1. New 100 Rupee Currency Note in Lavender Colour to Be Issued Soon
Paying tribute to India’s rich cultural heritage, ₹100 currency notes will soon come in a new design and a fresh lavender colour. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that the new ₹100 denomination currency note will soon be made available at banks. Part of the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series of banknotes, the new denomination prominently carries the motif of ‘Rani-Ki-Vav’ (The Queen’s Stepwell), a UNESCO World Heritage site in Gujarat.
All banknotes in the denomination of ₹100 issued by the RBI in the earlier series will continue to be legal tender. As is normal, when a new design of banknote is introduced, printing and supply of these notes for distribution to public through the banking channel will gradually increase, says RBI.
(Source: Livemint)
2. Aircel-Maxis Case: P Chidambaram, Karti Named in CBI Chargesheet
Former finance minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram were named in a chargesheet by the CBI in the Aircel-Maxis deal case.
The agency filed its supplementary charge sheet before special CBI judge OP Saini who fixed it for considering on 31 July.
The CBI was conducting probe as to how Chidambaram, who was the finance minister in 2006, granted Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval to a foreign firm when only Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) was empowered to do it.
(Source: Business Line)
3. New H-1B Visa Rules Add a Layer of Instability for Employers
For highly-skilled foreign workers applying for a new work visa or an extension, the stakes involved just got a whole lot higher. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services recently updated its guidance, taking a much stricter approach to approving applications that are largely filed by those seeking work in the tech industry.
Under the new policy, which goes into effect 11 September, agents will be able to deny applications deemed incomplete or containing errors, without first asking applicants to address the flaw or warning them of an intent to refuse their submission. Recently the agency also widened the range of cases for which it could begin the process of removing foreign nationals to include those whose immigration benefits, such as work status, have been denied.
(Source: Livemint)
4. TRAI Orders Telecom Firms to Stop Spam with Blockchain Tech
The telecom regulator has asked operators to adopt blockchain technology to ensure only registered telemarketers have access to phone databases and that user consent to receive such communication is explicitly recorded.
The regulator has asked telecom service providers to use the distributed ledger technology to control the flow of commercial communication on their networks in its Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulations, 2018. The rules were made public on Thursday, 19 July.
A distributed ledger, or Blockchain, is essentially a collection of records where every person who accesses it also has a copy. But participants have to agree to make a change in the database.
(Source: Livemint)
5. Rupee Slips 43 Paise Against Dollar; Ends at a Lifetime Low of 69.05
The rupee on Thursday, 19 July, took a hard 43-paise knock to close below the 69 level for the first time at a historic low of 69.05 against the US currency as upbeat comments on the US economy by the Federal Reserve chairman drove the greenback to one-year high levels higher against global currencies.
This is the biggest single-day fall since 29 May and goes hand-in-hand with a stronger US dollar.
The domestic currency suffered a major setback as forex sentiment wobbled once again with a resurgent dollar and a slew of local issues sparking jitters among investors.
(Source: Business Standard)
6. Fortis EGM on 13 August to Seek Shareholders’ Nod on Stake Sale to IHH
Fortis Healthcare Ltd. today said an extraordinary general meeting of the company will be held on 13 Aug to seek shareholders’ nod for its acquisition by Malaysia’s IHH Healthcare.
Last week, Fortis Healthcare’s board had approved a Rs 4,000-crore offer from IHH Healthcare for a 31.1 percent stake in it, valuing the cash-strapped firm at Rs 8,880 crore.
The transaction, to be carried out via IHH Healthcare’s arm Northern TK Venture Pte Ltd, was to be followed up by an open offer for an additional 26 percent stake in Fortis.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
7. SIT on Black Money Revises Cap on Cash Holding from Rs 2 Mn to Rs 10 Mn
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money has recommended the central government to cap the cash holding limit at Rs 10 million instead of its earlier suggestion of Rs 2 million.
The SIT has also recommended that the entire amount found in seizures crossing that limit should go to the government treasury, Justice (retired) M B Shah, who heads the SIT on black money, said on Thursday, 19 July.
The latest recommendations come after the earlier suggested limits of Rs 1.5 million and Rs 2 million were found to be too low.
(Source: Business Standard)
8. Maharashtra Dairy Farmers Withdraw Stir as Govt Hikes Rate to Rs 25/Litre
Dairy farmers in Maharashtra on Thursday, 19 July, called off their four-day-old strike after the state government announced the rate of Rs 25 per litre for milk, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatna leader Raju Shetti announced.
Shetti, who had spearheaded the stir, made the statement after meeting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the latter's official residence in the Maharashtra's second capital Nagpur that is hosting the Monsoon Session of the state legislature.
Under attack from dairy farmers' bodies seeking a fair procurement price, the government announced that milk suppliers would get Rs 25 per litre rate from 21 July.
(Source: Business Standard)
9. Walmart May Appoint Foreign Executives as CFO for India
Walmart plans to bring expats as chief financial officer, legal counsel and compliance officer at Flipkart once it completes the $16-billion acquisition of India’s largest e-commerce company to ensure it follows anti-corruption laws.
The world’s largest retailer is looking at shifting some of its key people from Gurugram to Bengaluru, where Flipkart is based. It may tap talent from its Asda unit in the UK, which was sold to rival Sainsbury in April for $10 billion, sources said. A Walmart spokesperson declined to comment on these personnel plans.
(Source: The Economic Times)
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