General Affairs
‘Born in poverty, lived in it. Don’t be scared of criticism’: PM Modi’s top quotes from BJP meet
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday spoke at the two day National Executive Meet of the BJP in a non-televised address. In his address, he spoke about the demonetisation of higher value currency and its impact on people. He also said serving the poor was the best service to God. Stressing on bringing transparency in political funding, the prime minister said BJP fully supports the idea of transparency in political funding. Members at the meet gave a standing ovation to PM Modi for the “unprecedented” cross-border surgical strikes and the demonetisation “success”.
Party President Amit Shah also praised the prime minister on Friday for India’s stance after the Uri attack. He also listed the benefits of the demonetisation move and said that it would help the country get rid of corruption. The national executive meet also recounted BJP’s successes in 2016, including the party’s win in Assam and formation of government in Arunachal.
Here are the top quotes of the Prime Minister from his address:
* Use organisational strength to win over poor. Serving people amounts to serving God.
* BJP fully supports the idea of transparency in political funding
* Born in poverty, lived in it. Don’t be scared of criticism/accusations
* Important to make political process transparent
* For us, poor & poverty not just abt winning polls it’s an opportunity to serve
* Committed to change quality of life of poor. Demonetisation part of long term measures against graft, black money
Here is all that has happened in the BJP executive meet today
* The national executive praised the armed forces and came down heavily on Pakistan. “Terrorism is today seen by the democratic and civilised world as a scourge whereas Pakistan continues to use it as state policy. It continues to push terrorists into India and other countries and engages in terror attacks and promotes violent insurgent and separatist movement in J&K.”
* Union Minister for Education Prakash Javadekar on Friday had said Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that while it caused some trouble to people, demonetisation largely had the support of the people.
* All states except Bengal showed spike in income and revenue for month of November, December. Figures awaited: Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
* Bharatiya Janata Party today termed the aftermath of demonetisation a “sacred movement” during which the masses accepted the temporary suffering with enthusiasm and asserted that black money has now been deposited in banks that will lead to high revenues and bigger and cleaner GDP.
Party President Amit Shah also praised the prime minister on Friday for India’s stance after the Uri attack. He also listed the benefits of the demonetisation move and said that it would help the country get rid of corruption. The national executive meet also recounted BJP’s successes in 2016, including the party’s win in Assam and formation of government in Arunachal.
Here are the top quotes of the Prime Minister from his address:
* Use organisational strength to win over poor. Serving people amounts to serving God.
* BJP fully supports the idea of transparency in political funding
* Born in poverty, lived in it. Don’t be scared of criticism/accusations
* Important to make political process transparent
* For us, poor & poverty not just abt winning polls it’s an opportunity to serve
* Committed to change quality of life of poor. Demonetisation part of long term measures against graft, black money
Here is all that has happened in the BJP executive meet today
* The national executive praised the armed forces and came down heavily on Pakistan. “Terrorism is today seen by the democratic and civilised world as a scourge whereas Pakistan continues to use it as state policy. It continues to push terrorists into India and other countries and engages in terror attacks and promotes violent insurgent and separatist movement in J&K.”
* Union Minister for Education Prakash Javadekar on Friday had said Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that while it caused some trouble to people, demonetisation largely had the support of the people.
* All states except Bengal showed spike in income and revenue for month of November, December. Figures awaited: Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
* Bharatiya Janata Party today termed the aftermath of demonetisation a “sacred movement” during which the masses accepted the temporary suffering with enthusiasm and asserted that black money has now been deposited in banks that will lead to high revenues and bigger and cleaner GDP.
India, Portugal sign six agreements, including defence cooperation
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met with his Portugal counterpart António Costa and welcomed him along with his delegation to India. A total of six Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) between India and Portugal were signed, including one on defence cooperation. The PM said it was an honour that Costa had accepted the invitation to become the Chief Guest at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. Speaking on the relationship between the two countries, PM Modi said that he had an extensive discussion with the Portugal PM in which they had reviewed the full range of India-Portugal ties.
“It gives me immense pleasure to welcome you and your delegation to India. We are deeply honoured that you accepted our invitation to be the Chief Guest at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. In my extensive discussion with Portugal PM we reviewed the full range of India-Portugal ties,” said PM Modi.
Citing shared historical connection, PM Modi told Costa that India and Portugal have built a solid partnership on the basis of shared historical connection and global issues. He also thanked Portugal for its support to India’s NSG bid. “We are grateful to Portugal for their continued support for India’s membership in Nuclear Suppliers Group,” said the prime minister.
The PM said that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on defence cooperation signed would assist in harnessing the respective strengths, of both the countries, in this field for mutual benefit. “The MoU on Defence cooperation signed today will help us harness our respective strengths in this field for mutual benefit,” he said.
Portugal PM, on his part, presented PM Modi with world renowned Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo’s jersey. The Portugal PM is on a seven-day visit to India.
“It gives me immense pleasure to welcome you and your delegation to India. We are deeply honoured that you accepted our invitation to be the Chief Guest at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. In my extensive discussion with Portugal PM we reviewed the full range of India-Portugal ties,” said PM Modi.
Citing shared historical connection, PM Modi told Costa that India and Portugal have built a solid partnership on the basis of shared historical connection and global issues. He also thanked Portugal for its support to India’s NSG bid. “We are grateful to Portugal for their continued support for India’s membership in Nuclear Suppliers Group,” said the prime minister.
The PM said that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on defence cooperation signed would assist in harnessing the respective strengths, of both the countries, in this field for mutual benefit. “The MoU on Defence cooperation signed today will help us harness our respective strengths in this field for mutual benefit,” he said.
Portugal PM, on his part, presented PM Modi with world renowned Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo’s jersey. The Portugal PM is on a seven-day visit to India.
In 80 per cent farmer-suicides due to debt, loans taken from banks, not moneylenders
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LOCAL MONEYLENDERS are usually portrayed as the villains in India’s farmer-suicides narrative, but government data shows that 80 per cent of farmers killed themselves in 2015 because of bankruptcy or debts after taking loans from banks and registered microfinance institutions. According to National Crime Records Bureau’s latest farmer-suicides data, of the over 3,000 farmers who committed suicides across the country in 2015 due to debt and bankruptcy, 2,474 had taken loans from banks or microfinance institutions.
