8th Half Yearly Get-Together of Ex-RBIites

Hello dear Friends,

It looks that the days are rolling very fast; for, before the impressions of the previous get-together could fade away, it was already time for another get-together. This was held on Saturday 5^th July 2014, in which many of you participated. Here is a brief report thereof.

Before giving a clout of the event, we, the organizers thank the participants who attended the meet in good numbers. For your information we state that 176 invitations were sent in all against which 132 of our friends responded. We consider this as a very encouraging one.

About the Meet:

The assembly was at 10:30 AM. Most of the participants had reached the venue quite early and even seen exchanging pleasantries / chatting amongst them, enjoying their cup of coffee/tea, with biscuits and cashew nuts. While the atmosphere was so encouraging, this went on for nearly an hour. This scene was very pleasant to oversee since some of them happen to come for the first time and they expressed happiness for the re-union with their beloved friends after a long gap of 10 to 15 years.

The meeting started around 11.30AM with Invocation by Shri.N.M.Rajashekharaiah followed by obituary reference of our departed friends and a minute’s silence was observed. It was a very sad moment as the departed souls images flashed in everybody’s mental screen. This however, was overcome when Shri.S.Venkata Subba Rao, our chief organiser of the meet got on to welcome the gathering. This was followed by our next programme of honouring our seniors who had completed 80 years of age, viz., S/Shri.K.Gopalan and N.Subba rao.  While Shri.Gopalan (ex-CGM NABBARD) was honoured by another elder person, Shri.E.P.G.Subramanyam (ex-DyGM, RBI), Shri.Subba Rao (ex-MGR RBI) was honoured by Shri.N.D.Vasanth(ex-Dy GM). Shri Gopalan spoke few words in response to the honour.

A happy development during the period was that Shri.Venkata Subba Rao became the recipient of both the “ Kempegowda award” (of the BBMP) and “Bangalorean of the Year – 2013” (the latter is conferred by one of the most prestigious institutions – “ Bangalore Foundation”). In this background, he had sponsored an instrumental music, a classical programme – “Flute by Master Pramukh accompanied by Shri.Ananth on violin and Shri. Chandrashekhar on Mridanga.”  The artistes rendered the programme for about 45 minutes which was so pleasant and absorbing that almost all the participants enjoyed the same in full measure. By then, it was 1 PM and time for break for lunch. The Lunch was sumptuous and delicious. After lunch, the participants dispersed with a sense of satisfaction.

Shri.N.D.Vasanth (ex Dy.GM) completed 50 years of married life. To celebrate this occasion, he distributed “Laddoos” to all the participants.

Shri.G.K.Jairam (ex AGM, RBI) very kindly clicked a number of snaps of RBIites and Shri.C.R.Raghavendra (ex Dy.GM – NNPP) uploaded the photos. 

- ORGANISERS

Info shared by William Panakal

Make the bigger 80C investments better

.................A hike in deduction is good news as it not only lets you save on taxes but also incentivises investments in the section 80C basket, which has some good options. So, which of these should you choose?..........

Read - Mint

Finmin to bifurcate the post of Chairman and MD in PSBs

.................“There is a proposal under consideration — we could have separate persons as chairman and managing director, as we have in the case of State Bank of India (SBI). This will help improve governance at PSBs,” said Financial Services Secretary G S Sandhu. He added he was hopeful the proposal would be cleared quickly, as the Financial Stability Development Council, headed by the finance minister, had also recommended this...........

Read | Business Standard News

Financial literacy essential: RBI official

The lack of financial literacy in the State is the cause of the common man falling prey to financial fraudsters, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Assistant General Manager P. Ravindran has said. He was delivering a talk, on ‘RBI and the common man,’ organised by the Bankers Academy of Career Excellence at West Hill here on Monday. The absence of financial literacy could be disastrous, especially when they have dispensable money in their hands, Mr. Ravindran said.......

Read - The Hindu

Financial Inclusion in India – a Review of Initiatives and Achievements

………….According to committee on Financial inclusion headed by Dr. C. Rangarajan defined financial inclusion as “The process of ensuring access to financial services and timely and adequate credit where needed by vulnerable groups such as weaker sections and low income groups at an affordable cost.” Financial inclusion does not stand for delivery of financial services for all at all cost. But it means that the delivery of financial services and products at affordable costs of excluded sections of population and low income groups. It plays a crucial role to remove away the poverty from the country. Financial inclusion is to provide equalopportunities to vast sections of population to access mainstream financial services for better life, living and better income. It provides path for inclusive growth…………. 

