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EAC-PM discusses ways to rollout of mega healthcare scheme The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) today discussed possible modalities for implementing the world's largest health protection scheme announced in the Union Budget, said an official release. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his Budget Speech on February 1, had announced that the government would launch a flagship 'National Health Protection Scheme' to cover over 10 crore households (about 50 crore people) by providing annual coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh per family for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation. "Keeping in view the national health scheme announced by the government in the Budget for the year 2018-19 presented in Parliament on February 1, 2018, the EAC-PM discussed the possible modalities of implementing the scheme," said a release.The mega scheme is likely to be launched either on August 15 or October 2. The Business Standard, New Delhi, 13th February 20...

With IBC the Default Tool, RBI Retires Debt Rejig Processes Puts strict time limits on resolution of defaults, warns lenders of penalties on violations The Reserve Bank of India has scrapped a number of loan-restructuring programmes that banks were using to recast debt, with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) having become the main tool to deal with defaulters. It also put strict time limits on the resolution of defaults in a notification issued late on Monday. T he central bank warned lenders of monetary penalties and higher provisions if they are found to have violated the rules or ‘evergreening’ accounts to escape the stringent new norms on CDR, JLF frameworks from March 2018 stressed asset resolution framework in view of enactment of IBC all stressed cases of over 2,000 cr must be completed within 180 days then account to be referred to IBC in 15 days outside IBC, account should not be in default with an exposure of more than 5 crore have to be reported on a weekly ba...

EPFO sells a portion of equity to maintain 8.65% interest rate EPFO has encashed its first tranche of equity investments it made in 2015 and made capital gain, including dividends, of Rs1,053.75 crore India’s retirement fund manager, the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), has booked a profit of over Rs1,000 crore by selling some of its equity investments to maintain interest rate at the same level as last fiscal, said two officials in the know.The move, which comes ahead of its annual interest rate declaration, may help EPFO offset relatively low returns from debt investments this year, two officials aware of the matter said. If EPFO pays 8.65% this year, the same as last fiscal, it will be considered a net positive for subscribers in the current market situation, especially when other PF and small saving rates including Public Provident Fund (PPF) and Government Provident Fund (GPF) rates are going down.PPF and GPF earned 7.6% rate in the current quarter. “The org...

Govt removes exemptions for ITR filing In a move to crack down on shell companies, the government has proposed to remove exemption available to firms with tax liability of up to Rs 3,000 from filing incometax (IT) returns from the next fiscal year.The Union Budget 201819 has rationalised the ITAct provision relating to prosecution for failure to furnish the returns. Thus,amanaging director oradirector incharge of the company duringaparticular financial year could be liable for prosecution in case of any lapse in ITreturn filings for any financial year beginning April 1. “The incometax departments would now track investments by these companies. Also, the focus will be on those firms that show less profit and also those who file ITreturns for the first time,”afinance ministry official said.There are about 1.2 million active companies in the country, out of which about 700,000 are filing their returns, including annual audited report, with the ministry of corporate affairs. Of thi...

RBI withdraws SDR, S4A, sets banks 180-day timeline for bad loan resolution Banks must implement a resolution plan within 180 days where exposure is Rs2,000 crore and above, failing which the NPA account has to be referred to the insolvency and bankruptcy code within 15 daysThe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday tightened norms for bad loan resolution by setting timelines for resolving large NPAs, failing which banks will have to mandatory refer them for insolvency proceedings. It also withdrew existing debt restructuring schemes such as SDR and S4A. RBI has issued definitions of different resolution plans and an indicative list of financial difficultly, and directed lenders to share data on certain defaulted borrowers with the central bank’s database on large exposures on every Friday.The large accounts are mainly those where banks have initiated resolution and are classified as restructured standard assets. Indian banks are sitting on a stressed assets pool of over Rs10 tril...

GST to hit GSK Consumer's global growth UK healthcare company GlaxoSmithKline Consumer's growth globally could ease in 2018 due to the impact of India's Goods & Services Tax, the pruning of its product offerings and competitive pressure. "In 2018, we continue to expect low single-digit growth from consumer after factoring in the impact of tail brand divestments, the impact of GST in India, and the TDS generic (competitive pressures in the US), which in aggregate are expected to reduce growth by about 1.5% points on a reported basis," GSK global chief financial officer Simon Dingemans said on an earnings call over the weekend. He added that the company remains confident in the long-term profile of the consumer business. GSK products sold in India include Boost, Horlicks, Crocin and Iodex. India rolled out its biggest tax reform — a unified tax regime under GST — on July 1. Its introduction initially disrupted supplies and companies reported a slowdown i...

