Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

<ul><li>The <keyword id="183099" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="BSE-Auto-Index">BSE Auto index</keyword> surged nearly a percent on December 16, with Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors leading the way. The index has gained 16% since September 30. </li><li>A Parliamentary Standing Committee seeks more stimulus aside from other measures to boost demand, and revive the <keyword id="34478" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="auto-industry">auto industry</keyword> in India. </li><li>The recommendations include regulatory relief, financial incentives for the scrappage policy, discount on research and development and more loans for dealers, but with less collateral. </li><li>The Committee also recommended reducing the GST rate to 18% from 28% to bring down a sizable amount in vehicle price. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/">Check out the latest news and updates on Business Insider.</a> </li></ul>Indian benchmark indices remained in the grip of bulls, recording fresh highs during the trade today and one of the big drivers of today’s rally were the auto stocks. The BSE Auto index surged nearly a percent on December 16, with Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors leading the way. Car and truck makers in India are not in good shape. The car makers were already broken with months of falling sales before the pandemic struck but now, there is hope in the horizon⁠— a parliamentary panel can see their pain. Their proposals include a recommendation to cut Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate by 10%. A Parliamentary Standing Committee, which pegged the loss to the industry at about ₹2,300 crore ($312 million), wants the government to release more stimulus to revive the sector. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Stocks </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Today's gain </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Ashok Leyland </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">5.48% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Tata Motors </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2.07% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">M&amp;M </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1.89 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">TVS Motors </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1.88% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">MRF </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1.62% </td></tr></tbody></table>Source: BSE Auto Index There has been some recovery in auto sales in recent months. But, there is a peculiar situation in India, where the car makers and the dealers can’t agree whether the sales in the month of November were good or not! While the Society of Indian Automobiles, the lobby of car manufacturers, said <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/festive-boost-passenger-vehicle-sales-jump-13-in-november-two-wheelers-rose-14/articleshow/79676027.cms">it has been a great month</a>, the dealers association <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/passenger-vehicle-retail-sales-rise-4-two-wheeler-decline-21-despite-festive-boost-fada/articleshow/79622188.cms">wasn’t as excited</a>. The recommendation from the Parliamentary panel has come at a time when car makers like Maruti and Mahindra &amp; Mahindra have already announced discounts⁠— a usual fair at the end of every year⁠— after a losing an entire year to the pandemic and its extended impact. The recovery of this segment of industry is important because it employs a large number of people, many unskilled or less-skilled ones, and as per the panel’s estimate, 345,000 people have already lost their jobs. These are major items recommended by the Parliamentary Standing Committee: <ul><li>Consider wages paid to contract workers as charity: The committee recommended that the expenditure incurred by automakers for making payments to the temporary and contract labour during the lockdown period should be eligible as corporate social responsibility (CSR) expense. This move will help the automaker from tax paid on salaries. </li></ul><ul><li>Give more time to pay suppliers and vendors: It also recommended that the condition to avail ITC (Input Tax Credit) requiring payment of invoice to the supplier within 180 days of invoice to be done away with, till the situation returns to normal. Or at least should be provided with a waiver of interest which is charged from the date of invoice of the supplier, as most payments to the vendors will be deferred in the present scenario. The input credit helps the automaker to reduce the already paid raw material tax at the time of paying tax on output. </li></ul><ul><li>Reduce need for testing and regulatory approvals: A provision should be made for acceptance of self-certification by OEMs, instead of testing and approval by Government agencies for meeting regulatory requirements. Also a prioritised attention should be given to new approvals of alternate materials/parts identified for testing for compliance and validation purposes and fast track approvals by testing agencies. </li></ul><ul><li>Double the waiver on demurrage charge: Instead of 50%, 100% waiver on demurrage charges to be provided at the Airports/Seaports and rail yards until 1 month post resumption of full commercial production. </li></ul><ul><li>Reduce depreciation on value of vehicles: To make up the lost sales in March 2020 vehicles purchased till May 30 be permitted to enjoy 6 months depreciation in FY 2019-2020 — which will help in stimulating sales. </li></ul><ul><li>Discount on research and development: The government should also give a temporary exemption on import/export taxes and a 50% discount in testing prices in National Automotive Testing and R&amp;D Infrastructure Project (NATRIP) facilities.</li></ul><ul><li>More loans for dealers, but with less collateral: The Committee also recommended that the collateral norms for regular loan products for Auto Dealers should be moderate for availing required finance. It addressed that though banks have been facing various challenges because of bad loans, however, they should not look at all financial lendings with the same eye as the recovery rate is very high in the <keyword id="46265" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Auto-sector">auto sector</keyword>.</li></ul><ul><li>Financial incentives in the Scrappage Policy: The committee said that in addition to setting of Automotive Vehicle Scrapping Facility (AVSF) centres across the country, the government should make provisions for upfront financial incentives in the Scrappage Policy to boost demand for purchase of new vehicles. </li></ul><ul><li>GST reduction: To mitigate this cost increase, the Committee said the reduced GST rate to 18% from 28% at the moment. It said it will bring down a sizable amount in vehicle price creating more demand for newer vehicles. The increased sale due to the reduction in GST rate, will cover up the loss in GST revenue.</li></ul>Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations of India President Vinkesh Gulati welcomes the recommendations from the Parliamentary Standing Committee. “We had recommended One Nation – One Road Tax. I am happy to note that the committee found it relevant. It will also be praiseworthy if the Government accepts the committee’s recommendation of introducing effective rate of depreciation as 25% on permanent basis thus helping in improving sales,” he said in a statement to Business Insider. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/interview-home-recipes-that-are-set-for-a-7-million-ipo-mrs-bectors-food-is-no-cookie-cutter/articleshow/79721783.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink"> INTERVIEW: Home recipes that are set for a $73 million IPO⁠— Mrs Bector’s Food is no cookie cutter</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-and-reliance-industries-mukesh-ambani-spoke-but-had-no-chemistry/articleshow/79739547.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Zuckerberg spoke to Ambani but there was no chemistry — even with a multi-million dollar partnership between them</a>

