Banking & Financial News India & states News

IDFC Bank launches 100th branch at Honnali, Karnataka
IDFC Bank has launched its 100th branch at Honnali, Karnataka and plans to expand its network in the metros in the next one year.
Of the 100 branches, 17 are in the metro cities. The bank plans to expand its branch network in the metros in the next one year, for a balanced presence in metro, urban and rural geographies. The scale-up will take the bank's network in

www.exampundit.in metros alone to 100 branches, it added.

This coincides with the completion of the bank's second year of operations.


India imposes anti-dumping duty on stainless steel from US, EU and China
India has imposed anti-dumping duty on certain stainless steel products from the European Union and other nations including China and Korea, in order to protect the domestic industry from cheap imports.
The duty was imposed by the Revenue department following the recommendation by the Directorate General of Anti- Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD).
The levied duty will range between 4.58 per cent and 57.39 per cent of the landed value of cold-rolled flat products of stainless steel.


CRISIL launches India's first infrastructure investability index
CRISIL launched the CRISIL InfraInvex, India's first investability index that tracks, measures and assesses the development, maturity and investment attractiveness of infrastructure sectors, along with the CRISIL Infrastructure Yearbook 2017, a first-of-its-kind annual publication.

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For years now, the government has been doing the heavy lifting in terms of infrastructure investments. However,

having only the public investment cylinder firing is not good enough. Accelerating private sector investments is an essential complementarity, and the other cylinder that needs to fire.

SBI extends Rs 2,317 crore for rooftop solar power projects
State Bank of India on Monday announced sanction of Rs 2,317 crore credit facilities to JSW Energy, Hinduja Renewables, Tata Renewable Energy, Adani Group, Azure Power, Cleantech Solar and Hero Solar Energy for executing rooftop solar projects with aggregate capacity of 575 MW.
The sanction is towards financing Grid Connected Rooftop Solar projects under the SBI-World Bank (WB) Programme.
SBI has availed a line of credit of $625 million from World Bank for on-lending to viable Grid Connected Rooftop Solar projects undertaken by PV developers and end-users, for installation of rooftop solar systems on the rooftops of commercial, institutional and industrial buildings, an official statement said.


World Bank, Fin Min sign loan deal worth $200 mn for aiding Assam agri-biz
The Ministry of Finance and the World Bank on Monday announced the signing of a loan agreement worth $200 million for the Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project.
"Project will support Assam Govt to facilitate agri-business investments, increase agricultural productivity and market access among others," the Finance Ministry said in a tweet.
It added that the project will also enable the small farm holders to produce crops that are resilient to recurrent floods or droughts in the state.


India sends first shipment to Afghanistan through Iran's Chabahar port
India on 29 October 2017 sent its first consignment of wheat to Afghanistan through Iran's Chabahar port.
The move has been seen as a landmark one to operationalise the new strategic transit route, bypassing Pakistan. The shipment was flagged off from Kandla port in Gujarat by Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani, who joined in through video conferencing.
www.exampundit.in In an official statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said that the shipment of wheat is a landmark moment as it will pave the way for operationalisation of the Chabahar port as an alternate, reliable and robust connectivity for Afghanistan.


Sagarmala project: Shipping Ministry offers grant to JNPT and Karwar port
The Ministry of Shipping sanctioned Rs 25 crore to the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) for development of coastal berth and another Rs 50 crore to the Karwar port in Karnataka on 27 October 2017. The grant was offered under the Sagarmala project.
The objective behind the Coastal Berth Scheme (under Sagarmala project) is to develop infrastructure by providing financial assistance to ports or states. The purpose is to foster movement of cargo and passengers either by sea or national waterways.
The project at the Jawaharlal Nehru port Trust (JNPT) will be completed by March 2019 with an estimated cost of Rs 170 crore.

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India, Sri Lanka sign MoU to build 1200 houses in Hambantota
India on 26 October 2017 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sri Lanka to build 1200 houses in Hambantota, a southern port city of Sri Lanka.
The MoU was signed by Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Sri Lanka's Secretary to the Ministry of Housing and Construction W.K.K. Athukorala.
The 1200 houses will be constructed through 50 model villages using Indian grant assistance of Rs 600 million.
Out of these 1200 houses, 600 will be constructed in the Southern Province, while the remaining will be constructed across Sri Lanka with one model village in each of the 25 districts.


Indian Railways to get its first set of solar plants
Indian Railways' first set of solar plants having a total capacity of 5 megawatt peak (MWp) would be launched in New Delhi on 27 October 2017.
The launch would be conducted by Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal. The plants built on the roof tops of Hazrat Nizamuddin, New Delhi, Anand Vihar and Delhi railway stations would be generating 76.5 lakh units of solar power cumulatively every year and are expected to meet about 30 per cent of the energy requirement of these stations.
The project would help the railways save around Rs 421.4 lakh annually and reduce 6082 tonnes of CO2 emissions.


