20 FDI Proposals Approved

Based on the recommendations of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in its meeting held on
September 16, 2014, the Government has approved twenty(20) proposals of Foreign Direct Investment
amounting to Rs. 988.3 crore approximately.
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) is a government body that offers a single window
clearance for proposals on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India that are not allowed access through the
automatic route.
FIPB comprises of Secretaries drawn from different ministries with Secretary, Department of Economic
Affairs, MoF in the chair.
This inter-ministerial body examines and discusses proposals for foreign investments in the country for
sectors with caps, sources and instruments that require approval under the extant FDI Policy on a regular
basis.
The Minister of Finance, considers the recommendations of the FIPB on proposals for foreign investment
up to 1200 crore.
Proposals involving foreign investment of more than 1200 crore require the approval of the Cabinet
Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).
FIPB is mandated to play an important role in the administration and implementation of the Governments
FDI policy. It has a strong record of actively encouraging the flow of FDI into the country through speedy
and transparent processing of applications, and providing on-line clarification. In case of ambiguity or a
conflict of interpretation, the FIPB has always stepped in with an investor-friendly approach.
Merger of National Spot Exchange Limited
To ensure speedy recovery of dues for investors and others hit by Rs 5,600-crore fraud at the
National Spot Exchange Ltd, the government ordered merger of the scam-hit firm with its holding
company FTIL. However, the government has ordered merger of NSEL with its parent firm itself
in the present case, unlike the Satyam matter where the scam-hit IT firm was sold to a third-party
(Tech Mahindra) through a government-facilitated auction.
NSEL was set up as an electronic exchange for spot trading in agriculture and food
commodities by Jignesh Shah- led FT Group.
Financial Technologies (India) Ltd is the holding company of this group, which had also set up
commodity bourse MCX and stock exchange MCX-SX, among other exchange ventures.
Following the NSEL fiasco, various FT group entities have already faced regulatory actions and
they do not figure as promoter entities in ventures such as MCX and MCX-SX.
Government Deregulate Diesel Price
Diesel deregulation means price of diesel are linked to global oil pricesl. The decision was taken following
the RBI governors advice to the government that it should seize the opportunity of falling crude prices and
deregulate the diesel prices. And thats exactly what the government has done.
Petrol and diesel prices were deregulated in April 2002 when the NDA government led by Atal
Bihari Vajpayee was in power. But administered pricing regime made a back-door entry in
2004 with UPA Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar pushing for control on diesel, LPG and
kerosene prices.
Petroleum subsidies accounted for around 22 per cent of Indias Rs 2.6 trillionsubsidy bills. The
government has already put Rs 63,000 crore aside for petroleum subsidies in the current fiscal.
The new formula, approved by the CCEA, translates into a new price, effective from November 1
until March 2015, of $5.61 per mBtu but the next revision would be valid for six months.
The approvals follow from the recommendation of a Committee of Secretaries which suggested a
new formula by modifying the Rangarajan formula.

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Make In India Programme

Make in India is a major new national program designed to facilitate investment, foster
innovation, enhance skill development, protect intellectual property and build best-in-class
manufacturing infrastructure. - Addressing a gathering consisting of top global CEOs , the Prime
Minister said FDI should be understood as First Develop India- new de-licensing and
deregulation measures-self-certification and third party certification-Dual use items having
military as well as civilian applications deregulated-eBiz a single window IT platform for servicesenvironmental clearances made online.- All returns should be filed on-line through a unified form.
- A check-list of required compliances - single electronic register. - No inspection should be
undertaken without the approval of the Head of the Department.
With the easing of investment caps and controls, Indias high- value industrial sectors defense,
construction and railways are now open to global participation.
Policy in Defence sector liberalised and FDI cap raised from 26% to 49%.
Portfolio investment in Defence sector permitted up to 24% under the automatic route.
100% FDI allowed in Defence sector for modern and state of the art technology on case to case
basis.
100% FDI under automatic route permitted in construction, operation and maintenance in
specified Rail Infrastructure projects
Prime Minister Inaugurates Shramev Jayate
Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Shramev Jayate scheme.
The five main schemes launched by Shri Modi included:
A dedicated Shram Suvidha Portal: That would allot Labour Identification Number (LIN) to nearly 6
lakhs units and allow them to file online compliance for 16 out of 44 labour laws
An all-new Random Inspection Scheme: Utilizing technology to eliminate human discretion in selection
of units for Inspection, and uploading of Inspection Reports within 72 hours of inspection mandatory
Universal Account Number: Enables 4.17 crore employees to have their Provident Fund account
portable, hassle-free and universally accessible
Apprentice Protsahan Yojana: Will support manufacturing units mainly and other establishments by
reimbursing 50% of the stipend paid to apprentices during first two years of their training
Revamped Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana: Introducing a Smart Card for the workers in the
unorganized sector seeded with details of two more social security schemes
Shram Suvidha Portal -The 4 main features of this Portal are:
Unique labour identification number (LIN) will be allotted to Units to facilitate online registration.
Filing of self-certified and simplified Single Online Return by the industry. Now Units will only file a
single consolidated Return online instead of filing 16 separate Returns.
Mandatory uploading of inspection Reports within 72 hours by the Labour inspectors.
Timely redressal of grievances will be ensured with the help of the portal.
2. The portal will be operative in 4 central organizations namely Chief Labour Commissioner,
Directorate General of Mines Safety, Employee Provident Fund and Employees State insurance
Corporation.
Labour Inspection Scheme:-- The four features of the inspection scheme are:
Serious matters are to be covered under the mandatory inspection list.
A computerized list of inspections will be generated randomly based on pre-determined objective
criteria.
Complaints based inspections will also be determined centrally after examination based on data and
evidence.
There will be provision of Emergency List for inspection of serious cases in specific circumstances.

