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The Hindu, Dated August 02, 2019 A blanket ban will push the currency into the black market and stifle innovation Recently, a government panel headed by senior bureaucrat Subhash Chandra Garg placed in the public domain a draft bill calling for a complete ban on private cryptocurrencies in India. The panel recommended a fine of up to ₹25 crore and a jail term of up to 10 years for anyone found to be owning or handling private cryptocurrencies. As an alternative to private cryptocurrencies, the panel recommended the introduction of a single cryptocurrency for the whole country that is backed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Parag Waknis and Anil Antony examine the soundness of the panel’s recommendations in a conversation moderated by Prashant Perumal. Edited excerpts: What do you think about the Garg panel’s overall guidelines? The volatility of private cryptocurrencies is one of the reasons being given to ban them. Parag Waknis: Volatility doesn’t sound like a good ra...

 Firstpost, August 02, 2019 The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-Ind) has imposed a penalty of Rs 15.62 crore on state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) for breaching anti-money laundering rules. The FIU move against PNB is significant because it is based on inspection and review of the Bank during April 2016-November 2017, which covers the crucial months before and after demonetisation that was announced on 8 November 2016 by the government to neutralize black money. The FIU which is primarily responsible for safeguarding the financial system from the abuses of money laundering, terrorism financing and other economic offences said the PNB not only failed to submit threshold-based transaction reports but also did not file suspicious transaction reports accurately. The central agency is also of the view that PNB was found wanting in evolving and implementing an effective internal mechanism for suspicious transactions and submitting the correct data to FIU for further analys...

By Uzair Younus, The Dawn As economic stress inflicts pain on Pakistani households and the accountability process led by the National Accountability Bureau continues, it has become an oft-repeated view that corruption is to blame for the country’s financial woes. This line has been largely pushed by the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, with Prime Minister Imran Khan using his pulpit to make the point both at home and abroad. But is corruption really the source of Pakistan’s economic crisis? And does corruption stunt development and growth in other countries? A global problem Bureaucratic and political corruption is pervasive around the world and impacts both developed and developing economies. Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which ranks countries based on “perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and business people”, is one of the most widely used source of information when it comes to comparing corrup...

Indian Express Dated: August 01, 2019 United States Federal Reserve announced a quarter-percentage-point cut in interest rates — the first rate cut in 11 years.What makes this rate-cut action — the first since the global financial crisis broke in 2008 — more significant is that barely six months previously, the US Fed was on a hawkish rate-hike trajectory, moving in the direction of bolstering the debt-laden American economy. Why the rate cut by the Fed? The Fed has cited concerns about the global economy and muted US inflation among the key reasons for the decision to cut rates, and signalled a readiness to lower borrowing costs further if needed. At the same time, the central bank has underlined that the US economy grew “at a healthy pace” over the first six months of the year. Financial markets had expected the quarter-percentage-point rate cut, which lowered the US central bank’s benchmark overnight lending rate to a target range of 2%-2.25%.In a statement is...

Indian Express Dated: August 01, 2019 On July 15, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) launched India’s first large-scale trial for two new tuberculosis (TB) vaccines.As per the 2018 annual report of the Central TB division of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the incidence of TB was nearly 2.8 million annually, and the incidence of  Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) launched India’s first large-scale trial for two new tuberculosis (TB) vaccines  Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) launched India’s first large-scale trial for two new tuberculosis (TB) vaccines  was 1,47,000 per year. The total number of deaths because of TB (excluding HIV) was 4,23,000, and the incidence of HIV-TB was 87,000 per year. India contributes to 27 per cent of the global TB burden; the highest share globally. That is why, in 2017, the central government had committed itself to eliminating TB by 2025. The new vaccines that are being put through the tria...

By Rudra Mani Tripathi Indian Express,  Dated: August 01, 2019 On July 29, Rajya Sabha passed The Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2019; it had been passed by Lok Sabha five days previously. The Bill aims to protect investors from fraudulent investment schemes, such as Ponzi schemes. The Bill covers existing gaps in legislation that had been exploited by various parties to siphon large amounts of money away from small investors. In particular, it amends three laws, i.e., The Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, The Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 and The Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002. According to an analysis by PRS India, under the Bill, deposit-taking schemes are defined as ‘unregulated’ if they are undertaken for business purposes, and additionally, are not registered with one of the nine regulatory authorities mentioned in the Bill. A common type of scam involving unregulated deposits is the Ponzi scheme, a type of...

The Indian Express  Augusts 01, 2019 By Ishan Bakshi Earlier this month, the Union Cabinet amended the terms of reference (ToR) of the 15th Finance Commission (FC) to widen their scope. Through the change, the government has requested the FC to look into the possibility of a separate mechanism for the funding of defence and internal security. Critics of the decision have questioned the addition to the FC’s ToR on the ground that it would undermine the federal structure of Indian polity. Advertising The Finance Commission is a constitutional body that owes its existence to Article 280 of the Indian Constitution. Its mandate is to determine the distribution of tax revenues between the Centre and the states, and amongst the states themselves. The FC has a five-year term; the 15th FC was constituted in November 2017 and its recommendations will apply from 2020 to 2025. In the past, FCs have also dwelt on the distribution of central grants to states, as well as t...