1. SEBI Favours Adjudication Proceedings Against ICICI Bank & Chanda Kochhar
A preliminary examination by regulator SEBI has favoured adjudication proceedings against ICICI Bank and its CEO Chanda Kochhar for alleged violation of listing disclosure norms regarding 'conflict of interest' in business dealings of her husband with Videocon group.
ICICI Bank may face a penalty of up to Rs 25 crore under the relevant SEBI regulations for such lapses, while the fine for Kochhar may go up to Rs 1 crore, besides other penal actions, a senior official said.
The adjudication process will start formally soon after taking into account the replies to the showcause notices issued by Sebi to ICICI Bank, Kochhar and others in this matter, the official added.
(Source: PTI)
2. PNB Fraud Case: Enforcement Directorate Moves Court Seeking Extradition of Nirav Modi
The Enforcement Directorate moved a special court in Mumbai on Tuesday, seeking extradition of designer diamond jeweller Nirav Modi in connection with a money laundering case related to the $2 billion Punjab National Bank loan fraud, officials said.
The extradition has been sought by the agency from the UK, Belgium and a few other countries, they added. It has been sought on the basis of a recent chargesheet filed by the agency against Nirav Modi and his family under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The Mumbai court had last week issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Nirav Modi after taking cognisance of the chargesheet.
(Source: PTI)
3. Benami Properties of Rs 43 Bn Attached; Jaipur and Mumbai Top the List
The income-tax (I-T) department has attached over 1,500 unaccounted properties worth Rs 43 billion across the country within one and a half years of the introduction of the revised benami legislation. Jaipur and Mumbai top the list, with attachments of 200 properties each.
Patna has seen the least number of attachments at 30, followed by Lucknow at 50, while in Kolkata, Chandigarh, and Hyderabad, 144, 110, and 100 properties got attached, respectively, says a finance ministry official.
“The I-T department has worked swiftly in identifying benami transactions since the enactment of the revised legislation. Over 1,500 properties have been attached so far. Many are on the radar. Search and surveys are on involving gold dealers, bankers, hawala operators, senior government officials, and politicians, etc,” said another official.
(Source: Business Standard)
4. Railways to Issue Largest Order for 22,000 Wagons
Indian Railways is set to put out its largest tender for 22,000 wagons at a cost of at least Rs 7,000 crore in the current financial year that could see big orders for Texmaco Rail and Engineering, Titagarh Wagons, Jindal Rail and Jupiter Wagons, among other wagon makers.
The orders would be through the reverse e-auction model, and if the lowest bidder isn’t able to serve the entire order, the second-lowest bidder would get a chance without a fresh tendering process.
(Source: The Economic Times)
5. RBI Widens ICICI Bank Probe After Whistleblower Complaints
India’s banking regulator initiated a second probe into the affairs of ICICI Bank Ltd for allegedly delaying provisioning for stressed loans and so-called loan evergreening, among other wrongdoings, within days of receiving a whistleblower’s complaints on 20 March and 22 March, a fact that the bank was informed of only in early May.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) started the second probe on 25 March. The first one was initiated in 2016 after another whistleblower alleged conflict of interest in CEO Chanda Kochhar’s dealings. RBI had then said the allegation “could not be conclusively established”.
(Source: Livemint)
6. HDFC MF Gets Sebi Go-Ahead for IPO After Nearly Two Months on Backburner
HDFC Mutual Fund has obtained a go-ahead to launch its initial public offering (IPO), two investment bankers handling the issue said.
“SEBI has issued final observation on the offer document. The company will have to respond to the market regulator,” said an investment banker, adding that the asset manager is looking to launch its IPO in the second or third week of July.
HDFC MF couldn’t be immediately reached for a confirmation.
The processing status of draft offer documents filed with SEBI, uploaded on 22 June, featured names of 26 companies that are awaiting approval. The list didn't include the name of HDFC MF.
(Source: Business Standard)
7. IDBI Bank Stake Sale to LIC: Finance Ministry Says Boards to Take A Call
The government today sounded evasive about media reports suggesting that it was planning to ask the Life Insurance Corporation of India to take a controlling stake in the crippled IDBI Bank Ltd, saying the boards of the respective entities will take a call on the matter.
The government has left all the decisions to boards of LIC and IDBI Bank and will not micromanage them, a senior finance ministry official told reporters on the sidelines of the two-day annual summit of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
The fact that both entities are state-owned does not mean there cannot be business relations between them, the official said.
(Source: PTI)
8. 4 Million New Jobs Created in Eight Months till April: CSO Report
As many as 41.26 lakh new jobs were created during September 2017-April this year, with the first month of the current fiscal witnessing highest ever monthly addition of 6.85 lakh, says Central Statistics Office.
The CSO had brought out the first release of employment related statistics in the formal sector in April, 2018 covering the period September 2017 to February, 2018, using information on the number of subscribers who have availed benefits under three major schemes, namely - the EPFO, Employees' State Insurance Scheme (ESIC) and National Pension Scheme (NPS).
(Source: PTI)
9. India Needs $4.5 Trillion Infra Spending over Next Decade: FM Piyush Goyal
India would need $4.5 trillion for investment in infrastructure over the next decade, the cost of which could be a challenge, but raising the resources is not an issue, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday. He was speaking at the third annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
According to the Finance Minister, the cost of financing in a rising interest rate environment is an “important challenge”, but multilateral agencies and other funds are eager to invest in India. “Getting finance is not a challenge for India,” Goyal said.
(Source: Business Standard)
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