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Dedication of Portability through Universal Account Number (UAN) for Employees Provident
Fund:
2. Under the scheme complete information for approximately 4 crore subscribers of EPF has been
centrally compiled and digitized and a UAN has been allotted to all.
3. The UAN is being seeded with Bank account and Aadhar Card and other KYC details for financial
inclusion of vulnerable section of society and their unique identification.
4. The minimum pension for employees has been introduced first time so thatemployees pension is
not less than Rs. 1000 per month.
5. The wage ceiling has been raised from Rs. 6500 to Rs. 15000 per month to ensure that vulnerable
groups are covered under EPF Scheme.
Recognition of Brand Ambassadors of ITIs :-- There are 11,500 ITIs having about 16 lakh seats. But this is
grossly inadequate for supplying skilled manpower to Indian industry.
Only 10% of the workforce has got formal or informal technical training.
Only one fourth of this is formally trained. Whereas in South Korea, Japan, Germany, the percentage of
workforce having received skills training is 96, 80 and 75 respectively.
There is also another big imbalance. The intake capacity of undergraduate engineering colleges was more
than 16 lakh in India which was almost same as seating capacity of ITIs. Whereas we need about at least 10
shop floor workers for an engineer.
Therefore we need to rapidly expand certificate level vocational training if we have to succeed in our
mission of Make in India.
blue collar work is not respected -Over 60 years of existence ITIs have given excellent technician,
mechanics, entrepreneurs and professional leaders.
Manufacturing sector is reservoir of this success. They have brought name and fame in the country and
abroad. It is proposed to compile these success stories and publish in print and electronic form.
These success stories shall be used for motivating youngsters and their parents. This will also improve the
brand image as well as social acceptance of the vocational training.
The Prime Minister has released this publication and felicitate few of these Brand Ambassadors.
All India Skill Competition:---> All India Skill Competition for Craftsmen among trainees admitted
underCraftsmen Training Scheme (CTS). It is conducted once in a year. On the basis of marks obtained in
skill competition by trainees, the award is given to BEST CRAFTSMAN-cash prize and merit certificate,
BEST INSTITUTE a merit certificate and the BEST STATE a shield.
All India Competition for Apprentices among trainees admitted under Apprenticeship Training Scheme
(ATS). It is conducted twice every year. The award is given to the BEST Apprentice- cash prize of Rs
50,000 and a merit certificate and Runner Up Apprentice- cash prize of Rs 25000 and merit certificate in
each Trade, and the BEST ESTABLISHMENT on all India basis- a trophy and certificate by President of
India.
Launch of Apprenticeship Protsahan Yojna :----> The Apprentices Act 1961 was enacted for regulating the
Apprenticeship Training Scheme in the industry for imparting on-the-job training to apprentices. Presently,
there are only 2.82 lakh apprentices undergoing training against 4.9 lakh seats.
Similar schemes have been highly successful in countries like Germany, China and Japan where the
number of apprentices are stated to be 3 million, 20 million and 10 million respectively.
There are four components of this initiative, which are given below:
Making the legal framework friendly to both, industry and youth. The necessary Bill amending the Act
was placed and passed in Lok Sabha on 14.8.2014.
Enhancing the rate of stipend and indexing it to minimum wages of semi skilled workers.