Read........

New financial inclusion plan on the anvil

The Centre is planning to launch a new financial inclusiveness programme from August 15  making two bank accounts per family mandatory. Of the two bank accounts, one account will have to be compulsorily opened in the name of a woman member of the family and..............

Read | Business Standard News

NABARD’s financial literacy programme on trains

.................On the occasion, NABARD Chief General Manager Jiji Mammen said that the NABARD would launch the literacy programme on another 11 fast passenger trains. The bank noticed that the financial inclusion programmes were not yielding the desired results as the rural folk were not utilising the banking services optimally. To tide over the problem, financial literacy programme was taken up, he said, adding, it was first time that trains were being used medium for means of communication..........

Read - The Hindu

RuPay to go global, take on card biggies

........Three banks have been given the responsibility of making the desi payment card an international one on a pilot basis. Bank of Baroda, Central Bank of India and Saraswat Bank have begun to issue the international RuPay cards. “RuPay International will be a full-fledged service from next year. Now, we are running it on pilot basis with three banks. The RuPay card payment system is an indigenously developed card system that will help the banks cut their transaction cost to one-third of the prevailing rates,” said A P Hota, managing director and CEO, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Initiated by the Reserve Bank of India, the domestic payment system project is now successfully run by NPCI. RuPay symbolises India’s ability to have a domestic payment card system without having to depend on international card providers like Visa and MasterCard that dominate the Indian market today............

Read - DNA

Slice of History - Banking Before Laws Were Enacted

As India was struggling with the transition of the partition post-independence, there were concerns as to how to protect the interests of the banking sector in the country. So until a full-fledged law was enacted, the Reserve Bank of India in 1945 recommended to the government that an Ordinance be promulgated to bring into immediate effect provisions in the Banking Bill regarding inspections. This was in addition to suggesting a system of licensing of banks and branches in India. The Ordinance was to be operative until the enactment of the Banking Bill. Accordingly, in January 1946,.........

Read - ET

Book value on basic economics

...........In the first book in this series, Monetary Policy, Partha Ray, professor of economics at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM)-Calcutta, spells out the theoretical background to help us take a view on such matters. He comes with the advantage that he has been director of economic and policy research at the RBI, as well as an advisor to the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D C...........

Read | Business Standard News

BRICS leaders create development bank

..............The new bank will be headquartered in Shanghai, China. The first president of the bank will be from India while the first chair of the board of governors will be from Russia. Sources said India's demand for an equal share in the bank has also been accepted. The deal was reached after intense last-minute negotiations to settle a dispute between India and China over the headquarters of the new bank,.....

Read | Business Standard News

Funds Transfer Pricing in Banks

......Volume     based      evaluation   of   business   performance is faulty simply because there is no direct correlation between volume of business done and profit earned.  It is possible for a bank to increase its net profits even while there is shrinkage of its balance sheet size.  If the balance sheet of the bank has increased but the profit has not, it could be because of multiple factors such as that incremental business was being done at a negative margin or........

Read..........

RBI signals cheaper housing, infra loans

To boost demand for infrastructure and housing, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday said banks would not have to maintain cash reserve ratio (CRR) or statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) and will not have to meet priority-sector lending targetsfor funds raised through bonds for extending credit to these sectors. While the exemption from CRR and SLR requirements was announced by the Finance Minister in his Budget speech, the banking regulator further sweetened the deal by including loans for affordable housing...........

Read | Business Standard News

Realtors hail RBI move to ease norms for affordable housing

...............In order to encourage infrastructure development and affordable housing, RBI today exempted long term bonds from mandatory regulatory norms like CRR and SLR if the money raised is used for funding of such projects. "It is a welcome step. This will lead to lower interest rates for affordable housing projects," CREDAI Chairman Lalit Jain said.......

Read | Business Standard News

Amanath bank: court’s query to RBI on withdrawal

.........Justice Ram Mohan Reddy issued directions in this regard as it was pointed out on behalf of the depositors and the ACB board that depositors were being put to severe hardship during the month of Ramzan as it had been more than a year since the restriction was imposed by the RBI. The court asked Canara Bank to re-evaluate the free-holding assets of the ACB, while directing the ACB to submit the details of mortgaged assets and the valuation of such assets made at the time of grant of loans.............

