1. Home, Auto Loans to Get Cheaper From 1 October
The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday directed banks to link interest rates on loans to retail and small business borrowers to an external benchmark beginning 1 October to aid effective downward transmission of the central bank’s policy rate cuts.
However, banks can link loans to other segments of borrowers as well, RBI said. For borrowers, this will mean faster transmission during both rise and fall of interest rates.
(Source: Livemint)
2. No Truce at IndiGo: Rakesh Gangwal Shoots off Fresh Letter to Sebi
The fight between Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal, the co-promoters of InterGlobe Aviation which runs low-cost carrier IndiGo, refuses to die, even though the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) on 27 August sailed through peacefully with all resolutions passed by majority of shareholders. At the AGM, Bhatia had exuded hope for truce ahead saying, “I hope Gangwal’s actions will speak louder than his words”.
However, all such hopes got belied when on Wednesday news surfaced that Gangwal has fired yet another missive to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on 30 August — just three days after the AGM.
(Source: Financial Express)
3. Ratul Puri Arrested in Money Laundering Case Related to VVIP Chopper Scam
The Enforcement Directorate Wednesday arrested Ratul Puri, nephew of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, in a money laundering case related to the AgustaWestland chopper scam. Puri, already in judicial custody in a separate money laundering case related to an alleged bank loan fraud, was produced before a Delhi court in pursuance to the production warrant issued against him.
After he was arrested by the ED, the court remanded Puri to one-day judicial custody and said it would hear on Thursday the probe agency’s plea seeking his custodial interrogation in the money laundering case related to the VVIP chopper scam.
(Source: PTI)
4. Delhi, Moscow Sign Energy Deal, Set USD 30 bn Trade Target by 2025
India and Russia on Wednesday signed a five-year road map for cooperation in the energy sector, the centrepiece of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Vladivostok, as New Delhi looks to diversify its fuel sources from the volatile Gulf region.
The energy pact was one of 15 signed in areas ranging from cooperation in the production of spare parts for Russian or Soviet-origin Indian military equipment to infrastructure finance, besides energy cooperation, after talks between Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok. This was the 20th summit between Indian and Russian leaders since 2000 when the annual summit mechanism was formalised.
(Source: Livemint)
5. American Fashion Brands Push for India-US FTA to Streamline Trade Issues
Major American apparel brands such as Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Van Heusen, and Carters have made a case for a free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the US, arguing it will attract investments and streamline trade-related issues.
“An FTA with the US is a major component of bilateral business relations that is missing now,” Tara Joseph, president of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Hong Kong, said.
AmCham Hong Kong, in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), has brought a delegation of 15 top US apparel companies to India for exploring mega investment opportunities. It has also asked the government to reduce the customs duty on synthetic fabric imports.
(Source: Business Standard)
9. UPI Entities May Face Cap on Market Share
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is exploring the option of imposing a cap on the market share or transaction value of individual payment entities on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform.
The move could address concerns that concentration of transactions through non-banking players such as Google Pay and PhonePe could pose a systemic risk to the digital payments ecosystem in the country.
This issue was discussed in a meeting of the UPI steering committee led by the NPCI last week, three people present at the meeting told ET.
(Source: The Economic Times)
7. GST Shortfall May Turn Into Next Worry for the Centre
The sluggish growth in goods and services tax (GST) revenue receipts, unless reversed quickly, could poke a Rs 40,000 crore hole in central government finances by the end of this fiscal, analysts warned on Wednesday, even as a private survey showed India’s services sector growth lost steam in August from a month ago.
An analysis of GST revenue trend Credit Suisse shared on Wednesday said growth in collections in the first five months of the fiscal has been 6.4%, well below the 10% estimated for the year.
(Source: Livemint)
8. Slowdown Bites: Cement Demand Growth May Crash This Fiscal
Cement demand growth is expected to halve to around 5 to 5.5 percent this fiscal, impacted by weak government spending in first half and liquidity crunch faced by the real estate market, a report by Crisil Research said. However, the profit margin for the sector would be at a six-year high on account of recent price hikes undertaken by the industry in April-June quarter and lower power and fuel costs, the report said.
“Crisil expects cement demand growth to witness a mid-cycle slowdown to 5 to 5.5 percent on-year this fiscal, down sharply from 12 percent in fiscal 2019,” said Crisil Research.
(Source: Financial Express)
9. Sebi Urges Unified G-Sec, Corporate Bond Market to Spur Economic Growth
Ajay Tyagi, chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) says a unified platform for government and private securities could go a long way in developing the corporate bond market in the country.
The Sebi chief says for the economic growth trajectory to move to the next level all means of financing corporate investments need to fire up.
Funds raised from corporate bonds has grown over the years from Rs 3.7 trillion in 2012-13, to Rs 6.5 trillion in 2018-19. He said credit disbursed by banks, however, declined from Rs 13 trillion in 2012-13 to Rs 11 trillion in 2018-19. Also, corporate bond issuances have remained flat, during the last three years, at an average of Rs 6.4 trillion.
(Source: Business Standard)
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