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Viral Acharya quits RBI: Implication for monetary policy, reforms, markets. The resignation of Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) deputy governor Viral Acharya six months ahead of the scheduled completion evoked mixed reactions from experts, especially at a time when the financial sector has seen a number of developments over the past one year.
In the past three years, the central bank has seen the sudden exit of Raghuram Rajan and Urjit Patel as RBI Governors, and now Viral Acharya as its Deputy Governor, who was in charge of the Monetary Policy Department and the Department of Economic and Policy Research, among others. “Dr. Acharya’s departure is not a complete surprise, as frictions between him and the government on issues related to central bank independence had come to the fore,” wrote Sonal Varma, managing director and chief India economist at Nomura in a co-authored report with Aurodeep Nandi. ALSO READ: RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya quits six months before his term ends. Flipkart's Binny Bansal sells Rs 531 cr-worth stake to Walmart: Report.
MARKET LIVE: Sensex, Nifty trade lower; Emami dips 5%, auto stocks drag. Market capitalisation of ancillary firms shrinks with auto sector slowdown. A slowdown in the automobile sector is having a cascading effect on component makers, with large listed ancillary firms witnessing their market capitalisation shrink on account of reduced orders, piled-up inventories, and an uncertain future.
The current slowdown, which is a combination of complex regulations that go into effect next year, heightened competition across segments, and less-than-optimum consumer sentiment, has been the most protracted in a decade, and side- effects are being felt even by dealers who distribute vehicles to the end consumer. Govt will bring bigger opportunity for transformation in next 5 years: PM. The Narendra Modi government in its second term is looking to do much more than it did during its first tenure.
The next five years will present a bigger opportunity for transformation than the government had in the last five, the PM is learnt to have said in a meeting with economists and chief executives of India Inc at the Niti Aayog on Saturday. This was part of a series of meetings that the PM lined up ahead of the Union Budget to be presented on July 5. In line with the goal to be a $5-trillion economy in five years, the PM reiterated that the country needed to benchmark itself with the global best practices, an official who attended the meeting said.
The institutional structure designed for a different era had become sort of a burden and that must change, according to the PM. Lateral entry in the government was among the ideas discussed to break from the past. Around 40 economists and corporate chiefs attended the meeting. GST Council cracks the whip on profiteering, okays Aadhaar for registration. Venkaiah Naidu suggests wider debate around lapsed Bills in Rajya Sabha. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, who is also the Rajya Sabha Chairman, on Friday suggested a wider debate about rules relating to lapsed Bills in the Upper House.
Rajya Sabha being a continuous House, no Bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha ever lapses. Currently, the pendency in the Rajya Sabha stands at 33 Bills. Sugarcane arrears touch Rs 18,958 cr; UP mills alone owe over Rs 11,000 cr. Sugarcane arrears to farmers touched nearly Rs 19,000 crore as on June 18 of the ongoing marketing year ending September with maximum amount owed by sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh, according to the government data.
Mills in Uttar Pradesh owe the maximum amount at Rs 11,082 crore, followed by Karnataka (Rs 1,704 crore) and Maharashtra (Rs 1,338 crore). Punjab millers are yet to pay Rs 989 crore to sugarcane farmers, while those in Gujarat and Bihar have an outstanding of Rs 965 crore and Rs 923 crore, respectively, official data showed. "Payment of cane price to sugarcane growing farmers by the sugar mills is a continuous process. However, on account of surplus sugar production, during the previous sugar seasons, the sugar prices remained depressed which adversely affected the liquidity of the sugar mills resulting in accumulation of cane price arrears of the farmers," Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
'No hurry': Trump reveals why he decided to abort strikes on Iran. HDFC to acquire Apollo Munich Health Insurance for Rs 1,347 crore. Mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) will acquire controlling stake of 51.2 per cent in Apollo Munich Health Insurance for about Rs 1,347 crore from Apollo Hospitals group and few employees who hold stake in the standalone health insurer.
