Author: Finance Khabar

New Delhi: ICICI Bank announced the usage of satellite data to access creditworthiness of its customers in the farming sector. “This use of innovative technology helps farmers with existing credit to enhance their eligibility, while new-to-credit farmers can now get better access to credit,” it said in a statement. The private lender said that since the land verification will be done in a contactless manner with the help of satellite data, credit assessments can be completed in a few days instead of the industry practice of 15 days. It has already conducted a pilot study using satellite data for the…

New Delhi: RBI announced open market operation (OMO) as part of which it will carry out sale and purchase of G-securities worth Rs. 20000 crore in two tranches scheduled for August 27 and September 3. The two tranches will be worth Rs 10,000 crore each on multi-security auction using multiple price method, said RBI in a statement.”Eligible participants should submit their bids/offers in electronic format on the Reserve Bank of India Core Banking Solution (E-Kuber) system between 10:00 am and 11:00 am on August 27, 2020,” the RBI added. The results of the auction will be announced on the same…

Kirin Holdings Co and China Mengniu Dairy Co said that they have called-out their deal on the sale of the Japanese company’s wholly-owned Australian dairy firm Lion-Dairy and Drinks Pty Ltd to the Chinese company. This statement comes after the Australian Financial Review, last week, reported that the Australian government had decided to block the sale. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said he had advised the buyer China Mengniu Dairy Co. that the sale of the Japanese company’s Australian subsidiary Lion Dairy and Drinks “would be contrary to the national interest.” “This follows the communication of my preliminary view to Mengniu Dairy…

New Delhi: Airtel chief Sunil Mittal has said that only two telecom companies can exist in the coming days. He said that this situation could arise due to economic crisis and only two telecom companies will remain in the country. Bharti Airtel chairman said, “Due to economic pressure on the telecom sector, business can be limited between two companies.” If the promoters of the third company cannot raise capital on a large scale, then it will be difficult to remain in the competition. Airtel has also been adversely affected. We have done rights issues and other ways to bring new…

New Delhi: According to the credit rating agency, the industry’s uneven, extended recovery will depend on a gradual improvement in demand as global economic activity picks up, particularly in the key consumption markets of China, Southeast Asia, and the US. The pandemic had increased the pressure on the large integrated oil and gas companies to adjust their product mixes and reduce their carbon footprints. These companies seek further opportunities to increase operations with lower carbon intensity, and with redoubled efforts to reduce break even production costs. Earnings for national oil companies (NOCs) will recover gradually over the next two to…

Tata Digital could launch a ‘Super App’ by December, which will integrate its consumer offerings on a single platform Tata Group operates ecommerce platform Tata CLiQ, online grocery store StarQuik and online electronics platform Croma. The new app will pit the company against rivals such as Reliance and Amazon Tata Digital To Launch ‘Super App’, Integrate Consumer Offerings Tata Digital, India’s oldest conglomerate Tata Group’s foray into the tech sector, is set to launch an integrated ‘Super App’ which will combine the company’s consumer offerings on a single platform. The new app is expected to pit the company against rival…

Giving a major relief to the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the central government has decided to exclude businesses with turnover up to Rs 40 lakh per annum. Earlier the exemption limit from GST was Rs 20 lakhs per annum. Apart from this, companies with annual turnover up to Rs 1.5 crore can take advantage of the composition scheme and they have to pay only 1% tax. The Finance Ministry tweeted and said, “Since the implementation of GST, the tax rate on most things has been reduced. Currently, the 28 per cent tax rate is limited to luxury goods. There…

MUMBAI: The domestic stock market has witnessed a great boom today amid better global signals. The market has received strong support from banks and financial stocks. Today, shopping has been seen in almost every sector except IT and Pharma. In today’s trade, the Nifty has reached close to 11500. At the end of trading, the Sensex has gained more than 364 points and has closed at the level of 38,799.08. At the same time, the Nifty has gained 95 points and closed at the level of 11,466. IndusInd Bank, Kotak Bank and Bajaj Finance were the fastest. There is pressure…

New Delhi: ShareChat said it has acquired Circle Internet for an undisclosed amount, a move that will help the homegrown social media app strengthen hyperlocal content on its platform.Backed by SAIF Partners and Venture Highway, Circle Internet provides locally relevant information to Indian language internet users across Tier-II and III cities and currently has a presence in more than 120 districts across Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Kerala. With the acquisition of Circle’s business, the existing 15-member team has joined ShareChat and will be contributing towards building a language-first, community-driven user generated hyperlocal content ecosystem, a statement said. The platform brings…

New Delhi: According to a regulatory filing by the company, GIC Pvt Ltd on account of Government of Singapore (GOS) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) sold a total of 93.30 lakh shares, amounting to 0.97 per cent stake in ZEEL on August 20. While GOS sold 56,76,912 shares aggregating 0.59 per cent stake, MAS sold 36,53,266 shares accounting for 0.38 per cent shareholding, the company said. Based on the closing price of Rs 199.45 per share on BSE on the day of share sale, the transaction is estimated to be valued at over Rs 186 crore. Prior to sale,…

