Today Sector News – 26.02.2018
* AUTOMOBILE: The Central Electricity Authority is considering a special category tariff for electric vehicles to facilitate mass transit through such vehicles.
* AVIATION: The government expects to collect around 3 bln rupees annually from the levy on airlines flying on major routes towards the regional air connectivity scheme.
* BANKING: In what is being considered as a suggestion and not a diktat, the Reserve Bank of India has asked banks under prompt corrective action to retire high-cost additional tier-I bonds, ahead of their scheduled call option. Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India has sought comments from those who wish to make bids under the resolution process for the business of a corporate debtor. The Reserve Bank of India has introduced an ombudsmanbased system for all deposit-taking, non-banking finance companies to facilitate redressal of complaints against them,
effective Friday.
- Reserve Bank of India has asked commercial lenders to link their core software with the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication interbank messaging system by the end of April. Taking stronger expectation to the manipulation of the SWIFT interbank messaging mechanism at PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK that led to the 113.9-blnrupee fraud, the Reserve Bank of India has directed all banks to link the SWIFT system to their core banking system by Apr 30. The recent incidences of frauds in the banking sector are worrisome and raise concern about the regulator's accountability in identifying such risks, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.
* COAL: The government may in near future scrap the present system of allocating coal mines for captive use and instead only auction mines for commercial use to private as well as foreign companies with a view to boost domestic products and cut imports.
* COMMODITY: Indian Sugar Exim Corp and NCDEX eMarkets has launched an electronic spot trading platform--Indian Sugar eMarket--for trading in the sweetener and allied products such as molasses and bagasse.
* ECONOMY: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the government will continue to take strict action against those committing irregularities at financial institutions. The Group of Ministers constituted to monitor and resolve the information technology related challenges under goods and services tax has recommended implementing the e-way bill mechanism from Apr 1, Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Sushil Kumar Modi said.
* EXCHANGES: India's government fully endorses a move by domestic exchanges to cut off data to global bourses, sources said, seeing it as vital to lure foreign investments into the country from Singapore and other financial centres. The National Stock Exchange, which ended licensing deals with its global counterparts in an effort to rein in offshore derivatives, wants index compilers to stay out of the dispute.
* FINANCE: The Supreme Court has suggested that the Centre constitute a three-member committee of experts to look into the working of multi-national accounting firms in India and to what extent the rules need to be revisited to "discipline and regulate" these foreign companies. Indian companies invested $866 mln in their overseas joint ventures and subsidiaries in January, down from $1.86 bln a month ago.
* FUNDS: The minimum threshold for investing in debt instruments and related categories by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation has been reduced to 20% from 35%, a gazette notification said.
* OIL AND GAS: India has invited Saudi Arabia to participate in the country's strategic petroleum reserve programme. To deepen ties between Saudi Arabia and India, the oil-rich nation's Saudi Aramco oil company plans to invest in Indian refineries apart from the West Coast refinery.
* RAILWAYS: More than three-fifths of the total 349 delayed central projects belong to the railways sector causing a cost overrun of 1.73 trln rupees, according to a report by the statistics ministry.
* REGULATORY: The Securities and Exchange Board India and stock exchanges are looking into possible manipulation in equity and derivatives trade of some public sector banks in the wake of circulation of a fake letter purportedly for misleading the investors.
* STEEL: Numetal Mauritius, one of the two bidders for Essar Steel, has formally sought lenders' approval to acquire a stake in Odisha Slurry Pipeline Infrastructure, which is integral to running Essar Steel and faces litigation over its ownership. Lakshmi Mittal, promoter of ArcelorMittal, said there had been no communication on any of their bids for Essar Steel. Hit by rejection of its bid to acquire Bhushan Power and Steel, UK-based Liberty House plans to move the National Company Law Tribunal this week to direct creditors and resolution professional to consider its offer.
* TAXATION: The income tax department has asked Rotomac group companies to pay up 1.06 bln rupees in tax after raids conducted in 2014 and subsequent assessment proceedings had led to the detection of alleged income on which tax had not been paid. Errors in goods and services tax returns filing are coming in the way of disbursing tax refunds to exporters covered by the indirect tax, according to Central Board of Excise and Customs chairperson Vanaja Sarna.