Union Government to send CCI officials to Telangana to resolve cotton procurement issue
The Union government has decided to send a team of officials of Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) to Telangana in order to resolve the issues related to cotton procurement in the state.
The information was shared by the Additional Secretary in the Textiles Ministry, Pushpa Subramanyam, who said that the CCI officials would soon visit the state to look into the plight of cotton growing farmers.

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Former Union Minister and Lok Sabha Member, Bandaru Dattatreya, had earlier wrote a letter to Textiles Minister Smriti Irani seeking her immediate intervention to resolve the issue.


HDFC Bank opens SmartUp Zones in 9 branches in Bengaluru
HDFC Bank has opened nine SmartUp Zones in Bengaluru.
A SmartUp Zone is an exclusive area inside the branch dedicated to start-ups. In the first phase, SmartUp Zones have been launched in nine branches in the city, catering to all the start-ups located in Karnataka.
The new SmartUp Zones were inaugurated by Vidhya Shankar, Executive Director, Grant Thornton India and Arun Mediratta, Branch Banking Head, HDFC Bank.


India, Italy sign six MoUs to boost bilateral relation
India and Italy on 30 October 2017 signed six Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) to boost cooperation in various important sectors including energy and trade and railways.
The pacts were signed after detailed high-level talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni. The talks mainly focused on ways to strengthen ties and countering terrorism.

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A joint statement issued after the meeting read that both the Prime Ministers called upon all the countries to work

towards rooting out terrorist safe havens, their infrastructure and networks and halting cross-border movement of terrorists.

Following are the six MoUs signed by the two nations:
1. Joint Declaration of Intent of Cooperation for Safety in the Railway sector between India and Italy.

2. MoU on 70 years of diplomatic relations between Indian Council of Cultural Relations and Ministry of Foreign

Affairs & International Cooperation of Italy.

3. MoU on cooperation in the field of Energy between India and Italy. 4. Executive Protocol on Cultural Cooperation between India and Italy.

5. MoU for promoting mutual investments between Italian Trade Agency and Invest India

6. MoU between the Training Unit of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Government of

Italy and Foreign Service Institute of the Ministry of External Affairs, India.


Union Government launches MSME Samadhaan Portal
The Union Government on 30 October 2017 launched MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise) delayed payment portal 'MSME Samadhaan' (http://msefc.msme.gov.in).
The portal was launched with an aim to empower micro and small entrepreneurs (MSEs) across the country to directly register their cases related to delayed payments by Central Ministries, Departments, CPSEs or State Governments.
The portal will give information about the pending payments of MSEs with individual CPSEs, Central Ministries, State Governments, etc.
The CEO of public sector enterprises and the Secretary of the Ministries concerned will also be able to monitor the cases of delayed payment under their jurisdiction and issue necessary instructions to resolve the issues.


India, Tunisia sign agreements to boost bilateral relations

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India and Tunisia on 30 October 2017 jointly agreed to enhance cooperation in various sectors including in the fields of renewable energy, infrastructure, transport and automobiles, textiles, agriculture, drugs & pharmaceuticals, healthcare, ICT, SMEs and energy.
The nations also agreed to jointly combat terrorism and extremism while boosting cooperation in the field of security.
The agreements were signed during the 12th Session of the India-Tunisia Joint Commission, which was held in New Delhi on 30 October. While External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj led the Indian delegation at the meeting, the

Tunisian delegation was headed by Khemaies Jhinaoui, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tunisia.

This was the first time India-Tunisia Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) was held at the Foreign Ministerial level.
The two sides also discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest.
The two sides have also come with a roadmap for India-Tunisia partnership to give a new thrust to bilateral relations.
India signed a MoU with Tunisia for establishment of Soil, Water and Tissue Testing Laboratory in Tunis.
Tunisia shared India's concerns on terrorism and agreed to fight against terrorism, extremism, radicalism, drugs and organized crime and cooperate in the field of security including cyber security.
Both countries also proposed to reach the bilateral trade to USD 1 billion in the next five years, in order to expand bilateral trade and investment.
India called for greater market access in pharma and fertilizer sectors.

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Banks to now match original IDs with photocopies: PMLA
The Government has set a mandatory rule for banks and financial institutions (FIs) to check the original identification documents of individual person dealing in cash above the prescribed threshold of fifty thousand rupees, to tackle the

use of forged or fake copies.

