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Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said that a high rate of economic growth is necessary to pull people out of poverty and to improve quality of life. Jaitley was addressing the 25th World Congress of Savings and Retail Banks here in the national capital.

“Economies like ours need a high rate of growth. We want to use growth as a mechanism to pull the maximum number of people out of poverty, improve upon quality of life, but we are conscious of the fact that dangers of development and progress benefiting a few and leaving many others out of inclusion system are also there,” he said.

He also said an aspirational society cannot wait indefinitely for the benefits of growth to improve the quality of life of the poor. 
 
He said that the ultimate objective of Jan Dhan, the government’s financial inclusion programme, was to bank the unbanked, secure the unsecured, fund the unfunded and service the unserviced areas.

Banks, especially public sector banks, opened 33 crore accounts under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) in a few months, he said.

Initially, people said they had no money to put in the account and it was zero balance accounts and gradually people started putting in money.

An overdraft facility was provided to incentive them, he said.

The government offered insurance at very affordable premium as part of the social security system through the PMJDY account to the uninsured and unpensioned, he said. “As many as 14.1 crore people have

been enrolled under accident insurance while 5.5 crore have availed life insurance under the scheme,” he said.

This article first appeared in DNA Money as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dnaindia.com/business/report-high-growth-will-reduce-poverty-says-finance-minister-arun-jaitley-2686165">‘High growth will reduce poverty’&nbsp;&nbsp;</a>

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said that a high rate of economic growth is necessary to pull people out of poverty and to improve quality of life.


What will reduce poverty in India? Arun Jaitley reveals

Amid a growing rift between the central bank and the government, the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) chaired by finance minister Arun Jaitley met in the national capital on Tuesday to discuss the liquidity issues faced by the financial sector.

The meeting was attended by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Urjit Patel among heads of regulators that included Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI). All eyes were on the meeting where the finance minister and the RBI governor came face to face first time after deputy governor Viral Acharya raised the issue regarding the independence of the central bank.

The tension between the government and the central bank has risen in the last few days. Earlier in the day, Jaitley slammed RBI for failing to prevent indiscriminate lending, saying that the central bank looked the other way when banks gave loans indiscriminately during 2008 to 2014.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The liquidity crunch caused by defaults by Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&amp;FS) Group came up for discussion during the FSDC meeting. The finance ministry raised concerns about the impact of the debt default crisis at IL&amp;FS spilling over to other non-banking finance companies (NBFCs).

Responding to the government’s concerns about liquidity crunch and its impact on the economy, RBI governor reportedly told the Council that there was no liquidity crunch in the NBFCs except in the housing finance sector. “He assured the government that the central bank was keeping a close watch on the situation and will ensure adequate liquidity in the system,” a senior finance ministry official said.

“The meeting focused on the liquidity issues in the NBFC sector. The government asked RBI to ensure that the situation in the NBFC sector does not worsen. The banking regulator assured that there were no signs of stress in the NBFC sector at large and it was keeping a close watch,” an official said.

Apart from the liquidity position in the NBFC and mutual fund sector, the Council also discussed at length the issue of interest rates, the finance ministry said. Jaitley reviewed the current economic situation as well as financial sector performance. Sources said that the government raised the issue of high interest rate impacting industries.&nbsp; 
“RBI responded by saying that the central bank’s stance has helped it in containing inflation. RBI said that the funds were available and there was no policy tightening from their end,” sources said.

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FSDC also took note of the developments regarding strengthening of Cyber Security in Financial Sector including progress made towards setting up of a Computer Emergency Response Team in the Financial Sector (CERT-Fin) under a Statutory Framework. The Council also deliberated on the need for identifying and securing critical information infrastructure in the financial sector. It also looked into the issues and challenges of cryptocurrency.

