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Showing posts with the label RBI

It's official! PM Modi to launch India Post Payments Bank on August 21

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IPPB would become one of the largest banking networks in India. India Post has 154,000 post offices, of which 139,000 are in rural areas Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch  India Post Payments Bank  (IPPB) on August 21. The event will take place at the capital's Talkatora stadium. The bank is running pilot services in Raipur and Ranchi. It will tie up with other banks and financial companies to offer loans, mutual funds and insurance policies, said sources. The Department of Posts was one of the 11 entities to get the in-principle nod from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2015 for setting up a payments bank. Many private firms such as Airtel, Fino, Paytm, etc, have launched these services. But IPPB missed the September 2017 deadline to open 650 branches because it failed to get a system integrator (SI) on board. IPPB would become one of the largest banking networks in India. India Post has 154,000 post offices, of which 139,000 are in rural areas. The...

Airtel Payments Bank gets RBI nod to add new customers, can use e-KYC

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The payments bank ran into a controversy after it allegedly opened savings accounts for existing customers without their express permissions Airtel Payments Bank  , which was stopped by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from getting new customers on board, received approvals from the central bank to add new accounts, the company said on Thursday. Also, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has allowed it to use the 12-digit Aadhaar-based e-KYC, the company said. The payments bank ran into a controversy after it allegedly opened savings accounts for existing customers without their express permissions. These accounts allegedly led to government LPG subsidies worth Rs 1.68 billion being transferred to Airtel Payments Bank accounts even as many of the customers weren’t aware of that. “We thank the authorities for the approvals. We remain committed to the Government’s vision of financial inclusion and banking for all,” a spokesperson said. Artic...

RBI removes walls between e-wallets, soon a Paytm user can transact with a MobiKwik user

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Inter-operability to help players increase business To make the use of digital cash more prevalent and convenient, a digital wallet user would soon be able to accept cash from the user of another   Ewallet , because of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tweaking its guidelines. Current Affairs News   : For example, a Paytm wallet user would soon be able to accept cash from a PhonePe wallet user. Opening up the strings of digital wallets, the RBI on Wednesday said it would issue revised directions by October 11 to allow “inter-operability” among prepaid payment instruments (PPIs). These include digital wallets, prepaid cash coupons and prepaid telephone top-up cards. PPIs are a substitute for paper currency. It is expected that PPIs can inter-operate within six months of the revised directions, the RBI said in its “Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies”. ALSO READ:   RBI pauses, revises growth forecast down sharply The RBI said the f...

Tax kitty to exceed Budget estimate in 2016-17, says Arun Jaitley

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Stands by decision to advance Budget date; many states seek loosening of fiscal deficit rule While some states have complained of declining tax revenues due to demonetisation, the Centre is hopeful of exceeding its   Budget 2017   Estimates (BE) for 2016-17 in both direct and indirect tax collections. It has reiterated the decision to advance the Budget presentation date to February 1, despite objections. “We will end this year with higher revenues for both direct and indirect taxes compared to the estimates,” said Finance Minister   Arun Jaitley   after the Goods and Services Tax Council meeting and pre-Budget consultation with state counterparts. The states raised concern over declining revenues and sought relaxation in the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) limit, beside central support to revive labour-intensive industries. To a query, Jaitley said the Reserve Bank (RBI) would remove the current restrictions on cash withdrawal after ...

Full text: RBI caps deposits exceeding Rs 5,000 to just one before 30 Dec

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The new restrictions are meant to encourage deposits of demonetised currency notes under the Taxation and Investment Regime for the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, 2016. The   RBI   on Monday restricted deposits of demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in excess of Rs 5,000 only once till December 30 -- after strict scrutiny. The new restrictions are meant to encourage deposits of demonetised currency notes under the Taxation and Investment Regime for the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, 2016. In its notification, the Reserve Bank of India instructed all the banks to give full credit to demonetised notes over Rs 5,000 only in the case of accounts compliant with 'Know Your Customer' (KYC) norms If the accounts are not KYC compliant, then the credit for deposits of demonetised currencies will be restricted to Rs 50,000. Here is the full text of the RBI notification: RBI/2016-17/189 DCM (Plg) No. 1859/10.27.00/2016-17 December 19, 2016 The Chairman /...

