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  Bank strike: Digital operations, delayed salaries to give some pain ahead Various rounds of wage negotiations between banks and unions have failed to make headway Branch-level operations, including cheque clearance and cash deposits, took a hit on Wednesday after 1 million bank employees participated on the first day of a two-day nationwide strike called by unions demanding wage hike. While ATM functions were not affected much, about 80 per cent were operational, some digital transactions were hit. A total of 3.9 million instruments, including cheques and demand drafts worth Rs 217 billion could not be processed by banks during the day, said C H Venkatachalam, general secretary of the All India Bank Employees' Association. The impact is expected to be similar on Thursday. The strike resulted in the shutdown of around 85,000 branches of public sector banks and some of those of the older private sector banks, for the full day, Venkatachalam said. However, operations of ba...

Moody's cuts India's growth forecast to 7.3% from 7.5% on higher oil prices Moody's, however, maintained its 2019 growth forecast at 7.5 per cent Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday cut India's 2018 growth forecast to 7.3 per cent from the previous estimate of 7.5 per cent, saying the economy is in cyclical recovery but higher oil prices and tighter financial conditions will weigh on the pace of acceleration. Moody's, however, maintained its 2019 growth forecast at 7.5 per cent. "The Indian economy is in cyclical recovery led by both investment and consumption. However, higher oil prices and tighter financial conditions will weigh on the pace of acceleration. "We expect GDP growth of about 7.3 per cent in 2018, down from our previous forecast of 7.5 per cent. Our growth expectation for 2019 remains unchanged at 7.5 per cent," it said in an update of its 'Global Macro Outlook: 2018-19'. Moody's said growth should benefit fr...

SEBI  shuts FII-to-FII trades; huge demand seen for HDFC Bank stock on Jun 1 Facility was extensively used in case of stocks such as HDFC Bank, where FII investment limits are often fully utilized Market regulator the Securities and Exchange board of India (Sebi) has scrapped the special window meant for inter-se trading between foreign institutional investors (FIIs). The move would hurt foreign institutional investors (FIIs) who used to avail this window to deal in stocks such as HDFC Bank, where FII investment limits are often fully utilized. Also known as ‘6 lac series’, the facility allowed shares change hands among FIIs. In some cases, this window generated more volumes than the main trading window. For instance, in the past three months the trading volumes in ‘6 lac series’ of HDFC Bank is 42 per cent that of overall volume in the stock. The decision to scrap the special trading platform has come just two days before window of trading for FIIs is to open in HDFC Bank....

 India Won’t Levy Duty on Solar Gear Imports Govt rejects proposal of DG of safeguards to impose 70% duty on solar imports from China and Malaysia The government has decided not to impose safeguards duty on solar equipment from China and Malaysia, overruling the directorate general of safeguards’ recommendation of a 70% levy that had delighted local manufacturers but alarmed developers who felt that the steep rise in input costs would make projects unviable. The Delhi High Court disposed of a petition challenging the proposed duty after the government’s counsel said the directorate general of safeguards’ recommendation was not binding. The counsel showed the court confidential minutes of a meeting held by the standing committee on safeguards, which had decided not to impose the duty. Anand Kumar, secretary, ministry of new and renewable energy, confirmed there would be no provisional safeguard duty. “As of now there will be no duty,” he told ET. ISMA Petition “If it e...

Govt Refutes Exporters’ Claim on Pending GST Refunds Says there has been no dip in refunds; special refund fortnight to begin from May 31 The government has refuted exporters’ claim that Rs 20,000 crore of goods and services tax (GST) refund is pending, and said there has been no dip in refunds as it announced a special refund fortnight beginning May 31. “Refund claims to the tune of RS 7,000 crore-Rs 14,000 crore on the IGST side, and Rs 7,000 crore on account of ITC, are pending with the government as on date, as against the figure of ?20,000 crore projected by FIEO in the press reports,” the government said in a statement. The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) had on Tuesday raised the issue of refunds claiming a slowdown and Rs 20,000 dues. The government admitted that refunds of goods and services tax (GST) have been a concern for both itself and trade for the past several months, but so far Rs 30,000 crore GST refund has been sanctioned -- Rs 16,000 crore...

SEBI  sets up review panel to hear disputes between rating agencies & firms Committee will consist majority of independent directors; Nearly 1,000 companies have challenged ratings assigned by agencies in 2017 The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Wednesday directed rating agencies to set up committees to hear the appeals of issuers aggrieved by the ratings assigned to them. Currently, there is no stipulated mechanism to review such issues. “To ensure transparency and fairness, it has been decided that requests by issuers for review of the ratings will be reviewed by a rating committee that shall comprise a majority of independent members,” Sebi said. The move follows hundreds of complaints filed by companies last year challenging the ratings assigned to their products. However, as there is no proper mechanism, issuers often move to another credit rating agency (CRA). Sebi has issued a new framework for disclosures, which covers the process to be follow...