Source: DNA Money

The tension between the government and the central bank has risen in the last few days. Earlier in the day, Jaitley slammed RBI for failing to prevent indiscriminate lending, saying that the central bank looked the other way when banks gave loans indiscriminately during 2008 to 2014.&nbsp;&nbsp;


RBI-Govt rift: Finance minister, central bank discuss liquidity crunch, take stock of financial sector at FSDC meeting

India’s personal financial wealth, which is at $3 trillion, is projected to grow by 13% to $5 trillion, by 2022, making it the 11th wealthiest nation, said a report by Boston Consulting Group. According to the report titled “The Global Wealth 2018 - Seizing The Analytics Advantage,” global personal financial wealth grew by 12% in 2017 to $201.9 trillion in US dollar terms. This expansion is more than doubled that of the previous year, when global wealth rose by 4%.

India 5th largest Asian market

After China, India constitutes the second largest pool of wealth from emerging markets in the coming years and is the fifth largest Asian market in number of affluent, High Net Worth and Ultra High Net Worth individuals. The number of affluent individuals per 100 is 322, HNWI is 87 and UNHWI is 4.

The amount of investable wealth increased from 64% in 2012 to 67% in 2017 and is estimated to be 80% in 2022. Of India’s private wealth, 6% is currently held offshore, the report said.

Drivers of global personal wealth 
The main drivers were the bull market environment in all major economies with wealth in equities and investment funds showing by far the strongest growth and the significant strengthening of most major currencies against the dollar.

In terms of asset classes, $121.6 trillion, or 60% of global wealth took the form of investible assets-mainly equities, investments funds, currency and deposits and bond- with the remaining $80.3 trillion or 40% held in non-investible or low liquidity assets such as life insurance, pension funds and equity in unquoted companies.

Outlook for global wealth growth 
Personal financial wealth could rise at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of about 7% in US dollar terms, from 2017 to 2022, the report said. This is if the recent wealth expansion patterns continue over the next few years-with bulk of growth coming from equity and investment funds. Depending on the outcome of current geopolitical uncertainties, the level of global economic development and potential stock market corrections, however, growth could instead be substantially lower with a CAGR of about 4%. In a worst-case scenario, if a full blown crisis were to hit a major economies, the five-year CAGR would fall to less than 1%.

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Personal wealth in Asia grew by 19% to $36.5 trillion, with residents of China holding nearly 57% of that amount. Although the asset allocation share of equities and investment funds has grown over the past five years (from 22% to 31% in 2017), Asia remains a cash and deposits heavy region, with 44% of personal wealth held in this asset class. Over the next five years, the regional wealth is projected to growth approximately at CAGR of 12%, the report said.

Source: DNA Money

After China, India constitutes the second largest pool of wealth from emerging markets in the coming years and is the fifth largest Asian market in number of affluent, High Net Worth and Ultra High Net Worth individuals. The number of affluent individuals per 100 is 322, HNWI is 87 and UNHWI is 4.


India’s personal financial wealth to grow to $ 5trillion by 2022

The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), the newly-constituted independent regulator for the auditing profession, will look into the role of auditors for the serious lapses at IL&amp;FS and whether they colluded with the Board to hide information.&nbsp;

On Wednesday, Rangachari Sridharan took over as chairman and Prasenjit Mukherjee as member of NFRA.

“NFRA will look into the role of auditors. It will be a test case for NFRA,” a government source said.

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The preliminary enquiry report of the regional director, Mumbai, of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has highlighted corporate-related deficiencies in IL&amp;FS and its group companies.

Source: DNA Money

The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), the newly-constituted independent regulator for the auditing profession, will look into the role of auditors for the serious lapses at IL&amp;FS and whether they colluded with the Board to hide information.&nbsp;


Did IL&FS auditors collude with Board to hide information? NFRA to reveal  

The Board of YES Bank, which met on Tuesday, decided to request for a one-year extension for its chief executive officer Rana Kapoor’s term until September 30, 2019. The Board also set up a search panel to select Kapoor’s successor.

RBI earlier turned down the Board’s request for another three-year term for Kapoor until August 31, 2021 and extended it only up to January 2019. The bank said it is seeking the extension of the tenure so that Kapoor can finalise the results of the financial year and also conduct the annual general meeting while trying to handhold the new CEO.

Rana Kapoor has been managing director and CEO since the bank’s inception in 2004. Ahead of the Board meeting, the bank said it has performed consistently under the leadership of Kapoor, trying to drum up support for him.