3. Apprentice Protsahan Yojana which will support manufacturing units mainly and other establishments
by reimbursing 50% of the stipend paid to apprentices during first two years of their training.
4. Basic training component (mainly class room training part) of the curricula is being restructured on
scientific principles to make it more effective, and MSMEs will be supported financially by permitting
this component in government funded SDI scheme.
2. The Apprentice Protsahan Yojana will support one lakh apprentices during the period upto March
2017.
Indian Economy Will Grow By 6.4%
According to World Bank, Indian economy, which accounts for 80 per cent of South Asias output, is set
to grow by 6.4 per cent in 2015-16 as against 5.6 per cent in 2014-15.
Countries in the region should build on this strength. As East Asian labor costs increase, South
Asia has an opportunity to become the manufacturing hub of the world; but achieving this will
require boosting competitiveness.
Axis Bank Joins ETC Implementation Plan

Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL), a NHAI promoted company and Axis Bank has
signed an agreement for provision of Central Clearing House (CCH) services and sale of FASTag, for
Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) at the Toll Plazas on the National Highways.
for implementation of unified Electronic Toll Collection on Indian national highwaysElectronic Toll
Collection enables road users to pay highway tolls electronically without stopping at the toll plazas.
The unique number of the RFID FASTag affixed on the wind shield of the vehicle will be read by the
readers fitted in the dedicated ETC lanes of plazas and the toll will be deducted automatically.--IHMCL
now has two banks viz ICICI and Axis Bank to perform clearing and settlement of electronic toll
transaction, which is a key requirement for interoperable electronic toll collection.--Considering the
complexities and geographical spread, the nationwide ETC would be first of its kind in the whole world.
BSNL & MTNL Merger Soon

The much-awaited merger of telecom PSUs, BSNL and MTNL, is likely to take place by July next year as
the two companies look at synergising operations by offering services as a single entity.
At present, BSNL offers services in the whole country, except Delhi and Mumbai.
MTNL provides telecom services in these two zones.
The deadline of June-July 2015 has not been officially commissioned to the organisation but the merger is
likely to take place in the time frame.--Currently, BSNL is billing MTNL and vice versa for services for
which both are paying taxes. If it becomes one entity, the tax outgo will be less.
Govt Clears Stake Sale in CIL, ONGC, NHPC

In a meeting of the CCEA, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the disinvestment proposals of
ONGC, Coal India and NHPC have been cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.
At current market prices, the sale of shares in state- owned CIL, ONGC and NHPC could garner over Rs
23,000 crore, Rs 18,000 crore and Rs 2,800 crore respectively, helping the government meet its
disinvestment target of Rs 43,425 crore for this fiscal.
CCEA has cleared 10 per cent stake dilution in CIL, 5 per cent in ONGC and 11.36 per cent in NHPC
through the Offer For Sale (OFS) route, sources said.
The government has already selected merchant bankers for managing ONGC and NHPC disinvestment and
is in the process for doing so for CIL.
India Signs Trade in Services & Trade Agreement

India has formally signed the Trade in Services & Trade in Investments Agreement with ASEAN.
9 out of ten ASEAN countries have signed the same.
Philippines is completing its domestic procedure and it is expected to sign soon.
It may be mentioned that India-ASEAN Agreement on Trade in Goods was signed in 2009 and
became effective from 2010.
Some of the important Articles contained in the Agreement are ones on transparency, domestic
regulations, recognition, market access, national treatment, increasing participation of developing
countries, joint committee on services, review, dispute settlement and denial of benefits.
India on the other hand has tabled three schedules of commitments one forPhilippines, one
for Indonesia and one for the remaining eight ASEAN Member States.
Latest Cabinet Decisions

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved raising of FDI cap in insurance sector to 49
percent from 26 percent.
The insurance sector was opened up for private sector in 2000 after the enactment of the Insurance
Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 (IRDA Act, 1999).
This Act permitted foreign shareholding in insurance companies to the extent of 26 percent with an
aim to provide better insurance coverage and to augment the flow of long term resources for
financing infrastructure.
CCEA OKAYS SALE OF 10 MN TONNES OF WHEAT IN OPEN MARKET
The government approved sale of 10 million tonnes of wheat from FCI stock in the open market in order to
boost domestic supply and check prices.
A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA),
headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The CCEA has cleared sale of about 10 million tonnes of wheat via the Open Market Sale Scheme
(OMSS) to bulk buyers.
The reserve price under OMSS has been fixed at Rs 1,500 per quintal plusfreight charges for old
crop and five per cent premium for new crop.
The country had produced a record 95.60 million tonnes of wheat in the 2013-14 crop year.
CABINET CLEARS BILL TO EMPOWER SEBI TO DEAL WITH PONZI SCHEMES
A Bill to effectively empower the market regulator SEBI to crack down on ponzi schemes and investment
frauds was approved by the Cabinet.
Following the CCEA approval, the Securities Laws (Amendment) Bill will be introduced in Parliament.
The Bill seeks to give Sebi sweeping powers like attachment of properties,launch of recovery
proceedings, seeking call data records to investigate cases and ordering search and seizure against
manipulators and fraudsters.
Mega Food Parks in the Country

