1. Import duty of sugar hiked from 15 to 25 per cent
i. Government today hiked the import duty on raw and refined sugar from 15 per cent to 25 per cent to help the sugar industry clear cane arrears to farmers.
ii. The hike in duty is aimed at curbing import of sugar and improving the bearish sentiment in domestic market.
iii. The sugar imports have been putting pressure on domestic prices and have prevented millers from clearing cane arrears to farmers.
iv. However the move is expected to make the sweetener costlier for the common man.
2. Nation pays homage to Ambedkar on Mahaparinirvan Diwas today
i. The nation is paying homage to Dr. B R Ambedkar on his 58th Mahaparinirvan Diwas today. Floral tributes were paid to the father of the Indian Constitution at his portrait in Parliament House complex, New Delhi.
ii. Lakhs of people thronged Chaityabhoomi, the final resting place of Bharat Ratna Dr. B R Ambedkar at Shivaji Park in Dadar, Mumbai on his 56th death anniversary today.
iii. For the first time, unmanned aerial vehicle or drone will be used for crowd management.
iv. Maharashtra Government has started special trains, BEST buses and local trains for the people coming to Chaityabhoomi to pay homage.
3. RBI issues guidelines for early detection of bad loans
i. RBI has released guidelines that will help banks in early recognition of bad loans and prompt steps for recovery or sale of unviable accounts.
ii. In the document called Framework for Revitalizing Distressed Assets in the Economy, RBI has asked banks to form a committee called Joint Lenders forum to formulate a plan for early resolution of stress in an account.
iii. The committee should also consider an option to transfer the promoters' holdings to a security trustee or an escrow arrangement till turnaround of company.
iv. In the new guidelines, which will be effective from April 1, the RBI has said that restructuring of a bad loan should be done in such a manner that shareholders, including promoters, bear the first loss and not the lenders. The guidelines ask banks to make future loans more expensive for borrowers who don't cooperate in resolving existing bad loans.
v. It also offers a liberal regulatory treatment for sale of distressed asset and allows lenders to spread loss on sale of such assets over two years provided loss is fully disclosed.
vi. RBI has said that the refinancing institution can fix a repayment period by taking into account the life cycle of the project and cash flows from the project.
vii. According to RBI, the amount of recast loans touched an all-time high of 4 trillion rupees or 10.2 per cent of the overall advances as of September 2013.
4. HDFC Bank, Axis Bank raise fixed deposit rates by up to 4%
i. Faced with a tight liquidity condition, two leading private sector banks -- HDFC Bank and Axis Bank -- have raised fixed deposit rates by up to 4 per cent, a move which may be followed by others.
ii. Country's second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank has raised fixed deposit rates by 1 per cent for maturities between 15 days to 6 months one day effective July 27, as per information available on its website.
iii. The bank has increased the interest rate by 0.75 per cent for maturity buckets less than 1 year but over 6 months one day.
iv. Axis Bank has raised interest rate on term deposits with maturity between 14-29 days by 4 per cent to 8 per cent, while in case of 7-14 days the increase is by 3.5 per cent to 7.5 per cent on bulk deposits above Rs 1 crore, effective today.
i. Government today hiked the import duty on raw and refined sugar from 15 per cent to 25 per cent to help the sugar industry clear cane arrears to farmers.
ii. The hike in duty is aimed at curbing import of sugar and improving the bearish sentiment in domestic market.
iii. The sugar imports have been putting pressure on domestic prices and have prevented millers from clearing cane arrears to farmers.
iv. However the move is expected to make the sweetener costlier for the common man.
2. Nation pays homage to Ambedkar on Mahaparinirvan Diwas today
i. The nation is paying homage to Dr. B R Ambedkar on his 58th Mahaparinirvan Diwas today. Floral tributes were paid to the father of the Indian Constitution at his portrait in Parliament House complex, New Delhi.
ii. Lakhs of people thronged Chaityabhoomi, the final resting place of Bharat Ratna Dr. B R Ambedkar at Shivaji Park in Dadar, Mumbai on his 56th death anniversary today.
iii. For the first time, unmanned aerial vehicle or drone will be used for crowd management.
iv. Maharashtra Government has started special trains, BEST buses and local trains for the people coming to Chaityabhoomi to pay homage.
3. RBI issues guidelines for early detection of bad loans
i. RBI has released guidelines that will help banks in early recognition of bad loans and prompt steps for recovery or sale of unviable accounts.
ii. In the document called Framework for Revitalizing Distressed Assets in the Economy, RBI has asked banks to form a committee called Joint Lenders forum to formulate a plan for early resolution of stress in an account.
iii. The committee should also consider an option to transfer the promoters' holdings to a security trustee or an escrow arrangement till turnaround of company.
iv. In the new guidelines, which will be effective from April 1, the RBI has said that restructuring of a bad loan should be done in such a manner that shareholders, including promoters, bear the first loss and not the lenders. The guidelines ask banks to make future loans more expensive for borrowers who don't cooperate in resolving existing bad loans.
v. It also offers a liberal regulatory treatment for sale of distressed asset and allows lenders to spread loss on sale of such assets over two years provided loss is fully disclosed.
vi. RBI has said that the refinancing institution can fix a repayment period by taking into account the life cycle of the project and cash flows from the project.
vii. According to RBI, the amount of recast loans touched an all-time high of 4 trillion rupees or 10.2 per cent of the overall advances as of September 2013.
4. HDFC Bank, Axis Bank raise fixed deposit rates by up to 4%
i. Faced with a tight liquidity condition, two leading private sector banks -- HDFC Bank and Axis Bank -- have raised fixed deposit rates by up to 4 per cent, a move which may be followed by others.
ii. Country's second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank has raised fixed deposit rates by 1 per cent for maturities between 15 days to 6 months one day effective July 27, as per information available on its website.
iii. The bank has increased the interest rate by 0.75 per cent for maturity buckets less than 1 year but over 6 months one day.
iv. Axis Bank has raised interest rate on term deposits with maturity between 14-29 days by 4 per cent to 8 per cent, while in case of 7-14 days the increase is by 3.5 per cent to 7.5 per cent on bulk deposits above Rs 1 crore, effective today.