Read - The Hindu

Prithvi Info Solutions: Second largest stakeholder denies investing in the company!

US-based Sarat Kumar Addanki, the second largest stakeholder of Prithvi Information Solutions, has made sensational allegations of fraud, mismanagement and possible identity theft against the promoters. He has complained to SFIO, SEBI, RBI and stock exchanges. Will they finally act against Prithvi?...........

Read - Moneylife

SC refuses to stay Madhu Kapur-YES Bank case in HC

............The bank argued that the nomination of three directors, challenged by Madhu Kapur in the high court, was with the approval of the shareholders. In any case, the Banking Regulation Act did not allow challenge to the decision of the board of directors in a court of law. Therefore, the petition of Madhu Kapur was not maintainable and should not be heard by the high court, it was argued.........

Read | Business Standard News

Large number of banks can co-exist with few big ones: Kochhar

As new players get ready to join India's banking space, top banker Chanda Kochhar feels there is space for a few large banks and a large number of other lenders to cater to the country's banking needs. At the same time, the proposed issuance of differentiated banking licences or licensing of niche banks for specialised segments should not result in any regulatory arbitrage in the system and the core principles should be applied to all new players, said the CEO and Managing Director of ICICI Bank.........

Read | Business Standard News

Goa banks seeks RBI relaxation on 'mining dependent' loans

............Parrikar told reporters that banking institutions have decided to write to the RBI to relax certain norms so that the adjustments could be worked out to make repayments easier and affordable. "Banks have some technical difficulties. Today we adopted a resolution asking the RBI to address these technical difficulties. If required, the state government will also seek RBI intervention. We have requested them to relax certain norms," ...........

Read - DNA

Canara Bank wants to settle Deccan Chronicle debt issue at one go

...........“When the promoters came to us with a request to restructure the loan, we said we will consider to settle (the cases) if they are ready for a one-time settlement of the dues,” Dubey said on the sidelines of a financial sector conclave being organised by industry body Ficci. The company is yet to respond to the bank's offer......

Read | Business Standard News

Two flats merged into one must get tax exemption

If two adjacent flats are bought from different people through two agreements and then converted into a single unit with a common kitchen, then the owner is exempt from paying capital gains tax, the Bombay high court has said..........

Read - TOI

New rules for Gold fixed deposits

.................But SEBI is yet to wake up to thousands of crores invested by consumers in gold savings schemes of jewellerswhich can easily qualify as collective investment schemes. SEBI and RBI had replied to an Right to Information (RTI) application stating that such schemes are not regulated by them at all.............

Read - Moneylife

Devious agenda to erode RBI’s autonomy - Dr.S.S.Tarapore

.............Why does the Commission insist on changing the designation of the ‘governor’? A rose by any other name smells sweet, but it should be amply clear to all that there is something sinister in the Commission’s desire to change designations, and the only reason is to whittle down the role of the central bank. Again, while setting out the membership of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the Commission restricts RBI membership to two while there would be five external members appointed by the Government and each member would have voting rights. In very exceptional circumstances, the chairman would have the right to use a veto but would have to publicly justify his stance.............

Read - HBL

RBI's reserves need to be augmented

My View on  "RBI dividend in FY15 may be more than budgeted": 

The pressures on GOI and particularly Finance Ministry are such that on several occasions they succumb to them for ‘political’ or ‘survival’-related reasons. The Indian Financial Sector and government finances (including state government finances) are supported by a strong central bank. RBI’s strength depends also on its strong balance sheet. In this context, copied below is the concluding paragraph of Chapter II.1 “Strengthening the Central Bank” from my recently published book “Banking, Reforms & Corruption; Development Issues in 21st Century India”(Sampark, Kolkatta, Email: samparkworld@hotmail.com):

“Way forward

To ensure that temptations of government emanating from external compulsions do not dilute the strength of RBI’s balance sheet, GOI should take measures to augment the share capital and reserves of RBI after carrying out appropriate amendments to RBI Act. Till such time RBI should be allowed to retain surplus income by transfer to reserves. Considering the size of its balance sheet and the internal and external pressures on its income generating capabilities, as also the nature of shocks the Bank has to absorb from time to time, the central bank’s reserves need to be augmented on an ongoing basis.” 

