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The Hindu August 27, 2019 What are these reserves, how will this amount help the Central government and does this move harm the RBI? The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to transfer  ₹1.76 lakh crore to the Central government from its own reserves . What are these reserves, how will this amount help the government and does this move harm the RBI? Where do the reserves come from? To understand what the transfer is, we must first understand where the funds come from. The central bank has three different funds that together comprise its reserves. These are the Currency and Gold Revaluation Account (CGRA), the Contingency Fund (CF) and the Asset Development Fund (ADF). Of these, the CGRA is by far the largest and makes up the significant bulk of the RBI’s reserves. The fund, which in essence is made up of the gains on the revaluation of foreign exchange and gold, stood at ₹6.91 lakh crore as of financial year 2017-18. The CGRA has grown quite significantly since 2010...

HT,  Rajeev Jayaswal, Aug 27, 2019 The Centre plans to intensify Aadhaar enrolments in  Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) , particularly the Kashmir Valley where the penetration of the unique ID that is the key to government benefits is very low, so as to ensure that benefits of welfare schemes reach to all residents, three government officials said requesting anonymity. The process will accelerate once the  bifurcation of the region into two Union Territories  is complete on October 31, the officials added. “Aadhaar is a successful tool for the transfer of subsidies and implementation of welfare schemes. The government is committed for  development of J&K , and Aadhaar will be one of the key tools that will help the Centre in fulfilling its commitment,” one of the officials said.  Although Aadhaar coverage in J&K has reached about 78%, there are pockets where its penetration is still very low, the official said referring to the Aadhaar dashboar...

Radhika Merwin    BL Research Bureau |  August 26, 2019    Insurer’s  ₹ 21,500-cr investments downgraded in June quarter Persisting troubles at DHFL, IL&FS, Anil Ambani-led firms (ADAG) and YES Bank have not only impacted mutual funds, but also insurers with exposure to these stressed companies. The story is no different for India’s largest life insurer, LIC. According to the public disclosure put out on LIC’s website, the book value of investments downgraded during the June quarter across its life (non-linked), pension and unit-linked portfolio stood at about  ₹ 21,500 crore. These include names such as Reliance Home Finance, Reliance Capital (RCap), DHFL, Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) and YES Bank. RInfra, which earlier had an AA- rating, was downgraded to C in June, while RCap’s rating was brought down from AAA and AA+ to BBB in May. DHFL was downgraded to D. As of June 2019, the cumulative book value of investments held by LI...

Reuters  TOKYO August 26, 2019    Financial markets could be in for a rough ride in the near future if investors continue to shift money from stocks to less risky assets, such as debt, gold and safe-haven currencies. China's yuan hit an 11-year low in onshore trade and tumbled to a record low in offshore trade after a sharp re-escalation in the US -China trade war whacked investor confidence and darkened the global economic outlook. The yen, often bought in times of uncertainty as a safe haven, pared early gains versus the dollar due to Japanese importers' selling, but remained firmer against other currencies in a sign of waning risk appetites. Gold prices leapt higher and benchmark Treasury yields hit their lowest since July 2016 as investors fled to safer assets. Financial markets could be in for a rough ride in the near future if investors continue to shift money from stocks to less risky assets, such as debt, gold and safe-haven currencies. “China's ec...

PTI  August 23, 2019 New Delhi, Aug 23 (PTI) The government on Friday said it will sell onion, pulses and edible oil in the open market from its buffer stocks and take immediate action against hoarders creating artificial shortages.      The retail price of onion in Delhi ranges between Rs 30 and 40 per kg. The wholesale price in the benchmark Lasalgaon mandi in Maharashtra was recorded at Rs 14.76 per kg on Thursday. The price rose after rains disrupted supplies as well as due to damaged crop in major-producing states of Maharashtra and Karnataka.      "The government is keeping an eye on rise in prices of pulses and edible oil in the past few days. The main reason is artificial shortage created by hoarders. The government will take immediate action against them," Food and Consumer Affair Minister Ram Vilas Paswan tweeted.      The government has sufficient stocks of pulses and oil seeds, he said.      Paswa...

Deccan Chronicle 26 Aug, 2019 Pune : Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh on Monday said that his force has received intelligence that terror-outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) is training people for underwater attack. "After the 26/11 attack in 2008, we set up coastal security. It is doing very well. As the Navy is overall in-charge of maritime security including coastal security along with coast guard, the marine police and other stakeholders, we are ensuring that there is no intrusion from the seas," he told reporters here. "We have received intelligence that the underwater wing of Jaish-e-Mohammed is being trained for attacks. We are keeping a track of it and we assure you that we are fully alert to foil any of their designs" Singh added. JeM had orchestrated the Pulwama terror attack in which 42 CRPF jawans were killed in February this year. When asked about the budgetary allocation to Indian Navy going down, he said: "Because of the budgetary allocat...

Firstpost August 27, 2019 The move could help the government to stimulate the economy without fiscal slippage The Bimal Jalan committee, constituted to assess the adequate size of capital reserves that the RBI should hold, submitted its report today The finance ministry was of the view that the buffer of 28 percent of gross assets maintained by the RBI is well above the global norm of around 14 percent. Post-the approval of the Bimal Jalan Committee recommendations, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will transfer a surplus of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the government. The move could help the government to stimulate the economy without fiscal slippage.  The Bimal Jalan committee, constituted to assess the adequate size of capital reserves that the RBI should hold, submitted its report today. The board of central bank decided to transfer a sum of Rs 1,76,051 crore to the Government of India comprising Rs 1,23,414 crore of surplus for the year 2018-19 and Rs 52,637 cro...

PTI,        28 August, 2019 The rupee settled down by 36 paise at 72.02 to the U.S. dollar, the lowest closing level since November 14, 2018, even as equities spurted more than 700 points at close on stimulus measures The rupee on August 26 declined by 36 paise to close below the 72 level against the U.S. currency for the first time in nine months, hit by a ‘flash crash’ in global currencies due to uncertainty over the trade front. The rupee settled down by 36 paise at 72.02 to the U.S. dollar, the lowest closing level since November 14, 2018, even as equities spurted more than 700 points at close on stimulus measures. The local currency had retreated to a low of 72.25 in day trade following a flash crash in currencies such as Turkish lira, Chinese yuan, and Australian dollar against the U.S. dollar.The global currencies faced a meltdown in the overnight trade due to the escalation between the U.S. and China over the weekend. The dollar index, whi...

26 Aug 2019,  Reuters The ministry has recommended raising the import tax for six months. India currently imposes a 40% import tax on crude palm oil and 50% on refined palm oils Palm oil India's trade ministry has recommended raising the tax on refined palm oil imports from Malaysia by 5% to curb cheaper purchases of the tropical oil, showed a government document. The ministry has recommended raising the import tax for six months, said the document seen by Reuters. India currently imposes a 40% import tax on crude palm oil and 50% on refined palm oils. But shipments of refined palm oils from Malaysia have since January been taxed only at 45%, under an agreement with Malaysia. That led to a surge in refined palm imports in the first seven months of 2019. Government sources on Friday said India planned to impose an extra 5% tax on vegetable oil imports within weeks and use the revenue to help boost the country's stagnating oilseed production. This story ...