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India finance minister announces steps to boost consumer demand

October 12, 2020

NEW DELHI, Oct 12 (Reuters) – India’s finance minister on Monday announced steps to stimulate consumer demand including advance payment of a part of the wages of federal government employees for spending during the festival season, part of efforts to bolster the pandemic-hit economy.

The government will also allow its employees to spend travel allowances that are an income-tax-exempt part of their salaries on goods and services, Nirmala Sitharaman told a news briefing.

“This is expected to create a consumer demand of about 280 billion rupees ($3.83 billion),” she said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which imposed a tough lockdown to stem the spread of the coronavirus in March, is pushing ahead with a full opening to try to boost the economy ahead of the usually high-spending festival season.

($1 = 73.1541 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Aftab Ahmed and Manoj Kumar; Editing by Catherine Evans)

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India announces economic stimulus to boost demand by $10 billion

October 12, 2020

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By Aftab Ahmed and Manoj Kumar

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India on Monday announced steps to stimulate consumer demand, including advance payment of a part of the wages of federal government employees during the festival season and more capital spending as it tries to bolster the pandemic-hit economy.

The government will allow its employees to spend tax-exempt travel allowances on goods and services, Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s finance minister told a news briefing.

She said the government will also shore up investment by spending extra 250 billion rupees ($3.41 billion)on roads, ports and defence projects, and offering 120 billion rupees in interest-free 50-year loans to state governments for spending on infrastructure before March 31,2021.

“All these measures are likely to create an additional demand of 730 billion rupees ($9.96 billion),” Sitharaman said, adding the proposals would stimulate demand in a “fiscally prudent way.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which imposed a

India: Man fakes death to get insurance money, arrested later

October 10, 2020

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Illustrative image.
Image Credit: iStockphoto

Hansi: A businessman was arrested for allegedly faking his death to get an insurance amount of Rs 1.6 crores, according to Hansi Police on Saturday.

The main accused Rammehar, hailing from Datta village in Hissar, had allegedly fabricated a story of his own death to receive the insurance money, informed Hansi police.

“On October 6, past midnight at 12.05 am, the station manager in Hansi was informed that two motorcycles and a car were chasing Rammehar on Mahajat road. Going from Bhatla to Mahajat Road, we saw a car and a charred body inside it, and at the same time, Rammehar’s family members also reached the spot,” said Lockender Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP).

He further said, “The police recovered the vehicle and transported the body to the hospital for postmortem. The investigation revealed a clear fabrication of the incident which Rammehar conspired on

India Stocks Climb After Volatile Start Ahead of Monetary Policy

October 7, 2020

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Sensex at Four-Month High Despite India Overtaking Russia for Third Biggest Tally of Virus Cases — Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg

Indian stocks rose after a volatile start as the central bank’s new monetary policy committee began meeting ahead of a decision later this week.

The S&P BSE Sensex advanced 0.8% to 39,871.03 as of 10:47 a.m. in Mumbai, after slipping as much as 0.3%. The NSE Nifty 50 Index added 0.4%. Gains were driven by India’s most valuable company, Reliance Industries Ltd., which said it will get a $750 million investment in its retail unit.

The interest rate decision due on Friday is likely to see borrowing costs held at a record low as inflation remains elevated, potentially benefiting lenders’ net interest margins. Meanwhile, signs of economic revival may bode well for consumer spending as India heads into its seasonal festive season.

“If we get more liquidity, whether directly or indirectly from the RBI, it could lead to a rally in financial stocks,” said

India Picks Central Bank Rate Panel After Unexplained Delay

October 6, 2020

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(Bloomberg) — India’s government appointed three new external members to the central bank’s committee that decides interest rates, allowing policy meetings to resume after last week’s delay.

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The Finance Ministry on Monday announced the following names to the six-member Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of India:

Ashima Goyal, a professor at the Mumbai-based Indira Gandhi Institute of Developmental ResearchJayanth R Varma, a professor of finance at the Indian Institute of Management in AhmedabadShashanka Bhide, an agricultural economist and a senior adviser with the National Council of Applied Economic Research in New Delhi

The new appointees will replace the three previous external MPC candidates whose terms expired with the last policy meeting in August. They’ll join three RBI officials on the committee, led by Governor Shaktikanta Das.

The government’s delay in selecting the new members meant the RBI didn’t have enough policy makers for its scheduled three-day

Top India Court Asks Government to Outline Interest Waiver Plans

October 5, 2020

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(Bloomberg) — India’s top court asked the government and banks how they plan to waive deferred interest on loans for small borrowers and whether similar relief measures could be provided to other sectors.

