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Indian Express Ocotber 09, 2019 By Inputs from PTI This is the first time that India has received details from Switzerland under the AEOI framework, which provides for exchange of information on financial accounts that currently active as well as those accounts that were closed during 2018. India has received the first tranche of details about financial accounts of its residents in Swiss banks under the automatic info exchange framework, the Switzerland government said Monday. The Indian Express had first reported in July this year that India was all set to receive the bank account details under the automatic exchange of information (AEOI) programme, which provides for exchange of information on financial accounts that are currently active as well as those accounts that were closed during 2018. The next exchange would take place in September 2020. The Federal Tax office had then stated that “several dispatches might be necessary” in the case of India, giving an i...

Firstpost FP Staff, Oct 03, 2019 The investors led by Mittal's private firm SBM Holdings reportedly approached lenders for rejigging the loans of the power company The investors said they would not pay off CG Power's loans after allegations surfaced that ousted chairman Gautam Thapar had siphoned off funds In August this year, major financial irregularities were detected at CG Power and Industrial Solutions In a bid to revive the scam-hit CG Power & Industrial Solutions, private firm of Bharti Airtel chief Sunil Mittal and a few investors are reportedly planning to infuse working capital for activating the company's domestic operations, said a media report. The investors led by Mittal's private firm SBM Holdings, which holds 8.3 percent stake in CG Power as on 30 June 2019, reportedly  approached lenders  for rejigging the loans of the power company, said a report in  The Economic Times  quoting people in the know of the matt...

The Financial Express July 18, 2019 By FE Bureau The ECF, which determines the central bank’s surplus transfer to the government, was one of the contentious issues in the much-hyped tussle late last year between the finance ministry and former RBI governor Urjit Patel. The resource-hungry Centre is unlikely to gain a windfall in one go but will still reap rich financial dividends over the medium term, as the Bimal Jalan panel is set to recommend the transfer of the central bank’s excess reserves to the government over a period of 3-5 years, a source privy to the matter said. The report of the panel, which held its last meeting on Wednesday, however, isn’t going to be a unanimous one, as finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg is learnt to have dissented. Although the precise size of the central bank’s surplus as estimated by the panel isn’t immediately known, indications are the first tranche of the transfer to the government could be around Rs 50,000 crore. Garg wanted the pan...

Times of India July 14, 2019 PTI NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will come out with a mobile application to help visually challenged people in identifying currency notes as cash still remains a dominant mode of transaction.  At present, banknotes in the denominations of Rs 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 2,000 are in circulation, besides Re 1 notes issued by the Centre. The RBI said that identification of banknote denomination is key to successful completion of cash-based transactions by visually impaired persons.  Intaglio printing based identification marks for helping the visually challenged in identification of banknotes denomination are present in the notes of Rs 100 and above.  After demonetisation of old Rs 500/1,000 notes in November 2016, new banknotes in design and sizes have been put in circulation. "The Reserve Bank of India has been sensitive to the challenges faced by the visually challenged in conducting their day to day busines...

India Today New Delhi, July 08, 2019 As the Sensex tanked nearly 800 points and Nifty lost 250 points on Monday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that she does watch the market but it doesn't bother her. Speaking at the India Today Budget Roundtable, which was attended by the who's who of India Inc, Sitharaman said, "I do track the markets but I also keep moving. I don't want them to affect my calms." This comes on a day when the Sensex tanked 792.82 points to end at 38,720.57 and Nifty went down 252.55 points to 11,558.60. The markets reflected Monday morning's negative sentiments in Asia where markets slumped due to a sell-off triggered by strong US jobs data, which faded hopes of an aggressive rate cut by the US Federal Reserve. The markets were also reacting to Friday's Union Budget, which proposed increasing the minimum public shareholding in listed companies to 35 per cent from 25 per cent. Asked if the markets do n...

Daily Hunt July 02, 2019 India TV HDFC Bank sends out a warning to its internet banking users about an app called AnyDesk that is used by fraudsters to steal customersmoney via unified payments interface (UPI). Such apps help fraudsters to gain unauthorized access to users mobile device for carrying out transactions that are not authorised by the bank account holders. PUBG Lite Beta launching on July 4 for low-end PCs and laptops in India AnyDesk is an app for smartphones that allows remote control of devices. HDFC Bank has shared a message saying, "Beware! Fraudsters may ask you to download AnyDesk App and share a 9-digit code which gets them access to your phone to steal money. Do not share your card details / OTP / PIN with anyone and report any unusual activity immediately to the bank.' Reserve Bank of India (RBI) too had said in February that AnyDesk is capable of acquiring full access to your smartphone that allows fraudsters to carry out banking tr...