The Board also decided to form a search panel to scout for a new CEO. The panel, the bank said, would have three existing members of the nomination and remuneration committee and two external members.

Shagun Gogia, daughter of Madhu Kapur, the largest individual shareholder of YES Bank (7.62% stake), said, “We are going through the fine print of the Board meeting and will respond at the appropriate time.”

Meanwhile, the bank in a statement said, “The Board is requesting RBI for an extension up to minimum April 30, 2019, for finalisation of audited financial statements for fiscal year ending 2019; thereafter subject to RBI approval, up to September 30, 2019, in order for the statutory AGM process to be completed. This period will also be crucial to identify and enable a new incumbent to get fully conversant with YES Bank and its working.”

The Board also approved the nomination of Rajat Monga and Pralay Mondal as executive directors.

RBI may have decided not to extend the tenure of Kapoor&nbsp; after the bank reported high divergence in its reported non-performing assets (NPAs).

The under-reporting of NPAs was the highest for YES Bank among all lenders - in fiscal 2016 it under-reported NPAs by Rs 4,176 crore and in fiscal 2017 it under-reported NPAs by Rs 6,355 crore.

Madhu Kapur had also written to the board ahead of the board meeting to send Rana Kapoor on leave till January 31 and called for a forensic audit on loans sanctioned by Rana Kapoor.

YES Bank was founded&nbsp; by Ashok Kapur, Madhu’s husband and Rana Kapoor. After Kapur’s death, Madhu Kapur entered into a protracted legal battle with Rana Kapoor. In 2015, the Bombay High Court granted Madhu Kapur and her children the right to nominate directors to the bank Board.

Source: DNA Money

The Board of YES Bank, which met on Tuesday, decided to request for a one-year extension for its chief executive officer Rana Kapoor’s term until September 30, 2019. The Board also set up a search panel to select Kapoor’s successor.

&nbsp;


Rana Kapoor Yes Bank exit extension: Lender wants 1-year extension for CEO

Inflation and higher oil prices may have dampened the currency in circulation (CIC) which was increasing exponentially as expected post demonetisation. Currency in circulation is the money used by consumers, public and businesses for various transactions.

The dip in the discretionary spending of people may have resulted in the cash with the public remaining static, according to State Bank of India's report on the economy.

The CIC increased from Rs 9 lakh crore in January 2017 to Rs 19.5 lakh crore as on September 14 this year. However, since the starting of May 2018, it has been in the range of Rs 19.0-19.6 lakh crore, according to the latest data released by Reserve Bank of India(RBI).

"One possible reason could be people may be cutting back discretionary spending with the recent spurt in fuel prices, mostly in rural areas," SBI Ecowrap said in a report. RBI is selling dollars directly from its foreign exchange reserves to designated dealers/ banks, thereby withdrawing rupee resources in return, thus reducing money currency in circulation, the report added.

However, such intervention, since taking place between banks, should not have a major impact on systemic liquidity. The other reason, though insignificant, could also be RBI replacing soiled notes.

"Whatever is the reason for such trend, this implies that bank deposit growth will at least not face pressure in the interregnum with less of a currency leakage as of now," the report added. The latest RBI data on bank deposit growth has shown that bank deposits grew less than 10% on a year-on-year basis in between August 18, 2017, and August 17, 2018.

The decline in CIC, seen in the last fortnight of every July, is partly explained by the low cash demand from the agriculture sector. "The demand for currency will increase post-monsoon as the harvesting begins in October followed by rabi sowing, eventually giving rise to cash requirement. The harvest requires labour wages distribution, hiring of equipment and rabi sowing leads to overall requirement of money for purchase of seeds, fertilisers," the report added.

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The festive season also brings along its natural demand, which gets accentuated with buying of gold, automobiles, etc, increasing the demand for currency. The recent spurt in fuel prices may result in a cut in discretionary spending by households.

&nbsp;

Source: DNA Money

The dip in the discretionary spending of people may have resulted in the cash with the public remaining static, according to State Bank of India's report on the economy.


India stops spending cash? See what fuel prices made you do! 