It’s for the first time that the NCRB has categorised farmers’ suicides due to debt or bankruptcy based on the source of loans. The figures (see page 2) show that only 10 per cent farmers had committed suicide due to debts caused by loans taken from both banks and moneylenders — the share of loans from moneylenders under this section was 9.8 per cent.
As first reported by The Indian Express on August 19, 2016, farmer suicides saw a spike of 41.7 per cent in 2015 from 2014. The year 2015 saw 8,007 suicides by farmers compared to 5,650 in 2014, according to NCRB data.
Among the states, the data showed, Maharashtra (3,030), Telangana (1,358), Karnataka (1,197), Chhattisgarh (854) and Madhya Pradesh (516) led the table. Karnataka saw a more than three-fold rise in farmer suicides in 2015, as compared to 2014 when around 300 farmers ended their lives.
“The latest data is interesting because all of us thought that moneylenders were the culprits of the piece. Even today, more than half the people take loans from moneylenders,” said Abhijit Sen, a former member of the erstwhile Planning Commission.
However, Sen said, moneylenders were more flexible compared to banks and microfinance institutions. “The organised sector is less flexible because rules don’t permit them flexibility. The microfinance sector is worse. They put pressure by telling others in self-help groups that their share would be cut if one person does not pay loans in time. This creates social pressure, as well. Many also send goons to the neighbourhood to scare borrowers,” he said.
According to the NCRB data, “bankruptcy and indebtedness” witnessed the sharpest spike in 2015, registering an almost three-fold increase (3,097) as compared to 2014 (1,163).
Similarly, farm-related issues, too, have seen a sharp spike of over 61 per cent. While 969 suicides were recorded due to crop-failure and other farm-related issues in 2014, 2015 saw 1,562 suicides in this category.
Among states, Maharashtra (1,293) reported the maximum number of suicides due to “indebtedness”, followed by Karnataka (946) and Telangana (632). With 131 deaths, Telangana reported the highest number of suicides by farmers who took loans from moneylenders, with 131 deaths, followed by Karnataka (113).
Similarly, farm-related issues such as crop failure forced 769 farmers to end their lives in Maharashtra, followed by 363 in Telangana, 153 in Andhra Pradesh and 122 in Karnataka. Family problems (933) and illness (842) were other top reasons for suicides among farmers in 2015, according to NCRB data.
It’s for the first time that the NCRB has categorised farmers’ suicides due to debt or bankruptcy based on the source of loans. The figures (see page 2) show that only 10 per cent farmers had committed suicide due to debts caused by loans taken from both banks and moneylenders — the share of loans from moneylenders under this section was 9.8 per cent.
As first reported by The Indian Express on August 19, 2016, farmer suicides saw a spike of 41.7 per cent in 2015 from 2014. The year 2015 saw 8,007 suicides by farmers compared to 5,650 in 2014, according to NCRB data.
Among the states, the data showed, Maharashtra (3,030), Telangana (1,358), Karnataka (1,197), Chhattisgarh (854) and Madhya Pradesh (516) led the table. Karnataka saw a more than three-fold rise in farmer suicides in 2015, as compared to 2014 when around 300 farmers ended their lives.
“The latest data is interesting because all of us thought that moneylenders were the culprits of the piece. Even today, more than half the people take loans from moneylenders,” said Abhijit Sen, a former member of the erstwhile Planning Commission.
However, Sen said, moneylenders were more flexible compared to banks and microfinance institutions. “The organised sector is less flexible because rules don’t permit them flexibility. The microfinance sector is worse. They put pressure by telling others in self-help groups that their share would be cut if one person does not pay loans in time. This creates social pressure, as well. Many also send goons to the neighbourhood to scare borrowers,” he said.
According to the NCRB data, “bankruptcy and indebtedness” witnessed the sharpest spike in 2015, registering an almost three-fold increase (3,097) as compared to 2014 (1,163).
Similarly, farm-related issues, too, have seen a sharp spike of over 61 per cent. While 969 suicides were recorded due to crop-failure and other farm-related issues in 2014, 2015 saw 1,562 suicides in this category.
Among states, Maharashtra (1,293) reported the maximum number of suicides due to “indebtedness”, followed by Karnataka (946) and Telangana (632). With 131 deaths, Telangana reported the highest number of suicides by farmers who took loans from moneylenders, with 131 deaths, followed by Karnataka (113).
Similarly, farm-related issues such as crop failure forced 769 farmers to end their lives in Maharashtra, followed by 363 in Telangana, 153 in Andhra Pradesh and 122 in Karnataka. Family problems (933) and illness (842) were other top reasons for suicides among farmers in 2015, according to NCRB data.
President nod for appointment of 5 new IITs directors
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President Pranab Mukherjee has approved Union Human Resource Development Ministry’s proposal for appointment of the directors to five new IITs — Tirupati, Palakkad, Bhilai-Durg, Goa and Dharwad.
All the five Directors have been appointed for a period of five years. According to sources, Prof K N Satyanarayana had been appointed as the Director of IIT Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh while Prof P B Sunil Kumar has been appointed as the Director of IIT Palakkad, Kerala.
Prof Rajat Moona has been appointed the Director of IIT Bhilai-Durg while Prof B K Mishra, the Director of IIT Goa. For IIT Dharwad in Karnataka the name of Prof Seshu Pasumarthy has been approved by the President, sources said.
Earlier a Search Cum Selection Committee appointed by the Prakash Javadekar-led HRD ministry had recommended the names after holding interviews of several highly distinguished people with outstanding academic record and experience for posts of Directors to these new IITs.
The Director of an IIT is the academic as well as the administrative head of the prestigious institution.
Following the interviews, the ministry had forwarded the names to the President, who is the Visitor of these central institution of higher education, for his approval.
As per reports, around 17 candidates were interviewed by the panel and the names will be sent to the President, who is the Visitor for approval.
In May 2016, the HRD Ministry invited applications for the post of Directors at six new IITs. According to an official notification, the candidates age should not be more than 60 years and need to have adequate (a minimum of 5 years) administrative, teaching and research experience (including significant experience in research guidance at the Ph.D. level).
With the addition of these new institutes, the total number of IITs has now gone up to 23.