The notification was issued by the Department of Revenue in the Finance Ministry by making an amendment to the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules (PMLA).
The notification under this rules requires to produce Biometric identification number Aadhaar and other official documents to the reporting offices for opening a bank account as well as for any financial transaction of Rs 50,000 and above.
It also mentions to produce the same document for all cash dealing of more than Ten lakh rupees or its corresponding in foreign currency, cash transactions where forged or counterfeit currency notes have been used and all suspicious

transactions.

All foreign transfers of more than Five lakh rupees in foreign currency and sale and purchase of immovable property valued at Fifty lakh rupees or more also fall under this new rules.


India's first Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra for Skilling in Smart Cities Inaugurated
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh along with Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated India's first Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK) for Skilling in Smart Cities on 23 October 2017 at New Delhi.
The inauguration was done in collaboration with New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). The main aim behind the development is to bring momentum in skilling through collaborative efforts.
The ministers also laid the foundation for a Skill Development Centre at Moti Bagh and a Centre of Excellence at Dharam Marg in New Delhi. The new skill development centres emphasise on the commitment of the Union

Government to support skilling in smart cities.

www.exampundit.in The executive arm of Skill Development Ministry, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), has collaborated

with New Delhi Municipal Council Smart City Limited to extend cooperation:

- For setting up of PMKK Centres for Smart Cities

- To provide skill training for unemployed youth through its short-term training (STT) module

- To contribute to the capacity building of municipal employees through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

programme

While inaugurating the skill development centres, Rajnath Singh said, "India which has the privilege of being a young nation, would gain from this demographic dividend to become a superpower and be amongst the top three counties

in the world by 2030. The key to reach this milestone is by investing in our youth and making them skilled."

GSTN launches offline option for GSTR-3B returns filing
The Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) on 20 October 2017 released an offline facility that will allow taxpayers to finalise their GSTR-3B forms on their own computers before uploading it on the portal.
The deadline for the filing of the GSTR-3B form for the month of September was 20 October 2017. Taxpayers have been asked to file the summary GSTR-3B forms every month till January 2017.
The Excel based offline utility has been introduced for filing the GSTR-3B on the GST Portal.
This offline facility will provide an opportunity to the taxpayer to verify the details of GSTR 3B before filing GSTR-3B returns and minimise chances of error.

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It is designed to help taxpayers to prepare their GSTR-3B return on their computer system.
The taxpayer can download the offline utility from the GST Portal under the Download Section and can fill data and create file for uploading the same on GST Portal.
The offline facility functions work best on Windows 7 and above and Microsoft Excel 2007 and above.


Bharti Airtel to acquire Tata's consumer mobile business
Tata Sons Ltd will sell its consumer mobile business to India's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel Ltd virtually for free, as part of the group chairman's strategy to exit businesses which have been a prolonged drag and have little visibility of future profits.
Airtel is acquiring the assets on a debt-free, cash-free basis, except for it assuming a fraction of the unpaid spectrum fees that the Tata group owes to the department of telecommunications (DoT), the companies said in a joint statement.
The telecom industry, particularly smaller operators such as Tata Teleservices Ltd, has been hobbled by a crippling price war after the entry of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, backed by India's richest man Mukesh Ambani.
This has triggered a wave of consolidation in the industry, including a merger between the nation's second largest operator Vodafone India Ltd and No. 3 Idea Cellular Ltd to create a company that will be bigger than Airtel. Airtel's acquisition of the Tata assets will help narrow the gap between it and the Vodafone-Idea combine, once the merger is completed.


IndusInd Bank to acquire microlender Bharat Financial for Rs15,500 cr
Hinduja group promoted IndusInd Bank Ltd and microlender Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd (BFIL) have agreed to merge, in what the two lenders say, would bring in synergies and reduce costs.
www.exampundit.in IndusInd Bank Ltd signed an all-share deal to buy Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd for close to Rs15,500 crore ($2.4 billion), boosting its presence in microfinance lending and rural banking.
IndusInd will give Bharat Financial's shareholders 639 of its shares for every 1,000 shares they own in the microfinance lender, according to a joint statement issued by the companies.
Based on the swap ratio announced by the two companies, BFIL shareholders will get 0.639 share of IndusInd Bank for every one share they own in BFIL.
The deal values Bharat Financial at Rs1,118.47 a share, an 11.4 per cent premium to the stock's Friday closing price of Rs1,004.