After the acquisition, Apollo Munich Health Insurance will be merged with the non-life insurance arm of mortgage lender HDFC Ergo. Why 5G is the next headache for some of India's richest businessmen. After racking up $59 billion of net debt to survive a brutal war in the world’s second-biggest phone-services market, some of India’s billionaires are bracing for more as their next battle looms: 5G.
India seeks to raise $84 billion this year from a sale of airwaves -- most of it for the latest technology tipped to revolutionize connectivity -- posing a conundrum for the carriers controlled by tycoons including Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s wealthiest man. Investment would mean more borrowings, but the reward could be revenue streams never seen before. ED arrests two former IL&FS executives in alleged money laundering case. Trump admin mulling caps on H-1B visas to deter data rules: Report. The United States has told India it is considering caps on H-1B work visas for nations that force foreign companies to store data locally, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, widening the two countries' row over tariffs and trade.
The plan to restrict the popular H-1B visa programme, under which skilled foreign workers are brought to the United States each year, comes days ahead of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to New Delhi. India, which has upset companies such as Mastercard and irked the US government with stringent new rules on data storage, is the largest recipient of these temporary visas, most of them to workers at big Indian technology firms. The warning comes as trade tensions between the United States and India have resulted in tit-for-tat tariff actions in recent weeks. From Sunday, India imposed higher tariffs on some US goods, days after Washington withdrew a key trade privilege for New Delhi. Bengaluru, Noida, Pune: Top student accommodation destinations in India. Bengaluru, Jaipur, Pune and Noida have emerged as the top student accommodation destinations, according to a recent study by global real estate research and consulting firm Knight Frank.
The demand for purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) bed spaces, as Knight Frank calls it, currently stands at over 8 million and is projected to grow at a rate of around 8 per cent each year until 2025. At this point total demand for PBSA bed spaces will total around 13 million across the country. The PBSA market in India, Knight Frank says, is still in its infancy, despite the country boasting one of the largest populations of undergraduate students in the world.
Govt plans to liberalise terms of Air India sale to attract buyers. Embassy group to acquire 28% promoter stake in Indiabulls realty arm. Piyush Goyal takes 12 major decisions to boost exports, industrial growth. Fear of contagion looms over financial sector after DHFL's payment default. RBI junks digital transaction charges, sets up panel on ATM interchange.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its monetary policy meeting on Thursday announced the waiver of certain digital transaction fees and set up a committee to review the long-disputed automated teller machine (ATM) interchange.
Waiver of NEFT, RTGS charges In order to accelerate digital payments in the country, the RBI decided to remove the charges it levied on transactions done under Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT). Air India deal likely to be sweetened further, PIM expected by July 7. Moving at jet speed, the two-stage bid process for selling of entire 100 per cent equity stake in national carrier Air India could kickstart as early as July 7. The government has decided to come out with the preliminary information memorandum (PIM) inviting expression of interest (EoI) by the first week of July. India ETF adds most cash since 2015 as biz-friendly Modi's win lifts stocks. International investors are heading to India following the re-election of business-friendly Narendra Modi as prime minister.
The $5.4 billion iShares MSCI India exchange-traded fund, ticker INDA, lured more than $182 million last week, the most in more than four years, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Investors also added the most since September to the $1.5 billion WisdomTree India Earnings Fund, or EPI, in the period through Friday. “A lot of western investors really like having a conservative like Modi re-elected,” said Andy Wester, a senior investment analyst at Proficio Capital Partners.
ED summons senior executives of Deloitte in IL&FS money laundering case. Trouble is mounting for audit firms as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued summons to senior executives of Deloitte Haskins and Sells in connection with an ongoing money laundering probe against Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS). According to enforcement sleuths, audit firms and auditors are likely to be called for probe soon. Confirming the development, an ED official said Deloitte’s senior management was asked to appear before the agency on June 12. “We have asked the audit firm to get relevant documents required in the case and indicated that all the related firms and individuals will be rounded up.” SC allows SFIO to reopen and recast IL&FS accounts for last five years. The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to reopen and recast the accounts of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) and two of its key subsidiaries of five years starting 2012-13 (FY13).