President Pranab Mukherjee has approved Union Human Resource Development Ministry’s proposal for appointment of the directors to five new IITs — Tirupati, Palakkad, Bhilai-Durg, Goa and Dharwad.
All the five Directors have been appointed for a period of five years. According to sources, Prof K N Satyanarayana had been appointed as the Director of IIT Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh while Prof P B Sunil Kumar has been appointed as the Director of IIT Palakkad, Kerala.
Prof Rajat Moona has been appointed the Director of IIT Bhilai-Durg while Prof B K Mishra, the Director of IIT Goa. For IIT Dharwad in Karnataka the name of Prof Seshu Pasumarthy has been approved by the President, sources said.
Earlier a Search Cum Selection Committee appointed by the Prakash Javadekar-led HRD ministry had recommended the names after holding interviews of several highly distinguished people with outstanding academic record and experience for posts of Directors to these new IITs.
The Director of an IIT is the academic as well as the administrative head of the prestigious institution.
Following the interviews, the ministry had forwarded the names to the President, who is the Visitor of these central institution of higher education, for his approval.
As per reports, around 17 candidates were interviewed by the panel and the names will be sent to the President, who is the Visitor for approval.
In May 2016, the HRD Ministry invited applications for the post of Directors at six new IITs. According to an official notification, the candidates age should not be more than 60 years and need to have adequate (a minimum of 5 years) administrative, teaching and research experience (including significant experience in research guidance at the Ph.D. level).
With the addition of these new institutes, the total number of IITs has now gone up to 23.
AgustaWestland case: Non-bailable warrant issued against middleman Christian Michel
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A special court today issued fresh summons against three accused in a money laundering case related to the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal in which it had earlier issued an open-ended non-bailable warrant (NBW) against British national and alleged middleman Christian Michel James. Special Judge Arvind Kumar re-issued the summons against India-based firm M/s Media Exim Private Limited and its directors R K Nanda and J B Subramaniyam while asking them to be present in court on February 22. The firm was set up by James, Nanda and Subramaniyam.
The court passed the order after advocate N K Matta, appearing for the Enforcement Directorate, informed it that the summons issued against the three accused on the last date of hearing could not be executed. It had on November 31 last year issued an open-ended NBW against James and summons against other three accused in the case, saying, “There is prima facie evidence against the accused.” The NBW was issued against James after ED had told the court that the alleged middleman was out of India and pressed for an arrest warrant against him to bring him here to face the trial. An open-ended NBW (arrest warrant) does not carry a time limit for its execution.
In June last year, ED had filed a 1,300-page prosecution complaint (equivalent for charge sheet) in connection with its money laundering probe in the case. It had said the agency’s investigation into the case had found that James allegedly received Euro 30 million (about Rs 225 crore) from M/s AgustaWestland which was nothing but “kickbacks” paid by the firm to execute the deal for sale of 12 helicopters to India in favour of the firm in “guise” of genuine transactions for performing multiple work contracts in the country.
James is one of the three alleged middlemen being probed in the case, apart from Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa, by ED and CBI. Both the agencies have also notified an Interpol Red Corner Notice (RCN) or the global arrest warrant against James after a court had earlier also issued an NBW against him. The present complaint delved into the alleged detailed role of James in the deal, his multiple visits to India and his transactions. The first complaint in the case was filed in November 2014. According to sources, ED has already sought James’ extradition from the UK.
In the this complaint, the agency has also claimed that the three middlemen “managed” to make inroads into the Indian Air Force in order to influence and subvert the stand of the force regarding reducing the service ceiling — the altitude at which a helicopter can fly —- from 6,000 metres to 4,500 metres in 2005 after which AgustaWestland became eligible to supply the choppers for VVIP flying duties.
It said that remittances made by James through his Dubai- based firm Ms Global Services, FZE to a media firm he floated in Delhi, along with two Indians, were made from the funds which he got from Ms AgustaWestland SpA through “criminal activity” and corruption being done in the chopper deal that led to the subsequent generation of proceeds of crime.
Former IAF chief S P Tyagi was granted bail on December 26 last year while his cousin Sanjeev Tyagi and lawyer Gautam Khaitan were granted the relief on January 4 by the court in a separate case filed by CBI in connection to the same deal. The agency had arrested all the three accused on December 9 last year.
The court passed the order after advocate N K Matta, appearing for the Enforcement Directorate, informed it that the summons issued against the three accused on the last date of hearing could not be executed. It had on November 31 last year issued an open-ended NBW against James and summons against other three accused in the case, saying, “There is prima facie evidence against the accused.” The NBW was issued against James after ED had told the court that the alleged middleman was out of India and pressed for an arrest warrant against him to bring him here to face the trial. An open-ended NBW (arrest warrant) does not carry a time limit for its execution.
In June last year, ED had filed a 1,300-page prosecution complaint (equivalent for charge sheet) in connection with its money laundering probe in the case. It had said the agency’s investigation into the case had found that James allegedly received Euro 30 million (about Rs 225 crore) from M/s AgustaWestland which was nothing but “kickbacks” paid by the firm to execute the deal for sale of 12 helicopters to India in favour of the firm in “guise” of genuine transactions for performing multiple work contracts in the country.
James is one of the three alleged middlemen being probed in the case, apart from Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa, by ED and CBI. Both the agencies have also notified an Interpol Red Corner Notice (RCN) or the global arrest warrant against James after a court had earlier also issued an NBW against him. The present complaint delved into the alleged detailed role of James in the deal, his multiple visits to India and his transactions. The first complaint in the case was filed in November 2014. According to sources, ED has already sought James’ extradition from the UK.
In the this complaint, the agency has also claimed that the three middlemen “managed” to make inroads into the Indian Air Force in order to influence and subvert the stand of the force regarding reducing the service ceiling — the altitude at which a helicopter can fly —- from 6,000 metres to 4,500 metres in 2005 after which AgustaWestland became eligible to supply the choppers for VVIP flying duties.
It said that remittances made by James through his Dubai- based firm Ms Global Services, FZE to a media firm he floated in Delhi, along with two Indians, were made from the funds which he got from Ms AgustaWestland SpA through “criminal activity” and corruption being done in the chopper deal that led to the subsequent generation of proceeds of crime.