New Delhi: Giving the Bandhan Bank’s Anniversary Lecture, Subramanian said that the reason for the slowdown in the economy which started last year was due to problems in the banking sector, rather than the fallout of demonetisation and GST. “For the size of its economy, the banking sector in India is very small. In order for India to be a $5 trillion dollar economy, the banking sector needs to be proportionate… at least proportionate to the size of its economy if not bigger than the proportionality,” he said. About the problems in the banking sector, he said that the major…

New Delhi: Paytm has a strong presence in the tier 3 and below market with over 16 million merchants on its platform, according to the report by RedSeer Consulting, a Bengaluru-based consulting and research firm. The report said that the current 160 million unique mobile payment users will multiply by five times to reach nearly 800 million by 2025. “Paytm has the highest top of mind recall and unaided awareness among merchants followed by Phone Pe and Google Pay. When asked from which payments app do you accept payments, over 68 per cent of merchants cited Paytm,” the findings showed.…

New Delhi: The Finance Ministry on Monday cited data from Reserve Bank of India (RBI), to show that in May the weighted GST rate was at 14.4 per cent and in December 2018 and September 2019 was at 11.6 per cent. In a tweet, the ministry said that the rate reduction brought benefit of Rs 1 lakh crore every year. In a series of tweet on the evolution of GST, the Finance Ministry said that rates of 400 goods and 80 services have been reduced since the roll out of GST. The Ministry tweeted about the progress made in the…

New Delhi: Those looking to enter the digital banking space in Asia may find it harder to do so now as some opportunities may have been lost in the coronavirus pandemic, according to Fitch Ratings. The pandemic has hit the global economy hard and is disproportionately affecting people and businesses with a “weaker” borrower profile — the customer segment targeted by many aspiring digital banks, said Tamma Febrian, associate director for financial institutions at the ratings agency. “A lot of them are citing the unbanked and the underserved segment as their main target segment, and we think that the crisis…

New Delhi: On the one hand, due to the monsoon’s kindness, bumper production of kharif crops is expected, on the other hand, due to the shortage of green vegetables due to heavy rains and floods, their prices have skyrocketed. In the last two months, most vegetables have become two to three times more expensive and amidst the rainy conditions in the country, there is no hope of relief from the inflation of vegetables at present. This month, along with green vegetables, potato and onion prices have also increased significantly. Due to heavy rains and flooding conditions in different parts of…

New Delhi: Five big banks, including State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda (BoB) and Punjab National Bank (PNB), can sell shares to institutional investors in the second half of the current financial year. These steps are being taken to increase the capital base between the bank corona virus crisis and the impact on the economy. Sources associated with merchant banking said that qualified institutional placement (QIP) may be the most preferred route to raise capital. Public sector banks can take a decision in this context after finalizing the financial results in the second quarter. According to sources, the…

New Delhi: RTI has revealed that the Railways canceled more than 1.78 crore tickets from March this year due to the corona virus epidemic (Railway canceled 1.78 crore tickets in 5 months) and refund of Rs 2727 crore. According to the reply received under Right to Information (RTI), during this period, the Railways canceled 1,78,70,644 tickets. The Railways had suspended its passenger train services from 25 March. In the first quarter of the year 2020-21, revenue in the passenger segment declined by Rs 1066 crore. Between April 1 and August 11 last year, the Railways refunded Rs 3,660.08 crore and…

New Delhi: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari will on Tuesday lay inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of 35 highway projects in Madhya Pradesh. These projects for inauguration and foundation-laying account for a road length of 1,139 km, and involving construction value of more than Rs 9,400 crore, an official statement said. The projects include construction of a four-lane road over bridge (ROB) on the Katin-Beena section of NH-934 and a two-lane ROB on the Sagar-Khuraj-Bina section of NH-934, both under EPC mode. The “construction of a major bridge at Betwa river (436 metre) at km…

New Delhi: HMSI’s newly appointed President, CEO and Managing Director Atsushi Ogata said the company aims to bring in entry-level affordable products for rural areas while strengthening its mid-segment range (above 150cc) as well as super bike portfolio to cater to different set of customers. The Japanese company, which dominates scooter segment in the country with products like Activa and Dio, is now looking to expand its footprint in rural areas with a new motorcycle which would sit below its CD 110 range, the company’s most affordable bike at the moment. The company’s focus on filling the gaps in its…

New Delhi: The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Saturday said that the import of ‘Made-in-China’ Ganesh idols has been nil this year. Speaking on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said: “Every year about 30 crore idols of Lord Ganesh are purchased across country.” “As per an estimate China used to make export of Ganesh idols to the extent of about Rs 500 crore every year and adhering to the boycott Chinese call, no import of Ganesh idol was done this year.” Earlier, CAIT had given a call to boycott Chinese goods across sectors…