During Eleventh Plan, Government approved taking up of 30 Mega Food Parks Projects in the country.
All the 30 Mega Food Park projects have been approved by the Ministry of Food Processing
Industries from the eligible proposals received against Expression of Interest for selection of projects.
In the North Eastern Region, total three Mega Food Park projects have been approved by the
Ministry during eleventh Plan in the States of Assam, Tripura and Sikkim.
Food Processing Industries are set up both in organized and unorganized sectors.
Aimed primarily at providing adequate infrastructure facilities for the food processing industry along
the value chain from farm to market, The Mega Food Parks would bring together farmers,
retailers and processors and link agricultural production to market in order to maximise value
addition, minimise wastage and improve farmers income

IL&FS Clusters as Project Management Agency (PMA) is responsible for management, capacity building,
coordination and monitoring support.
Panel on Cost Audit Rules Set-up

The Union government set up an expert committee to look into the concernsraised by cost
accountants over some provisions in the new Cost Records and Audit Rules.
Following notification of the Companies (Cost Records and Audit) Rules 2014, the Council of the
Institute of Cost Accountants of India had expressed concerns over certain provisions of the rules,
particularly coverage of sectors of economyunder the rules.
4th All-India-Census of MSME Sector

As per the latest Census (Fourth Census), conducted (with base reference year 2006-07), wherein the data
was collected till 2009 and results published in 2011-12, as well as data extracted from Economic Census
2005 conducted by CSO, MoSPI, for activities excluded from Fourth Census, namely wholesale/retail trade,
legal, educational & social services, hotel & restaurants, transports and storage & warehousing (except cold
storage).
The total number of persons employed in the sector increased to 805.24 lakh as compared to 249.33 lakh
in the Third All India Census of Small Scale Industries, conducted with reference year 2001-02.
More employment opportunities could have been generated during the 4th census period, if the MSMEs
would not have faced constraints such as non-availability of credit, inadequate infrastructure, shortage of
skilled manpower, obsolete technology etc.
The Ministry is implementing a number of schemes and programmes such as;
Credit Guarantee Scheme,
Credit Link Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS),
Cluster Development Programme,
Entrepreneurship and Skill Development Programmes,
National Manufacturing Competitiveness Programme (NMCP) etc.
There has been a substantial increase in the allocation under the scheme Prime Ministers
Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) from Rs.5540 crore in 11th Plan to Rs.8060 crore in
12th Plan to strengthen Ministrys efforts for employment generation.
Steps Taken to Mitigate Impact of Deficient Rainfall

As per India Meteorological Departments (IMD) second stage operational long range forecast, SouthWest Monsoon (June-September) rainfall during 2014 is likely to be 93% 4% of countrys Long Period
Average (LPA) of 890 mm.
Central Research Institute of Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), in collaboration with State
Agricultural Universities has prepared contingency plans for 500 districts for implementing location
specific interventions to sustain agriculture production in the eventuality of weak monsoon/deficient
rainfall.
States have been advised to ensure availability of short duration and drought tolerant varieties of
seeds so as to be in a position to supply them to farmers in case such a need arises.
States have also been advised to keep asides 10% of funds available under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas
Yojana (RKVY) and other schemes for undertaking appropriate interventions to mitigateField functionaries
and extension workers under Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) and other schemes
are educating, training and making the farmers aware of various techniques to overcome deficient rainfall.
Farmers are also being advised through farmers SMS portal, Kisan Call Centres, Kisanvani
Programme

BSE Sensex Crosses 26000 Mark

The benchmark BSE Sensex crossed the 26,000-mark for the first time and the NSE Nifty soared to hit yet
another high of 7,787.95 in opening trade on the back of strong inflow of foreign funds ahead of the
Budget.
On the sectoral front, BSE IT index has surged by over 1% followed by counters like Realty, Power
and Metal, all gaining nearly 1% each. However, banking, oil & gas and FMCG shares are trading
marginally lower.
The broader markets continue their outperformance in comparison with the benchmark indices- BSe
Midcap and Smallcap indices have gained by nearly 1% each.
Among other Asian markets, Hong Kongs Hang Seng gained 0.15 per cent, whileJapans Nikkei
fell 0.02 per cent in early trade.
WB Loan for National Highways Inter-Connectivity Project

The Government of India and the World Bank signed a Loan Agreement for World Bank (IBRD) assistance
of US $ 500 million for National Highways Inter-connectivity Improvement Project (NHIIP) The objective
of the project is to improve the National Highway network connectivity to less developed States and
enhance institutional capacity of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to better manage the highway
network.
The Project comprises of upgradation of about 1120 kilometer of existing single/intermediate lane
National Highways in three low income States (Bihar, Orissa and Rajasthan) and in less developed
regions of two middle income States (Karnataka and West Bengal). The total project size is US$
1146.05 million.
SEBI Unveils Reform Measures for PSUs