Former IAF chief S P Tyagi was granted bail on December 26 last year while his cousin Sanjeev Tyagi and lawyer Gautam Khaitan were granted the relief on January 4 by the court in a separate case filed by CBI in connection to the same deal. The agency had arrested all the three accused on December 9 last year.Business Affairs
To be part of revised estimates: GST receipt estimates not to be part of next financial year’s BE
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As the April 1 deadline for the implementation of the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) looks increasingly out of reach, the Ministry of Finance is likely to continue with its tradition of giving estimates for excise and service tax in the upcoming Budget for 2017-18 (April-March). Estimates for GST receipts for the next financial year will become a part of the revised estimates, not Budget estimates for 2017-18, officials in the know said.
“With uncertainty over April 1 deadline for GST, we will continue with giving estimates for excise and service tax in 2017-18 Budget. Earlier, when the dummy exercise of Budget was being undertaken, we had kept a separate column for GST estimate but now with the matter stuck in GST Council, we will continue with the existing system of estimates for indirect taxes,” a government official said.
The government is constitutionally mandated — as per the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016 passed by Parliament last year — to roll out the indirect tax regime by September 16 this year. Finance minister Arun Jaitley has said that being a transactional tax, GST can be rolled out anytime between April 1-September 16, though the government wants to implement it as early as possible.
“It would be difficult to give indirect tax estimates with breakup (excise and services tax) for half year and then GST estimate for second half. The government has to bring in GST by September, then the estimates for GST will become part of revised estimates than Budget estimates for 2017-18,” another official aware of the developments said.
Usually, the finance ministry begins its pre-Budget meetings by October-end for determining the revised estimates for the ongoing financial year and estimates for the next financial year.
This week, in its eighth meeting, the GST Council was unable to thrash out a consensus over the crucial issue of dual control and definition of territory regarding high sea sales within 12 nautical miles in offshore area of coastal states. Most states, including BJP-ruled Gujarat, have ruled out the April 1 deadline and are expecting GST to be rolled out only after June.
The government is already lagging on the initial timeline for GST having already missed the initial target of Winter Session for passage of supporting legislations for GST. The Centre had initially intended to get the three bills relating to GST—Central GST (CGST) bill, Integrated GST (IGST) bill and the the bill for compensating states for revenue losses—passed in the Winter Session of Parliament.
If the states and the Centre are able to build a consensus on the pending issues in the next meeting of GST Council on January 16, the bills are likely to be brought up for passage in the Budget Session by the Centre. Subsequently, states will have to pass the state GST (SGST) bill, a mirror image of the CGST bill, in their respective assemblies.
The resolution of dual control, which pertains to division of administrative control over tax assessees between the Centre and the states, will be crucial for timely implementation of GST. States have been demanding exclusive control over tax assessees with annual turnover below Rs 1.5 crore, but Centre has not relented so far on this demand and the issue has been pending with the GST Council since its second meeting in September.
According to the updated figures shared by the Centre with the states, the likely taxpayer base in GST would be 107 lakhs, out of which states account for 67 per cent (71.7 lakhs) and Centre is estimated to account for 33 per cent (35.3 lakhs). There are around 81.4 lakh VAT dealers, out of which active dealers are 66.5 lakhs. For service tax, there are 38 lakhs assessees, out of which 26 lakhs are active assessees, while there are around 4,00,000 assessees for excise. Around 4,00,000 taxpayers are common to the Centre and the states.
“With uncertainty over April 1 deadline for GST, we will continue with giving estimates for excise and service tax in 2017-18 Budget. Earlier, when the dummy exercise of Budget was being undertaken, we had kept a separate column for GST estimate but now with the matter stuck in GST Council, we will continue with the existing system of estimates for indirect taxes,” a government official said.
The government is constitutionally mandated — as per the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016 passed by Parliament last year — to roll out the indirect tax regime by September 16 this year. Finance minister Arun Jaitley has said that being a transactional tax, GST can be rolled out anytime between April 1-September 16, though the government wants to implement it as early as possible.
“It would be difficult to give indirect tax estimates with breakup (excise and services tax) for half year and then GST estimate for second half. The government has to bring in GST by September, then the estimates for GST will become part of revised estimates than Budget estimates for 2017-18,” another official aware of the developments said.
Usually, the finance ministry begins its pre-Budget meetings by October-end for determining the revised estimates for the ongoing financial year and estimates for the next financial year.
This week, in its eighth meeting, the GST Council was unable to thrash out a consensus over the crucial issue of dual control and definition of territory regarding high sea sales within 12 nautical miles in offshore area of coastal states. Most states, including BJP-ruled Gujarat, have ruled out the April 1 deadline and are expecting GST to be rolled out only after June.
The government is already lagging on the initial timeline for GST having already missed the initial target of Winter Session for passage of supporting legislations for GST. The Centre had initially intended to get the three bills relating to GST—Central GST (CGST) bill, Integrated GST (IGST) bill and the the bill for compensating states for revenue losses—passed in the Winter Session of Parliament.
If the states and the Centre are able to build a consensus on the pending issues in the next meeting of GST Council on January 16, the bills are likely to be brought up for passage in the Budget Session by the Centre. Subsequently, states will have to pass the state GST (SGST) bill, a mirror image of the CGST bill, in their respective assemblies.
The resolution of dual control, which pertains to division of administrative control over tax assessees between the Centre and the states, will be crucial for timely implementation of GST. States have been demanding exclusive control over tax assessees with annual turnover below Rs 1.5 crore, but Centre has not relented so far on this demand and the issue has been pending with the GST Council since its second meeting in September.
According to the updated figures shared by the Centre with the states, the likely taxpayer base in GST would be 107 lakhs, out of which states account for 67 per cent (71.7 lakhs) and Centre is estimated to account for 33 per cent (35.3 lakhs). There are around 81.4 lakh VAT dealers, out of which active dealers are 66.5 lakhs. For service tax, there are 38 lakhs assessees, out of which 26 lakhs are active assessees, while there are around 4,00,000 assessees for excise. Around 4,00,000 taxpayers are common to the Centre and the states.
India better placed amidst fragile world economy: FSDC in its 16th meeting
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The government expects its measures on elimination of the shadow economy and tax evasion to have a positive impact on GDP and fiscal consolidation in the long run, finance minister Arun Jaitley said while chairing the Sixteenth Meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC). The Council, which has heads of all financial sector regulators as its members, reviewed the major issues and challenges facing the economy in its 16th meeting held on Thursday.