Bank haircuts on NPAs go up to 80% Nine of the 12 firms on RBI list enter bidding stage As nine of the 12 companies on the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) first list of non-performing assets (NPAs) enter the bidding stage, the average haircut on bad loans, or loss to banks based on the offers made by suitors in five cases, ranges between 50 per cent and 80 per cent. The least loss is likely to be in the case of Bhushan Steel, for which JSW Steel has offered Rs 280 billion of cash and equity worth Rs 17 billion to banks. Bhushan Steel owes banks Rs 560 billion.The steepest haircut, however, is due to Jyoti Structures, which has got just one bid, from a clutch of high net worth individuals (HNIs) So far, the insolvency process has resulted in a mixed bag for the banks, with some of the cases going through a rebid and revision in offers. Alok Industries is going through a rebid, and Amtek Auto through a revision in offers. Liberty House has submitted a revised offer for the comp...

Banks opposed to changes in MCLR calculation: Reserve Bank of India The banks proposed, that more "ideal benchmark could be constructed based on deposit rates of the banking system as a whole" Banks are opposed to the move to link marginal cost-based lending rate (MCLR) to an external, market-linked benchmark, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has revealed in a rare dissemination of feedback on its website. While it is standard practice for RBI-appointed committees to prepare their reports and seek feedback, those are not publicly disclosed, except in this case. The internal study group, looking at the issue of effective monetary transmission, proposed in October 2017 that banks must take into account either of the three external benchmarks — the treasury bill rate, the certificate of deposit (CD) rate and the RBI’s policy repo rate from April 1, 2018. These proposals were met with resistance from Day One, with bankers commenting publicly that such linking was not possi...

RBI still processing returned notes The RBI has said that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, returned to banks when the government demonetised high value currency 15 months ago, are still being "processed for their arithmetical accuracy and genuineness".This is being done in an "expedited manner", the central bank said. "Specific bank notes are being processed for their arithmetical accuracy and genuineness and the reconciliation for the same is ongoing. This information can, therefore, be shared on completion of the process and reconciliation," the RBI said in reply to an RTI application filed by a PTI correspondent. To a query on the number of demonetised notes, it said, "...subject to future corrections if any, arising in the course of verification process, the estimated value of specified bank notes received as on June 30, 2017 is Rs 15.28 trillion (lakh crore)".Asked to provide the details of the deadline for finishing the counting of demone...

Government measures to ensure MSMEs become growth engine: DFS secretary A slew of recent measures, including tax concessions in the budget, for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) has been taken with an aim to transform such enterprises worth Rs 6.33 crore into a growth engine for 'new India', a senior government official has said. These initiatives will bring down the tax burden on enterprises with an annual turnover of up to Rs 250 crore and also lower the interest burden, leaving more surplus for investment and growth of the MSME sector which is the backbone of the country's economy in terms of output, exports and employment generation. The RBI on its part too announced various measures for MSMEs hit by the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) by giving them additional up to 180 days to clear their dues to banks."All these measures are aimed at making the 6.33-crore MSME enterprises growth engine for new India," Financial Services Secr...

SEBI now looks to curb benami deals After its clampdown on shell companies, Sebi is turning its glare on 'benami trading'.The market regulator is trying figure out ways to pull up perpetrators who indulge in insider trading and share price manipulation through 'layering' of fund flows. This is an age-old technique of moving money as loan from one company to the next — in a chain of nine to ten entities — before the last outfit receiving fund buys or sells shares. These layers of companies — many of which are normal operating business entities and not shell firms — are used to mask the identities of men behind the trades and obfuscate the true nature of the transaction. The matter was raised last week by Sebi wholetime member Madhabi Puri Buch at a meeting that was attended by officials of stock exchanges, a few senior officials of Sebi and members of financial services industry. "It is tougher and more complicated than cracking down on shell companies. Such...