The move by full-service carriers (FSCs), Jet Airways and Vistara, to unbundle their services and slash airfares stems from the fear of further eroding their market share to the low-cost carriers (LCCs). First Vistara and later Jet Airways announced cheap tickets to the passengers if they opt to not have complimentary meals onboard.

And the industry insiders expect that in near future, the airlines may go a step further and offer a menu-based model, wherein the customers can choose to pay for the services they avail during their flight. Aviation experts claim that this menu-based model is being increasingly adopted by the global FCCs in order to stave off the competition from their low-cost counterparts.

Industry experts say cut-throat rivalry has seen LCCs capturing around 66% of market share in India, which is set to increase to over 70% in the next four to five years. Around a decade ago, their market share was just around 25%.

Jet Airways’s market share stood at 13.6% during the month of July. Similarly, it was 3.9% for Vistara.

According to analysts, the development comes at a time when fuel prices, which comprise over 40% of an airline’s operational costs, have been witnessing a spike for the past several quarters. This has left the airlines bleeding.

While Jet Airways and SpiceJet reported losses in the quarter ending June 2018, market leader IndiGo saw around 97% of its profit getting wiped out as compared to the year-ago period.

A forecast by aviation consulting firm CAPA says that Indian airlines are expected to collectively post a loss of $1.9 billion this financial year, led by FSCs. The carriers are not being able to run profitably despite having around 90% seats full and seeing over double-digit growth in domestic passengers over the past over four years. 
The industry has over 1,000 planes on order for further expansion.

Announcing the revamped fare deals on Wednesday, a Jet Airways spokesperson said, “The revised offering under fare choices will now allow guests to enjoy more value for money by letting them choose a travel plan based on their preference, travel requirements and budget.”&nbsp; The sources said that the airline management had been wanting to introduce it since more than a year ago but the move was being opposed by some executives in management as they held the opinion that it may end up diluting the brand.

Tata Group-Singapore airline joint venture Vistara had last month introduced a new economy fare category called ‘Lite’ wherein passengers can avail of low fares and can purchase meals on board if they desire. Further, the Lite passengers, similar to regular economy passengers, can avail of 15 kilogram of check-in baggage. However, it has to be a single bag or else extra charges would apply.

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Commenting on the development, Devesh Agarwal, a Bengaluru-based aviation analyst said, “With rising costs, the pressure to reduce food wastage, and competition from low-cost carriers, full-service airlines across the world are offering ‘basic’ fares which unbundle food and baggage. Jet and Vistara are following global trends in this era of “profit-less growth”.

Source: DNA Money

The move by full-service carriers (FSCs), Jet Airways and Vistara, to unbundle their services and slash airfares stems from the fear of further eroding their market share to the low-cost carriers (LCCs).&nbsp;


Jet Airways, Vistara give some ticket pricing power to passengers in austerity drive

Reliance Power (RPower) plans to take an inorganic path for growing its business. The company will bid for stressed thermal power projects, take up operation and maintenance (O&amp;M) of troubled power plants and also provide mine development services.

As many as 34 power projects or around 40 gigawatt (gw) of capacity has been categorised as non-performing assets (NPAs), of which several are headed to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for resolution.

A report on stressed assets in the electricity sector tabled in the Parliament shows that the total outstanding debt with around 34 stressed power generating projects stood at around Rs 1.74 lakh crore as of June 2017, citing Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data.

Besides these 34 projects, around 24 gw of gas-based power plants are shut due to non-availability of fuel, putting investments to the tune of about Rs 1.2 lakh crore at stake.

A sizeable number of these stressed thermal power projects may go under the hammer through a competitive bidding process, making it a lucrative business option for players within the power sector. It is this space that Anil Ambani-promoted RPower is targeting.

"We are looking at key growth opportunities for the company. One of those is inorganic asset acquisition of stressed thermal coal-based assets through resolution process by lenders or under the NCLT regimes," said Ambani while addressing shareholders during the annual general meeting on Tuesday.

"Besides acquisition, we are also looking at opportunities in the operation and maintenance services for stressed power projects which are under the review petition of the resolution," said Ambani. Even state-run NTPC is looking at this vertical for future business.