The order came on a plea moved by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), which sought to examine the books of IL&FS, IL&FS Financial Services (IFIN), and IL&FS Transportation Networks (ITNL) between FY13 and FY18. The SFIO is a multi-disciplinary organisation under the MCA for detecting and prosecuting or recommending for prosecution white-collar crimes. The recast of books, tax experts said, would help the SFIO find out exactly how they were inflated and by how much. It will also help determine the benefits accrued to the people involved in the process, which could aid in recovery. “At present, the SFIO has accessed IL&FS servers and other documents.
I-T dept extends deadline for employers to issue Form 16 till July 10. Walmart faces major India test over unit Flipkart's legal spat with GOQii. An Indian startup's legal challenge against a Walmart unit claiming losses caused by sharp discounting of its products is winning support from other online sellers, in what is shaping as a key test of how the giant retailer operates in the country. The legal tussle between GOQii, a seller of smartwatch-type health devices, and Walmart's Flipkart unit, comes just months after India imposed stricter rules for foreign investment in e-commerce that were aimed at deterring such sharp discounts.
GOQii sued Flipkart last month in a Mumbai court, alleging its devices were discounted by around 70% to the retail price, much more than the two sides had agreed to, legal documents related to the case showed. The case will next be heard on Friday. Business Standard. Trade mis-invoicing cost India $13 bn in tax revenues in 2016, says report. Manipal group set to own 51% stake in health insurance JV with Cigna. Jet a 'wake up call'; policymakers to be partly blamed: SpiceJet chief. The failure of Jet Airways should be a "wake up call" for the aviation industry and at least part of the blame should be at the doorstep of the policymakers as the cost structure is high, SpiceJet chief Ajay Singh has said. How BJP used WhatsApp to snare Mamata and reap poll dividends in Bengal. Two days ahead of the fifth phase polling in West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee was driving down Chandrakona road to campaign for the Arambagh seat. Indian elections become world's most expensive: This is how much they cost.
Elections in the world’s biggest democracy have become the most expensive too. Nilekani panel wants cheaper digital payment to improve financial inclusion. The high-level committee on deepening of digital payments, led by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, has recommended a reduction in costs to widen the acceptance infrastructure and improve digital financial inclusion. Two-wheeler sales continue downhill journey in May due to liquidity crunch. Two-wheeler sales continued to skid in May as buyers deferred purchases owing to liquidity crunch, poor sentiment, and rural distress, shows the monthly sales data released by scooter and motorcycle makers on June 1.
Marriage season and cashflows from rabi harvest, however, augmented motorcycle sales and moderated the decline for some firms. Donald Trump's trade war confusion turns China into a long-term combatant. Heatwave conditions to continue for 2 more days, subside gradually: IMD. Sitharaman takes stock of economic policy, to hold talks with RBI guv soon.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman began work on Saturday by taking detailed briefings from four of five departments of the finance ministry. MARKETS LIVE: Macro data, RBI policy, global cues top triggers this week. Finance to foreign affairs: Modi's message in portfolios for new ministers. Tax saving tips: Invest in real estate and save tax on LTCG. Bond funds in India embrace duration as RBI rate cut bets intensify. Market experts react to Sitharaman's appointment as Finance Minister. A near-term policy agenda for the new govt. Modi win makes India stock market story more exciting than ever: Chris Wood. Vedanta seeks international arbitration to resolve Zambian copper dispute. IMD says India is likely to get average monsoon rains this year.
