1. General Insurance Premium Set To Go Up From 1 April
Car, motorcycle and health insurance will cost more from 1 April with regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irdai) giving go-ahead to insurers for revision in commission for agents.
The change in premium after modification will be limited to +/- 5 percent of the existing rates. The increase will be in addition to the enhanced third party motor insurance rates, which too will come into affect from April.
The Irdai (Payment of Commission or Remuneration or Reward to Insurance Agents and Insurance Intermediaries) Regulations, 2016 comes into effect from 1 April 2017.
The regulations, the regulator said, bring about certain revisions in commission/ remuneration rates and also introduce the reward system. These may trigger insurers to revisit the pricing of their products in so far as the costing input relating to commission or remuneration is concerned, said the Irdai.
(Source: Livemint)
2. Indian Companies Line up Public Offers Worth Nearly Rs 20,000 Crore
The initial public offer (IPO) market is getting busy as companies have lined up initial public offerings worth Rs 20,000 crore in the coming months to fund their business expansion and meet working capital requirements.
Hudco, NSE, Central Depository Services Ltd, Nakshatra World and Cochin Shipyard are among the names that plan to launch share-sale offers in coming months.
Most of these companies plan to utilise IPO proceeds for business expansion as well as working capital requirements.
Besides, the firms are taking IPO route to achieve the benefits of listing the equity shares on the bourses. Some of the firms believe the listing of the equity shares will enhance their brand name and provide liquidity to the existing shareholders.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
3. SBI Workforce May See 10% Reduction by 2019: MD
The total workforce of the country's largest lender – State Bank of India (SBI) – will see a reduction over the next two years, after the merger with six entities, owing to attrition, reduced hiring and digitisation, a top official said.
Currently, the public lender has around 2,07,000 workforce and the merger of six entities – SBBJ (State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur), SBM (State Bank of Mysore), SBT (State Bank of Travancore), SBP (State Bank of Patiala) and SBH (State Bank of Hyderabad), Bharatiya Mahila Bank – from 1 April will add approximately 70,000 employees.
“Post-merger we will be at 2,77,000 people in SBI. This may come down to 2,60,000 by March 2019. So it may be less than 10 percent. Let us first merge and see the impact of the key process changes,” Rajnish Kumar, SBI managing director, told IANS.
(Source: Business Standard)
4. Walmart to Open 50 New Stores; Half of Them in UP, U’khand
Global retail giant Walmart is looking to locate nearly half of its 50 stores in the country in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand as it seeks to ramp up operations in the cash-and-carry segment, while also eyeing food retail if the government eases the norms.
Sources told Times of India that Walmart, which currently has 20 stores across the country, is planning as many stores in the two northern states, where BJP recently swept to power.
In addition, the US retailer plans to open 10 stores each in Maharashtra (where it currently operates its 'Best Price outlets in Amravati and Aurangabad), Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Walmart is looking at two more stores in Lucknow in addition to Ghaziabad, Noida, Kanpur, Allahabad, Haridwar, Dehradun and Haldwani. With each store providing direct and indirect employment to 2,000-2,500 persons, the company may end up creating over 40,000 jobs in UP and Uttarakhand.
(Source: Times of India)
5. Rupee May Depreciate to 68-69 Range by December: Edelweiss
The rupee started the year on a bullish note, but it is expected to depreciate to 68-69 range by December 2017, amid global political risks and strengthening of the US dollar, says a report.
The rupee has been rallying since January 2017. The domestic currency is trading at around 65.40 as against 67.90 in the beginning of January. “The rally in rupee reached higher levels post prudent budget, muted impact of demonetisation on GDP estimates and historic mandate in Uttar Pradesh to BJP further strengthened the rupee, making it more expensive than other peer currencies,” Edelweiss said in a research note.
Factors like stable macroeconomic fundamentals, forex reserves and contained twin deficit helped the rupee to rally. “Though India’s macro remains stable, its suppressed inflation and differentials could widen causing INR to depreciate from current levels. We believe that INR may not be over-valued but it appears to be over-heated,” it said.
(Source: The Hindu BusinessLine)
6. India Becomes 3rd Largest Aviation Market in Domestic Traffic
India has become the third largest aviation market in terms of domestic passenger traffic, beating Japan, an industry report has said.
India’s domestic air passenger traffic stood at 100 million in 2016 and was behind only the US (719 million) and China (436 million), Sydney-based aviation think-tank Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) said in its latest report.
India acquired the third spot globally by unseating Japan, which flew 97 million domestic passengers in 2016, CAPA said.
Domestic air traffic has shown a consistent growth of 20 -25 percent throughout 2015 and 2016, peaking in January this year at 25.13 percent. However, the domestic travel demand rose 16 percent in February this year, ending the long streak of over 20 percent.
(Source: Times of India)
7. Ikea to Offer Affordable Deals for Indian Homes
Ikea, the world’s largest furniture retailer, is working to squeeze costs further to make its furniture and home décor products available to a larger Indian audience before opening its first store in the country early next year in Hyderabad, a top company official said.
“In the cities where we will be present, we want everyone who has a home furnishing need to come to our stores. There will be something for everyone at Ikea,” said Patrik Antoni, deputy country manager at Ikea India Pvt Ltd.
Organised home furnishing retail in India is relatively exclusive, said Antoni, adding the company is cutting costs to make products affordable.
In India, Ikea will have a product range that starts at Rs 150 for a pack of two light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs and Rs 500 for a pack of 100 tea lights. In the furniture category, a table from its Lack series can cost Rs 500-600 and a complete Ikea kitchen can be assembled on an average for Rs 2.5-3 lakh.
(Source: Livemint)
8. Ford India Plans to Hike Prices by up to 2% From April
Automaker Ford India plans to increase prices of vehicles across its model range by up to 2 percent from April in order to partially offset rise in input costs.
The company sells a range of vehicles in the country, from Figo hatchback to iconic Mustang sedan, which are priced between Rs 4.65 lakh to Rs 66.3 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
“Owing to input costs, Ford cars will see an increase of 1-2 per cent from April,” a Ford India spokesperson told PTI. Last week, Volvo Auto India announced to increase prices of vehicles across its model range by up to 2 per cent from April.
Earlier, Honda Cars India had announced that it would hike prices of its models by up to Rs 10,000 from next month to offset higher freight charges and input costs.
(Source: Indian Express)
9. RBI to Allow Nepali Nationals to Exchange Rs 4,500 Worth Old Notes
A visiting team of Reserve Bank of India on Sunday hinted it would allow Nepali nationals to exchange banned Indian currency of up to 4,500 rupees per person.
The Indian proposal has made Nepali side nervous as India had earlier allowed carrying of 25,000 rupees per Nepali citizens.
A delegation led by RBI executive director Dipali Pant Joshi held talks with deputy governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Chintamani Siwakoti in Kathmandu and offered to provide exchange facilities for up to 4,500 rupees of banned Indian bills and gave a one-week window to complete the exchange facilities.
If Indian side insists on the decision, many Nepalis who have been holding banned Indian banknotes of 500 and 1000 denominations will suffer. The next meeting is on Monday, said officials at Nepal Rastra Bank, the central bank of Nepal.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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