Capital markets regulator SEBI cleared a slew of reforms including a proposal to hike public holding in all
PSUs to a minimum 25 percentBesides, Offer for Sale mechanism will be revamped to allow non
promoters to use this route for selling shares and a provision of 10 percent reservation will be provided to
retail investors.
The Sebi board has made it mandatory for all listed PSUs to have at least 25 percent public
shareholding within three years.
The move is expected to help the government raise close to Rs 60,000 crore through sale of excess
shares in 38 state-run firms.
Another proposal approved by the board included easing of the Offer For Sale (OFS)
norms wherein retail investors would be provided with 10 percent reservation and sellers of shares
may also give discounts to retail investors.
The Sebi board has also finalised elaborate norms for research analysts to ward off any conflict of
interest in their activities.
As part of its efforts to revive primary markets, Sebi has also relaxed restrictions on sale of bonus
shares held by promoters or other investors during an Initial Public Offer of a company, even if these
shares have been held for less than a year.
As per the existing regulations, shares that have been held for a period of less than a year are not
eligible to be offered for sale in an IPO.
This restriction applies to all classes of shares, including bonus shares or equitygranted to existing
shareholders on the basis of their prevailing stake.
Besides, Sebi announced new set of norms to govern Employee Stock Options (ESOP) Schemes.
The board also approved sharing of KYC (Know your Client) information with entities regulated by
other financial sector watchdogs.

NFSM Approves 2100 cr for Golden Revolution

General Council of the National Food Security Mission (NFSM), which met here today under the
Chairmanship of Agriculture Minister, Shri Radha Mohan Singh, approved action plans of different
States for Rs. 2100 crore for 2014-15. approved taking up pulses under NFSM programme in Himachal
Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand. taking up demonstrations of inter-cropping of food
grains with oilseeds which was not part of the Mission activities till now. Director CRRI made a
presentation on the prospects of cultivation of hybrid rice in India and its role in increasing rice
production.
-The Minister stressed upon the need to take up soil testing and providing soil health cards to individual
farmers, especially small and marginal farmers.

Committee Setup to Restructure FCI

The Government has decided to set up a High Level Committee (HLC) of distinguished persons and
experts to recommend restructuring of (Food Corporation of India) FCI after considering various
aspects of present structure and functional areas of the organization and consulting various
stakeholdersTo study various models of restructuring or unbundling of and to suggest a best
suited model for restructuring or unbundling of FCI to improve its operational efficiency and financial
management.

To suggest measures for overall improvement in management of foodgrains by FCI.

To define or give suggestions to reorient the role and functions of FCI in MSP operations, storage
and distribution of foodgrains and food security systems of the country.

To suggest a way forward for strengthening and integration of supply chain of foodgrains in the
country.

To recommend scientific model of storage.

To recommend rationalised mode of moving grains including tracking of carriage.

To suggest the upgradation of technology in management of foodgrains.

FOOD CORPORATION OF INDIA:

The Food Corporation of India was setup under the Food Corporation Act 1964, in order to fulfill
following objectives of the Food Policy :

Effective price support operations for safeguarding the interests of the farmers.

Distribution of foodgrains throughout the country for public distribution system

Maintaining satisfactory level of operational and buffer stocks of foodgrains to ensure National Food
Security

Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana Relaunched

He said that VPBY will benefit the vulnerable section of society with limited resources as it will
provide monthly pension ranging from Rs 500/ to Rs 5,000/ per month to senior citizens of the
country.

VPBY is like reverse of a normal insurance policy as in case of VPBY, the beneficiary gets an income at
the overall rate of 9.38 % per annum on their deposits as they are being paid on monthly basis.

3.16 Lakh annuitants who had applied under that earlier window are being benefitted today
with pension payments ranging from a minimum of Rs.250 per month to a maximum of Rs.2000
per month based on their subscriptions, and the associated corpus amounts to Rs. 6,095 Crore.

The revived scheme will be open during the window stretching from 15th August, 2014 to
14th August, 2015 for the benefit of citizens aged 60 years and above, and will provide
financial security by ensuring regular income during their advancing years.

The scheme will be administered by the LIC.

The subscription to the scheme is likely to create a corpus of more than Rs. 10,000
crore, and would thus also be a significant source of resource mobilization for the development
of the country.

Under this Scheme, the senior citizens would get pension on fixed basis either on yearly or
monthly basis.

SOME KEY FEATURES OF THE SCHEME ARE:

Available to citizens aged 60 years and above.

Pension would be on immediate annuity basis in monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annual mode,
varying, respectively, between Rs. 500 to 5000 (monthly), Rs. 1500 to 15,000 (quarterly), Rs. 3000 to
Rs. 30,000 (half-yearly) and from Rs. 6,000 to Rs. 60,000 (annually), depending on the amount
subscribed and the option exercised.

The payout implies an assured return of 9% on monthly payment basis, which amounts to an
annualized return of 9.38%.

Loan (up to 75% of subscribed amount) can be availed after 3 years from the Date of
Commencement.

New Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS)

For the convenience of people to pay school fees and municipal taxes and utility bills through
an integrated platform, the Reserve Bank proposed setting up an anytime anywhere bill payment
system.

Bill payment is a major component of the retail payment transactions as over3,080 crore
bills amounting to more than Rs 6,00,000 crore are generated each year in the top 20 cities in the
country.

Though various forms of payments are accepted, cash and cheque payments continue to be
predominant, particularly at the Billers Own Collection Point.

The existing systems do not fully address the needs of the consumers/customers to pay a variety
of bills including utility bills, school/university fee, municipal taxes, due to lack of interoperability in the
payment processes as well as lack of access to various modes of electronic payments by a vast
majority of customers.

In this backdrop, the RBI has proposed Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) with an objective to
implement an integrated bill payment system and offer interoperable and accessible bill payment
service to customers through a network of agents, enabling multiple payment modes, and providing
instant confirmation of payment.

Hence, it has been decided that the existing players in the online commerce segment catering to
the requirements of bill payments as well as aggregation of payment services (in relation to bill
payments) will be a part of BBPS.

The proposed Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) will function as a tiered structure for
operating the countrys bill payment system.

It will have a single brand image providing convenience of anytime anywhere payment to
customers.

The BBPS will offer inter-operable and accessible services through a network of agents,
enabling multiple payment modes and providing instant confirmation of payment.

In future, the scope of BBPS could be extended to include services that require repetitive
payments, such as school/university fees and municipal taxes.

Other e-commerce services can also be brought under its purview as decided from time to
time by the RBI.

RBI Direct Banks To Give Information to SIT

The Reserve Bank of India directed all banks and financial institutions to provide information and
documents sought by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up to unearth black money.

The SIT under the chairmanship of former Justice M B Shah was constituted by the Narendra Modiled government on its first day in office, in pursuance of a July 2011 Supreme Court judgement.

According to the latest data published by Switzerlands central bank SNB, Indian money in
various Swiss banks rose by 43 percent during 2013 to close to Rs 14,000 crore, including
the money held directly by Indian clients and those through fiduciaries or wealth managers.

Switzerland said it is looking forward to working together with the new government of
India in its fight against tax evasion, according to a statement issued through the Swiss
Embassy in New Delhi.

Expert Committee on National Rubber Policy Setup

The Union Commerce Ministry has constituted an expert committee to formulate a national rubber
policy and to examine the issues relating to production, development and exports of rubber and
related products.

The committee chaired by Additional Secretary (Plantations), Department of Commerce, will

make recommendations for a broad-based policy relating to all types of rubber like synthetic, reclaimed
rubber etc.
The terms of reference for the committee are comprehensive and include;

review of growth and the current status of rubber sector,

demand and supply of different rubbers,

opportunities and challenges,

stakeholders concerns and

suggest a policy framework for promoting rubber plantatio

Import Tariff on Gold & Silver Hiked

The government hiked import tariff value on gold and silver to USD 411 per 10 grams and USD 632
per kg as global prices have increased in the wake of escalating violence in Iraq.

The import tariff value -- base price at which customs duty is determined to prevent under-invoicing
is revised on a fortnightly basis, taking into account the volatility in global pricesThese curbs
include raising the import duty on the metal to 10 percent and also making it mandatory for traders
to export 20 percent of the imported gold.

Foreign Investors Invested Rs 26,000cr in India

RBI Simplifies Norms for Bank Accounts

According to latest RBI notification, a bank account can be opened with just one address
proof, permanent or local.

It will help migrant workers and employees with transferable jobs who at present face
cumbersome procedure to access banking services.

Henceforth, customers may submit only one documentary proof of address (either current
or permanent) while opening a bank account or while undergoing periodic updation.

Latest Monetary Policy Review by RBIjune

The Reserve Bank of India left its benchmark lending rate unchanged, taking a break from a recent
string of rate increases, to gauge whether the countrys high inflation rates are easing back to
acceptable levels.

The RBI kept its key overnight lending rate, which it had raised at three of the previous four policy
meetings, steady at 8% and in line with expectations.

The central bank also left the cash reserve ratio, or the minimum percentage of deposits that lenders
must park with the RBI, unchanged at 4%.

Meantime, Indias two top measures of inflation have fallen in recent weeks, due partly to
lower food prices following a better-than-average monsoon last year.Wholesale prices, the
benchmark measure of inflation in India, slipped to 4.68% in February from 7.5% in
November. Consumer prices, which track inflation experienced by urban consumers, fell from
11.2% in November to 8.10% in February.

