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Banks see whopping 73% spike in frauds at Rs 71,543 cr in FY19

PTI Mumbai | Updated on July 04, 2019 Published on July 04, 2019
 

Banks have reported a massive 73 per cent increase in incidents of fraud worth Rs 71,543 crore in FY19, a senior Reserve Bank official said on Thursday.

 

Till March 2019, the top five, 10 and 100 cases of frauds cumulatively reported constituted 24 per cent, 34 per cent and 70 per cent of all frauds, respectively, a Chief General Manager with the RBI Jayant Dash said. In FY18, the banks had reported frauds worth Rs 41,167 crore, he added. “Total value involved in these frauds reported by the RBI-regulated entities during FY19 amounted to Rs 71,543 crore as against Rs 41,167 crore during the previous year, which is a 73 per cent jump year-on-year,” Dash told a CII event here.

 

He said the distribution of reported frauds by banks follow a high pareto principle also known as 80/20 principle, which means 80 percent of the consequences come from 20 percent of the causes. The large value frauds worth Rs 50 crore and above, constituted about 1 per cent of the fraudulent cases but amounted to three-fourths of the fraud losses, Dash said.

 

Banks, on an average, report fraud loss of Rs 35,000 crore every year. “This does not take into account loss to investors and other financial and operational creditors, apart from the intangible losses to the system,” he said. The amount involved in frauds reported since FY15 stood at Rs 1,74,798 crore, constituting a whopping 211 per cent of actual occurrence of frauds during the same period at Rs 82,959 crore, he said.

 

Noting that corporate fraud is rarely a one-step operation, he said, “the most expensive frauds are committed by management teams who have the ability to override control systems and collude to cover their tracks.” Addressing the same event, Sebi Executive Director Anand Baiwar said there is a close link between corporate frauds and corporate governance. “Effects of good corporate governance can be seen in terms of improved operating results and enhanced market capitalisation,” Baiwar said.

 
Published on July 04, 2019
 
 
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Budget Snapshots | On Budget eve, PMI for June shows economy getting worse

The Budget will tell us what the government’s plans are to get the economy out of a rut.

Ravi Ananthanarayanan
 
Ravi Ananthanarayanan @ravi_ananth
 
 
graphdown1-770x433.jpg

The Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index, which provides a snapshot of private sector activity, shows that the economy continued to weaken in June. The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India Composite PMI, which includes both the services and manufacturing sectors, came in at 50.8 in June, the lowest level in over a year. The accompanying chart shows the performance of the composite index over the last one year.

 

The services sector contracted last month. Says the IHS Markit report, ‘At 49.6 in June, down from 50.2 in May, the IHS Markit India Services Business Activity Index posted in contraction territory for the first time since May 2018. According to survey participants, weak sales, competitive pressures and unfavourable taxation all hampered output.’ A reading below 50 indicates contraction from the previous month.

 

The manufacturing PMI for June was at 52.1 and the average manufacturing PMI reading for the opening quarter of fiscal year 2019/20 was the lowest recorded since the second quarter of FY18.Composite PMI

 

The contraction in services is an indication of the home-grown nature of the slowdown. Commenting on the latest survey results, Pollyanna de Lima, Principal Economist at IHS Markit, said: ‘Looking at the opening quarter of fiscal year 2019/20, we see the slowest upturn in private sector output since the last quarter of fiscal year 2017/18, which dragged employment growth down to a notable extent.’

 

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/economy/budget-snapshots-on-budget-eve-pmi-for-june-shows-economy-getting-worse-4167781.html

 
 
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Punjab National Bank hit by another fraud, this time of Rs 3,800 crore

The Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Saturday said it had reported a borrowing fraud of 38.05 billion Indian rupees ($556 million) in Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd's account to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Reuters
Reuters
Mumbai
July 7, 2019
UPDATED: July 7, 2019 17:48 IST
 
 
 
PNB Bhushan Steel fraud
 
PNB has been defrauded of over $2 billion in a separate scam that came to light last year. (Photo: Reuters)

HIGHLIGHTS

  • The Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Saturday said it had reported a borrowing fraud of Rs 38.05 billion
  • The fraud was being reported to the RBI on the basis of the findings of the forensic audit
  • PNB has been defrauded of over $2 billion in a separate scam that came to light last year
 

The Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Saturday said it had reported a borrowing fraud of Rs 38.05 billion ($556 million) in Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd's account to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The fraud, "alleging diversion of funds from the banking system", was being reported to the RBI on the basis of the findings of the forensic audit and the federal police filing a first information report, the PNB said in a statement to stock exchanges.

"It has been observed that the company has misappropriated bank funds, manipulated books of accounts to raise funds from consortium lender banks," PNB said, adding that it had already made provisions of 19.32 billion rupees in Bhushan's account.