* TELECOMMUNICATION: Vodafone India added 1.28 mln users in January, taking its total user base to 213.81 mln. It commanded the second largest market share at 21.6%.
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* AVIATION: The government expects to collect around 3 bln rupees annually from the levy on airlines flying on major routes towards the regional air connectivity scheme.
* BANKING: In what is being considered as a suggestion and not a diktat, the Reserve Bank of India has asked banks under prompt corrective action to retire high-cost additional tier-I bonds, ahead of their scheduled call option. Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India has sought comments from those who wish to make bids under the resolution process for the business of a corporate debtor. The Reserve Bank of India has introduced an ombudsmanbased system for all deposit-taking, non-banking finance companies to facilitate redressal of complaints against them,
effective Friday.
- Reserve Bank of India has asked commercial lenders to link their core software with the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication interbank messaging system by the end of April. Taking stronger expectation to the manipulation of the SWIFT interbank messaging mechanism at PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK that led to the 113.9-blnrupee fraud, the Reserve Bank of India has directed all banks to link the SWIFT system to their core banking system by Apr 30. The recent incidences of frauds in the banking sector are worrisome and raise concern about the regulator's accountability in identifying such risks, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.
* COAL: The government may in near future scrap the present system of allocating coal mines for captive use and instead only auction mines for commercial use to private as well as foreign companies with a view to boost domestic products and cut imports.
* COMMODITY: Indian Sugar Exim Corp and NCDEX eMarkets has launched an electronic spot trading platform--Indian Sugar eMarket--for trading in the sweetener and allied products such as molasses and bagasse.
* ECONOMY: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the government will continue to take strict action against those committing irregularities at financial institutions. The Group of Ministers constituted to monitor and resolve the information technology related challenges under goods and services tax has recommended implementing the e-way bill mechanism from Apr 1, Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Sushil Kumar Modi said.
* EXCHANGES: India's government fully endorses a move by domestic exchanges to cut off data to global bourses, sources said, seeing it as vital to lure foreign investments into the country from Singapore and other financial centres. The National Stock Exchange, which ended licensing deals with its global counterparts in an effort to rein in offshore derivatives, wants index compilers to stay out of the dispute.
* FINANCE: The Supreme Court has suggested that the Centre constitute a three-member committee of experts to look into the working of multi-national accounting firms in India and to what extent the rules need to be revisited to "discipline and regulate" these foreign companies. Indian companies invested $866 mln in their overseas joint ventures and subsidiaries in January, down from $1.86 bln a month ago.
* FUNDS: The minimum threshold for investing in debt instruments and related categories by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation has been reduced to 20% from 35%, a gazette notification said.
* OIL AND GAS: India has invited Saudi Arabia to participate in the country's strategic petroleum reserve programme. To deepen ties between Saudi Arabia and India, the oil-rich nation's Saudi Aramco oil company plans to invest in Indian refineries apart from the West Coast refinery.
* RAILWAYS: More than three-fifths of the total 349 delayed central projects belong to the railways sector causing a cost overrun of 1.73 trln rupees, according to a report by the statistics ministry.
* REGULATORY: The Securities and Exchange Board India and stock exchanges are looking into possible manipulation in equity and derivatives trade of some public sector banks in the wake of circulation of a fake letter purportedly for misleading the investors.
* STEEL: Numetal Mauritius, one of the two bidders for Essar Steel, has formally sought lenders' approval to acquire a stake in Odisha Slurry Pipeline Infrastructure, which is integral to running Essar Steel and faces litigation over its ownership. Lakshmi Mittal, promoter of ArcelorMittal, said there had been no communication on any of their bids for Essar Steel. Hit by rejection of its bid to acquire Bhushan Power and Steel, UK-based Liberty House plans to move the National Company Law Tribunal this week to direct creditors and resolution professional to consider its offer.
* TAXATION: The income tax department has asked Rotomac group companies to pay up 1.06 bln rupees in tax after raids conducted in 2014 and subsequent assessment proceedings had led to the detection of alleged income on which tax had not been paid. Errors in goods and services tax returns filing are coming in the way of disbursing tax refunds to exporters covered by the indirect tax, according to Central Board of Excise and Customs chairperson Vanaja Sarna.
* TELECOMMUNICATION: Vodafone India added 1.28 mln users in January, taking its total user base to 213.81 mln. It commanded the second largest market share at 21.6%.