RBI Cancels Three NBFCs

1. M/s Mona Finvest Private Limited, Kolkata
2. Jinvani Commercial Private Limited, Kolkata
3. M/s Negus Mercantile Private Limited, Kolkata
DIFFERENCE B/W BANKS & NBFCs
NBFCs lend and make investments and hence their activities are akin to that of banks;however there
are a few differences as given below:

NBFC cannot accept demand deposits;

NBFCs

do

not

form

part

of

the

payment

and

settlement

system

and cannot

issue

cheques drawn on itself;

Deposit insurance facility of Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation is not available to
depositors of NBFCs, unlike in case of banks.

Loans to Exporters for 10 Year Tenure

The Reserve Bank allowed banks to provide loans with tenures of up to 10 years to exporters to
help them ensure capital flows to fulfil long-term contracts.

Existing norms allow banks to give loans for up to one year only.

In view of requests received from exporters, it has been decided to permit banks to allow exporters
having a minimum of three years satisfactory track recordto receive long-term export advance
up to a maximum tenor of 10 years to be utilised for execution of long-term supply contracts for export
of goods.

This facility is available with certain conditions, including an interest rate limit of 200 basis points
above the London interbank offered rate (Libor), a global benchmark.

Besides, exporters receiving loans of USD 100 million or above need to report the transaction
immediately to the RBI.

ONGC Signs Deal With Rosneft

ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), the overseas arm of the state-owned explorer ONGC, has signed a deal
with Russias largest oil and gas producer Rosneft to jointly explore hydrocarbons in the
offshore Arctic.

The Memorandum paves the way for the companies cooperation in subsurface surveys,
exploration and appraisal activities and hydrocarbons production in Russias offshore Arctic.

The parties will jointly consider forming a consortium led by Rosneft and involving other
partners.

His firm had offered OVL a stake in nine offshore oil and gas blocks in the Barents Sea and one
in the Black Sea.

Rosneft is also looking at supplying crude oil to Indian refineries.

Moscow is courting India to counter moves by the US and Europe to isolate it for annexing
Crimea from Ukraine.

India does not have a firm contract to import crude oil from Russia. It gets a small volumes
once in a while from OVLs Sakhalin-1 project in Far East Russia.

OVL has a 20 per cent stake in the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas field in the Russian Pacific Ocean.
Rosneft has a similar stake in the project, which is operated by Exxon Mobil.

OVL had bought Imperial Energy, which has fields in Siberia, for USD 2.1 billion in January
2009. It is keen to get a foothold in the Arctic projects and expand in Siberia and Far East
Russia.

Indian Rupee is Best Performing Currency

Boosted by capital inflows and euphoria around the incoming government,rupees surge to 11month high levels has made it the best performing currency in Asia-Pacific region against the US
dollar so far in 2014.

With a gain of about 5.3 per cent since the start of this year, rupee has sprinted ahead of its
other Asia-Pacific peers, including Indonesias rupiah and New Zealand dollar, in terms of yearto-date rise, shows an analysis of various currencies vis-a-vis the Greenback.

The rupee, which closed at 58.52 levels against the US dollar on the last trading day on
Friday, has incidentally seen a lions share of 5.3 percent gain in the past one month.

The Indian currency stood at Rs 61.8 level per US dollar at the start of 2014 and has recorded
a gain of 327 paise in less than six months, partly helped by robust foreign fund inflows.

This marks a major turnaround since August last year when rupee touched its life-time low
of 68.80.

In Asia-Pacific, the rupees gains versus the US dollar are followed by theRupiah
(Indonesia) that has appreciated 4.6 per cent, New Zealand dollars3.75 per cent rise
and Australian currencys 3.5 per cent rise.

The Yen (Japan), the Won (South Korea) and the Ringgit (Malaysia) have gained between 2-3
per cent in this calendar year so far.

Philippines Peso has appreciated 1.6 per cent against the US dollar, followed by 0.5 per cent
uptick in Thailands Baht and Singaporean dollar.

While the Hong Kong dollar is almost unchanged since 2014 started, the Taiwan dollar and
Chinese Yuan have lost value.

RBI Rejects Licence Application Cooperatives for Banking

The Reserve Bank of India has rejected the licence applications of Buldana, Nagpur, and Wardha
DCCBs in order to protect the interest of the depositors.

It may be highlighted that on liquidation, every depositor is entitled to repayment of his

deposits up to a monetary ceiling of `1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lakh) from the Deposit
Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC).

Govt Accepts Sahoo Committee Recommendations

The issue of Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds and Ordinary Shares(through Depository
Receipt Mechanism) Scheme, 1993 was formulated at a time when Indias capital markets were
substantially closed to foreign capital and the domestic financial system was not very well developed.

In this period, the Indian legal and regulatory system for financial markets has evolved with
substantial changes. These developments warranted a fresh look at the Scheme governing the
issuance of Depository Receipts (DRs).

The key recommendations of the Committee include allowing issuance of DRs against any
underlying securities equity or debt; by any issuer listed or unlisted.

The Committee has recommended that DRs can be issued both for capital raising through new
shares or against existing/ secondary shares and the issuance may be either sponsored or
unsponsored.