PNB has been defrauded of over $2 billion in a separate scam that came to light last year.

Bhushan Power and Steel, one of India's most indebted companies, was among the first 12 companies referred by the RBI India to a bankruptcy court for a debt resolution process under India's new insolvency law.

The company could not be reached for comment on the PNB statement.

 

 

https://www.indiatoday.in/business/story/punjab-national-bank-bhushan-power-steel-group-rs-3800-crore-fraud-1563837-2019-07-07

 

@velu  Is there anyone in this damn thing that do their job properly. Suttha naathari bank irukkum pola :laugh:

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No easy answer to economic slowdown

author-deafault.png T T Ram Mohan
July 08, 2019 00:15 IST
Updated: July 08, 2019 00:14 IST
 
8THBUDGET
 

What happens if higher credit flows don’t revive private investment?

The most keenly watched number in the Union Budget is, perhaps, the ratio of fiscal deficit to GDP. A decline in the ratio is cheered by commentators and the markets. An increase is a seen as a setback to reforms.

 

This year, the number was of greater interest than before thanks to the vision outlined by the Economic Survey for 2018-19 a day earlier. Earlier editions of the Survey had suggested that since private investment was not taking off, there was scope for public investment to pick up the slack.

 

The latest Survey leaves no room for such ambiguities. It makes clear that private investment is the key driver of growth and jobs. It follows that the government must make fewer demands on public savings so that more of it is available for private investment. In other words, going by the Survey’s analysis, there is no escape from an even sharper focus on fiscal consolidation.

Meeting the fiscal deficit target

It is astonishing, therefore, that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget speech did not even mention the fiscal deficit figure, perhaps a first of sorts! Nor did it make any reference to a path towards the fiscal deficit target of 3.3% of GDP. The omission reflects the limitations imposed on the Finance Minister by trends in revenue and expenditure.

 

In 2011-12, the fiscal deficit to GDP ratio was 5.9%. By 2015-16, it had declined to 3.9%. Thereafter, it has got stuck at around 3.5%. The Budget for 2018-19 missed the targets set earlier, for 2017-18 and 2018-19. It outlined a revised ‘glide path’ with fiscal deficit targets of 3.3% for 2018-19, 3.1% for 2019-20 and 3% for 2020-21. The Budget for 2019-20 shows that the revised targets too have been missed thus far. The fiscal deficit for 2018-19 has ended up 3.4% of GDP; for 2019-20, it is estimated at 3.3%. It would be a brave soul who believes that the target of 3% for 2020-21 will be met.

 

The government has had some success in reining in traditional items of revenue expenditure. Major subsidies (food, fertiliser, petroleum), which used to claim 2% or more of GDP, have stabilised at 1.4% of GDP. But new items of expenditure have emerged. The PM-Kisan scheme, which provides ₹6,000 for each farming household per year, will cost the government ₹75,000 crore in 2019-20. The outlays on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme have crept up with each passing year.

Tax-GDP ratio

The big disappointment has been in respect of tax revenues. The expectation following demonetisation and the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was that both direct and indirect taxes would rise. As a result, the tax to GDP ratio would move to a different trajectory. The Budget for 2018-19 projected the tax to GDP ratio to rise from 11.6% in 2017-19 to 12.1% in 2018-19 and further to 12.4% in 2019-20. The Budget for 2019-20 dashes these hopes. It estimates the tax to GDP ratio at 11.9% in 2018-19 and 11.7% in 2019-20. The shortfall in GST collections in 2018-19 seems to have set the clock back for fiscal consolidation.

 

How do we balance the fiscal numbers when the tax to GDP ratio is not coming up to expectations? The Chief Economic Adviser has indicated that the government pins its hopes on capital receipts from disinvestment and the sale of land belonging to the government including public sector enterprises (PSEs). Disinvestment in the sense of strategic sale of PSEs has not really taken off. Much of disinvestment has involved the buying of equity in PSEs by other PSEs. The sale of government land is bound to be a long-drawn-out process and one with fraught with controversy over valuation. Moreover, the sale of government assets to balance the Budget merely defers fiscal problems to the future. It is not the answer to the problem of fiscal sustainability.

 

In the short term, the government’s hopes must rest on the Bimal Jalan committee on the economic capital framework for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The government’s intention in setting up the committee was to see whether some of the RBI’s reserves could be used to mitigate the fiscal position. The report has been submitted, but is yet to be made public. There are reports that the majority does not favour a one-shot transfer to the government, something the government would have liked.

 

Private investment is constrained not just by the crowding out effect of a high fiscal deficit. Earlier editions of the Economic Survey had identified the twin balance sheet problem, that is, high levels of debt in companies and high non-performing assets of banks, as an important constraint on private investment. The Economic Survey of 2018-19 contends that reducing policy uncertainty can somehow overwhelm the drag caused by the twin balance sheet problem. This is questionable.