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The third option that the company wants to look at is providing mine development operator service as RPower is the largest private sector coal mining company.

Sharing the details of its exit from 3,960 megawatt (mw) Tilaiya Ultra Mega Power Project, Ambani said that the measure has paid off well through the sale of the asset to Jharkhand Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd. On the similar lines, RPower now wants to pursue resolution for 4,000 mw Krishnapatnam Ultra Mega Power Project during the ongoing fiscal.

Source: DNA Money

Reliance Power (RPower) plans to take an inorganic path for growing its business. The company will bid for stressed thermal power projects, take up operation and maintenance (O&amp;M) of troubled power plants and also provide mine development services.

&nbsp;


Anil Ambani led Reliance Power to bid for stressed power projects

The Union health ministry’s decision to prohibit manufacture for sale or distribution of 328 fixed dose combinations may not see a significant impact on the industry, according to experts. On Wednesday, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has prohibited the manufacture for sale or distribution for human use of 328 fixed dose combinations (FDCs) with immediate effect. It also restricted the manufacture, sale or distribution of six FDCs subject to certain conditions. The ban, which is across therapy areas, is expected to have an impact of around Rs 2,000 crore, according to Daara Patel, secretary general of Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association. The total size of the Indian pharmaceutical industry is around Rs 1.18-1.2 lakh crore.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Govt bans manufacture and supply, sale of 328 FDC drugs <a href="https://t.co/G2L4Y09psP">pic.twitter.com/G2L4Y09psP</a>
— Zee Business (@ZeeBusiness) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZeeBusiness/status/1040148075652628481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

A fixed dose medicine is a combination of two or more active ingredients in fixed dosage ratio.

According to IIFL analyst Abhishek Sharma, the ban may not have any significant impact because the brands are small.

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“This is doing more good than harm and the step is in right direction,” Sharma said, adding that this was in the offing for long and many companies have launched other variants to remain compliant.

In a notification on March 10, 2016, the central government had banned manufacture, sale and distribution of 344 FDCs.

NOTE:&nbsp;According to Times of India, banned FDCs include painkiller Saridon; ointment Panderm, Diabetes drug Gluconorm PG and&nbsp; antibiotic Lupidiclox.

The Union health ministry’s decision to prohibit manufacture for sale or distribution of 328 fixed dose combinations may not see a significant impact on the industry, according to experts. On Wednesday, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has prohibited the manufacture for sale or distribution for human use of 328&nbsp; fixed dose combinations (FDCs) with immediate effect.&nbsp;

&nbsp;


Are you in pain, or diabetic? Beware! You will not be able to buy these medicines anymore

The rupee fell another 37 paise to end at a fresh lifetime low of Rs 71.58 against a strengthening dollar on the back of domestic factors and the probability of escalation of Sino-US trade war. 
The continued depreciation of the rupee will impact students seeking education loans and people who undertake foreign travel.&nbsp;Students will have to take larger loans to meet their expenses, say bankers.

A senior SBI official said, “Our upper limit for education loans is up to Rs 1.5 crore, so students have enough room even with the rupee going up. In many cases, the sanctioned limits are not utilised. Now larger portion of the loan may be utilised as the expenses in dollar terms go up when the loans are taken in rupee. The ticket size of our loans is about Rs 40 lakh to 50 lakh, but this size may go up.”

Even companies will be impacted by higher costs as dollar strengthens.

“Higher shipping tariffs levied in US dollars are also forcing Indian importers to pay more rupees for every increase in the value of the dollar, reducing the profitability of international business ventures.&nbsp; Sectors like information technology and textiles can reap accrued benefits in terms of increased revenues,” said Mahesh Singhi, founder and managing director, Singhi Advisors.

According to forex experts, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) circular on non-resident Indians, persons of Indian origin (PIOs) and overseas vehicles set up by Indian financial services groups not allowed to be ‘beneficial owners’ of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) will hurt the sentiments.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The government has allowed for a transition period&nbsp; up to March 2019. The weak sentiment also led the rupee to open lower at Rs 71.24 from the previous day’s close of Rs 71.21 at the&nbsp; inter-bank foreign exchange (forex) market.