- M G Warrier 

Payment banks: A viable business model?

..........Bankers say if the model is to be a success, a payment bank should neither offer fixed-deposit products nor savings bank accounts. "The payment bank model could be viable if technology is used to bring down costs. In different geographies, there are a few examples of the model being a success - Kenya and the Philippines. The payment banks need not offer any fixed-deposit products. They can only offer a current-account and a remittance-service product. The volume of transactions, as these will be in areas where bank branches are yet to penetrate, and effective use of technology could make the business model viable," said Usha Thorat, former Deputy Governor, RBI.............

Read | Business Standard News

RBI working on rural ATMs with low denomination currency

..............Disclosing this in Hyderabad on Monday, the RBI Deputy Governor R. Gandhi said given the typical needs of rural banking customers apart from requirement of low denomination currency, research is currently is underway on rural ATMs....................... 

Read - ET

Unlimited ATM use may prove costly

...........The specification on security has not been made a rule by the banking authorities due to various reasons. Once the security issue is taken up in all earnestness, compelling banks to adhere to strict security measures, the cost of operation of the ATMs is bound to go up. Significantly, RBI had pointed out in a circular concerning the ATM operation earlier that in countries such as U.K., Germany, and France, bank customers have access to all ATMs in the country, free of charge except when cash is withdrawn from white label ATMs or ATMs managed by non-bank entities..........

Read - The Hindu

Rs 500 fakes more in circulation as Rs 1000 notes 'costly'

...............This came to light after some consignments of fake currency were intercepted by security agencies and during interrogation of people involved in the racket it was found that counterfeiting of Rs 1,000 was costlier than notes of lesser denominations, official sources said................. 

Read - ET

Concern for the common man

..............A further division of the middle-class into the salaried class, wage earners and so on can also be made. But the most important segment of the middle-class which deserves far greater attention than what it gets now is the category of senior citizens.............

Read - The Hindu

Financial integration of the state

.......On currency matter,  Dr. Drabu avers  that  the State’s leadership has played a deceit on its people and on the new J&K Bank-RBI financial arrangement, he, by implications means to say that it has done away with  the remains of the State’s financial autonomy. Taking these statements as these are said, then the PDP leadership should in right earnest exercise their constitutional right to undo wrongs once it comes to power in December 2014. That should be normally doable when the power and the legislative muscle would be available to it for the purpose.  But the question that.......

Read - Greater Kashmir

Target - inflation

............Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan won't stand in the way of genuine reforms, many of which he has himself recommended in the past. As long as mandarins in the finance ministry can restrain their urge to push the RBI into irrelevance, it should be possible for Mr Rajan to make the RBI bureaucracy see the merit of rules-based monetary policy. A "grand bargain" between the finance ministry and the monetary authority could result if the ministry's plan to overhaul financial regulation does not drastically curtail the RBI's remit. A bigger obstacle might be.........

Read | Business Standard

Look at the demand side

....................What are the typical challenges of the "demand side" of financial inclusion? Complex products, lengthy procedures, a lack of credit history and collateral. The real needs of financially-excluded consumers are different from the perceived needs. Bankers' mindsets have become so rigid that.........

Read | Business Standard

Funding hazard

...................While finding resources for infrastructure is important, it is equally important that the Reserve Bank of India and not the finance ministry decides what loans are to carry what reserve requirement. This announcement is further dented by the fact that the government is encouraging banks to lend long-term based on short-term resources and into sectors..........

Read | Business Standard

Now, FDI treatment possible for partly paid-up shares

.............The price of these partly paid equity shares have to be determined upfront. The investors will have to bring in 25 per cent of the total consideration amount upfront, including the share premium. The balance amount towards fully paid equity shares has to be received within 12 months, said RBI. RBI said the condition to bring the balance money within 12 months could be relaxed where the equity issue size was above Rs 500 crore and the issuer (listed company) complies with norms pertaining to the monitoring agency........