ICICI Bank's AI-powered chatbot iPal completes 6 million responses, interacts with 3.1 million customers in eight

months
ICICI Bank launched its artificial intelligence-powered chatbot, named iPal, in February 2017. Eight months since the launch, the bank has released some numbers: Six million queries answered and 3.1 million customers have interacted with the bot, which managed a 90 percent accuracy rate. According to ICICI Bank, the fact that its AI-led chatbot service is offered both on the mobile app as well as on its website makes it the first bank in India to do so.
According to some numbers released by the bank, iPal addresses close to 1 million queries a month on the website and the app. It is available 24x7 and is available to domestic as well as NRI customers.

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Speaking of the eight-month completion of iPal bot's service, B Madhivanan, chief technology & digital officer, ICICI

Bank spoke to media persons to answer our queries. According to him, AI is the next step in the evolution of banking services which started with phone-banking with call centre support, followed by internet banking and mobile banking.

SBI launches India's first bond index series in UK
State Bank of India (SBI) launched India's first bond index series for overseas investors at the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
The FTSE SBI Bond Index Series, launched by India's largest commercial bank along with global index and data provider FTSE Russell, is positioned as a first-of-its-kind transparent benchmark for investors in international markets to analyse India's government bond market.
"In respect of the Indian government bond market, we didn't have any international indices on which the international investors could take a call. With the launch of this index alongside FTSE Russell, our intention is to give people a benchmark based on which they can make investment calls," SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said at the launch ceremony at the LSE .
The FTSE SBI Bond Index Series "demonstrates SBI's commitment to play befitting leadership role" in development of India's bond market, SBI said in a statement.
The launch follows the November 2015 visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the UK when a letter of intent was singed between SBI and FTSE to jointly develop the new index tracking Indian fixed income securities.


Linking Aadhaar number to bank accounts mandatory: RBI

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Reserve Bank of India said biometric identity number Aadhaar linkage with bank accounts is mandatory.
The RBI clarification followed media reports quoting a reply to a Right to Information (RTI) application that suggested the apex bank has not issued any order for mandatory Aadhaar linkage with bank accounts.
"The Reserve Bank clarifies that, in applicable cases, linkage of Aadhaar number to bank account is mandatory under the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Second Amendment Rules, 2017 published in the Official Gazette on June 1, 2017," the central bank said in a statement.
These rules have statutory force and, as such, banks have to implement them without awaiting further instructions, it said.
The government in June had made Aadhaar mandatory for opening bank accounts as well as for any financial transaction of Rs. 50,000 and above.
Existing bank account holders have been asked to furnish the Aadhaar number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) by December 31, 2017, failing which the account will cease to be operational, the government notification had said.
There were reports in media quoting an RTI query in which RBI had said it "has not issued any instruction so far regarding mandatory linking of Aadhaar number with bank accounts".
The government in Budget 2017 had already mandated seeding of Aadhaar number with Permanent Account Number to avoid individuals using multiple PANs to evade taxes.
The notification issued amending the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005, mandated quoting of Aadhaar along with PAN or Form 60 by individuals, companies and partnership firms for all

financial transactions of Rs. 50,000 or above.

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Kandla Port gets green nod for Rs 1,176-cr smart industrial port city
State-owned Kandla Port Trust has received environment clearance for setting up a Rs 1,176-crore smart industrial port city in Kutch, Gujarat, a senior official said.
The proposal is to develop a smart industrial port city at two separate sites in Gandhidham which would house about 35,700 residential flats, schools and parks. The project is expected to generate jobs for more than 60,000 people in the region.
"The Environment Ministry examined the Kandla Port's proposal and gave the final environment clearance for developing a smart city at two identified sites," a senior government official said.
Separate proposals for the two sites were submitted and both have been cleared with some riders after taking into account the ministry's expert panel, the official said.
As per the proposal, a smart port city in a 580-acre land has been proposed at Adipur side on South of Tagore road, while the second site would be cover an area of 850 acres is near KPT complex in Gandhidham.


Mukhya Mantri Kaushal Samvardhan and Kaushalya Yojana flagged off in MP
Madhya Pradesh Government has implemented the Chief Minister's Skill Promotion and Skills Scheme to provide jobs by providing employment oriented training to the youth.
The Tribal Affairs Department of MP government will train educated youths of Scheduled Tribe category for job in various employment-oriented professions and establish their own venture through MAPCET.
All the youth who are in the age group of 18-35 are being benefitted through Mukhya Mantri Kaushal Samvardhan Yojana and Mukhya Mantri Kaushalya Yojana.
The Madhya Pradesh government has permitted Rs 30 crores for constant execution of the scheme from year 2017- 18 to 2019-20.
www.exampundit.in This scheme is aimed to cover 6,000 youth and nearly 2000 youths will be trained every year. Successful trainees from various training programmes organized by Government of India/State government institutions, UGC recognized universities selected by MAPCET, NSDC partner institutions, industries will be provided placements.