..............The
local currency had its best four-day rally in four decades after
Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan moved to reverse sentiment
on policymaking, introducing several measures soon after taking over
last Wednesday.........
The very purpose of VITALINFO is to provide a platform for wider dissemination of updated information related to and happening of events in and around RBI.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
The ‘Rajan-effect’ on India’s rupee may not last long
.....The “Rajan effect” is not lost on markets. The rupee rallied 2.2% from Friday to 63.84 per dollar yesterday. The currency, which fell to a record 68.845 on August 28, climbed 6% in the past four days, the most since at least 1973, according to Bloomberg data. Stock markets seem very optimistic too. The benchmark Sensex index rallied over 1,700 points in 4 days, 727 yesterday alone, to cross the 20,000 mark. Time to think the former International Monetary Fund chief economist is the miracle man to drive India’s ailing economy out of its worst financial crisis since 1991? Have a closer look at the deeper issues. ..........
RBI asks banks to consider options to meet note, coin demand
........."Banks may explore the possibility of offering these services through business correspondents and consider engaging the services of cash in transit entities for the purpose of distribution of banknotes and coins, thereby addressing the last-mile connectivity issues," .................
HC seeks affidavit on launch of ‘parallel economy’
Acknowledging the PIL filed on the introduction of coupons and due slips instead of currency by several private bus operators, the Calcutta High Court Tuesday directed the Centre, Reserve Bank of India and the state government to file an affidavit within four weeks. India's Smile, a social organisation, has filed a petition alleging that private bus operators had printed coupons and manufactured plastic coins, which they forced the passengers to accept instead of currency notes and coins........
Sebi: Transfers on slow track
............A lot of transfers, which were due to take place in the new financial year, are yet to go through, according to a person familiar with the matter. The bulk of the pending transfers may only take place after there is clarity on the term of U K Sinha, chairman of Sebi, said the person. Sinha's initial three year-term would end in February 2014, around six months from now...........
Panel headed by former Sebi chief submits report
The high-level committee, set up by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) last year under the former Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chairman M Damodaran, has submitted its report on changing India’s regulatory environment for making business environment investment friendly.............
Disclose details of 100 dormant accounts: CIC to postal dept
.........During the hearing Agrawal claimed that the postal department in its reply had said that unclaimed balance of Rs 752.44 crore are lying in 2.49 crore accounts. He claimed postal authorities have taken no steps to return the money to the legitimate claimants. During his arguments, Agrawal said that unclaimed balances are prone to fraud. He claimed Reserve Bank of India has now directed banks to transfer dormant balances to the government of India after a period of 10 years as is being done in case of unpaid dividends which are required to be transferred to the government after three years..........
Women’s bank likely to begin operations on 19 November
......The bank, named Bharatiya Mahila Bank, will begin operations with 6 branches spread across the country. Headquartered in Delhi, it will be scaled up to 39 branches and 127 cash machines and serve more than 33,000 customers at the end of the first year. It aims to become profitable by the fifth year of operations. The bank aims to service women and women-run businesses, support women’s self-help groups and their livelihoods and promote further financial inclusion in a country where only 35% of Indian adults have access to a bank account. Usha Ananthasubramanian, Executive Director at Punjab National Bank, will head the bank, which will predominantly employ women. The bank will initially be staffed by officials seconded from other public-sector banks...........
RBI launches inflation survey
......The RBI has requested other interested individuals not covered by the survey to give their inputs by downloading the survey form from its Web site and then sending it to the central bank by email. The RBI uses the results of this survey as one of the important inputs to the monetary policy.
RBI compliances getting tougher for NBFCs
............There were times when non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) had their own set of privileges over banks. The compliances laid down by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) were far more lenient for NBFCs than those for banks. But gone are those golden days and now even the NBFCs are under RBI’s continuous screening. Having said this, the new compliances for NBFC came from the famous Sahara Case..........
KMSS lambasts nationalised banks
GUWAHATI, Sept 10 – The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) today lambasted the nationalised banks for allegedly siphoning off the lion’s share of the money deposited by the people of the NE region to other areas of the country. The Samiti has announced an agitational programme to gherao the local headquarters of the State Bank of India (SBI) here tomorrow in protest against this activity of the nationalised banks........