Read | Business Standard News

‘RBI must permit second restructuring of debt’

...............Earlier bankers were under no time pressure to act (on the requests for debt restructuring). Banks took more time to take decisions on restructuring. In the process, six to nine months were wasted and clients’ operations suffered. The borrower was using all the working capital to service the loan. Now under the new guidelines, if the client puts in a request, banks have to respond and the RBI has put the onus on the bank. If it gets a request for debt restructuring, the bank has to give the borrower a response within 30 days by forming a Joint Lenders’ Forum (JLF)............

Read - HBL

No need of local address proof to open an account

.........The central bank stated that migrant workers and transferred employees were facing problems in submitting proofs of current and permanent addresses while opening a deposit account. There are many people who change cities for jobs or other reasons, and may not have an address proof for the city where they reside. This used to be a problem when one went to open an account with a bank or a deposit with an NBFC...............

Read - Mint

SBI to rope in heritage body

In the wake of the fire that gutted the top floors of the State Bank of India building on Rajaji Salai, the bank has shifted three key branches functioning out of there to other locations. SBI also proposes to involve the Heritage Conservation Committee in the restoration process of the landmark structure.......

Read - The Hindu

Citibank retains numero uno spot among foreign banks in India

............"Citibank’s performance reflects good revenue momentum, judicious expense management and a quality credit portfolio. While the all-round performance of retail has contributed to a significant share of the growth, costs have reduced through automation, technology implementation and by streamlining operational procedures,”.........

Read - FE

HC orders Police chief to investigate Rs 200-crore theft

..........In a paper authored by RBI Deputy Governor K C Chakrabarty in July 2013, the total loss from technology-related fraud in the last four years, till March 2013, was put at over Rs 357 crore. Of this, over Rs 183 crore was reported from new private sector banks. Foreign banks reported a loss of over Rs 145 crore in the same period. Chakraborty had said the predominance of the new private sector banks and the foreign banks in the number of such frauds was “intuitive” as they lead the technology enabled service delivery in the Indian banking sector. “There have been several instances wherein fraudsters have employed hostile software programmes or malware attacks, phishing, vishing (voicemail), SMSishing (text messages), whaling (targeted phishing on high networth individuals) apart from stealing confidential data..,” Chakraborty wrote in the paper............

Read | The Indian Express

ICICI Bank outpaces rivals in growing credit card biz

.........CICI Bank — with a base of 3.21 million cards at the end of April, 2014 — is now the second largest credit card issuer in India. However, the bank continues to maintain its stance that it remains cautious while offering unsecured credit. ICICI Bank's unsecured portfolio of credit cards and personal loans were at Rs 7,270 crore at the end of March, 2014, and was only 2.1 per cent of the bank's overall loan book. “The growth rate is high due to the low base,” .............

Read | Business Standard News

RBI asks fin cos to deploy infra for Aadhaar

.....RBI’s circular on Aadhaar coincides with news that the government is planning to give legal sanction to Aadhaar and use it for extending direct benefits to individuals under various welfare schemes. In his maiden Budget last week, finance minister Arun Jaitley also indicated that dependence on Aadhaar would continue by stating that the government would aim to reduce subsidies through targeted subsidies under the direct benefit transfer scheme..............

Read - TOI

NBFCs Allowed to Use e-Know Your Customer Service to Verify Identity: RBI

..............The RBI said information containing demographic details and photographs made available from UIDAI via e-KYC platform may be treated as an officially valid document under the PML Rules. The apex bank further asked NBFCs to have proper infrastructure in place to enable biometric authentication for e-KYC. However, the RBI made it clear that .............

Read........

Reforms on for state-run banks but govt won’t cede control

..............“We would like to take up initially mergers that are most merit-based. SBI and its subsidiaries could be one, and probably banks that are facing problems in their current form,” he said. “The banks have not been shortlisted yet, but many banks were part of the earlier scheme that was worked out by the government....United Bank of India, Dena Bank and some other southern banks.”................

Read - Mint

How Narendra Modi-govt plans to overhaul PSU banks

..........Specifically, Sandhu pointed out that improving the independence of the independent, the non-official directors on bank boards is something that is starting right away. The government is mulling on it. They are also thinking of giving the chairman of the bank a five-year tenure and splitting the position of chairman and managing director—again a Nayak committee recommendation. All of this indicating that the government is thinking very seriously about autonomy for public sector banks and for improving the quality of bank boards. This helped the PSU bank index outperform the general market today............ 

Read...........