 

The broad direction of policy has never been in doubt since the onset of economic reforms, even if the pace has varied in response to the situation on the ground. Had policy uncertainty been a serious issue, it would have surely been reflected in inflows of foreign capital, whether foreign institutional investment or foreign direct investment.

 

Resolving the twin balance sheet remains the key to reviving private investment. This requires the government to provide adequate capital to public sector banks (PSBs). The Budget’s biggest positive is the allocation of ₹70,000 crore towards capital for PSBs. However, the allocation is meaningful only if it is spent at one go in the current financial year, not staggered over several years. Only then will banks have enough capital to cover provisions for non-performing assets as well as provide loans to firms.

The liquidity problem at NBFCs

The Budget also makes an attempt to address the liquidity problem at NBFCs. It provides cover for loss of up to 10% on purchase of pooled assets of NBFCs of a total value of ₹100,000 crore during the current financial year. Many see it as a government bailout of private NBFCs. The apprehensions may be misplaced. The loss cover is only for six months and is intended only for well-rated portfolios and NBFCs. Banks may be incentivised to buy more of the portfolios of the better NBFCs, not those of the weaker ones.

 

The government expects that by boosting the flow of credit, the recapitalisation of PSBs will help revive private investment. What if it doesn’t? Should the government continue to focus on a single number for the fiscal deficit target? Or would it be more realistic to accept a broad range, keeping in mind the fall in the inflation rate and the decline in the combined fiscal deficit of the Centre and the States? The answer to the economic slowdown may not be as simple as the Survey makes out.

T.T. Ram Mohan is a professor at IIM Ahmedabad. ttr@iima.ac.in

 

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/no-easy-answer-to-economic-slowdown/article28312955.ece

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India must double infra spending, harness private investment: Eco Survey

To achieve the target of $10 trillion economy size by 2032, a robust and resilient infrastructure system is required, supported by adequate private investments

 

1562088457-4532.jpg

 

India needs to almost double its annual spending on infrastructure at $200 billion and the real challenge lies in harnessing private investment, said the Economic Survey 2018-19 tabled in Parliament on Thursday.

To achieve the target of $10 trillion economy size by 2032, a robust and resilient infrastructure system is required, supported by adequate private investments.

 

 

As the country has only been able to put $100 to 110 billion annually into infrastructure development, this huge investment gaps of about $90 billion in the space needs funding through "innovative approaches", the key document said underlining the strong relations between the economy and infra as "the correlation of investments in inland, road, rail and airport infrastructure to GDP are higher than 0.90".

 

Given the fiscal constraints that leave less room for expanding public investment at the scale required, there is an urgent need to accelerate the flow of private capital into infrastructure, the survey document said.

"India needs to spend 7-8 per cent of its GDP on infrastructure annually, which translates into annual infrastructure investment of $200 billion currently. However, India has been able to spend only about $100-110 billion annually on infrastructure, leaving a deficit of around $90 billion per annum," it said.

 

With the aim of boosting investment in infrastructure, "the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund has been created with a capital of approximately Rs 400 billion to provide investment opportunities to commercially viable projects", it said adding that a Credit Enhancement Fund for projects for increasing the credit rating of bonds floated by infra companies is going to be launched in the country.

 

A new credit rating system for infrastructure projects, based on expected loss approach, has also been launched besides measures like infrastructure investment trusts and Real Estate Investment Trusts have been formulated to pool investment in infrastructure.

 

Also stressing the need for creating "next generation infra", it said physical infrastructure attained a rapid pace with more than 20 per cent of the existing highway length of 132,000 km being constructed in the last four years, creation of additional 40 lakh seating capacity under UDAAN and expansion of key bridges.

 

"In order to create a $10 trillion economy by 2032, India needs a robust and resilient infrastructure. Public investment cannot fund the entire infrastructure investment requirements of the country," the survey said.

Private players are usually eager to bring their capital only into developed Indian states and therefore, the real challenge lies in bringing adequate private investment across the country with the collaboration of public sector, it said.

 

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 9 aims to "develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all, it said.

 

About highways sector, it said major constraints faced are availability of funds for financing large projects, lengthy processes in land acquisition and payment of compensation, environmental concerns, time and cost overruns due to delays in project implementation, procedural delays and lesser traffic growth than expected increasing the riskiness of the projects resulting in stalled or languishing projects and shortfall in funds for maintenance.

 

Private sector investment has been tardy as private investors are interested in short term investments while NHAI and NHIDCL were looking for long-term borrowing arrangements keeping in view long gestation period of road projects, it said.

Indian railways, it said, has initiated a major electrification programme for electrifying 100 per cent of its broad gauge network which will reduce the nation's dependence on imported diesel oil.