Anindya Banerjee, currency analyst with Kotak Securities, said, “The Sebi circular and the withdrawal of the Mauritius treaty is putting pressure on the rupee as the sentiments are impacted. The rising price of Brent which has now touched $79 a barrel which will also put pressure on the rupee.”

India and Mauritius had amended their 33-year-old tax treaty in 2017, bring to an end the investment routed through the island country to stop round-tripping of funds to avoid tax.

Pritam Patnaik, head, commodity, Reliance Securities, said the Mauritius tax treaty has not contributed to the current rupee depreciation. The factors affecting the Indian rupee are more due to global factors and rising dollar demand. The weakness in the currency does not imply higher hedging cost for corporates as forward premium are quoting at the same rates which is 4.19% per annum.”

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SBI Ecowrap in a report said, “Against the backdrop of rising oil prices and lukewarm export growth,&nbsp; the current account deficit is expected to reach 2.8% of GDP ($75 billion) in FY19, with merchandise trade imbalance likely to increase to $188 billion as against $160 billion in FY18. Thus the huge increase in the trade deficit is more linked to the average export performance in FY19 so far. Government data shows that the volume of oil imports by India has increased 5.6% in the first three months of this fiscal, oil price (Indian basket) has increased 46% during the same period.”

Source: DNA Money

Indian rupee falls 37 paise to hit record low of 71.58 against the US dollar; set to pinch students, travellers and importers hard&nbsp; &nbsp;


Indian rupee set to plunge to 72; will hit students, travellers, importers hard 

The rupee closed below 71 to a dollar for the first time on Monday as rising crude oil prices and trade war tensions put pressure on emerging market currencies. The Indian currency slid 21 paise to close at 71.21 per dollar on Monday as investors hit the panic button late afternoon and pushed the rupee down to 71.25 intra-day.

“Oil prices have spiked, leading to increased demand from oil importers. Also, RBI has taken a back seat with hardly any intervention as there were FPI inflows today,” said a senior dealer with a foreign bank, adding that dollar buying took place across banks and brokerages.

The BSE Sensex dropped 332.55 points, or 0.86%, to close at a week’s low of 38312.52 on macroeconomic worries and after a set of fund managers raised fresh concerns over an April circular from the market regulator related to tighter rules on foreign funds ownership by entities of Indian origin, which they said could lead to massive dollar outflows from the economy.

Securities and Exchange Board of India in a circular on know-your-customer norms said a company majority owned by non-resident Indians (NRIs) or persons of Indian origin (PIOs) will not be allowed to invest as a foreign portfolio investor in the country.

The broader Nifty tumbled 98.15 points, or 0.84%, to close at 11582.35.

Both the indices recorded the biggest single-day fall since August 2, when the BSE had lost 356.46 points and the Nifty 101.50 points.

Kishore Narne, head - commodity &amp; currency, Motilal Oswal Securities, said, “Trade wars are putting pressure on all emerging market currencies. US is trying to bring down their imports and improve their current account deficit, which will improve their economic situation and strengthen the dollar. With the dollar strengthening, foreign portfolio investors are pulling out money from emerging markets. The current account deficit in India is also widening, which is also adding to the pressure on the rupee.”

The sentiment was also dampened as investors were keeping a close watch on the developments in the trade war between the US and China after President Donald Trump threatened of imposing new tariffs on China.

A sharp rally in Brent crude price to $78.29 per barrel also hit the overall trading mood.

International crude oil prices have been rising on fears that the US sanctions on Iran may hit supplies although the price hike has still been limited amid hopes that Saudi Arabia, Russia and the US will make up for the shortfall.

Fuel prices in the country touched their all-time highs on Monday as rupee fell and crude rose.

“Nifty has gained 1,000 points in two months while Sensex gained 3,330 points,” Chandan Taparia, derivatives and technical analyst at Motilal Oswal Financial Securities said.

“We saw the biggest intra-day low in the two months on Monday. Nifty has broken the support of 11620 points. We may see some more dip and Nifty support will be at 11500-11450. The currency was depreciating earlier too, but the indices were on hold. I don’t see any pause in rupee depreciation anytime soon,” Taparia said.