LIC’s Rs. 1,280 crore rescue act for 3 banks

A clutch of public sector banks are knocking at the doors of state-owned insurance giant Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) to raise funds. At least three banks -- Central Bank of India, United Bank of India and Bank of Maharashtra -- will make a preferential allotment to LIC to raise funds urgently needed for expansion. Banks need more money to fund their growth and meet regulatory requirements. Under preferential allotment, shares are allotted to.........

Read - DNA

On Way to Becoming a Bank, IDFC may Gain from Easier Infra Lending Norms

............Given the company’s transition to becoming a bank, the loan book was earlier expected to decline to meet the regulatory requirement of CRR, SLR and priority sector lending. But with the recent move, the company may be able to continue its infra lending during the transition and after. In the latest Budget, the finance minister proposed to reduce regulatory requirements of long-term funds raised for lending to long-term infrastructure projects. Currently, ..........

Read - ET

New BRICS bank will give India a boost

...........The New Development Bank, with an initial corpus of $50 billion which could later be doubled to $100 billion, could be an alternative to the IMF to fund not just India’s infrastructure needs, but also of other developing countries, like many in South America, who don’t like borrowing from the IMF because of the many strings attached. “The Modi-Government has to ensure that the Development Bank gets operationalised soon as funding other develop economies will increase India’s global clout,” an economist from a Delhi-based research agency said...........

Read - HBL

RBI yet to approve crop loan rescheduling proposals of AP, Telangana govts

....RBI Deputy Governor R Gandhi said initial discussions had taken place between the central bank and the two state governments. “We have asked them (state governments) to come back with full details, which we are awaiting,” he told media persons on the sidelines of FINSEC-2014, a financial sector conclave, organised by FICCI here today.......

Read - HBL

Over 5k bank officials face action in loan waiver scam

The government has initiated action against more than 5,400 bank officials related to irregularities in the agricultural debt waiver scheme. At least 6,823 ineligible beneficiaries have been detected so far and Rs 627 crore recovered from them. In response to a question in Lok Sabha, finance minister Arun Jaitley said 6,823 ineligible beneficiaries were detected in the 2008-09 agriculture debt waiver scheme. The minister said that action was initiated against 5,411 bank officials and 22 FIRs were registered............

Read - TOI

Money trickles into T-account

...............An instance was the amount due to Telangana as its share from centrally sponsored schemes which was in June credited to the Consolidated Fund account of Andhra Pradesh maintained with the RBI. Both the governments took up the matter with the Centre which prepared the respective estimates and asked the RBI to apportion the same between the two States...........

Read - The Hindu

Budget 2014- 15: As good as it gets - Dr.S.S.Tarapore

............Rather than strong ad hoc measures such as drastic reduction in subsidies followed by rollbacks, the finance minister has decided to set up an Expenditure Management Commission, which will inter alia also recommend a comprehensive and enduring programme of reduction in subsidies. The Expenditure Management Commission will have a larger remit and locate areas where expenditures can be curtailed without loss of welfare, which would then enable the government to facilitate such expenditures which meet imperative social needs. The Commission would be undertaking...........

Read - FPJ

Demanding to be included - Dr.Subir Gokarn

...........Enormous amounts of strategising, mandates to banks and other financial intermediaries, incentives and disincentives and so on have gone into the process. And yet where we stand today suggests achievement far less than expected, let alone desired. Thus far, the debate has revolved round the "supply side" of the equation - the appropriate organisational and incentive frameworks for expanding financial access........

Read | Business Standard Opinion

Active middlemen and inactive institutions - Dr.T.V.Gopalakrishnan

............ NABARD which can be the best coordinating agency and problem solver  has miserably failed in taking care of farmers interets, There is a Local Board in  RBI which can play an effective and proactive role in coordinating and guiding all local authorities in various states and banks including NABARD has not been taking  any interests although they can be easily an effective and very useful tool .................

Read.........

Theory and practice

.........Generally, the huge pile of papers presented in the form of Economic Survey and Budget documents, which are produced in "secrecy", do not mean much to the common man beyond some price and cost rises, and increase in expenditure on account of taxes and other levies. Think of a day when the Economic Survey gives a realistic account of the "wish list" of the people who..........

