Vide a letter addressed to the central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) the department of investment and public asset management (Dipam) under Ministry of Finance has asked (i) enterprises which pay relatively higher dividend (100% or Rs 10/- on a share of Rs 10/-) may consider paying interim dividend every quarter after declaration of quarterly results; (ii) enterprises which pay less than 100% may consider paying interim dividend usually on half-yearly basis; (iii) those which can’t pay as per the prescribed ‘minimum’ should pay interim dividend during October/November each year based on projected profit after tax (PAT) following second quarter (July – September) results. All CPSEs should consider paying at least 90% of projected annual dividend, in one or more installments, as...
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Category: Regulatory environment
Checks and balances
Crony capitalism has also happened in public sector banks. There is a dire need to strengthen regulatory oversight to guard against irregularities in running all banks The recommendation of an Internal Working Group (IWG) set up by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to allow industrial houses to own banks — if they meet the criterion — has invited strident criticism from experts, including the former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan. Asking how a borrower could also be a lender, they have debunked the idea, stating that this would lead to misdirected lending, mostly to entities belonging to the industrial house that owns the bank. This apprehension is valid but the misuse of public money can happen in any bank, irrespective of the...
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Banking reforms – can borrower also be a lender
An Internal Working Group (IWG) set up by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made far reaching recommendations in regard to ownership guidelines and governance structures of private sector banks. These include inter alia (i) allowing their promoters hold 26% equity stake in steady state or after 15 years (up from existing norm of 15%) from the start when it should be a minimum of 40% of the equity for the first five years; (ii) take a sympathetic review of whether industrial houses should be allowed to own banks if they meet the fit and proper criterion; (iii) allow non-bank finance companies (NBFCs) with assets of > Rs 50,000 crore, and in operation for over 10 years, to convert...
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Nix priority sector lending
The policy — a legacy of the socialist era — has led to blatant misuse and misappropriation of funds and is far from helping those for whom it is intended On September 4, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced changes in the norms for priority sector lending (PSL) with the stated objective of “enabling better credit penetration to credit-deficient areas, increase in lending to small and marginal farmers and boosting credit to renewable energy and health infrastructure.” Under PSL, the RBI mandates a certain percentage of a bank’s lendable resources to specified areas. The policy — a legacy of the socialist era — has led to blatant misuse and misappropriation of funds and is far from helping the most vulnerable groups...
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Monetary stimulus – does it matter
In the last bi-monthly monetary policy review announced by the Governor, Shaktikanta Das on August 6, 2020, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had kept the policy repo rate — the interest rate charged by the RBI on loans it gives to banks — unchanged at 4%. It had also kept the reverse repo rate or the interest rate the banks get on their surplus funds parked with the RBI unchanged at 3.35%. It also continued with the “accommodative” stance of the monetary policy as long as necessary to revive growth and mitigate the impact of Covid-19, while ensuring that inflation remains within the target. In the build-up to the next bi-monthly review (originally scheduled for October 1, 2020, this...
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A mixed bag
The labour law reforms are being bandied about as the most crucial second generation amendments that will make it easier to do business but must not compromise workers The Narendra Modi Government recently passed three Bills on labour reforms enshrined in three labour codes, namely The Industrial Relations Code, 2020, The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 and The Code on Social Security, 2020. Along with The Code on Wages, 2019, passed by the Parliament last year, these four labour law reforms are being bandied about as the most crucial second generation amendments that will make it easier to do business, improve the competitiveness of the Indian industry, make it a manufacturing hub and pursue the “Make in...
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Labor reforms – step on the gas
The day September 23, 2020 the monsoon session of Parliament ended abruptly, Modi – government passed three bills on labor reforms enshrined in three labor codes viz. The Industrial Relations Code, 2020; The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020; and The Code on Social Security, 2020 in Rajya Sabha (these were passed by Lok Sabha on the previous day). Along with The Code on Wages, 2019 passed by the Parliament last year, these four reform of labor laws are being bandied as the most crucial second-generation reforms that will make it easier to do business, improve competitiveness of Indian industry, make India a manufacturing hub and pursuing “Make in India”. This is a bold move when viewed in...
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Open doors for trade
The Govt should shed its current protectionism. Instead, it should go for an open trade policy by slashing import duties and eliminating non-tariff barriers While presenting the Union Budget for 2020-21, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had renewed the commitment of the Modi Government to “Make in India.” She saw this as the most crucial component of the strategy to make India a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25. To achieve this, she targetted doubling of exports from the current over $500 billion to $1 trillion (that includes an increase in farm exports from $40 billion to $100 billion). Faced with a whopping contraction in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by close to 25 per cent during the first quarter, a continuing...
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Crushing the competition
The regulator itself refuses to see that competition is being crushed, and even when it sees, its ruling is stayed by appellate authorities—thus, the increasing dominance of digital giants is inevitable. Amazon, some allege, uses the data of products on its e-commerce platform to decide what to sell under its own brand. Big Tech firms such as Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple have come under the radar of many governments, including that of the US, Australia, and France, for trying to steamroll competition by either buying competitors out or pushing other vendors to avoid working with them. Here is a glimpse of how they allegedly misuse use their dominant position. Google’s search engine is accused of stealing content with the goal...
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For Atmanirbhar Bharat, go for open trade policy
The ‘Make in India’ reverberated all through the speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence Day address on August 15, 2020. Even before the Corona pandemic, in the Union Budget for 2020-21, Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman proclaimed the commitment of Modi government to this laudable goal. This is the most crucial component of the strategy to make India a US$ 5 trillion economy by 2024-25. Faced with a whopping contraction in GDP (gross domestic product) by close to 25% during the first quarter, continuing slide during the second quarter and projected decline for the whole of current year by 5% – 6.5%, US$ 5 trillion target may have lost much of its sheen for now. Nonetheless, the government...
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