India’s auto stocks cheer after Parliamentary Panel agrees that they need more stimulus and the dealers need loans with less collateral

Bhubaneswar, Dec 13 () The RBI Central Board on Friday reviewed functioning of the urban cooperative banks and enforcement framework in the backdrop of scam in the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank affecting lakhs of depositors.
 The Central Board headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das also discussed the current economic situation, as well as the domestic and global challenges facing the country, the central bank said in a release.
 "The Board's discussions focussed on issues related to urban cooperative banks, extension of enforcement policy and framework to cooperative banks and NBFCs (non-banking financial companies)," it said.
 Following exposure of scam in the PMC Bank, which had over 9.15 lakh depositors, the RBI had imposed restrictions on withdrawals.
 Statutory inspection of PMC by the RBI had revealed large group exposure toward Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) Group companies to the tune of about Rs 6,226.01 crore (inclusive of interest accrued in the related accounts).
 Out of the total exposure of Rs 6,226.01 crore at the end of March 2019 to the HDIL group, only Rs 439.58 crore was disclosed to the RBI and remaining Rs 5,786.43 crore remained undisclosed.
 The RBI release further said the report on trend and progress of banking in India for the year 2018-19 and other policy and operational issues.
 RBI Deputy Governors N S Vishwanathan, B P Kanungo and Mahesh Kumar Jain and other directors of the Central Board -- N Chandrasekaran, Bharat Doshi, Sudhir Mankad, Manish Sabharwal, Ashok Gulati, Prasanna Kumar Mohanty, Satish Marathe, Swaminathan Gurumurthy and Revathy Iyer, attended the meeting.
 Union Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar also attended the meeting. NKD CS HRS

RBI Central Board discusses functioning of co-operative banks

US President <keyword id="6354484" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Donald-Trump">Donald Trump</keyword> has lauded Indian-American scientists and researchers for their efforts in developing medicines and vaccines to treat the deadly <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword>. <keyword id="6354862" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="trump">Trump</keyword> said the US was closely working with India to tackle the pandemic. "We have a tremendous Indian population in the United States and many of the people that you are talking about are working on the vaccine too. Great scientists and researchers," Trump told reporters in the Rose Garden of the White House on Friday. He was responding to the Indian-American community's appreciation of his fight against the coronavirus. This is the first time that a president has recognised the scientific and research talent of the Indian-American community. A large number of scientists are engaged in cutting edge research in various aspects of medical science, including at the National Institute of Health, universities, research institutes and bio-pharma startups. There are an estimated 4 million Indian-Americans in the United States, of which about 2.5 million are potential voters in the 2020 presidential elections this November. As a presidential candidate, Trump was the first nominee to hold a separate election rally for Indian-Americans in October 2016 in New Jersey. Since then he has described himself as the best friend of India and Indian-Americans at the White House. According to the co-chair of Trump Victory Indian-American Finance Committee, Al Masson, the president is not just a sensitive guardian to his 325 million fellow Americans, he is also their resolute and humanitarian commander-in-chief. "He has brought forth his true empathy and determination -- blended with just the right solutions to fight this "Made in China" coronavirus pandemic. His mission is to save American lives and revive the American economy. By doing whatever it takes," Mason said on Friday. "Trump is unbeatable. His critics and enemies should leave him alone. They should let him focus on fighting for all Americans against the invisible coronavirus pandemic and rebuilding the economy. He is a master at whatever he builds and he believes in the power of prayer," said Mason. Senior Advisor to Donald J Trump for President, Inc. and National Chair of the Trump Victory Finance Committee Kimberly Guilfoyle, in a recent op-ed in The Daily Caller, said Trump has the American people on his side. "At this point, Team Trump has raised over USD 742 million with over USD 255 million cash on hand. Since the transition to a virtual national campaign, Trump Victory, in coordination with the Republican National Convention, has made over 20 million voter contacts and added more than 300,000 new volunteers, bringing the total to 1 million volunteers trained and activated," Guilfoyle wrote. The amount raised by Indian-Americans for Trump's campaign is not available as of now. The coronavirus, which first emerged in China's Wuhan city has claimed over 3,00,000 lives with 4.5 million confirmed infections across the world so far. The US alone accounts for over 87,000 COVID-19 deaths. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/indian-women-dont-like-being-gig-workers/articleshow/75757460.cms">Indian women don’t like being gig workers ⁠— the potentially $450 billion industry has to woo them with fair pay to start with</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/carry-minati-youtube-vs-tiktok-video-removed-for-violating-terms-of-service/articleshow/75749665.cms">Carry Minati's 'YouTube vs TikTok' video removed for violating terms of service — fans claim injustice</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/ashok-gulati-interview-on-essential-commodities-act-and-apmc-changes/articleshow/75760364.cms">"I have been asking for this for 20 years," says Ashok Gulati, agriculture scientist ⁠— cheering the changes to Essential Commodities Act and APMC</a>