The Times of India July 02, 2019 Reuters State-owned banks had classified Rs 1,50,000 crore ($21.76 billion) worth of loans as "wilful defaults" in 2018 2018-19, with the biggest lender State Bank of India accounting for a third, the finance minister said in the parliament.  Under law, wilful defaulters are classified as firms or individuals who own large businesses and deliberately avoid repayments.  The State Bank of India saw the highest number of wilful at Rs 46,158 crore, while Punjab National Bank stood second at Rs 25,090 crore, with Bank of India at Rs 9,890 crore, Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to queries in parliament on Tuesday.  According to data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), gross loans and advances in state-run banks came in at Rs 63,820 crore, as of March 31, 2019.  The Narendra Modi-led government has been tightening norms against wilful defaulters especially after aviation tycoon Vijay Mallya, fugitive bi...

the Business Line April 16,2019 Sankara Narayanan and Karnam Sekar are well-positioned to set the ball rolling for a fresh amalgamation, say banking experts Having successfully piloted the merger of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda, will the erstwhile chiefs of the merged banks, moved recently by the government to helm Canara Bank and as a Whole-Time Director in Indian Overseas Bank, respectively, take a stab at another merger in the public sector banking space? Banking industry experts feel this is within the realm of possibility as both top bankers are unlikely to face any difficulty in replicating their learning from putting through a complex merger. Putting two and two together, the experts say that RA Sankara Narayanan, MD and CEO of Canara Bank (chief of erstwhile Vijaya Bank) and Karnam Sekar, Officer on Special Duty and Whole-Time Director in Indian Overseas Bank (chief of erstwhile Dena Bank), may be asked to explore another merger involving thei...

Scroll.in April 16, 2019 The airline had earlier cancelled its foreign operations from April 12 to April 15. Lenders of Jet Airways met on Monday but failed to reach a decision on funding the debt-ridden private carrier. Chief Executive Officer Vinay Dube said in an internal communication that the lenders were unable to decide on the emergency funding, and another meeting will be held on Tuesday, PTI reported. He added that the airline’s international operations will remain suspended till April 18. “As you are aware, we have been working with the lenders to secure interim funding for our operations,” Dube said. “The interim funding has not been forthcoming thus far, and as a result we have extended cancellation of international operations until April 18.” The airline had earlier cancelled its foreign operations from April 12 to April 15. “The current status of our engagement with the lenders and other related matters shall be placed before the board tomorrow mor...

Deccan Chronicle April 15,2019 ASIAN The IMF's bailout package to Pakistan could be delayed as both sides are still engaged in an intense conversation to finalise the agreement and the international lending body is seeking details of the CPEC project and a written guarantee from Islamabad that its assistance will not be used to repay loans to China, according to a media report. Pakistan Finance Minister Asad Umar said earlier this month that a mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would visit Islamabad soon after the spring meetings of the World Bank Group, which includes the IMF, and an agreement should be signed by the end of this month. Pakistani daily Dawn quoting official sources on Monday said the visit of the IMF mission to Islamabad for finalising the bailout package may be delayed as both sides are still engaged in an "intense discussion" on the final details of the agreement. "So, the IMF mission is now more likely to visi...

Financial Express April 10,2019 IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath has become the latest to weigh in on the controversy surrounding India’s actual GDP growth, after a recent letter by 108 economist raised concern and sparked a debate on the credibility of official data. “There are still some issues with the way India calculates its growth rate and the IMF is paying close attention to the new numbers that are coming out,’’ Gita Gopinath said to CNBC in a recent interview. India, being touted among the fastest growing economies, is also an aspiring nation with one of the youngest populations in an aging world. However, the official growth numbers have come under severe criticism from time to time as the growth rate does not resonate with the situation on the ground, according to various experts. Although Gita Gopinath welcomed the changes made to the method of estimating GDP growth rate such as revision in base years, she raised concerns over the use of “deflator” in t...

Hindustan Times April 09, 2019 India retained its position as the world’s top recipient of remittances with its diaspora sending a whopping USD 79 billion back home in 2018, the World Bank said in a report Monday. India was followed by China (USD 67 billion), Mexico (USD 36 billion), the Philippines (USD 34 billion), and Egypt (USD 29 billion), the global lender said. With this, India has retained its top spot on remittances, according to the latest edition of the World Bank’s Migration and Development Brief. Over the last three years, India has registered a significant flow of remittances from USD 62.7 billion in 2016 to USD 65.3 billion 2017. “Remittances grew by more than 14 percent in India, where a flooding disaster in Kerala likely boosted the financial help that migrants sent to families,” the Bank said. In Pakistan, remittance growth was moderate (seven per cent), due to significant declines in inflows from Saudi Arabia, its largest remittance source. In Banglades...

Business Line Surabhi   Mumbai March 27, 2019   After Aadhaar ordinance, banks aiming to rework digital account-opening process Banks are once again reworking strategies for instant opening of bank accounts using Aadhaar-based authentication and KYC, with some likely to relaunch such facilities in the coming weeks. The move follows the promulgation of Aadhaar and other laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2019 earlier this month, which amended the Aadhaar Act 2016, Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2005, and Indian Telegraph Act 1885, and enabled private banks and telecoms to use Aadhaar for authentication of identity. Private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank plans to review its immensely popular digital account opening platform 811 through this method. “Now, with the recent guidelines by the government, we are reworking on offering the consent-based voluntary use of Aadhaar for bank account opening. As we speak, we are in the process of studying the cha...