 

About the civil aviation sector, it said that in 2018-19, a total of 107 airports provided scheduled airline operations and based on the performance of joint ventures in the airport sector, the government has decided to lease out six brown-field airports of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) at Guwahati, Lucknow, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Mangalore and Thiruvananthapuram via public private partnership (PPP) mode for enhanced revenue.

 

The demand and supply trends in civil aviation shows that passenger demand is higher than seat supply, the survey document said.

Stating that shipping and ports sectors play a pivotal role in trade dynamics, the survey said to meet the ever-increasing trade requirements, expansion of port capacity has been accorded the highest priority with implementation of well-conceived infrastructure development projects like Sagarmala and Unnati.

 

The creation of physical infrastructure accelerated significantly during 2014-19, it said adding that electrification programme has reached almost all villages of the country.

Also, the survey made a strong case for a introducing a platform similar to Transport for London (TfL).

"TfL has demonstrated that releasing data to the public can save users time to the economic value of between 15 million pounds and 58 million pounds per year. An analysis by Deloitte found that the provision of transport information through travel apps and real-time alerts is saving 70 million to 95 million pounds per year in time...," it said.

 

https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/india-must-spend-usd-200-bn-on-infra-annually-harnessing-pvt-investment-a-challenge-eco-survey-119070400730_1.html

 
Edited by Stan AF
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1 hour ago, Stan AF said:

Punjab National Bank hit by another fraud, this time of Rs 3,800 crore

The Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Saturday said it had reported a borrowing fraud of 38.05 billion Indian rupees ($556 million) in Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd's account to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Reuters
Reuters
Mumbai
July 7, 2019
UPDATED: July 7, 2019 17:48 IST
 
 
 
 
 
PNB Bhushan Steel fraud
 
PNB has been defrauded of over $2 billion in a separate scam that came to light last year. (Photo: Reuters)

HIGHLIGHTS

  • The Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Saturday said it had reported a borrowing fraud of Rs 38.05 billion
  • The fraud was being reported to the RBI on the basis of the findings of the forensic audit
  • PNB has been defrauded of over $2 billion in a separate scam that came to light last year
 

The Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Saturday said it had reported a borrowing fraud of Rs 38.05 billion ($556 million) in Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd's account to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The fraud, "alleging diversion of funds from the banking system", was being reported to the RBI on the basis of the findings of the forensic audit and the federal police filing a first information report, the PNB said in a statement to stock exchanges.

"It has been observed that the company has misappropriated bank funds, manipulated books of accounts to raise funds from consortium lender banks," PNB said, adding that it had already made provisions of 19.32 billion rupees in Bhushan's account.

PNB has been defrauded of over $2 billion in a separate scam that came to light last year.

Bhushan Power and Steel, one of India's most indebted companies, was among the first 12 companies referred by the RBI India to a bankruptcy court for a debt resolution process under India's new insolvency law.

The company could not be reached for comment on the PNB statement.

 

 

https://www.indiatoday.in/business/story/punjab-national-bank-bhushan-power-steel-group-rs-3800-crore-fraud-1563837-2019-07-07

 

@velu  Is there anyone in this damn thing that do their job properly. Suttha naathari bank irukkum pola :laugh:

 

PNB again :lol:

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TV companies may stop making in India, turn to zero-duty FTA imports

Import of finished TV sets from countries with which India has FTA leads to net savings of around 5%.

By
Writankar Mukherjee
, ET Bureau|

 

TV Companies to stop making in India, turn to zero-duty FTA Imports

 

Import of finished TV sets from countries with which India has FTA leads to net savings of around 5%.

 

 

KOLKATA: More television makers will cut down local manufacturing and instead explore options to import TVs at zero duty through the FTA route with the government not reducing 5% import duty on open cell television panels in the budget, industry executives said.

Import of finished TV sets from countries with which India has free trade agreement (FTA) leads to net savings of around 5%, they said.

Sony has started sourcing of televisions from Thailand through the FTA route and moved some locally produced models to Malaysia, three senior industry executives.

The Japanese company, which focuses on premium and large screen models, is also considering Vietnam as a market for sourcing televisions through the FTA route, they said.
 

make-it

 


India’s largest television maker Samsung had completely stopped local production of TV last year and started sourcing from Vietnam.

Industry executives said the decision not to cut import duty on open cell panel may force other large brands such as LG and PanasonicNSE -0.34 %, too, to explore such options. Even online-focused brands such as Kodak and Thomson are going to import through FTA than expanding local production.

 



Avneet Singh Marwah, CEO at Super Plastronics, maker of Thomson and Kodak televisions, said the company will now consider imports from FTA nations than expanding local production. “It is a cost disadvantage to produce in India,” he said.