Trump lauds Indian-American scientists for their efforts in developing a coronavirus vaccines and medicines

Mumbai, Apr 1 () Over 300 economists, academics, social scientists and past civil servants have urged the prime minister and chief ministers to take urgent steps to ameliorate the impact on the Covid-19 lockdowns on the vulnerable sections by increasing their monthly sustenance support to at least Rs 6,000 per family. Those who made the collective appeal to the prime minister and the chief ministers under the aegis of the Delhi-based Indian Society of Labour Economics include Abhijit Sen, Jean Dreze, Prabhat Patnaik, Deepak Nayyar, Ajit Ghose, Jayati Ghose, SK Thorat, Rakesh Mohan, Ashok Gulati, Bina Agarwal, NC Saxena, Sujata Rao and Meghnad Desai, among others. These economists, social scientists, leaders of labour organisations and former civil servants have appealed for "increasing the minimum central and state contribution to at least Rs 6,000 per month to each woman member of the family in the next three months and the Centre bearing the major portion". They also said all the states should ensure that at least 10 kg free rations per person per month, along with other necessary items, is available for all eligible households, which means three-four-fold increase of the current short-term relief package for impacted informal workers. Welcoming the Centre's Rs 1.7 trillion package and various measures taken by the states, the signatories to this letter, a copy of the same with the , they have proposed urgent additional measures that are required to address the critical gaps that exist in the short-term relief measures announced so far by increasing the package by three-four times. The letter says "cash transfer of Rs 6,000 per month to each household that doesn't have a person in formal employment or is not a tax-payer. The estimated burden of about Rs 3,60,000 crore for three months to be borne principally by the Centre but shared between the Centre and states". On the food and subsistence requirements, they point out that 10 kg cereals and other essential items per person per month free of cost through the PDS and food for the homeless and most distressed, to meet the basic food requirement of the poor in the informal economy who have lost jobs and incomes. They also called for ensuring the contract employees are retained by public sector units and also pay them full wages. There also has to be a scheme to compensate the unorganised and MSME sector workers by paying them wages during the lockdown. They have called for providing ex-gratia payments and to ensure that no needy person/household remains outside the social protection net being created to cope with the current calamitous conditions. On those fleeing the cities and got stranded midway- there are 40-50 million seasonal/circular migrants in construction, manufacturing, transport/travel industries and are currently without employment and want to head back to their villages, with their accompanying family members and warned that the numbers will increase as the lockdown extends. They also called for measures to ensure safe harvesting and post-harvesting activities in villages by procurement at MSP and enhanced storage by the FCI and state agencies to prevent a famine-like condition from evolving. Finally, they also appealed for ensuring the safety, security and welfare of the front-line workers, including those engaged in essential services on behalf of governments. BEN MKJ