On the BSE, FMCG was the top loser, falling 2.14%, followed by&nbsp;BSE (-1.23%), Power (-1.22%), Utilities (-1.17%) and Bankex (-1.15%).

The performance in the broader market was also hit as both the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices slipped 0.45% and 0.17% respectively.

In the Sensex pack, Hindustan Unilever, Power Grid, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and ITC were the biggest laggard falling as much as 4.58%.

Meanwhile, according to provisional data, the foreign portfolio investors (FII) and domestic institutional investors (DII) sold shares worth Rs 21.31 crore and 542.12 crore on a net basis on Monday.

Globally, except London’s FTSE, all the other indices in Asia, Europe traded lower. —(With agency inputs)

Source: DNA Money

The rupee closed below 71 to a dollar for the first time on Monday as rising crude oil prices and trade war tensions put pressure on emerging market currencies. The Indian currency slid 21 paise to close at 71.21 per dollar on Monday as investors hit the panic button late afternoon and pushed the rupee down to 71.25 intra-day.

&nbsp;


Rupee at 71/$ becomes new normal as oil prices, trade war flare up

State Bank of India (SBI) and ICICI Bank have revised their marginal cost based lending rate (MCLR) effective September 1. HDFC Bank may also revise MCLR when it takes it up for review on September 7.

SBI increased its lending rate by 0.20% across all tenors up to three years effective September 1 and other banks are likely to follow suit. With this, the MCLR of the bank stand between 8.10% to 8.65%. SBI’s MCLRs for overnight and one-month tenors are at 8.1%. The MCLR for a one-year tenor increased to 8.45% from 8.25% earlier. Most of the retail loans are benchmarked against one-year MCLR. HDFC Bank rates range from 8.40% to 8.70%.

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The new MCLR rates for ICICI Bank are 8.30% to 8.55%, depending on the tenure. The one-year benchmark rate of the bank is at 8.55%.

State Bank of India (SBI) and ICICI Bank have revised their marginal cost based lending rate (MCLR) effective September 1. HDFC Bank may also revise MCLR when it takes it up for review on September 7.

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HDFC Bank may raise loan rates after big SBI, ICICI Bank announcement   

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its annual report said that current economic scenario could increase the gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of the banking system.&nbsp;“Going forward, the stress tests carried out by the Reserve Bank suggest that under the baseline assumption of the current economic situation prevailing, the gross NPA ratio of scheduled commercial banks may increase further in 2018-19,” RBI said in the report released on Wednesday.

On a positive note, the central bank said that the gross domestic product (GDP) growth this fiscal is expected to increase to 7.4% from 6.7% in the previous year, with risks evenly placed. The acceleration in growth is also expected to help the banking sector which is reeling under a severe stress due to the spurt in NPAs and poor credit growth.

Going forward, the uptick in credit growth is likely to be supported by the progress being made under the aegis of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 in addressing stress on balance-sheets of both corporates and banks, recapitalisation of public sector banks (PSBs) and a positive outlook on the economy, RBI added. “The prevailing negative credit-to-GDP gap indicates that there is sufficient scope for credit absorption and expansion in bank lending on a sustained basis,” it said in the report.

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According to RBI, the stressed assets, i.e, gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) plus restructured standard advances, in the banking system remained elevated to 12.1% of gross advances at the end of last fiscal.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its annual report said that current economic scenario could increase the gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of the banking system.

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Bad loans in banks set to rise, crisis to get worse, says RBI

The introduction of the new Rs 500 and Rs 2000 currency notes has failed to check counterfeiting. There was a sharp rise in the counterfeits of the new denominated currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000, according to the latest figures put out by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its annual report for 2017-18.

Counterfeits in new Rs 500 notes rose sharply to 9,892 pieces in 2017-18 from just 199 pieces in the year-ago period.

In the Rs 2,000 denominated notes, the counterfeit notes rose to 17,929 pieces in 2017-18 from just 638 pieces a year ago.