“The world economy is quite fragile yet India appears to be much better placed today on the back of improvement in its macroeconomic fundamentals,” Jaitley was quoted as saying in a finance ministry statement.
The Council also reviewed the status of NPAs of public sector banks and the measures taken by the government and the RBI for tackling the stressed assets and discussed about further action to be taken in this regard, the statement said.
In the meeting, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian made a presentation on the state of the economy.
“The Council reviewed the major issues and challenges facing the economy and noted that India appears to be much better placed today on the back of improvement in its macroeconomic fundamentals,” it said.
Also, the regulators offered their suggestions for the upcoming Budget for 2017-18, which were discussed by the Council.
The meeting was attended by RBI Governor Urjit Patel along with Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das, Financial Services Secretary Anjuly Chib Duggal, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia, Disinvestment Secretary Neeraj Kumar Gupta, SEBI Chairman U K Sinha, IRDAI Chairman T S Vijayan and PFRDA Chairman Hemant G Contractor.
“FSDC discussed about the various initiatives taken by the government and regulators for promoting financial inclusion/ financial literacy efforts and discussed further measures for promoting the same,” the statement said.
A brief report on the activities undertaken by the FSDC sub-committee, chaired by RBI Governor Urjit Patel, was placed before the FSDC. The Council also undertook a comprehensive review of the action taken by members on the decisions taken in earlier meetings of the Council.
“The Council also discussed issues pertaining to Fintech, digital innovations and cyber security. The Council took note of the initiatives taken in this regard by the government and the regulators and discussed on further steps to be taken,” it added.
“The world economy is quite fragile yet India appears to be much better placed today on the back of improvement in its macroeconomic fundamentals,” Jaitley was quoted as saying in a finance ministry statement.
The Council also reviewed the status of NPAs of public sector banks and the measures taken by the government and the RBI for tackling the stressed assets and discussed about further action to be taken in this regard, the statement said.
In the meeting, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian made a presentation on the state of the economy.
“The Council reviewed the major issues and challenges facing the economy and noted that India appears to be much better placed today on the back of improvement in its macroeconomic fundamentals,” it said.
Also, the regulators offered their suggestions for the upcoming Budget for 2017-18, which were discussed by the Council.
The meeting was attended by RBI Governor Urjit Patel along with Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das, Financial Services Secretary Anjuly Chib Duggal, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia, Disinvestment Secretary Neeraj Kumar Gupta, SEBI Chairman U K Sinha, IRDAI Chairman T S Vijayan and PFRDA Chairman Hemant G Contractor.
“FSDC discussed about the various initiatives taken by the government and regulators for promoting financial inclusion/ financial literacy efforts and discussed further measures for promoting the same,” the statement said.
A brief report on the activities undertaken by the FSDC sub-committee, chaired by RBI Governor Urjit Patel, was placed before the FSDC. The Council also undertook a comprehensive review of the action taken by members on the decisions taken in earlier meetings of the Council.
“The Council also discussed issues pertaining to Fintech, digital innovations and cyber security. The Council took note of the initiatives taken in this regard by the government and the regulators and discussed on further steps to be taken,” it added.A brief report on the activities undertaken by the FSDC sub-committee, chaired by RBI Governor Urjit Patel, was placed before the FSDC. The Council also undertook a comprehensive review of the action taken by members on the decisions taken in earlier meetings of the Council.
Cards, ATMs, POS will be redundant by 2020 in India: Niti Aayog
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Amid the big push being given to digital transactions post-demonetisation, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant today said cards, ATMs and POS machines would become redundant in the country by 2020. “….India is in the midst of huge huge disruption in the world of both financial technology and in terms of social innovation (there is) huge huge innovation and this disruption will enable India to leapfrog…,” he said.
“…and by 2020 my view is that in the next two-and-a-half years, India will make all its debit cards, credit cards, all ATM machines all POS machines totally irrelevant,” Kant told a session at Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2017, a three-day mega event of Indian diaspora. He said, “They will all become redundant in India, and India will make this jump because every Indian will be doing his transaction just by using his thumb in thirty seconds….”
Speaking at a session on ‘Startups and innovations which have social impact in India’ at the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas here, he said, “What we are pushing now is digital payment in a very big way and it is a huge disruption with several innovative methods. “India has created a back end in terms of biometric which will enable India…,” he said, highlighting recently launched BHIM app and Aadhar enabled payment system initiatives.
Pointing out that India is the only country with a billion mobile and billion biometric, Kant also noted that India is largely a cash driven economy. He said whatever the biggest attempts of demonetisation and push for digital payment, only 2 to 2.5 per cent of Indians pay taxes, so India needs to move from a non-formal to a formal economy. “It is impossible for India to become a 10 trillion economy like this….two trillion dollar is a formal economy and another one trillion dollar is an informal black economy. It is not possible for India to grow. So you need convert the non-formal economy to a formal economy, thats what the effort is,” he added.
Noting that ability of people living in rural areas to utilise technology to leapfrog is much quicker and faster than literate people living in urban areas, Kant said in social innovation and financial technology it was the young Indians who were disrupting the world. He said they will enable India’s leapfrog and take it to a 10 trillion dollar economy. “…so the young people of India must have the hunger, ambition and passion to drive India to innovation, to startups and disrupt India in a manner that it has never seen before,” he added.
Noting that India is growing at about 7.6 per cent per annum, Kant said it is an oasis of growth in the midst of a “very very barren economic landscape” across the world and the challenge for the country was to grow at even higher rates of 9 or 10 per cent for a period of three decades or more. Speaking about India’s largest young population, he said
it was a huge opportunity for the country.
“This is the biggest social and economic phenomenon that is taking place across the world, as the population across Europe and America is getting older, the population in India is getting younger…” he added. Listing out various reforms agenda and ease of doing business initiatives taken up by the government and country’s FDI growth, Kant stressed on the huge emphasis for the startup movement which helps in job creation and addresses challenges faced by country by finding solutions.
“…and by 2020 my view is that in the next two-and-a-half years, India will make all its debit cards, credit cards, all ATM machines all POS machines totally irrelevant,” Kant told a session at Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2017, a three-day mega event of Indian diaspora. He said, “They will all become redundant in India, and India will make this jump because every Indian will be doing his transaction just by using his thumb in thirty seconds….”