Sitharaman 2nd woman Finance Minister after Indira Gandhi. Economy in focus as Modi starts second term without key aide Arun Jaitley. SBI to ramp up small business lending as private banks, NBFCs grow cautious. Oath-taking ceremony LIVE: Modi, ministers sworn in at a grand ceremony. Economy seen limping behind China as Modi enters second term: Report. Modi 2.0: Swearing-in today; Amit Shah likely to be FM, Nadda new BJP chief. FDI inflows contract in FY19, first in 6 yrs, on weak economic conditions. Modi win kickstarts rupee bond sales as borrowing costs decline to year low.
Adani offers lenders Rs 500 cr upfront in fresh bid for Jaypee Infratech. Combined debt of state-run OMCs hits five-year high of Rs 1.62 trillion. Deficient pre-monsoon rains put almost half of India on drought alert. Bitcoin jumps towards $9,000 in best-performing month since 2019. MCA prepares a list of offenders to prevent them from fleeing country. Anil Ambani to sell BIG FM for Rs 1,050 cr to Jagran's Music Broadcast. MARKETS LIVE: Asian peers, SGX Nifty indicate flat start for indices today.
US H-1B visa rules to affect Indian IT profit margins in FY20: Report. Shaktikanta Das meets Jaitley; govt says reports on FM's health 'baseless' Smriti Irani's aide shot dead in Amethi; FIR lodged against 5 persons. Imran Khan dials PM Modi, seeks better ties between India and Pakistan. In next 5 years India will regain its lost position in world order: Modi. Switzerland steps up sharing banking info; 11 Indians get notices in a day. Sensex, Nifty end at record closing high as investors cheer BJP's victory. Arun Jaitley holds meeting on next budget amid rumours of ill health.
Hinduja group confirms evaluating options for Jet Airways stake. From investment cap to pension funds, Sebi moots changes to FPI rules. RBI pushes crisis-hit NBFCs to maintain more high-quality liquid assets. Modi 2.0: Govt readies measures to lift demand; focus on lowering I-T rates. LS polls 2019: A $1.4 trillion spending push tops Modi 2.0 agenda. Amit Shah may debut, Jaitley's role uncertain in Modi's new cabinet. Rahul Gandhi warns Congress workers against 'propaganda of fake exit polls' Poll panel rejects Opposition's demand to tweak VVPAT counting process. Election result LIVE: Rahul trailing in Amethi, Modi leads in Varanasi. Ahead of vote counting, Odisha Cong chief Niranjan Patnaik concedes defeat.
YES Bank begins provisioning for exposure to ADAG, Essel group firms. Bank of Baroda narrows Q4 loss to Rs 991 cr, NPA provisions at Rs 5,550 cr. EC rejects Opposition demand on changes to VVPAT counting process: Report. Lok Sabha elections: I congratulate Team Modi Sarkar, says Amit Shah. MARKETS LIVE: Indices to remain volatile ahead of Lok Sabha poll outcome. RBI rules out credit line for NBFCs, discusses revised bad loan circular. Tata's biggest challenge: $14 billion in auto debt and a slowdown in China. PSLV-C46 takes off successfully with India's earth observation satellite. Competition watchdog probing allegations against Maruti, say reports. Election LIVE: Union Cabinet passes resolution to dissolve 16th Lok Sabha. Tech Mahindra Q4 consolidated net profit slips 8.4% to Rs 1,126.6 crore. Irdai may hike third party insurance premium for cars, two-wheelers in FY20. ArcelorMittal tells NCLAT it will pay Rs 42k cr for Essar Steel takeover. BJP to meet allies, discuss new govt after exit polls predict victory.
Investor wealth soars Rs 5.33 trillion as exit polls predict return of NDA. Exit Poll outcome: Brokerages see market rally in the making. Sensex vaults 1,422 pts, most in 10 years, after exit polls predict NDA win. Jaypee Infra insolvency: 23,000 home buyers, 13 banks vote on NBCC bid. Nifty can slip up to 15% if Narendra Modi-led NDA fails to form govt: UBS. US labour agency says Uber drivers are 'contractors', not employees. MARKETS LIVE: Sensex opens 100 points higher; Jet Airways skids 5%