1. Vijay Mallya Case: India Takes Issue of Defaulters Very Seriously, Says Arun Jaitley
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the Indian government takes the issue of defaulters very seriously and indicated that he may raise the issue of defaulters based in Britain with the UK government, in an apparent reference to liquor baron Vijay Mallya.
Jaitley told reporters at a press briefing:
As far as the government of India is concerned, we take this issue of defaults against the financial system in India very seriously and we have already sent a strong signal that if [you] dupe the exchequer or dupe the banking system, the government of India will lend its full support to all financial institutions to recover up to their last pie
(Source: PTI)
2. RIL Shares Surge Again to 8-Year High; Trading Above Rs 1,250
Reliance Industries shares surged again in the morning trade, extending stellar gains of the previous week, after revelation of plans to monetise its telecommunication business under Reliance Jio.
RIL soared as much as 6% to hit Rs 1,253.45, its highest in at least eight years, since May 18, 2009. It was the top gainer on NSE Nifty, alone contributing to about 37% of the index gains.
Its market cap topped Rs 4 lakh crore. It had earlier last week recaptured the second spot in the list of India’s most valuable companies, beating HDFC Bank.
(Source: Financial Express)
3. Third Pay Panel For Central PSUs Suggests Minimum Rs 30,000 Salary For Executives
The third pay revision committee for central public sector enterprises has recommended minimum pay of Rs 30,000 per month for executives and a maximum of Rs 3.7 lakh for CMDs.
As per the recommendations, the minimum monthly salary of below board level executives will increase from Rs 12,600 to Rs 30,000.
However, in case of CMDs, the maximum monthly salary for Schedule A CPSEs will go up from Rs 1.25 lakh to Rs 3.7 lakh. In case of Schedule B, C and D CPSEs, the maximum monthly salary will be Rs 3.2 lakh, Rs 2.9 lakh and Rs 2.8 lakh, respectively.
The recommendations of the Justice Satish Chandra committee, which are to come into effect from 1 January 2017, will be placed before the Union Cabinet for approval.
(Source: PTI)
4. Modi Govt Considering Demands Allowing Non-Food Items Under FDI Policy
After food products, the Narendra Modi-led central government is considering the demands made by foreign retailers to allow no-food items under the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy.
Confirming the government’s consideration on the demand, Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal stated that the central government might also allow the sale of other products like those for home care, manufactured by foreign retailers in the country.
Badal told PTI:
Many big global retailers are keen to set up their stores in India after we allowed 100 percent FDI in food processing sector. But they are demanding they should be allowed to sell non-food items such as home care products
Last year, the government had allowed 100 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) in marketing of food products which are produced and manufactured in India.
(Source: Financial Express)
5. Adani Enterprises Plans Ship-Fuelling Business Expansion
Adani Group plans to expand its share in the ship-fuelling market by leveraging the ports it has on India’s east and west coast.
The idea is to use its ports to fuel the ships passing through the country, taking away business from ports at Fujairah, Dubai and Singapore, and expanding the 1 million tonne (mt) Indian bunkering market valued at Rs 4,000 crore to 3.5 mt by 2020. Bunker or ship fuel accounts for the majority of a ship’s operating costs.
Adani Enterprises Ltd, which already boasts a 40 percent share of the business in India, wants to add one location a year for the bunkering business, said Vinay Prakash Goel, chief executive officer, trading and mining.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), India’s biggest private port operator has a cargo handling capacity of 151.51mt.
(Source: Livemint)
6. Sunil Mittal's Radical Proposal Might Just be the Lifeline That Indian Telcos Sorely Need
Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of global telecom body GSMA, called on global carriers to pool spectrum in entities that could be run by third-party network operators, a radical proposal that could help drive down costs in the financially stressed sector.
Mobile phone operators all over the world need to step up active sharing of resources such as spectrum, alleviate the fear of high roaming charges, improve billing transparency and consolidate to attract investors and boost return on capital employed (RoCE), he told ET.
Mittal, also the chairman of India’s largest telco Bharti Airtel, delivered the keynote address at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Mittal also appealed to the governments across the world to not milk the sector but incentivise its growth to ensure that the unconnected billions can be served.
(Source: Economic Times)
7. Railways Unveils New Policy to Address Food Quality Concerns
Railway minister Suresh Prabhu on Monday unveiled a new catering policy that holds Indian Railways’ catering unit responsible for a range of services and directs it to submit a business plan within a specified time frame, prescribing a penalty in case it fails to meet the deadline.
As per the policy, food will be prepared in state-of-the-art kitchens under IRCTC and distributed through service providers from the hospitality industry.
This will be a marriage between the best of both worlds. Food can be cooked anywhere like the state-of-the-art kitchens of IRCTC in a hygienic manner using mechanised system. Food can be distributed using professionals from the hospitality industry. For making of food, SHGs (self-help groups) especially women SHGs can be used which will benefit themPrabhu said while releasing the epolicy
(Source: Livemint)
8. More Layoffs Likely As India’s Manufacturing Sales Shrink
Despite the government’s efforts to attract investment under its Make-in-India campaign, sales of manufactured goods fell 3.7 percent during 2015-16 – the first decline in seven years – sparking fears of layoffs and debt default in the months to come.
Spurred by a global slowdown and lack of demand, sales of manufactured goods were falling even before demonetisation, affecting sectors ranging from textiles to leather to steel.
As a result, in the six months to September 2016, engineering major Larsen & Toubro Ltd. laid off some 14,000 employees. Companies such as Microsoft, IBM and Nokia were also reported to have cut back on their workforce in 2016 – albeit on a smaller scale – blaming sluggish demand for downsizing.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
9. LIC Agents To Go Digital; To Get PoS For Premium Collection
The Life Insurance Corporation of India, the country’s largest insurer, is working on a significant makeover that will include an overhaul of its lending operations, stronger corporate governance framework and a more modern sales force equipped to receive digital payments. A senior government official told ET that the insurer will soon appoint a banker to oversee its lending operations.
A standard operating procedure has also been worked out for repayment through one-time settlement scheme, or OTS.
At the end of March 2016, LIC had a debt portfolio of Rs 3.79 lakh crore, bigger than the loan portfolios of most banks. Its gross non performing assets stood at 3.76 percent at the end of March 2016, up from 3.30 percent a year earlier.
(Source: Economic Times)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)