Speaking at a session on ‘Startups and innovations which have social impact in India’ at the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas here, he said, “What we are pushing now is digital payment in a very big way and it is a huge disruption with several innovative methods. “India has created a back end in terms of biometric which will enable India…,” he said, highlighting recently launched BHIM app and Aadhar enabled payment system initiatives.
Pointing out that India is the only country with a billion mobile and billion biometric, Kant also noted that India is largely a cash driven economy. He said whatever the biggest attempts of demonetisation and push for digital payment, only 2 to 2.5 per cent of Indians pay taxes, so India needs to move from a non-formal to a formal economy. “It is impossible for India to become a 10 trillion economy like this….two trillion dollar is a formal economy and another one trillion dollar is an informal black economy. It is not possible for India to grow. So you need convert the non-formal economy to a formal economy, thats what the effort is,” he added.
Noting that ability of people living in rural areas to utilise technology to leapfrog is much quicker and faster than literate people living in urban areas, Kant said in social innovation and financial technology it was the young Indians who were disrupting the world. He said they will enable India’s leapfrog and take it to a 10 trillion dollar economy. “…so the young people of India must have the hunger, ambition and passion to drive India to innovation, to startups and disrupt India in a manner that it has never seen before,” he added.
Noting that India is growing at about 7.6 per cent per annum, Kant said it is an oasis of growth in the midst of a “very very barren economic landscape” across the world and the challenge for the country was to grow at even higher rates of 9 or 10 per cent for a period of three decades or more. Speaking about India’s largest young population, he said
it was a huge opportunity for the country.
“This is the biggest social and economic phenomenon that is taking place across the world, as the population across Europe and America is getting older, the population in India is getting younger…” he added. Listing out various reforms agenda and ease of doing business initiatives taken up by the government and country’s FDI growth, Kant stressed on the huge emphasis for the startup movement which helps in job creation and addresses challenges faced by country by finding solutions.it was a huge opportunity for the country.
SC bars Aircel from trading its 2G, says can’t use assets of nation and not face its law
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Making it clear that a foreign-based company and its owners cannot be permitted to use the resources of India and make money despite frustrating the process of law, the Supreme Court Friday said that the 2G spectrum of network provider Aircel shall be seized if the Malaysia-based controller company and its owner do not appear before 2G trial court in four weeks.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India J S Khehar asked the Maxis group of companies and its owner Ananda Krishnan to show up before the trial court and explain their non-appearance, despite repeated summons and warrants, if they want the adverse order to be altered. “We will not allow anyone to use the assets of this country and run away from the process of law. If he (Krishnan) wants to use 2G spectrum, he must come here and face the law. He cannot use the resources of this country and not face the law,” said the bench, also comprising Justices N V Ramana and D Y Chandrachud.
Issuing his first order in the batch of 2G cases after taking over as CJI, Justice Khehar was unequivocal: “Everyone must face the due process of law. He must present himself before the legal process. One cannot use the assets of this country and say, no I will not come there. We will not allow that.”
“Spectrum is a very valuable resource and you can make a lot of money using it. If that money is earned on account of fraud and not facing the legal process, then we cannot allow that money to be earned by anyone. If a party refuses to accept summons and to appear, then we cannot let them use the spectrum until they appear and explain themselves. They cannot defeat the process of law,” the bench said.
It maintained that all earnings of Aircel shall be restrained and that the prohibition shall become enforceable if Maxis, Krishnan and one of its directors, Augustus Ralph Marshall, fail to accept court summons and show up. The bench also stayed “selling and trading in the 2G spectrum under consideration” – an order which is likely to affect India’s biggest consolidation deal in the telecom sector whereby Reliance Communications of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group had declared merger of its mobile phone services business with Aircel.
The court order on prohibiting share-holding pattern of Aircel came after senior counsel K K Venugopal and Anand Grover, representing the CBI in 2G cases, informed the bench that RCom and Maxis had declared a financial arrangement with respect to stakes in Aircel. “It is imperative to ensure, in our considered view, that the process of law should not be permitted to be frustrated by non-service of summons on the accused,” said the bench, asking the Department of Telecom and Ministry of Communication and Information Technology to devise modalities in the meantime to ensure Aircel subscribers are not affected and that they get services from some other network provider. The government has also been asked to get the apex court order published in two leading newspapers in Malaysia so that Maxis and others are officially apprised of the mandate.
“It is also clarified that in case the proposed order is passed, it will not be open to any of the accused to raise an objection with reference to any monetary loss, emerging out of the proposed order,” stated the bench, fixing the next hearing for February 3. Meanwhile, the bench was also informed that the 2G trial court was likely to frame charges against the other accused in the matter, including former Union Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran and his brother Kalanithi, on January 9.
According to the CBI chargesheet, Aircel owner C Sivasankaran was arm-twisted by then minister Dayanidhi Maran to sell majority shares to Krishnan and his company Maxis in Malaysia. Maran allegedly received a bribe of Re 642 crore for this deal. Despite repeated summons and arrest warrants issued by the trial court, Krishnan and the director of Maxis did not appear before the 2G trial court, either in person or through their legal representative. During the hearing on Friday, the bench also agreed to examine whether the CBI and Enforcement Directorate should engage their own counsel and told senior advocate K K Venugopal that he should continue as amicus curiae to assist the court in the matter.
“Every party has a right to choose his own counsel. We cannot thrust a lawyer on any party. Let us see who appears for them (CBI and ED),” observed the bench, while referring to a court order in September 2015 when the bench had requested Venugopal to continue appearing for the agencies as amicus. The senior counsel wanted to leave the matter in the wake of a communication he had received from an Under Secretary-level officer from the Revenue Department about his removal.
On February 3, the bench will also take up a plea by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy on alleged illegalities in grant of a clearance by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to Maxis in taking over stakes in Aircel in 2006.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India J S Khehar asked the Maxis group of companies and its owner Ananda Krishnan to show up before the trial court and explain their non-appearance, despite repeated summons and warrants, if they want the adverse order to be altered. “We will not allow anyone to use the assets of this country and run away from the process of law. If he (Krishnan) wants to use 2G spectrum, he must come here and face the law. He cannot use the resources of this country and not face the law,” said the bench, also comprising Justices N V Ramana and D Y Chandrachud.