Open cell panel is the most critical component of a TV, accounting for 70% of the final cost, industry executives said. “With the government not reducing duty on open cell TV panels in the budget, imports of finished sets will get a boost through FTAs,” said Sunil Vachani, chairman at contract manufacturer Dixon Technologies. “This will impact local production and investment since all manufacturers were waiting for the budget.”

According to industry insiders, this is a rare case of inverted duty structure since there is no production of TV panels in India and the sole project by Vedanta has also been shelved. With the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) FTA likely to be signed later this year, imports of TV sets are set to surge and local production will take a hit, they said.

Panasonic India president Manish Sharma said if the duty was abolished, companies would have passed on the benefit to consumers to revive sales when the industry is already facing a tough time with the cricket world cup also not boosting sales.

An email sent by ET to Sony India remained unanswered till press time on Sunday.

The Indian TV market is worth around Rs 22,000 crore.

The electronics and IT ministry had last week informed Parliament that import of television surged 45% to Rs 7,224 crore in 2018-19 from countries like China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Imports from Vietnam alone soared to Rs 2,317 crore in FY19 from Rs 62 crore in the year before.

TV imports have surged primarily due to duty on open cell panels, which was initially 10% and subsequently reduced to 5%. Import duty on TV from non-FTA nations is 20%.

 

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/electronics/tv-cos-may-stop-making-in-india-turn-to-zero-duty-fta-imports/articleshow/70121173.cms

Edited by Stan AF
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Opinion

Services exports sailing in choppy waters

Rahul Mazumdar | Updated on July 09, 2019 Published on July 09, 2019
BL10THINK1ICT

Worrying trends   -  istock

 

ICT exports from India have run up against competition from countries such as Israel, Malawi and Ukraine

Services exports have been the darling of the Indian economy, while the manufacturing sector for all rightful reasons remains the fall guy due to its perennial lacklustre performance.

The Y2K at the turn of the century brought about a phenomenal boom in India’s services sector. Around the same time internet communications became ubiquitous, and India leapfrogged successfully to services, skipping the prescribed and idyllic transition through product manufacturing to services. In the interim, India’s rank in global services exports increased from 22 in 2000 to 7 in 2017, largely at the behest of cost arbitrage.
 

However, there is more to this than meets the eye. India’s global services exports which have grown at a compounded annual growth rate of 6 per cent during the 10-year period 2008 and 2017, are increasingly facing competition from economies like Ireland which is home to many of the social media giants, and Thailand which thrives on tourism and IT based services.

 

While Ireland grew at more than 8 per cent, Thailand grew at 10 per cent during these 10 years. Interestingly, all three, India, Ireland, and Thailand are amongst the top 20 service exporters globally having increased their share in the last 10 years – the current share is 3.4 per cent, 3.3 per cent, and 1.4 per cent respectively for these economies in overall services exports.

IT domination

The point of concern is that India’s services export rests on the shoulder of the IT sector contributing around 40 per cent. Data shows that though India remains amongst the top five IT exporters in the world, its share globally has shown a decline which is worrying.

 

According to WTO, while India’s share in information and communication, technology (ICT) services exports globally weakened from 47 per cent in 2008 to 42 per cent in 2017, Israel which was behind India have overtaken and have become the world’s largest export source for ICT services. In fact, Israel’s share globally has increased by a whopping 16 per cent in the last 10 years, and today houses R&D centres of all major ICT companies.

 

A more surprising development in this space is the appearance of countries like Malawi and Ukraine in the top 10 ICT exporters globally in a matter of 10 years. Malawi’s and Ukraine’s share in global ICT exports has increased by a phenomenal 24 per cent and 17 per cent in these few years, and currently holds a share of 29 per cent and 19 per cent respectively in global ICT service exports.

 

These new developments in the global IT space is definitely a cause of alarm for India which has been the torch-bearer for so long, and would definitely look to retain it.

 

The apprehension is that over the years India has been providing maintenance services and coding at offshore and onshore locations. However things are changing and artificial intelligence, cloud computing, digital platforms, and mobile applications, are making inroads to customer needs. The Indian ICT firms have to become innovative to its global clients and find new solutions that will enable them to continue being an overall services export power.

 

The segment also faces market concentration risk primarily in the US and the UK, and any slowdown in these economies, impacts their revenues immediately. Slowdown in the US and Europe, escalation of trade tensions, and the recent US-India tiff off, could be a dampener for the software services exports for India.

 

In services cost is the pivot — unfortunately the domestic market is witnessing a cost escalation as wages are increasing, and in

the overseas due to Trump’s visa policies the software companies have to hire locally which is costing 20-30 per cent more than hiring Indians — both these are eating into the margins. Diversifying operations to tier 1 and 2 cities would allow saving costs both in domestic and overseas centres. Besides, the appreciation in the exchange rate along with rising costs dampens attractiveness for Indian ICT service companies.