Counterfeiting was also high in both Rs 100 and Rs 50 notes. Counterfeits in Rs 50 denominated notes jumped 154.3% to 23,447 notes in 2017-18, while there was a 35% rise in Rs 100 rupee notes to 2,39,182 pieces.

The total number of counterfeit notes decreased 31.4% in 2017-18 over the previous year as fakes in the demonetised notes, which are no longer in circulation, came down sharply.

During 2017-18, 522,783 pieces of counterfeit notes were detected in the banking system, of which 63.9% were detected by banks other than Reserve Bank.

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“Counterfeit notes detected in banned currencies decreased by 59.7% and 59.6% in the denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, respectively, as the same comprised only the residual part of SBN deposits processed during the year 2017-18,” RBI said in its annual report.

The value of banknotes in circulation increased 37.7% over the year to Rs 18,03,700 crore&nbsp;as at end-March 2018.

The volume of banknotes, however, increased 2.1%. In value terms, the share of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 banknotes, which had together accounted for 72.7 % of the total value of banknotes in circulation at end-March 2017, increased to 80.2 % at end-March 2018. “The share of newly introduced Rs 200 banknotes in the total currency management during 2017-18 was geared towards managing the process of remonetisation and processing and reconciliation of specified banknotes (SBNs),” the central bank said in its report.

Out of the total Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICNs) detected, the share of FICNs detected at Reserve Bank was higher at 36.1% as compared to 4.3% during the previous year.

This was because of processing of large volume of specified banknotes withdrawn from circulation.

Source: DNA Money

The introduction of the new Rs 500 and Rs 2000 currency notes has failed to check&nbsp;counterfeiting. There was a sharp rise in the counterfeits of the new denominated currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000, according to the latest figures put out by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its annual report for 2017-18.


Shocking! Fake Rs 500, Rs 2,000 notes rise in numbers; even Rs 100, Rs 50 being counterfeited  

Amid intense courtroom battle with the minority shareholders of UTI Asset Management Company, US-based fund house T Rowe Price has withdrawn its petition filed with the Bombay High Court on Tuesday.

According to reports, the issue over UTI AMC’s proposed IPO and the Board composition, which were the major hurdles, is likely to have been settled.

The American fund house holds 26% stake in UTI AMC, while the four minority shareholders - State Bank of India, Life Insurance Corporation, Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank - own 18.24% each.

However, as per the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi) new cross-holding norms, a sponsor of one mutual fund is restricted from holding 10% or more stake in a rival asset management company. Such entities will also be barred from having representation on the Board of another mutual fund house, Sebi had said in December last year.

As per the directive, SBI, LIC, BoB and PNB will have to pare down their stakes from the current level to 10% each by March 2019.

Meanwhile, Sebi chairman Ajay Tyagi recently told a media house that the cross-holding norms apply only to domestic fund houses to avoid any potential conflict of interest, and hence T Rowe Price, which does not own any other stake in domestic mutual funds, has not violated Sebi norms by holding stakes in AMCs outside India.

Earlier this month, T Rowe Price moved the Bombay High Court by dragging the four minority shareholders of UTI AMC. The US-based fund house had sought a direction from the finance ministry and Sebi on dilution of the shareholding of LIC and three banks and maintain compliance with the mutual fund cross-holding norms.

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SBI and LIC, too, had sent their representations to the market regulator and the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam), seeking their direction for the dilution of T Rowe Price’s stake in the company.

The petition by the US fund was also for the extension of Leo Puri’s term as chief executive of UTI AMC in order to ensure that listing plans of the fund house remain on track. A UTI AMC spokesperson refused to comment on the matter.

According to Praxis Consulting &amp; Information Services founder-chairman Prithvi Haldea, the situation as per the Sebi cross-holding norms is not applicable to T Rowe Price, since it doesn’t hold a stake in any other mutual fund in India.

“UTI AMC will have to do an IPO or a strategic sale to dilute the stake of LIC and banks in order to comply with Sebi norms,” he said.

Source: DNA Money

Amid intense courtroom battle with the minority shareholders of UTI Asset Management Company, US-based fund house T Rowe Price has withdrawn its petition filed with the Bombay High Court on Tuesday.

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DNA Money Correspondent