Read | Business Standard Opinion

The good is in the detail

.......... I propose to appoint a committee with representatives from the Finance Ministry, Ministry of MSME, RBI to give concrete suggestions in three months.” In the budget discourse monopolised by corporates, the financial world and the elite, this profound idea has been completely ignored. That Small and Micro Enterprises (SME) form the backbone of our economy is a slogan that has been a part of the national economic discourse for long. But beyond oral compliments, nothing great has been done for them. Also, there is very little awareness about this vital segment of our economy............

Read - The Hindu

RBI dividend in FY15 may be more than budgeted

.......... Finance secretary Arvind Mayaram told FE that RBI will pay R46,000 crore to the government as dividend this fiscal, compared with R33,010 crore last fiscal and a similar amount envisaged in the interim budget. This year's dividend amount could turn out to be even higher, due to the new accounting philosophy recommended by the Malegam panel for the central bank, he said............

Read - FE

The Dollar Trap - Book Review by P.P.Ramachandran

.........The author has arrived at a judgement that the dollar will continue to reign as the leading reserve currency in the near future. The dollarcentric equilibrium seems to be unstable with big risks for the entire global economy. The fear of its decline and the resultant devastation itself lends a measure of equilibrium to the dollar. This is a painstakingly researched book and throws a flood of light on the omnipotence of the dollar and deserves to be read by economists, planners, financiers and students of banking and finance............

Read - FPJ

RBI receives over 76,000 complaints against banks

...........The reply to a query by RTI activist Abhay Kolarkar informed that offices of 15 ombudsmen appointed by the apex banks received these complaints within a year. Chief information officer with RBI DG Kale provided a big list of banks that included nationalized, cooperative and private ones, against which the complaints were lodged at ombudsmen offices mostly located in the state capitals........

Read - TOI

APMC traders eye gadgets to detect fake currency

NAVI MUMBAI: The wholesale trader community at the five APMC markets in Turbhe have taken serious note of the rise in incidents of fake currency being circulated on the premises. Though the police have nabbed many accused for possessing fake currency in the past, the trader community, too, has started taking precautionary measures to prevent being cheated. About 80% of the wholesale traders, who handle a lot of cash daily, have started using machines to detect fake currency...............

Read - TOI

This is not financial inclusion, Mr Modi

.........For years now, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been trying hard to expand banking services in Asia’s third largest economy where, according to a 2012 World Bank working paper, only 35% of adult population has access to the formal banking network. For the first time, in January 2006, the RBI had allowed banks to appoint BCs and address the so-called last mile problem in providing banking services to the masses. The scope of business correspondents has continuously been extended over the years. In the last week of June,.................

Read - Mint

Challenges for Senior Bankers To Make Frustrated Young Bankers As Part of the Bigger Bank Family

.............The senior bankers need to be sensitized about the fears and the psychology of the new recruits. The young bankers needs to be taught slowly the art of adopting to new environment, rather than adopting the methods of teaching them through punishments even for small aberrations like taking a day's leave without information etc. Certainly they are adult but they need time to adjust to new hostile work environment after a cool college life. They need to be give time to overcome the fears generated by lose talks in the branches / administrative offices. Young bankers too need to learn the art of  adjusting to the new environment and.............

Read...........

Banks use analytics to check fraud in online payments

...........“There are two kinds of fraud detection in payments: One is during the transaction, and the other is using analytics to identify suspicious transactions based on past behaviour. We specialize in the analytics part,” said Ganapathy. Whenever there is a transaction that is out of the way, it will trigger an alarm at the bank’s control centre which will immediately call up the customer or send an SMS to verify the transaction...........

Read - TOI

Demand for Formation of NRBI (National Rural Bank of India)

..........All the committees appointed by the GOI, RBI & NABARD have categorically rejected the proposal of “merger of RRB with Sponsor Bank” and most of them have recommended either for formation of NRBI or five Zonal Rural Banks or State Level RRBs. Sir, we have been demanding for more than three decades for restructuring the RRBs to form NRBI at the Apex Level with State Level RRBs, totally delinked from Sponsor Banks for the reasons that –.........

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NABARD awards for best farmer’s clubs

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development presented awards to the best performing farmer’s clubs to mark its 33rd foundation day recently.They were presented by Finance Secretary K. Shanmugam for best performance in technology transfer, input supply, credit facilitation and village development. RBI Regional Director J. Sadakkathullah and NABARD Chief General Manager K. Venkateswara Rao spoke.