 

Being ahead of the curve and appreciating these latent changes would check India from losing competitiveness in global services export, particularly in ICT. The Budget’s focus on start-up culture and promoting R&D is perhaps one of the steps in the correct direction.

 

The writer is an Economist with EXIM Bank, India. Views expressed are personal

 

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/services-exports-sailing-in-choppy-waters/article28334715.ece

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Bajaj Finance, Titan warn of slump as spending takes a hit

Sanjiv Bajaj said that economy is slowing down and it is not just happening in the NBFC space.

ET Bureau|
Updated: Jul 09, 2019, 09.03 AM IST
 

India’s biggest consumer finance company and its biggest retail jewellery and fashion firm have both warned of tough conditions in the first quarter ended June ratcheting up the pressure on New Delhi and the Reserve Bank of India to do more to stoke demand.

Bajaj Finance, the largest consumer durable lender in the country, warned on Monday of a slowdown that will cut growth for the firm. Bajaj is India’s largest nonbanking finance company by market capitalisation.

Sanjiv Bajaj, ..

Sanjiv Bajaj, MD of the Pune-based financier of television to refrigerators to SME loans, said the firm has witnessed lower growth in consumer demand despite a busy season including the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup in England and Wales.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/earnings/bajaj-finance-titan-warn-of-slump-as-spending-takes-a-hit/articleshow/70136344.cms

believe, for the first time even when the World Cup is going on, television sales are lower than what it was last year, which is very unusual,” he said speaking to a television channel. “Otherwise we have seen it reaching peak when there is a big season going on like Cricket World Cup. That is a signal. On SME, rural lending side, there is a slowdown. This is nothing to do with lack of ability of NBFCs to lend, but a slowdown is apparent.”
 
 

 

 

 

Edited by Stan AF
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India lifted 271 million people out of poverty in 10 years: UN

PTI United Nations | Updated on July 12, 2019 Published on July 12, 2019
  • ChennaiCITYReGL65SBDR53jpgjpg

According to a UN report, India and Cambodia reduced their Multidimensional Poverty Index values the fastest.   -  The Hindu

 

UN Development Programme released the 2019 global Multidimensional Poverty Index

India lifted 271 million people out of poverty between 2006 and 2016, recording the fastest reductions in the multidimensional poverty index values during the period with strong improvements in areas such as “assets, cooking fuel, sanitation and nutrition,” a report by the United Nations said.

 

The 2019 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) was released on Thursday.

The report said that in the 101 countries studied — 31 low income, 68 middle income and 2 high income - 1.3 billion people are “multidimensionally poor”, which means that poverty is defined not simply by income, but by a number of indicators, including poor health, poor quality of work and the threat of violence.

 

The report identifies 10 countries, with a combined population of around 2 billion people, to illustrate the level of poverty reduction, and all of them have shown statistically significant progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 1, namely ending poverty “in all its forms, everywhere”. The 10 countries are Bangladesh, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru and Vietnam.

 

The report said that within these 10 countries, data shows that 270 million people moved out of multidimensional poverty from one survey to the next. “This progress was largely driven by South Asia. In India, there were 271 million fewer people in poverty in 2016 than in 2006, while in Bangladesh the number dropped by 19 million between 2004 and 2014,” it said.

 

The report noted that of the 10 selected countries for which changes over time were analysed, India and Cambodia reduced their MPI values the fastest — and they did not leave the poorest groups behind. India’s MPI value reduced from 0.283 in 2005-06 to 0.123 in 2015-16.

 

Noting the examples of pro-poor reduction, where the poorest regions improved the fastest, the report said that Jharkhand in India reduced the incidence of multidimensional poverty from 74.9 per cent in 2005-06 to 46.5 per cent in 2015-16. Mondol Kiri and Rattanak Kiri in Cambodia reduced it from 71.0 per cent to 55.9 per cent between 2010 and 2014.

 

Ethiopia, India and Peru significantly reduced deprivations in all 10 indicators, namely nutrition, sanitation, child mortality, drinking water, years of schooling, electricity, school attendance, housing, cooking fuel and assets.

In 2005-2006, the population in India living in multidimensional poverty stood at about 640 million people (55.1 per cent) and this reduced to 369 million people (27.9 per cent) living in poverty in 2015-16. India saw significant reductions in number of people who are multidimensionally poor and deprived in each of the 10 indicators over this time period.

 

India reduced deprivation in nutrition from 44.3 per cent in 2005-06 to 21.2 per cent in 2015-16, child mortality dropped from 4.5 per cent to 2.2 per cent, people deprived of cooking fuel reduced from 52.9 per cent to 26.2 per cent, deprivation in sanitation from 50.4 per cent to 24.6 per cent, those deprived of drinking water reduced from 16.6 per cent to 6.2 per cent.