Issuing his first order in the batch of 2G cases after taking over as CJI, Justice Khehar was unequivocal: “Everyone must face the due process of law. He must present himself before the legal process. One cannot use the assets of this country and say, no I will not come there. We will not allow that.”
“Spectrum is a very valuable resource and you can make a lot of money using it. If that money is earned on account of fraud and not facing the legal process, then we cannot allow that money to be earned by anyone. If a party refuses to accept summons and to appear, then we cannot let them use the spectrum until they appear and explain themselves. They cannot defeat the process of law,” the bench said.
It maintained that all earnings of Aircel shall be restrained and that the prohibition shall become enforceable if Maxis, Krishnan and one of its directors, Augustus Ralph Marshall, fail to accept court summons and show up. The bench also stayed “selling and trading in the 2G spectrum under consideration” – an order which is likely to affect India’s biggest consolidation deal in the telecom sector whereby Reliance Communications of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group had declared merger of its mobile phone services business with Aircel.
The court order on prohibiting share-holding pattern of Aircel came after senior counsel K K Venugopal and Anand Grover, representing the CBI in 2G cases, informed the bench that RCom and Maxis had declared a financial arrangement with respect to stakes in Aircel. “It is imperative to ensure, in our considered view, that the process of law should not be permitted to be frustrated by non-service of summons on the accused,” said the bench, asking the Department of Telecom and Ministry of Communication and Information Technology to devise modalities in the meantime to ensure Aircel subscribers are not affected and that they get services from some other network provider. The government has also been asked to get the apex court order published in two leading newspapers in Malaysia so that Maxis and others are officially apprised of the mandate.
“It is also clarified that in case the proposed order is passed, it will not be open to any of the accused to raise an objection with reference to any monetary loss, emerging out of the proposed order,” stated the bench, fixing the next hearing for February 3. Meanwhile, the bench was also informed that the 2G trial court was likely to frame charges against the other accused in the matter, including former Union Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran and his brother Kalanithi, on January 9.
According to the CBI chargesheet, Aircel owner C Sivasankaran was arm-twisted by then minister Dayanidhi Maran to sell majority shares to Krishnan and his company Maxis in Malaysia. Maran allegedly received a bribe of Re 642 crore for this deal. Despite repeated summons and arrest warrants issued by the trial court, Krishnan and the director of Maxis did not appear before the 2G trial court, either in person or through their legal representative. During the hearing on Friday, the bench also agreed to examine whether the CBI and Enforcement Directorate should engage their own counsel and told senior advocate K K Venugopal that he should continue as amicus curiae to assist the court in the matter.
“Every party has a right to choose his own counsel. We cannot thrust a lawyer on any party. Let us see who appears for them (CBI and ED),” observed the bench, while referring to a court order in September 2015 when the bench had requested Venugopal to continue appearing for the agencies as amicus. The senior counsel wanted to leave the matter in the wake of a communication he had received from an Under Secretary-level officer from the Revenue Department about his removal.
On February 3, the bench will also take up a plea by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy on alleged illegalities in grant of a clearance by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to Maxis in taking over stakes in Aircel in 2006.
Road ministry wants India Inc to spend CSR funds on safety front
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Keen on reducing the number of accidents on roads by half by 2019, road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari has decided to reach out to the corporate sector, seeking their help in inculcating a culture on road safety in society and take up road safety as a part of their corporate social responsibility programme.
The minister will send out his plea to the corporate sector in a conclave being organised by the industry association CII during the course of the week-long Road Safety Week starting Monday.
The ministry will ask the Indian Inc to teach their employees and their families imbibe a culture on road safety and use their logistics and carriers to propagate the message of road safety and thirdly, to make a certain commitment from their CSR spends on projects of road safety advocacy.
“We will not ask them to give a mandate on that. We will just request them to take up road safety as a voluntary activity. But, we expect that a large number of corporate join in our initiative,” said Abhay Damle, Joint Secretary, MoRTH.
According to the rules, companies with at least Rs 5 crore net profit or Rs 1,000-crore turnover or having net worth of Rs 500 crore need to spend at least 2 per cent of their three-year’s average net profit on CSR in each financial year.
Educating the masses and promotion of road safety awareness in all facets of road usage, drivers’ training, training of enforcement personnel and promoting awareness through print, audio and visual media could be good medium to utilise the CSR fund for the corporate.
Talking to media recently, Gadkari also said that he would request religious and spiritual trusts to also contribute for creating awareness on road safety. With 1.4 lakh deaths on roads in 2015, India accounts for 11 per cent of all road traffic fatalities in the world. As per a World Bank study, road deaths have gone up by 53 per cent in India in the last 10 years starting from 2005.
Keen on reducing the number of accidents on roads by half by 2019, road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari has decided to reach out to the corporate sector, seeking their help in inculcating a culture on road safety in society and take up road safety as a part of their corporate social responsibility programme.
The minister will send out his plea to the corporate sector in a conclave being organised by the industry association CII during the course of the week-long Road Safety Week starting Monday.
The ministry will ask the Indian Inc to teach their employees and their families imbibe a culture on road safety and use their logistics and carriers to propagate the message of road safety and thirdly, to make a certain commitment from their CSR spends on projects of road safety advocacy.
“We will not ask them to give a mandate on that. We will just request them to take up road safety as a voluntary activity. But, we expect that a large number of corporate join in our initiative,” said Abhay Damle, Joint Secretary, MoRTH.
According to the rules, companies with at least Rs 5 crore net profit or Rs 1,000-crore turnover or having net worth of Rs 500 crore need to spend at least 2 per cent of their three-year’s average net profit on CSR in each financial year.
Educating the masses and promotion of road safety awareness in all facets of road usage, drivers’ training, training of enforcement personnel and promoting awareness through print, audio and visual media could be good medium to utilise the CSR fund for the corporate.
Talking to media recently, Gadkari also said that he would request religious and spiritual trusts to also contribute for creating awareness on road safety. With 1.4 lakh deaths on roads in 2015, India accounts for 11 per cent of all road traffic fatalities in the world. As per a World Bank study, road deaths have gone up by 53 per cent in India in the last 10 years starting from 2005.
