. Noting that the use of debit cards has been steadily increasing, an RBI circular today said withdrawal of cash up to Rs 1,000 per day through debit cards issued in India was now being permitted. At present, customers are only allowed to withdraw cash at ATMs.
Although the RBI did not give any reason for withdrawal of pre-2005 currency notes, the move is expected to unearth black money held in cash.
Tamil Nadu-based Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) with pre-independence lineage on Friday lost its identity after its merger with the Indian subsidiary of Singapore's DBS Bank. The debt-ridden 94-year old old bank's fate was sealed with Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approving Scheme of Amalagamation on Wednesday.
Nestle India was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, shedding around 2 per cent, followed by SBI, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, HUL and Dr Reddy's. NSE Nifty slipped 20.10 points to 15,670.25.
Most of the lenders had informed their customers in advance about the strike call given by All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA), BEFI, INBEF, INBOC and Bank Karmachari Sena Mahasangh (BKSM), and its impact on banking services.
EPFO has verified or attested 64.67 lakh Aadhaar numbers.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced income tax relief for the middle class, a Rs 2 lakh crore outlay for job creation schemes over the next five years and a spending splurge for states run by her party's new coalition partners as she unveiled the Modi 3.0 government's first budget after the general elections.
Providing the much-needed relief to the common man, banks have been asked by the regulator not to charge any fee for cash withdrawals using ATM and debit cards issued by other banks from April 1. However, banks can still charge extra for services such as cash withdrawal with the use of credit cards and at ATMs located outside India.
No form or requisition slip is required for exchange of Rs 2,000 notes up to a limit of Rs 20,000 at a time as part of exercise to withdraw high-value currency notes from circulation. RBI on Friday in a surprise move announced withdrawal of Rs 2,000 currency notes from circulation but gave public time till September 30 to either deposit such notes in accounts or exchange them at banks. Unlike the November 2016 shock of demonetisation, when old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes were invalidated overnight, the Rs 2,000 notes will continue to be a legal tender.
The government may now exempt states from paying this tax while withdrawing money to pay salary to its employees.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday told the Delhi high court that withdrawal of Rs 2000 notes is not demonetisation but a statutory exercise, and the decision to enable their exchange was taken for operational convenience.
'Tax is not required to be deducted from specified payments if a recipient files a self-declaration with the deductor for no deduction of tax.'
The RBI notification said there is no change in weekly withdrawal limits and such disbursals should predominantly be in the denomination of Rs 500
Jaitley said the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes returned to currency chests of the RBI amounted to Rs 12.44 lakh crore
Most members of the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy committee (MPC) decided to stick to the course on bringing retail inflation to the target of 4 per cent while voting for maintaining status quo in the April review, except external member Jayanth Varma who voted for a 25 bps cut in the repo rate. "I believe that the extant monetary policy setting is well positioned," RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said in the minutes of the policy review, which came out on Friday. "Monetary policy transmission is continuing and inflation expectations of households are also getting further anchored.
Do not go for riskier options like co-operative bank only for the higher return. Even if you go for them, park only a small portion of your capital there, say Tinesh Bhasin and Sanjay Kumar Singh.
'The Indian government wakes up after the fact when it can do nothing, or rather lacks the will to prosecute military actions to reverse these adverse PLA-driven developments.'
The Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) will pay the depositors of 21 stressed cooperative banks, including the Punjab & Maharashtra Co-Operative Bank (PMC Bank), up to Rs 5 lakh within 90 days. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had imposed restrictions on the withdrawal of deposits from these banks. Of the 21 banks, 11 are from Maharashtra, five from Karnataka, and one each from Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab.
Fitch Ratings on Monday said the plan to privatise two state-owned banks in the current financial year ending March 2022 could face delays amid renewed challenges for the Indian banking sector due to the second wave of Covid-19. The government in the Budget announced plans to privatise two public-sector banks. NITI Aayog has been entrusted with the task of selecting the banks and one general insurance company for the privatisation.
For withdrawals through cheque, the weekly cap has been hiked to Rs 24,000 from Rs 20,000
Customers of stressed Punjab & Maharashtra Co-Operative Bank (PMC Bank) will not get up to Rs 5 lakh insurance cover in the first lot as the multi-state co-operative bank is under the resolution process. Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) in the first lot will pay customers of 20 stressed banks except PMC Bank. For the first lot, the mandatory 90 days period concludes on November 30.
ICICI Bank on Tuesday introduced cash withdrawal facility at point of sale (PoS) terminals at merchant outlets.
The decision assumes significance in the wake of a scam in the PMC Bank affecting lakhs of customers who are facing difficulties in withdrawing their money due to restrictions imposed by the Reserve Bank of India.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das had stumped the market in the previous two policies - in August and in October - first with action and then with words. In August, it was the introduction of an incremental cash reserve ratio (I-CRR) to take out excess liquidity, which took the markets by surprise. In October, there was no action. Rather, what is known as "open mouth operation", Das' comment that the central bank might conduct open market operations (OMOs) by selling bonds tempered the euphoria in the bond markets after JP Morgan's inclusion of India in its Emerging Market Bond Index.
The value of FPIs (Foreign Portfolio Investors) holding in Indian equities reached $738 billion in the three months ended December 2023, marking a surge of 13 per cent from the preceding quarter, driven by the strong performance of the domestic stock market, according to a report by Morningstar. The value of FPIs investment was at $651 billion in the September quarter of the current fiscal. On a year-on-year basis, the value of such investments rose 26 per cent from $584 billion in December 2022.
'The BJP will not win a single seat in Punjab.'