Over 300 economists, social scientists seek 4-fold hike in payout to vulnerable

<ul><li>Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has hit pause on filing <keyword id="9235757" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="fresh-insolvency-cases">fresh insolvency cases</keyword> for the next one year.</li><li>The minimum threshold for initiating proceedings has also been increased from ₹1 lakh to ₹1 crore.</li><li> Any debt that arose due to the impact of coronavirus won’t be categorised at ‘default’ under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).</li></ul>"Any indebted situation that comes up because of coronavirus will not be considered as ‘default’ and no fresh insolvency proceedings will be initiated for the next one year," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while unveiling the fifth and final tranche of reforms to fight the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the economy. This means for the defaults that happen in the next few months cannot be called non-performing assets (NPA), simply put a bad loan. “At the moment, I think, the MCA has extended it to six months, we intend to increase it by another six months because even once the lockdown lifts, immediately after, you’re not sure how much of business will be restored,” Sitharaman explained. A special insolvency framework will be notified under Section 240 A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Act. These measures will be enforced via ordinance and then later taken to Parliament for approval. The total NPA for India’s banking industry is at ₹7.27 lakh crore, the government said on February 2020. There was a fear of a massive spike in bad loans due to the economic crash caused by the pandemic and the lockdown to contain it. ICICI Securities had expected a 50% jump in gross NPA as nearly ₹2 in every five rupees lent by the banking sector went to “high and medium risk segments”. “We expect credit cost to rise 2.3% and earnings to decline 18%,” the report dated May 13 concluded, ahead of the announcements made by Sitharaman. The latest decisions will improve the prospects for both banks and non-banking financial institutions. A special insolvency framework will be notified under Section 240 A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Act. Not just big businesses, even small businesses shielded The minimum threshold to initiate proceedings has been raised from ₹1 lakh to ₹1 crore to insulate MSMEs. “This is a major step forward, and in all probability, we’ll be going through an ordinance to achieve this goal immediately. Of course, we’ll go back to it, once the parliament commences, to have it passed as an act,” she said. Nearly 10% of all loans made by State Bank of India (SBI), India’s largest bank, are to MSMEs whereas in the case of Axis Bank the proportion is about 7.5%, according to a recent Edelweiss report dated May 13. The reduced risk of NPAs is likely to boost these stocks when the market opens on Monday, May 18. “However, the responsibility for businesses to use this time to stabilize and improve functioning will squarely be there with onus to put better mechanisms for internal governance as creditors would have to forbear an important right during this period of suspension of IBC for a year,” said Kumar Saurabh Singh, a partner at law firm Khaitan and Co. Further, the government decision to reduce the number of central government owned companies will also boost the market sentiment. While it is not clear if banks will be part of the notified list of strategic sectors, the Modi government’s existing stance is to merge public-sector banks and to reduce their number. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/news/finance-minister-nirmala-sitharaman-final-stimulus-plan-to-boost-gdp-of-india/articleshow/75784571.cms">India's Finance Minister reveals the final lot of Modi's economic stimulus programme</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/ashok-gulati-interview-on-essential-commodities-act-and-apmc-changes/articleshow/75760364.cms">"I have been asking for this for 20 years," says Ashok Gulati, agriculture scientist ⁠— cheering the changes to Essential Commodities Act and APMC</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/lt-and-godrej-join-like-boeing-and-lockheed-martin-ula-after-biggest-space-reform/articleshow/75778037.cms">"Now, L&amp;T and Godrej can join hands like Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s ULA," says Gateway House scholar cheering India’s 'biggest space reform'</a>

India puts a pause on new bankruptcy cases for a year ⁠— and other changes that will cap the rise in bad loans

