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New Delhi: The Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority of India is open to insurers surpassing the 15% limit on equity holdings in a company under some conditions. “In certain circumstances, certain companies will like to have higher exposure,” IRDAI chairman TS Vijayan told ET. “If someone wants higher exposure in a particular company, they will have to take specific permission of the authority.” Vijayan added that such a provision is fair and follows the principles of good risk management. The move may allow Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country’s largest insurer, to participate in the government’s sale of shares in blue chip companies held by the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI). Earlier this month, the government sold a 1.63% stake in Larsen & Toubro for ? 2,100 crore. LIC didn’t take part in the stake sale. At present, LIC holds 16.04% stake in L&T,14.34% stake in ITC and 14.47% in Axis Bank. “If the regulator permits, the

MUMBAI: A week on from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s move to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes to counter black money, counterfeiting and corruption, bank chiefs said the situation was easing although their optimism seemed to be belied by reports from around the country about long queues, shortages of Rs 100 notes and cash dispensers that worked sporadically, if at all. A bank holiday on Monday in the north and east exacerbated the situation on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court declined to stay the measure but asked the government what it was doing to alleviate the misery of people stuck in lines or those who don’t have enough cash on hand for everyday expenses. For its part, the government said those exchanging old notes for new would now be marked by indelible ink to prevent money laundering. Also, a high-powered group has been set up under the cabinet secretary to monitor the supply of essential goods in the wake of trade disruptions due to the shortage of currency notes. Besides

Cracks surface in Opposition unity over demonetisation protests Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday appealed to Opposition parties to support his drive against black money, like they had backed the goods and services tax (GST) Bill.  The PM’s remarks came at an all-party meeting chaired by him a day ahead of Parliament’s winter session starting Wednesday, where the Opposition plans to corner the Centre over the hardships people are facing due to the demonetisation of ~500 and ~1,000 notes.  “The PM also wanted Parliament to debate funding of political parties and holding simultaneous polls for state Assemblies and the Lok Sabha besides discussing all relevant issues,” parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar said after the meeting.  Differences between the Congress and Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) showed up when the West Bengal Chief Minister said her party would lead a protest march from Parliament to  Rashtrapati Bhavan on Day 1 of the session itself.  “There wa

The Union Budget 2017-18 will be presented on February 1. The inter-ministerial discussions for finalising the Revised Budget Estimates have been completed, said a government source,adding it would not be impacted by the government decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. The government has decided to advance the Budget process by a month to ensure it is completed before the start of the new financial year on April 1. 16TH NOVEMBER, 2016, THE BUSINESS STANDARD, NEW DELHI

The finance ministry revised the cap on bank withdrawals on Sunday while advising similar changes to ATM withdrawals less than a week after the government’s demonetisation of 1000 and 500 rupee notes left people in a tight spot. As per the directive, the weekly withdrawal limit from banks has been increased to Rs 24,000 from Rs 20,000, while the daily limit of Rs 10,000 has been scrapped. The ministry also advised banks to increase cash withdrawal limits in ATMs to Rs 2,500 per day in recalibrated ATMs. People were able to withdraw only upto Rs 2,000 so far. As for exchange of demonetised banknotes, the ministry advised increasing the limit from Rs 4,000 to Rs 4,500. The new currency notes of Rs 500 also finally hit the bank branches. Sources said the Reserve Bank of India will mint more currency notes of the denomination in the coming days. The move comes amid growing anger among citizens who, for the past week, have been stuck waiting for hours in long lines outside banks and ATMs.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked banks to submit daily amounts of cash withdrawn from over the counter and through ATMs to help it gather accurate data on currency circulation. In a circular on Sunday, it asked banks to submit the data in a specific format in contrast to lenders sending it fortnightly. RBI and the government have been trying to assuage public anger after Prime Minister Narendra Modi abruptly decided to withdraw large denomination notes in an attempt to uncover many billions of dollars in undeclared wealth. 14th NOVEMBER, 2016, THE MINT, NEW DELHI

The government is likely to introduce legislation in the winter session of parliament to repeal three pharmaceutical-related laws. The prime minister’s office has written to the department of pharmaceuticals seeking its views and asked it to prepare for the introduction of the Bill to repeal three acts—the Pharmacy (Amendment) Act, 1959 (24 of 1959); the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Educational and Research (Amendment) Act, 2002 (28 of 2002); and the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Educational and Research (Amendment) Act, 2007 (19 of 2007) —according to a 6 November PMO letter reviewed by Mint.   (The legislative department is)… seeking your comments/concurrence … to facilitate introduction of a Bill to for repeal of the identified Acts in the next session of the Parliament,” the prime minister’s office said in the letter. 14th NOVEMBER, 2016, THE MINT, NEW DELHI