The Hindu

Nabard launches RuPay Kisan cards

.........."This is the first time that RuPay Card, which is in the nature of ATM cum Debit Card, is being issued by any cooperative bank in the state of Haryana," said Nabard Chief General Manager (Haryana) D V Deshpande. He said the issue of RuPay cards by cooperative banks will enable them to improve their customer service and bring it on par with any other bank to farmers and other customers.........

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NPS needs tax sops, better reach, say fund managers

.................Pension earned from the NPS after retirement is taxable. An employee’s contribution up to 10 per cent of his basic salary and dearness allowance is eligible for income tax deduction within an overall Rs 1 lakh limit. The NPS also offers an extra income tax deduction if an employer contributes 10 per cent of the basic salary plus dearness allowance to an employee’s NPS account. This has no upper limit. “Some tax sops should be provided to push this product. We had expressed this concern to the finance ministry,”........

Read | Business Standard News

Uniform taxation for retirement products

...........“It’s not clear what uniform tax treatment for pension funds and mutual fund-linked retirement plans would mean. Right now, under section 80CCD (1), the employee gets a deduction of up to 10% of the salary on contributions in NPS. This deduction is capped at Rs.1 lakh. Under section 80CCD (2), the entire employer contribution up to 10% of the salary is deductible in the hands of the employee. Could the uniform treatment refer to giving the same benefits to mutual fund retirement plans as well?”............

Read - Mint

Now, you can re-invest only in one house to save tax

......the explanatory memorandum to the Finance Bill has explicitly laid down that the benefit of capital gains tax exemption is intended only for re-investment in one residential house in India. The relevant sections of the I-T Act have thus been amended.

Read - TOI

Insurance policies with low cover to attract TDS on surrender

............While death benefit under the plan is always tax free under Section 10 (10D), the benefits under the Section are available to schemes only if the premium paid in not more than 10 per cent of the sum assured. It has, however, proposed to keep the small tax payers out of the net and said that there will be no deduction within this provision if the aggregate sum paid in a financial year to an assessee is less than Rs 1 lakh.........

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ITR filing: CBDT launches new tax calculator for taxpayers

.............he 'Systems' directorate of the department has recently launched the new online facility where a taxpayer, individual, corporate or any other entity, can compute the liability and this filled up format can even be sent to a private email or to the email of the tax planner, intermediary or Chartered Accountant........

Read | Business Standard News

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Investment limit hike makes PPF more attractive

.............The scheme is for 15 years. On maturity one has the option of continuing it for a further five years or encashing both principal and interest. There is no tax on the interest encashed. Interest is paid at 8.7% per annum and it is entirely tax free without any limit. Interest alone grossed up without taking the 80C benefit amounts to nearly 15%, which is significantly better than what one may earn on a fixed deposit (8% to 9% gross). It should be noted that interest is calculated..........

Read - DNA

AIBEA demands mechanism to deal with banking defaulters

.................."The wilful default of bank loans should be made a criminal offence", AIBEA general secretary, C H Venkatachalam, told reporters here. "Such defaulters should not be allowed to hold office of public interest or contest in elections", he said, adding that the banking regulator should publish the list of such defaulters, since over Rs 5.65 lakh crore of public funds were locked up as NPAs.......

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Team from IIT-M studies site of fire

.......A team from Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) inspected the accident site on Sunday. Upset over the damage to the heritage structure, but relieved there was no loss of life, SBI general manager Sanjiv Chadha said on Sunday that the three bank branches would be up and running from Monday.........

Read - The Hindu

Monetising property: Advanced groundwork at Bank of India

.............Explaining the arrangement for such a transaction, a senior BoI executive said the Mumbai-headquartered bank could float a wholly-owned subsidiary for the deal. The selected real estate assets (buildings, head office premises and residences) would be transferred (formally, sold) to this subsidiary, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), at value..........

Read | Business Standard News

Banks must boost MSME lending

..............A study by the International Finance Corporation shows that the commercial banking sector provides only about 10-15% of the recurring credit requirements of the MSME sector, which it estimates at R20 lakh crore at the lower end and R32 lakh crore at the higher end. Non-bank companies provide about 8-10% while at least 75% of the requirements are met from non-formal and non-organised sources.......

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