<ul><li><keyword id="6355199" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="reliance-industries">Reliance Industries</keyword>' ₹53,125 crore rights issue will open for subscription on May 20 and close on June 3.</li><li> One will be offered for every 15 shares held at ₹ 1,257 — a 14% discount as per the closing price on April 30.</li><li>The company claims that the rights issue is not about mitigating its debt, but about rewards shareholders.</li></ul> Oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd on Saturday said its mega Rs 53,125 crore rights issue will open for subscription of shareholders on May 20 and close on June 3. Billionaire <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>'s firm had on April 30 announced fund raising of Rs 53,125 crore by way of a 1:15 rights issue -- India's biggest and the first such issue by the firm in nearly three decades. Reliance had earlier fixed May 14 as the record date for determining shareholders' eligible to apply for the issue. In a regulatory filing, the company said the rights issue committee of the board of directors at its meet on May 15 approved issue opening on May 20 and closing date of June 3. "Abridged letter of offer, application form of rights issue, and rights entitlement letter, to be sent to the eligible equity shareholders of the company," it said. One share will be offered for every 15 shares held at Rs 1,257, a 14 per cent discount to the closing price for April 30. Reliance share price has since risen to Rs 1,458.90 (Friday's closing price) but rights issue price remains the same. The proposed rights issuance will be the first by Reliance in three decades. Typically, cash-strapped companies use rights issues to raise money when they really need it. In these rights offerings, companies grant shareholders the right, but not the obligation, to buy new shares at a discount to the current trading price. But for Reliance, it is not about raising funds as it has significant liquidity with USD 23.4 billion of cash and equivalent. It is being seen as an attempt to reward the shareholders, cut debt at the group and underscore promoters' faith in the Reliance growth story. Promoter Ambani family has under-written the entire rights issue, pledging to buy shares that are unsubscribed. The last time Reliance tapped the public for funds was in 1991 when it had issued convertible debentures. The debentures were subsequently converted into equity shares at Rs 55 apiece. Ambani had in August last year unveiled plans to cut debt to zero by 2021. As part of this plan, RIL has been seeking strategic partnerships across its businesses while targeting to deleverage the balance sheet. At the end of March quarter, RIL had an outstanding debt of Rs 3,36,294 crore. It also had cash in hand of Rs 1,75,259 crore, bringing the net debt position to Rs 1,61,035 crore. As part of its balance sheet deleveraging plans, Reliance has sold minority stake in its digital unit Jio Platforms to likes of Facebook. It is also talking to Saudi Aramco for selling a fifth of its oil-to-chemicals business for an asking of USD 15 billion and has sold half of its fuel retail venture to BP Plc for Rs 7,000 crore and telecommunication tower business to Brookfield for Rs 25,200 crore. Together, proceeds from these transactions will result in reduction in RIL's net debt. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/indian-women-dont-like-being-gig-workers/articleshow/75757460.cms">Indian women don’t like being gig workers ⁠— the potentially $450 billion industry has to woo them with fair pay to start with</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/carry-minati-youtube-vs-tiktok-video-removed-for-violating-terms-of-service/articleshow/75749665.cms">Carry Minati's 'YouTube vs TikTok' video removed for violating terms of service — fans claim injustice</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/ashok-gulati-interview-on-essential-commodities-act-and-apmc-changes/articleshow/75760364.cms">"I have been asking for this for 20 years," says Ashok Gulati, agriculture scientist ⁠— cheering the changes to Essential Commodities Act and APMC</a>

Reliance Industries' ₹53,125 crore right issue will kick off on May 20 — you'll have till June 3 to subscribe

President Donald <keyword id="6354862" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="trump">Trump</keyword> has announced that the US will donate a lot of ventilators to India to help it fight the "invisible enemy", moments after he underlined the close partnership between the two countries and called Prime Minister Narendra <keyword id="6354642" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Modi">Modi</keyword> his "good friend". Trump also said the US and India were cooperating to develop a vaccine for the deadly <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> that has claimed 307,666 lives and infected more than 4.5 million people globally since it emerged in China in December last year. India's tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases crossed 85,000 on Friday, surpassing China's count of 82,933 infections. "I am proud to announce that the United States will donate ventilators to our friends in India," Trump said in a tweet. However, the White House did not say how many breathing devices would be sent. "We are sending a lot of ventilators to India. I spoke to Prime Minister Modi. We are sending quite a few ventilators to India. We have tremendous supply of ventilators," Trump told reporters before boarding Marine One on his way to Camp David on Friday. "Together we will beat the invisible enemy! We stand with India and Prime Minister Modi during this pandemic," Trump told reporters in the Rose Garden of the White House. The president is scheduled to spend his weekend at Camp David for a number of meetings. At Trump's request, India had last month allowed the export of 50 million hydroxychloroquine tablets to treat COVID-19 patients in America, the country worst-hit by the pandemic, with 87,530 deaths and over 1.4 million infections reported so far, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Earlier in the day, Trump praised India and Prime Minister Modi. "India has been so great and as you know your prime minister has been a very good friend of mine. I just got back a short while ago from India and we are very much together," the president said, referring to his visit to New Delhi, Ahmedabad and Agra in February. Trump said Indian-Americans were "great" scientists and researchers, who were contributing to the development of the coronavirus vaccine. He said a COVID-19 vaccine would likely be available by the end of the year. Trump has appointed the former head of vaccines at GlaxoSmithKline to spearhead the vaccine development effort. "The president just extolled our great relationship with India. India has been a great partner to us for quite some time. I am encouraged to hear ventilators to India," White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said during a press briefing. She said India will be among several countries that would be getting the ventilators. A number of countries, including India, are trying to procure ventilators needed for hospitals to deal with the demand caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Last month, China said it was ready to help India procure the ventilators to treat coronavirus patients, but underlined that Chinese firms are finding it difficult to scale-up production as they needed imported parts. A ventilator takes over the body's breathing process when disease has caused the lungs to fail. This gives the patient time to fight off the infection and recover. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/indian-women-dont-like-being-gig-workers/articleshow/75757460.cms">Indian women don’t like being gig workers ⁠— the potentially $450 billion industry has to woo them with fair pay to start with</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/carry-minati-youtube-vs-tiktok-video-removed-for-violating-terms-of-service/articleshow/75749665.cms">Carry Minati's 'YouTube vs TikTok' video removed for violating terms of service — fans claim injustice</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/ashok-gulati-interview-on-essential-commodities-act-and-apmc-changes/articleshow/75760364.cms">"I have been asking for this for 20 years," says Ashok Gulati, agriculture scientist ⁠— cheering the changes to Essential Commodities Act and APMC</a>

