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BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - February 2017

Feb 2017

May 17, 2018

Fund to Promote Irrigation Approved

The Union Cabinet approved corpus of Rs .5,000 crore for setting up of a dedicated "Micro Irrigation Fund" (MIF) with NABARD under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY).

The allocation of Rs. 2,000 crore and Rs. 3,000 crore will be utilised during 2018-19 and 2019-20 respectively. NABARD will extend the loan to State Governments during this period. Borrowings from NABARD shall be paid back in 7 years including the grace period of two years.

Hindalco Industries Profit Rises

Hindalco Industries Ltd. of the Aditya Birla Group reported a more than threefold jump in consolidated net profit for the year ended March 31 as compared with the previous year.

Tax Info Exchange Pact with Brunei

The Cabinet approved signing of tax information exchange agreement between India and Brunei.

The agreement enables the competent authorities of India and Brunei to provide assistance through exchange of information, relevant to the administration and enforcement of the domestic laws of the two countries concerning taxes.

The agreement also provides for automatic exchange of information between India and Brunei with respect to categories of cases.

Haryana Signed MoUs with the UK

Haryana signed ten memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with the UK for various projects entailing investment of around Rs. 1,500 crore with employment potential for around 1,000 persons.

May 16, 2018

New Companies Added to MSCI India Index

Four companies - Avenue Supermarts, Biocon, HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company and InterGlobe Aviation - will be added to the MSCI India Index with effect from June 1.

Tata Steel Gets Nod to Buy Bhushan Steel

Tata Steel's bid for debt-ridden Bhushan Steel was approved by the NCLT.

Bamnipal Steel a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Steel would invest in the debt-ridden company and acquire control on the closing date.

Sharma to Head USIBC in India

The U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) named Ambika Sharma as its head for India. Ms. Sharma was director general for 'International' at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Ms. Sharma will be responsible for overseeing and guiding USIBC's growth strategy in India.

TCS Expands Presence in Arkansas

India's largest IT services firm TCS today said it has expanded operations in Arkansas, US with over 200 employees joining the company as part of the Transamerica deal.

In January, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) had signed a deal worth over USD 2 billion with Transamerica to administer the latter's life insurance, annuity, supplemental health insurance, and workplace voluntary benefits products, and manage the administration of more than 10 million policies.

India's April Trade Deficit Widens

Government data showed that India`s trade deficit slightly widened to $13.72 billion in April from $13.25 billion a year ago.

The trade deficit for 2017/18 fiscal year ending in March grew to $156.8 billion from $105.72 billion in the previous year, mainly driven by a rising oil import bill.

May 15, 2018

Acquisition of Electrosteel Steels by Vedanta

Metals and mining giant Vedanta Ltd. has got the go-ahead from CCI to acquire the bankrupt Electrosteel Steels Ltd.

Electrosteel Steels owes lenders more than Rs. 13,000 crore, of which about Rs. 5,000 crore is to State Bank of India alone.

IDBI Directors Step Down

State-run lender IDBI Bank has informed that two independent directors �" Ninad Karpe and S. Ravi have quit the board. They had sent their resignation letters last week. Both of them were named by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the first information report registered by the agency in the Rs. 600-crore loan fraud case involving former Aircel promoter C. Sivasankaran. S. Ravi is BSE chairman.

The government had also appointed Sudhir Shyam, a director in the Finance Ministry, on the board in place of Praveen Garg.

Retail Inflation Accelerates

Government date showed that after easing for three straight months, retail inflation accelerated to 4.58 per cent in April mainly driven by faster rises in prices of food and fuel products.

Allahabad Bank Barred from Giving Fresh Loans

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has barred state-run Allahabad Bank from extending fresh loans, under its prompt corrective action (PCA) framework, after the lender fell short of minimum capital adequacy ratio (CAR) requirement.

Intra-State e-way Bill

As per reports, the e-way bill system for intra-State transport of goods in Assam and Rajasthan will roll out on May 16 and May 20 respectively.

With the inclusion of Assam and Rajasthan the total number of States under the system is now 21.

Bharti's Merger with Telenor Approved

The government approved the merger of the local unit of Norway's Telenor with Bharti Airtel.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) had transferred all licences and liabilities of Telenor India to Bharti Airtel.

All Telenor customers would now be a part of Bharti Airtel with the same SIM, same number and same plan.

May 14, 2018

OVL Drags Sudan to Arbitration

OVL, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), has filed an arbitration claim in a London court to recover about USD 300 million for oil Sudan bought from its Greater Nile Oil Project and another USD 98.94 million in unpaid pipeline rent lease. The dues are pending since 2011.

OVL had in 2003 acquired 25 per cent interest in the Greater Nile Oil Project in Sudan.

Track and Trace System

According to the Commerce Ministry, the implementation date of the Track and Trace or barcoding system for export of drug formulations has been extended to November 15.

The barcoding system had been mandated as a measure to address counterfeit and ineffective product recall challenge.

Hinduja Power Buys Kiran Energy

Hinduja National Power Corp. has acquired Kiran Energy Solar Power for about Rs. 1,000 crore. The company had last year initiated talks to acquire city-based Kiran Energy which is an integrated developer-operator and a pioneer of grid-connected solar PV plants in the country.

May 13, 2018

UAE to Store 6 Million Barrels of Oil in India

According to Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, a seven-year agreement has been signed with UAE according to which the country will store six million barrels of oil in India.

It is in the interest of both the nations. UAE will make a presence in Indian markets and the oil will be stored safely in our nation.

JSW-led Consortium Bid to Acquire Monnet Ispat Approved

As per reports, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved a bid by a consortium led by JSW Steel to acquire the bankrupt Monnet Ispat and Energy Ltd. (MIEL) in an insolvency auction. The committee of creditors (CoC) of Monnet Ispat and Energy, which is undergoing insolvency proceedings, had in April approved the resolution plan submitted by the only bidder, Sajjan Jindal's JSW Steel along with AION Capital.

Finance Ministry Clears 3 FDI Proposals

The Finance Ministry has cleared three foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals worth Rs. 3,250 crore.

The proposals included that of Hindustan Infralog Pvt. Ltd. which sought approval for foreign investment from DP World Global Investment BV, Netherlands. The proposal of Hindustan Infralog Pvt. Ltd. will bring in FDI of Rs. 3,250 crore. The other two proposals will not result in any FDI.

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