 

Further more people gained access to electricity as deprivation was reduced from 29.1 per cent to 8.6 per cent, housing from 44.9 per cent to 23.6 per cent and assets deprivation from 37.6 per cent to 9.5 per cent. The trends in these 10 countries also shine a light on where poverty reduction has been uneven, despite the good progress overall, it said.“In all 10 countries rural areas are poorer than urban areas. In Cambodia, Haiti, India and Peru poverty reduction in rural areas outpaced that in urban areas — demonstrating pro-poor development — and in Bangladesh and Democratic Republic of the Congo poverty fell at the same speed in rural and urban areas, it added.

 

The report also showed that children suffer poverty more intensely than adults and are more likely to be deprived in all 10 of the MPI indicators, lacking essentials such as clean water, sanitation, adequate nutrition or primary education.

Child poverty fell markedly faster than adult poverty in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Haiti, India and Peru. But children fell further behind in Ethiopia, and their progress—together with that of adults—stalled in Democratic Republic of the Congo and Pakistan. Globally, of the 1.3 billion people who are multidimensionally poor, more than two-thirds of them—886 million— now live in middle-income countries. A further 440 million live in low-income countries.

 

Even more staggering, worldwide, one in three children is multidimensionally poor, compared to one in six adults. That means that nearly half of the people living in multidimensional poverty — 663 million — are children, with the youngest children bearing the greatest burden. The vast majority of these children, around 85 per cent, live in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, split roughly equally between the two regions.

 

The report underscored that the traditional concept of poverty is outdated, demonstrating more clearly than ever that labelling countries - or even households - as rich and poor is an oversimplification. “To fight poverty, one needs to know where poor people live. They are not evenly spread across a country, not even within a household,” UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said. The report also highlighted a positive trend that those furthest behind are moving up the fastest.

 

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/india-lifted-271-million-people-out-of-poverty-in-10-years-un/article28403303.ece

 

Credit to UPA for this.

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8 hours ago, Stan AF said:

India lifted 271 million people out of poverty in 10 years: UN

PTI United Nations | Updated on July 12, 2019 Published on July 12, 2019
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According to a UN report, India and Cambodia reduced their Multidimensional Poverty Index values the fastest.   -  The Hindu

 

UN Development Programme released the 2019 global Multidimensional Poverty Index

India lifted 271 million people out of poverty between 2006 and 2016, recording the fastest reductions in the multidimensional poverty index values during the period with strong improvements in areas such as “assets, cooking fuel, sanitation and nutrition,” a report by the United Nations said.

 

The 2019 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) was released on Thursday.

The report said that in the 101 countries studied — 31 low income, 68 middle income and 2 high income - 1.3 billion people are “multidimensionally poor”, which means that poverty is defined not simply by income, but by a number of indicators, including poor health, poor quality of work and the threat of violence.

 

The report identifies 10 countries, with a combined population of around 2 billion people, to illustrate the level of poverty reduction, and all of them have shown statistically significant progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 1, namely ending poverty “in all its forms, everywhere”. The 10 countries are Bangladesh, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru and Vietnam.

 

The report said that within these 10 countries, data shows that 270 million people moved out of multidimensional poverty from one survey to the next. “This progress was largely driven by South Asia. In India, there were 271 million fewer people in poverty in 2016 than in 2006, while in Bangladesh the number dropped by 19 million between 2004 and 2014,” it said.

 

The report noted that of the 10 selected countries for which changes over time were analysed, India and Cambodia reduced their MPI values the fastest — and they did not leave the poorest groups behind. India’s MPI value reduced from 0.283 in 2005-06 to 0.123 in 2015-16.

 

Noting the examples of pro-poor reduction, where the poorest regions improved the fastest, the report said that Jharkhand in India reduced the incidence of multidimensional poverty from 74.9 per cent in 2005-06 to 46.5 per cent in 2015-16. Mondol Kiri and Rattanak Kiri in Cambodia reduced it from 71.0 per cent to 55.9 per cent between 2010 and 2014.

 

Ethiopia, India and Peru significantly reduced deprivations in all 10 indicators, namely nutrition, sanitation, child mortality, drinking water, years of schooling, electricity, school attendance, housing, cooking fuel and assets.

In 2005-2006, the population in India living in multidimensional poverty stood at about 640 million people (55.1 per cent) and this reduced to 369 million people (27.9 per cent) living in poverty in 2015-16. India saw significant reductions in number of people who are multidimensionally poor and deprived in each of the 10 indicators over this time period.