Trump calls Modi a 'good friend', promising to donate ventilators to India to fight coronavirus

<ul><li>Citing the example of other industries where there are no restrictions on how producers sell their products, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that farmers should have the choice to sell their produce at attractive prices. </li><li>To this end, Sitharaman said that the government will formulate a central law that will provide barrier-free inter-state trade, along with a framework for online trading of agricultural produce. </li><li>However, for this to pass muster, the government will have to garner support from the opposition parties and farmer bodies, who think APMCs are needed to ensure farmers get a good price for their produce. </li></ul>The Modi government is using COVID-19 crisis to push through the <keyword id="6366428" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="APMC">APMC</keyword> reforms it has been talking about for a long time. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made the announcement in the third tranche of the Covid-19 stimulus package today, May 15. Making the announcement, Sitharaman said that this move will give the choice to sell their produce at attractive prices, instead of being tied down to their local APMCs (Agriculture Produce Market Committee). “When you create competition for farmers’ produce, the price improves. There are more buyers, more choices. Farmers will get the benefits of that. Whether you have one buyer or ten buyers for a service makes a difference,” said Ashok Gulati, former chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="75756781" title="These are the top takeaways from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's third installment from Modi's ₹20 lakh crore stimulus" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> APMC reforms might hit a roadblock in non-BJP ruled states Modi has been batting for APMC reforms for a long time now. “It is imperative to swiftly undertake market reforms of our decades old and restricted agriculture produce and marketing committee (APMC) architecture,” PM Modi <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Politics/M6HMO4jTZrn1iwwbypaEbL/Narendra-Modi-calls-for-swift-APMC-reforms-to-benefit-farmer.html">said</a> in a letter to Chief Ministers in 2018. However, these reforms might hit a roadblock in non-BJP ruled states. “The APMCs have existed since 1963 and there is a good reason they have been around for such a long time. Reform is welcome but it cannot endanger an existing structure. Our party will oppose this proposal if and when it comes before the legislature," a NCP leader was quoted as saying by <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Politics/reRgHJ4NW4Sl4EJMXRyzHJ/APMC-reforms-in-Maharashtra-hit-a-roadblock.html">Livemint</a>. Those who favour the existing APMC structure <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mysuru/farmers-oppose-proposed-amendment-to-apmc-act/articleshow/75744758.cms">argue</a> that diluting APMC reforms will give power to multinational companies and corporates. They are also concerned about minimum support price guarantee, without price regulation in place. So far, only BJP-ruled states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have passed APMC reforms. The Karnataka government issued an ordinance, but it was <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/bengaluru-governor-returns-apmc-reforms-ordinance/articleshow/75729589.cms">returned</a> by the state governor earlier today. Sitharaman says the changes will empower farmers Making the announcement, Sitharaman said that farmers should have the freedom of choice to sell their agricultural produce at attractive prices. Further, she said that no other industry restricts producers from selling their product to whomever they want, and at their desired prices. To solve this problem, Sitharaman said that the central government is working on a law. This will remove barriers to inter-state trade and allow farmers to sell their produce to the highest bidder, which should result in increasing their incomes. Apart from this, she also said that a framework for online trading of agricultural produce will also be worked upon. It is likely that this framework will be on the lines of e-NAM, which is a national agriculture market with an online trading platform for farmers. What’s wrong with APMCs? APMCs were set up with the intention to increase farmers’ incomes by making it easier to sell their produce without having to deal with commission agents. However, the government criminalised setting up of competing markets in the same area, essentially creating a monopoly in the form of APMCs. This led to traders forming cartels to artificially lower prices of the agriculture produce they buy from farmers. A 2012 <a href="https://www.cci.gov.in/sites/default/files/AO.pdf">report</a> by the Competition Commission of India cites the example of a visit to Ahmednagar APMC which revealed collusion among traders. These traders then sell the produce at higher prices to end consumers. While APMCs were formed to benefit farmers, it’s the traders who end up milking both farmers as well as consumers. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/essential-commodities-act-to-deregulate-price-of-potatoes-onions-and-pulses/articleshow/75758676.cms">India proposes to deregulate prices of onions, potatoes, pulses and other essential food — prices won’t be capped and one can store as much as needed</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/policy/news/what-is-essential-commodities-act-that-nirmala-sitharaman-wants-to-amend/articleshow/75759156.cms">What is the Essential Commodities Act – the 65-year old act that FM Nirmala Sitharaman said will now be amended</a>

Modi is using the COVID-19 crisis to push through APMC reforms he has wanted for long⁠— but states may oppose