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A metro train travels along an elevated track as residential buildings stand in the background at night in the outskirts of New Delhi, India, on Sunday, July 7, 2019. India’s new Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman resisted calls for a fiscal boost to spur a weakening economy, sticking instead to a plan to narrow the budget deficit over time by keeping spending in check.

The Supreme Court on Monday asked lawyers from the government and Reserve Bank of India to submit information on the measures they plan to take on waiving some of the interest and recasting loans for stressed borrowers. The court will listen to this feedback on Oct. 13.

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Prime Minister Narendra

AirAsia’s Problems Grow as India Minister Hints at Local Shutdown

October 5, 2020

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(Bloomberg) — AirAsia Group Bhd. is closing its affiliate operations in India, the local aviation minister said over the weekend, a comment his office later suggested was taken out of context.

a fighter jet sitting on top of a runway: AirAsia Group Bhd. aircraft stand on the tarmac at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA 2) in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia, on Monday, Aug. 24, 2020. AirAsia is scheduled to report its quarterly results on Aug. 28.

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AirAsia Group Bhd. aircraft stand on the tarmac at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA 2) in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia, on Monday, Aug. 24, 2020. AirAsia is scheduled to report its quarterly results on Aug. 28.

“AirAsia’s shop is anyway shutting down,” Hardeep Singh Puri said in televised comments that were widely circulated on social media. “Their parent company has problems.”

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A spokesman for AirAsia India, which is majority owned by Indian conglomerate Tata Group, declined to comment. A spokesman for the civil aviation ministry said Puri’s comments were taken out of context and he had immediately clarified them.

AirAsia, once the poster child of a low-cost airline revolution in Asia, is seeking to raise

India to waive certain interest levies on loans in COVID-19 relief

October 3, 2020

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By Aditya Kalra, Nupur Anand

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) – The Indian government has told the Supreme Court it will waive certain interest levies on loans up to 20 million rupees ($272,888) under a COVID-19 support plan, a legal filing showed, in a move that will bring relief to millions of borrowers.

Gajendra Sharma, 53, an optician, poses inside his shop selling eye glasses in Agra, India, September 11, 2020. Picture taken September 11, 2020. REUTERS/Aftab Ahmed/Files

While the government did not disclose the impact on the banking sector, an analyst at credit ratings firm ICRA estimated it will cost New Delhi a maximum of 50-70 billion rupees ($682 million-$955 million).

“We expect the impact to be minimal on profitability of lenders,” said ICRA’s Anil Gupta.

An Indian optician from Agra had challenged the plan which allowed skipping repayments for six months but levied an additional “interest-on-interest” on delayed payments.

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CAA Media Finance Snags Rights to ‘India Sweets and Spices’ From ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Producer SK Global (EXCLUSIVE)

October 1, 2020

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CAA Media Finance is representing worldwide distribution rights to “India Sweets and Spices,” produced by SK Global (“Crazy Rich Asians”) and Madison Wells (“Genius”).

The film is directed by Geeta Malik (“Troublemaker”) and is based on her own script “Dinner With Friends” that won the 2016 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in screenwriting. The film follows a young woman who, after her first year at college, returns to her affluent suburban New Jersey home for the summer and discovers distressing secrets about her seemingly picture-perfect Indian American family.

“We don’t often see movies about the duality of identifying strongly with both Indian and American traditions, and not having to choose between them,” Malik said. “And I didn’t want to make a movie specifically about any sort of culture clash. Every generation, no matter what their background, has to find a way to both break free from and embrace their history. That’s what

EXCLUSIVE-Rosneft and Aramco unlikely to bid for India BPCL -sources

September 29, 2020

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By Nidhi Verma, Aftab Ahmed and Vladimir Soldatkin

NEW DELHI/MOSCOW, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Oil majors Rosneft ROSN.MM and Saudi Aramco 2222.SE are unlikely to bid in the privatisation of Indian refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp BPCL.NS, sources familiar with the matter said, as low oil prices and weak fuel demand curb investment plans.

Russia’s Rosneft had expressed interest in buying the federal government’s 53.29% stake in Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) when CEO Igor Sechin visited New Delhi in February, while India’s trade minister has said that Aramco was enthusiastic about the stake sale.

A Rosneft source, however, said his company will not buy BPCL. Another source said Rosneft would only be interested in BPCL’s marketing business comprising fuel depots and more than 16,800 fuel stations.

“For this, India has to sell BPCL in parts,” the source said.

The Indian government – looking to finance welfare schemes and bridge a