It is proposed that DRs will count as public shareholding if they have attached voting rights
for holders. The draft Scheme covers Depository Receipts only and FCCBs have been left out of
its ambit (they would continue to be governed by the existing scheme until further notification).

54 Indian Companies in Forbes Powerful List

China is home to the worlds top three biggest public companies and five of the top 10.

The US retains its dominance as the country with the most Global 2000companies at 564.

Japan trails the US with 225 companies in aggregate. India is home to 54 of the worlds biggest
companies.

Reliance Industries is ranked 135 on the list with a market value of 50.9 billion dollars and 72.8
billion dollars in sales as on May 2014.

Reliance is followed by State Bank of India which is ranked 155 and has a 23.6 billion dollars
market value.

State-controlled Chinese bank ICBC holds onto its number 1 spot for a second consecutive
year, while China Construction

Bank takes

second

place

andAgricultural

Bank of

China moves up five spots to third.

Banks Disallowed From ECBs to Repay Loans

The Reserve Bank of India disallowed overseas branches of domestic banks from extending
external commercial borrowings (ECBs)

to manufacturing and infrastructure companies for

repaying rupee loans.

An external commercial borrowing (ECB) is an instrument used in India to facilitate the access to
foreign money by Indian corporations and PSUs (public sector undertakings).

ECBs include commercial bank loans, buyers credit, suppliers credit, securitised instruments such as
floating rate notes and fixed rate bonds etc., credit from official export credit agencies and commercial
borrowings from the private sector window of multilateral financial Institutions such as International
Finance Corporation (Washington), ADB, AFIC, CDC, etc.

46 Nations Adopt Declaration on Tax Information

India and scores of other countries, including Switzerland, have adopted a global declaration for
automatic exchange of tax information.

The adoption of the Declaration on Automatic Exchange of Information in Tax Matters last week
comes in the backdrop of India stepping up pressure on Switzerland to share information on alleged
illicit funds stashed away by its citizens in Swiss banks.

The Declaration recognises that investments kept offshore by taxpayers should not go untaxed.

It stresses that a key aspect of cooperation between tax administrations iseffective exchange of
information on automatic basis subject to appropriate safeguards.

On 6th May, 46 countries, including India, besides the European Union, meeting under the auspices
of the OECD, adopted the declaration.

The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD) sets the global
tax standards and frames conventions against tax frauds, among others.

The declaration has referred to the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance
in Tax Matters that has been signed by over 60 nations, including almost all OECD and G-20
countries.

Indias Own Card Payment Network Launched

RuPay is an Indian domestic card scheme conceived and launched by the National Payments
Corporation of India (NPCI).President congratulated the Reserve Bank of India for having
envisioned the need for such an indigenously managed service in 2005 and for entrusting this
task to the National Payments Corporation soon after its operationalization in 2010.

He said that it usually takes five to seven years to build a fully functional card payment
network. He was happy to note that the NPCI could make the RuPay service operational by April
2013.

RuPay is the coinage of two terms Rupee and Payment. The RuPay Visual Identity is a
modern and dynamic unit.

The orange and green arrows indicate a nation on the move and a service that matches its
pace. The color blue stands for the feeling of tranquility which is the people must get while
owning a card of the brand RuPay. The bold and unique typeface grants solidity to the whole
unit and symbolizes a stable entity

NPCI entered into a strategic partnership with Discover Financial Services (DFS)for RuPay
Card, enabling the acceptance of RuPay Global Cards on Discovers global payment network
outside of India.

BENEFITS OF RuPay:
The Indian market offers huge potential for cards penetration despite the challenges. RuPay Cards will
address the needs of Indian consumers, merchants and banks. The benefits of RuPay debit card are the
flexibility of the product platform, high levels of acceptance and the strength of the RuPay brand-all of
which will contribute to an increased product experience.

Lower cost and affordability : Since the transaction processing will happen domestically, it
would lead to lower cost of clearing and settlement for each transaction. This will make the
transaction cost affordable and will drive usage of cards in the industry.

Customized product offering : RuPay, being a domestic scheme is committed towards

development of customized product and service offerings for Indian consumers.

Protection of information related to Indian consumers : Transaction and customer data

related to RuPay card transactions will reside in India.

Provide electronic product options to untapped/unexplored consumer segment : There

are under-penetrated/untapped consumers segments in rural areas that do not have access to
banking and financial services. Right pricing of RuPay products would make the RuPay cards
more economically feasible for banks to offer to their customers. In addition, relevant product
variants would ensure that banks can target the hitherto untapped consumer segments.

Inter-operability between payment channels and products : RuPay card is uniquely

positioned to offer complete inter-operability between various payments channels and products.
NPCI currently offers varied solutions across platforms including ATMs, mobile technology,
cheques etc and is extremely well placed in