<ul><li>Finance Minister <keyword id="129243" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nirmala-Sitharaman">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword> on May 18 announced the last tranche of the ₹20 lakh crore stimulus package. </li><li>The economic stimulus package included measures like free food grains, hike in foreign direct investment for defence, liquidity measures for MSMEs, amended in Essential Commodities Act, increase in public expenditure in health, among others. </li><li>While the Narendra Modi government promised to allocate 10% of the GDP, the Reserve Bank of India’s measures accounts for nearly half the economic package. </li></ul>Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on May 18 announced the last tranche of the ₹20 lakh crore Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan economic package to fight the coronavirus pandemic led economic slowdown in the country. However, while the Narendra Modi government promised to allocate 10% of the GDP, nearly half of the stimulus package is spent by the Reserve Bank of India. Global investment bank <keyword id="6361649" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Goldman-Sachs">Goldman Sachs</keyword> said that most of the reforms announced by the Indian government will have an impact in the medium term while the short term may see a "deeper recession", and added that the country's real GDP growth may fall 5% in the current financial year ending March 2020. The economic stimulus package included measures like free food grains, hike in foreign direct investment for defence, liquidity measures for MSMEs, amendments in Essential Commodities Act, increase in public expenditure in health, among others. Whereas, the RBI package included measures like moratorium on loan repayments for all borrowers,and interest rate cut etc. “RBI has announced ₹9 lakh crore plus, but the actual money utilised (so far) is ₹8 lakh crore,” FM Nirmala Sitharaman said while explaining the break-up of the stimulus package. PM Narendra Modi said the package was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/pm-modi-promises-to-please-everyone-with-his-stimulus-package/articleshow/75701113.cms">designed keeping in mind</a> factors like land, labour, liquidity and laws. Here’s a breakdown of India’s ₹20 lakh crore stimulus package: <div type="image" title="overall" msid="75798397" hostid="261"></div> The first tranche worth ₹5.94 lakh crore provided a credit line to small businesses and support to shadow banks and electricity distribution companies <div type="image" title="tranche 1" msid="75798413" hostid="261"></div> There <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/news/breaking-down-modi-20-lakh-crore-stimulus-rbi-and-finance-ministry-steps-land-and-labour-laws/articleshow/75709001.cms">were 15 measures,</a> of which 6 were for MSMEs. The definition of SMEs was changed and the investment limit to qualify as MSMEs was raised. During the first tranche, Sitharaman announced ₹3 lakh crore collateral-free automatic loans for businesses. Apart from this, the government also increased the deadline for<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/benefits-for-real-estate-sector-in-finance-minister-20-lakh-crore-stimulus-package/articleshow/75719588.cms"> real estate projects. </a> The second tranche included free foodgrains to stranded migrant workers for two months and credit to farmers, totalling ₹3.10 lakh crore <div type="image" title="tranche 2" msid="75798427" hostid="261"></div> There were <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/news/finance-minister-nirmala-sitharaman-top-news-and-highlights-may-14/articleshow/75736580.cms">nine announcements in all in the second tranch</a>e of the stimulus package which focussed on migrant workers, small traders, small farmers etc. The government announced free food grain supply to migrant workers for 2 months. A National portability of ration cards — One Nation, One Ration card — was announced which allowed people to take ration from any public distribution unit in the country. The third tranche was worth ₹1,50,000 crore and focused on farming and related activities <div type="image" title="tranche 3" msid="75798441" hostid="261"></div> Sitharaman promised to allocate money and quickly ramp up policies in these spaces. The government allocated ₹1 lakh crore to strengthen farm-gate infrastructure. The government said the Essential Commodities Act <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/news/finance-minister-nirmala-sitharaman-live-updates-from-third-tranche-modi-20-lakh-crore-stimulus/articleshow/75756781.cms">will be amended</a> to deregulate prices of cereals, edible oils, oilseeds, pulses, onions, potatoes etc. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/ashok-gulati-interview-on-essential-commodities-act-and-apmc-changes/articleshow/75760364.cms">According to Ashok Gulati</a>, former chairman of Commission of Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), this will allow market prices to prevail over essential commodities. The government also removed stock limit imposed on processors or value chain participants or any exporter subject to export demand, The fourth and fifth tranches that dealt mostly with structural reforms were worth ₹48,100 crore <div type="image" title="tranche 4 and 5" msid="75798458" hostid="261"></div> The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/news/finance-minister-nirmala-sitharaman-live-updates-from-third-tranche-modi-20-lakh-crore-stimulus/articleshow/75756781.cms">reform</a>s focused on coal, minerals, defence production, civil aviation, power distribution in Union Territories, space and atomic energy. India opened up more of its airspace for airlines, and also decided to put 6 airports up for auction. The government said<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/indigo-spicejet-adani-gmr-gvk-share-price-may-gain-after-civil-aviation-reforms/articleshow/75775888.cms"> airlines will fly on shorter routes</a> which would save ₹1,000 crore a year. Separately, the government allowed startups in the space sector to use resources of Indian Space Research Organisation. In the fifth <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/news/finance-minister-nirmala-sitharaman-final-stimulus-plan-to-boost-gdp-of-india/articleshow/75784571.cms">tranche the government added ₹40,000 crore budget allocation</a> in the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA). However, according to a financial services company Nomura, the minimum wage job may be a temporary relief and once the lockdown is over, urban businesses will struggle with the shortage of labour. Several experts have criticised the government’s latest economic package and said it is inadequate to provide immediate relief to the distressed part of the society. “The package may fall short of mitigating the near-term existential crisis for businesses and workers, but is better designed to improve India’s medium-term growth potential and attract long-term risk capital. As a consequence, we maintain our GDP growth projection for 2020 at -5% y-o-y,” Noaura, a global market research firm said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/india-among-58-nations-questioning-who-on-covid-19-response/articleshow/75797251.cms">India among 58 nations questioning WHO on COVID-19 response</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/lockdown-4-0-india-issues-new-guidelines-allowing-states-to-decide-the-red-green-and-orange-zones/articleshow/75790707.cms">Lockdown 4.0 ⁠— India issues new guidelines allowing states to decide the red, green, and orange zones</a>