General Awareness
16th Financial Stability and Development Council Meeting Held in New Delhi
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The 16th edition of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) meeting was held on January 5, 2017 in New Delhi under the Chairmanship of the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
Aim: The FSDC meeting was held to discuss about the obstacles faced by the economy and to bring out the solution to tackle them. Besides, it also aimed at bringing new suggestions and outcomes in order to benefit the upcoming Budget 2017-18.
The important dignitaries present during the meeting included RBI Governor Urjit Patel along with Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das, Financial Services Secretary Anjuly Chib Duggal, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia, Disinvestment Secretary Neeraj Kumar Gupta, SEBI Chairman U K Sinha, IRDAI Chairman T S Vijayan and PFRDA Chairman Hemant G Contractor.
Key Discussions Held During the Meeting
i.While chairing the meeting, the Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley emphasized the significance of demonetization decision saying that the government’s measures to eliminate the shadow economy and tax evasion are expected to have a positive impact both on GDP and on fiscal consolidation in the long run.
ii.The Council, which has heads of all financial sector regulators as its members, reviewed the major issues and challenges facing the economy and noted that India appears to be much better, placed today on the back of improvement in its macroeconomic fundamentals.
iii.Financial regulators gave suggestions to promote financial stability and also discussed the measures and initiatives to establish and promote the financial stability. Also, the regulators offered their suggestions for the upcoming Budget for 2017-18, which were discussed by the Council.
iv.In the meeting, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian made a presentation on the state of the economy.
v.FSDC discussed about the various initiatives taken by the government and regulators for promoting financial inclusion/ financial literacy efforts and discussed further measures for promoting the same.
vi.A brief report on the activities undertaken by the FSDC sub-committee, chaired by RBI Governor Urjit Patel, was placed before the FSDC. The Council also undertook a comprehensive review of the action taken by members on the decisions taken in earlier meetings of the Council.
vii.Key issues relating to the increase in non-performing assets (NPAs) in banks were also discussed by the Council. It reviewed the status of NPAs of public sector banks and the measures taken by the government and the RBI for tackling the stressed assets and discussed about further action to be taken in this regard
viii.The Council also discussed issues relating to Fintech, digital innovations and cyber security. The Council took note of the initiatives taken in this regard by the government and the regulators and discussed on further steps to be taken.
About Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC)
i.Financial Stability and Development Council is an apex-level body constituted by the Government of India.
ii.The idea to create such a super regulatory body was first introduced by the Raghuram Rajan Committee in 2008. Finally in 2010, the then Finance Minister of India, Pranab Mukherjee, decided to set up such an autonomous body dealing with macro prudential and financial regularities in the entire financial sector of India.
iii.The new body envisages to strengthen and institutionalize the mechanism of maintaining financial stability, financial sector development, inter-regulatory coordination along with monitoring macro-prudential regulation of economy.
Roles & Responsibilities of the Council
Financial Stability, Financial Sector Development, Inter-Regulatory Coordination, Financial Literacy, Financial Inclusion, Macro prudential supervision of the economy including the functioning of large financial conglomerates
Coordinating India’s international interface with financial sector bodies like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Financial Stability Board (FSB) and any such body as may be decided by the Finance Minister from time to time.
The 16th edition of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) meeting was held on January 5, 2017 in New Delhi under the Chairmanship of the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
Aim: The FSDC meeting was held to discuss about the obstacles faced by the economy and to bring out the solution to tackle them. Besides, it also aimed at bringing new suggestions and outcomes in order to benefit the upcoming Budget 2017-18.
The important dignitaries present during the meeting included RBI Governor Urjit Patel along with Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das, Financial Services Secretary Anjuly Chib Duggal, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia, Disinvestment Secretary Neeraj Kumar Gupta, SEBI Chairman U K Sinha, IRDAI Chairman T S Vijayan and PFRDA Chairman Hemant G Contractor.
Key Discussions Held During the Meeting
i.While chairing the meeting, the Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley emphasized the significance of demonetization decision saying that the government’s measures to eliminate the shadow economy and tax evasion are expected to have a positive impact both on GDP and on fiscal consolidation in the long run.
ii.The Council, which has heads of all financial sector regulators as its members, reviewed the major issues and challenges facing the economy and noted that India appears to be much better, placed today on the back of improvement in its macroeconomic fundamentals.
iii.Financial regulators gave suggestions to promote financial stability and also discussed the measures and initiatives to establish and promote the financial stability. Also, the regulators offered their suggestions for the upcoming Budget for 2017-18, which were discussed by the Council.
iv.In the meeting, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian made a presentation on the state of the economy.
v.FSDC discussed about the various initiatives taken by the government and regulators for promoting financial inclusion/ financial literacy efforts and discussed further measures for promoting the same.
vi.A brief report on the activities undertaken by the FSDC sub-committee, chaired by RBI Governor Urjit Patel, was placed before the FSDC. The Council also undertook a comprehensive review of the action taken by members on the decisions taken in earlier meetings of the Council.
vii.Key issues relating to the increase in non-performing assets (NPAs) in banks were also discussed by the Council. It reviewed the status of NPAs of public sector banks and the measures taken by the government and the RBI for tackling the stressed assets and discussed about further action to be taken in this regard
viii.The Council also discussed issues relating to Fintech, digital innovations and cyber security. The Council took note of the initiatives taken in this regard by the government and the regulators and discussed on further steps to be taken.
About Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC)
i.Financial Stability and Development Council is an apex-level body constituted by the Government of India.
ii.The idea to create such a super regulatory body was first introduced by the Raghuram Rajan Committee in 2008. Finally in 2010, the then Finance Minister of India, Pranab Mukherjee, decided to set up such an autonomous body dealing with macro prudential and financial regularities in the entire financial sector of India.
iii.The new body envisages to strengthen and institutionalize the mechanism of maintaining financial stability, financial sector development, inter-regulatory coordination along with monitoring macro-prudential regulation of economy.
Roles & Responsibilities of the Council
Financial Stability, Financial Sector Development, Inter-Regulatory Coordination, Financial Literacy, Financial Inclusion, Macro prudential supervision of the economy including the functioning of large financial conglomerates
Coordinating India’s international interface with financial sector bodies like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Financial Stability Board (FSB) and any such body as may be decided by the Finance Minister from time to time.
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