Criteria for new banks
..The objectives of licensing new private banks haven’t gone beyond the generality of hoping they make banking more ‘inclusive’. But objectives are vastly different from motives — the former are for public consumption while the latter is the hidden reality. To hope all private banks with their profit, or worse, private agendas, to drive ‘inclusive banking’ is a joke. And one’s certain a man of Jalan’s experience knows this only too well. Still, he has a mandate to be fulfilled as best as he can..................
Has mobile payment bug bitten you yet?
........Mobile payments have covered the first few miles in terms of popularity, but still have a long way to go, especially when we look at plans afoot. In his first speech after taking over as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor, Raghuram Rajan stated that mobile payments can be a game-changer both for the financial sector as well as for mobile phone companies. In fact, keeping retail customers in mind, he plans to set up a technical committee to examine the feasibility of using encrypted SMS-based funds transfer using an application that can run on any type of handset. If you are not already making your payments through mobile phones, we’ll help you understand the systems...........
RBI penalises Jamia Cooperative Bank Ltd,
......The penalty has been imposed on the bank for violation of (i) Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti Money Laundering (AML) norms insofar as carrying out sufficient customer identification procedures, ascertaining the identification of natural persons behind entities, carrying out enhanced due diligence and appropriate risk categorisation were concerned; (ii) non-compliance of Income Recognition and Asset Classification (IRAC) norms by transfer of funds from one account to another; (iii) involvement of the directors in day-to-day affairs of the bank; and (iv) diversion of funds from loan accounts through current/savings bank accounts of borrowers to firms in which directors have an interest.............
Urban co-op banks can now lend more for house repair, alterations
...............The new ceiling on such loans will be Rs 2 lakh (Rs 1 lakh earlier) in rural and semi-urban areas and Rs 5 lakh (Rs 2 lakh) in urban areas. Loans granted under the enhanced limits will also be eligible for classification under priority sector, the RBI said in a notification. The exposure limit of UCBs to housing and commercial real estate loans continues at 10 per cent of their total assets.................
The e-friendly face of the tax department
......E-filing of tax return has undoubtedly eased the process by bringing in transparency and visibility. Individuals no longer need to stand in long queues to file their return; in fact, it is now mandatory to file online if the taxable income exceeds Rs 5 lakh. The return forms, with relevant instructions, are available on the official Web site. To make e-filing more user-friendly, the department plans to introduce electronic PIN-based verification from this year. This will help ease the post-filing requirement of sending a hard copy of the acknowledgment ITR-V to the Centralised Processing Centre in Bangalore. The new portal will also provide pre-filled information, such as tax credits, in the form. This will help speed up the refund process...........
RBI relaxes KYC norms for urban cooperative banks to cater to foreign students
............"UCBs may open a non-resident ordinary (NRO) bank account of a foreign student on the basis of his/her passport (with appropriate visa and immigration) which contains proof of identity and address in the home country along with a photograph and a letter offering admission from the educational institution," RBI said in a notification on Tuesday. It further said that within 30 days of opening the said account, the student concerned should submit a valid local address proof, which could be a rent agreement or a letter from his/her educational institution............
HDFC Bank's credit card base shrinks
.........“HDFC Bank’s model for card acquisition is dependent on tele-marketing calls. In recent times, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has become extremely vigilant and warned banks not to make unsolicited calls to numbers in the do-not-disturb registry. This has affected the bank’s new card acquisition. Also, attrition numbers are high, as HDFC Bank has a very large base of credit card holders. These factors have contributed towards the month-on-month decline in the bank’s credit card portfolio,” said a senior executive of a large private sector bank...............
Cosmos Bank launches mobile banking
In yet another achievement, the fastest growing Urban Co-op Bank Cosmos launched mobile banking service for its customers on last Saturday at the hands of Shrinivas Patil, Governor of Sikkim. The Chairman, Krishnakumar Goyal, Vice-Chairman, Milind Kale, Managing Director, Vikrant Ponkshe, Jt. Managing Director, Suhas Gokhale, Directors of the Board, Members and Customers of the Bank were present for this function........
Canara Bank to charge Rs 60 a year for SMS alerts
............“We wish to inform that in line with the industry trend, our bank is compelled to charge Rs 15 per quarter per customer with effect from October 1, 2013, for SMS services and those who have opted for SMS alerts,” Canara Bank said in a notification. However, the bank said senior citizens, small savings account holders, basic bank accounts holders, and financial inclusion savings account holders will not be charged any such fee......
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)