No transaction charges on debit card payments: Govt

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The move comes after govt reviewed the situation post demonetisation of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes To encourage widespread usage of digital payments post demonetisation, the government on Wednesday said no transaction charges will be levied on debit cards till December 31. All public sector banks and some private sector ones have agreed to waive the transaction cost for all payments made through   Debit Card Payments , Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said. The move comes after the government reviewed the situation post demonetisation of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes and decided to encourage digital payments. "Public sector banks and some of the private sector banks, and some of the service providers who provide switching services, have agreed to waive the service charges on the use of debit cards up to December 31, 2016," Das said. As of now, Rupay debit cards have already waived the switching charges. Other debit cards which operate international card net...

Decoding the big ATM problem: India just doesn't have enough engineers for the job

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Only once the ATMs are recalibrated and enough Rs 500 notes are printed, the chaos will be under control, say bankers. Ten days on, the banking sector is yet to recover from the government's  demonetisation move. There are two main reasons for this. One, there is just not enough new notes being supplied by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), even after running its printing presses over time. And the second, there are not enough technicians to recaliberate automated teller machines in the countries. Only once the  ATMs  are recalibrated and enough Rs 500 notes are printed, the chaos will be under control, say bankers. Even as top bankers are assuring public that the situation will normalise in a week, bankers behind the counters think otherwsie. The new 500 notes have not been released in rural areas. Most of the branches just 20-30 kilometers from metros have not seen the new 500 rupee note as the currency chests are currently available only in cities. Even in me...

You have 50 days to deposit your notes: Full text of Modi's black money speech

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Your money will remain yours. You need have no worry on this point My dear citizens I hope you ended the festive season of Diwali with joy and new hope. Today, I will be speaking to you about some critical issues and important decisions. Today I want to make a special request to all of you. You may recall the economic situation in May 2014  Narendra Modi when you entrusted us with an onerous responsibility. In the context of BRICS, it was being said that the “I” in BRICS was shaky. Since then, we had two years of severe drought. Yet, in the last two and a half years with the support of 125 crore Indians, India has become the “bright spot” in the global economy. It is not just we who are saying this; it is being stated by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. In this effort for development, our motto has been ‘Sab Ka Saath Sab Ka Vikas’: We are with all citizens and for development of all citizens. This Government is dedicated to the poor. It will remain dedi...

India cuts RBI governor shortlist to four, officials say

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India cuts RBI governor shortlist to four, officials say By Douglas Busvine and Rupam Jain NEW   DELHI   (Reuters) - The government has narrowed down its list of candidates to become the next   governor   of the Reserve Bank of   India   to four, a senior government official told Reuters. A new Monetary Policy Committee also will be chosen soon, the official said. The moves seek to ensure policy continuity after   RBI   chief Raghuram Rajan shocked markets 10 days ago when he announced he would not seek reappointment in September. The failure of negotiations on his possible return had sparked fears that Rajan's departure could put at risk the inflation-targeting central banker's gains in stabilising Asia's third-largest economy over the past three years. Sending a reassuring message to markets, the official said that the list of candidates to replace Rajan had been whittled down to four - three of them central bank veterans, with t...

Why PM Modi should ignore Subramanian Swamy's letter to sack Raghuram Rajan

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Why PM Modi should ignore Subramanian Swamy's letter to sack Raghuram Rajan Subramanian Swamy, BJP’s newly nominated member to the Rajya Sabha, recently said that Reserve Bank of India governor   Raghuram Rajan   should be removed from his post. In a fresh salvo at Rajan, Swamy has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking immediate sacking of the former IMF Chief Economist while alleging he was "mentally not fully Indian" and has "willfully" wrecked the economy. Following up his barb against Rajan at the end of Parliament session last week, Swamy yesterday wrote to Prime Minister seeking termination of Rajan's services with immediate effect. According to Swamy, Rajan has hiked interest rates "in the garb of controlling interest inflation", which has "damaged the country", and that he was responsible for “unemployment and collapse of industrial activity". Read more.

Poll results may trigger knee-jerk reaction

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Markets   are gearing up for the outcome of Assembly elections in five states – Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry – scheduled for May 19. Though an unfavourable outcome for the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) could trigger a knee-jerk reaction in the markets, analysts rule out a significant correction from the current levels. LIVE BLOG:  In 2 days, you will know the people's verdict: Jayalalithaa Factors like the progress of monsoon, corporate earnings, inflation trajectory and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s stance on policy rates will be key in determining market direction over the next few weeks, they say. Also Read:  Kerala assembly elections : Will BJP make inroads this time? “The markets could see a negative knee-jerk reaction and come under pressure in the short-run in case the NDA were to lose in Assam, the only state where it hopes to win. Even then, I do not expect the Nifty50 index to slip below 7,500 lev...