 

India reduced deprivation in nutrition from 44.3 per cent in 2005-06 to 21.2 per cent in 2015-16, child mortality dropped from 4.5 per cent to 2.2 per cent, people deprived of cooking fuel reduced from 52.9 per cent to 26.2 per cent, deprivation in sanitation from 50.4 per cent to 24.6 per cent, those deprived of drinking water reduced from 16.6 per cent to 6.2 per cent.

 

Further more people gained access to electricity as deprivation was reduced from 29.1 per cent to 8.6 per cent, housing from 44.9 per cent to 23.6 per cent and assets deprivation from 37.6 per cent to 9.5 per cent. The trends in these 10 countries also shine a light on where poverty reduction has been uneven, despite the good progress overall, it said.“In all 10 countries rural areas are poorer than urban areas. In Cambodia, Haiti, India and Peru poverty reduction in rural areas outpaced that in urban areas — demonstrating pro-poor development — and in Bangladesh and Democratic Republic of the Congo poverty fell at the same speed in rural and urban areas, it added.

 

The report also showed that children suffer poverty more intensely than adults and are more likely to be deprived in all 10 of the MPI indicators, lacking essentials such as clean water, sanitation, adequate nutrition or primary education.

Child poverty fell markedly faster than adult poverty in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Haiti, India and Peru. But children fell further behind in Ethiopia, and their progress—together with that of adults—stalled in Democratic Republic of the Congo and Pakistan. Globally, of the 1.3 billion people who are multidimensionally poor, more than two-thirds of them—886 million— now live in middle-income countries. A further 440 million live in low-income countries.

 

Even more staggering, worldwide, one in three children is multidimensionally poor, compared to one in six adults. That means that nearly half of the people living in multidimensional poverty — 663 million — are children, with the youngest children bearing the greatest burden. The vast majority of these children, around 85 per cent, live in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, split roughly equally between the two regions.

 

The report underscored that the traditional concept of poverty is outdated, demonstrating more clearly than ever that labelling countries - or even households - as rich and poor is an oversimplification. “To fight poverty, one needs to know where poor people live. They are not evenly spread across a country, not even within a household,” UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said. The report also highlighted a positive trend that those furthest behind are moving up the fastest.

 

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/india-lifted-271-million-people-out-of-poverty-in-10-years-un/article28403303.ece

 

Credit to UPA for this.

 

Yeah .. without UPA , NDA might not got an opportunity to lift people out of poverty :hehe:

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Credit quality dips in Q1 as economic slowdown hits India Inc: CARE Rating

Liquidity pressures trigger stress; SMEs face brunt

Abhijit Lele  |  Mumbai  Last Updated at July 8, 2019 21:56 IST

 
 

 

Credit information companies are only authorised to collect credit data from banks in order to form the customer’s credit score
Credit information companies are only authorised to collect credit data from banks in order to form the customer’s credit score
 
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Economic slowdown has begun to dent the credit profile of India Inc. There has been a deterioration in the credit quality of entities rated in the first quarter of the current financial year, showing effect of the prevailing slowdown in the Indian economy, according to rating agency CARE Ratings.

The credit rating downgrades have been largely on account of liquidity pressure leading to, at times, delays in debt servicing, high debt levels, weakening profit margins, decline in scale of operations.

 

The credit quality as measured by CARE Ratings ‘modified credit ratio’ (MCR), for Q1 2019-20 declined to a six year low of 0.8 (1.02 was the ratio in Q1 2018-19). It was at the same level as of Q1 2012-13 when the domestic economy was faced with a slowdown.

The Modified Credit Ratio (MCR) is defined as the ratio of "upgrades and reaffirmations" to "downgrades and reaffirmations". An MCR closer to one indicates higher stability in the ratings, with a larger proportion of reaffirmations.

 

An increase in the MCR implies an improving credit quality of the rated entities while a decline in the same signals a deterioration in credit quality of the rated entities.

The moderation in credit quality, indicative of the higher number of credit rating downgrades, has been across categories and sectors. It was more pronounced in the case of small enterprises (total revenues less than Rs 100 crores) as well as for entities who carried ‘below investment grade’ ratings (credit rating below “BBB”).

 

The stability in credit quality of the large and medium enterprises (LME) and the entities that have ‘investment grade’ rating have been sustaining, limiting the moderation in credit quality at the aggregate level.

The SME segment accounted for 45 per cent of the ratings reviewed by CARE Ratings in Q1 2019-20.

 

At the same time, the reaffirmation and upgrade of ratings of entities has been influenced by the entities with favourable financial position/ profitability, increase in scale of operations, comfortable debt servicing parameters, liquidity position and capital structure. Company and industry specific factors too have influenced the rating changes.

 

https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/credit-quality-dips-in-q1-as-economic-slowdown-hits-india-inc-care-rating-119070801261_1.html

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11 hours ago, Stan AF said:

 

got fooled royally by satyam ramalinga raju .. biggest klpd ever for their auditors 

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