Here's a breakup of Narendra Modi's ₹20 lakh crore stimulus⁠— RBI measures make up for nearly half of it

The eighth season of Indian reality show Bigg Boss, which started way back in September last year is finally coming to an end. 
 
If reports are to be believed, Gautam Gulati, Preetam Singh and Karishma Tanna are the contestants who are going to fight it out for the winning title and the rumoured prize money of Rs 5 million. 
 
Dimpy Ganguly and Ali Quli Mirza are out of the race and would be eliminated in tonight’s episode. 
 The former host of the show, superstar <keyword id="6354583" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Salman-Khan">Salman Khan</keyword> is rumoured to make a comeback for the season’s finale. 
 
What started off as another yearly season of the reality show was dragged into another show named Bigg Boss Halla Bol, because Chakravartin Ashok Samrat, the show which was supposed to replace <keyword id="1985489" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bigg-Boss-8">Bigg Boss 8</keyword>, was not ready. 
 
The first look of the show was unveiled by Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors, on his social media yesterday. 
 
Picture by BCCL

Bigg Boss 8 To FINALLY Come To An End

The government is planning to restructure the Food Corporation of India (<keyword id="6356889" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="FCI">FCI</keyword>) with the help from IIM-Ahmedabad Dean G Raghuram, agriculture specialist Ashok Gulati and some bureaucrats who will form a committee to make the system efficient. 
 The government had raised the issue in this year's Economic Survey, which proposed food direct transfer of <keyword id="146885" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="food-subsidy">food subsidy</keyword>, which would be more effective and help contain fiscal deficit. The current system of procurement, storage and distribution of grain has many inefficiencies and alleged corruption at various stages. 
 The panel would include Ram Sewak Sharma, secretary for IT and electronics, to propose ways to promote the use of technology in the system. The panel, headed by former Himachal Pradesh chief minister and Lok Sabha MP <keyword id="194696" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shanta-Kumar">Shanta Kumar</keyword>, will give its report in three months. 
 
"The FCI is vested with vital responsibilities of the government, such as procurement, management of central pool stocks and distribution of food grains to state government agencies for various food security programmes. It is commonly perceived that the FCI is plagued today with several functional and cost inefficiencies, which need to be removed for efficient management of food grains and saving costs," the government said.

Govt Constitutes High-level Panel For FCI Restructuring

The crushing defeat of NDA is likely to moderate the pace of economic reforms and there is even a possibility that the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax bill (GST) could face a setback, something that the <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> government has been keen in pushing in the Parliament. 
 
"A victory for the Grand Alliance is only going to increase the resistance to legislative business in Parliament," said a senior official in the finance ministry, who did not wish to be identified. 
 Notably, officials in the finance ministry were awaiting the verdict of the Bihar assembly polls to get a sense of how fast the Narendra Modi government can push the <keyword id="387846" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="GST-Bill">GST bill</keyword> in Parliament. 
 The government lacks a majority in the Rajya Sabha, and may find it extremely difficult to push through legislative changes with an emboldened opposition. The government's plan to gain the numbers advantage in the Rajya Sabha through victories in state elections has also suffered a setback and is likely to hurt legislation. While the government has said it will press ahead with reforms, the <keyword id="483288" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bihar-election-results">Bihar election results</keyword> add an element of doubt, experts say. 
 
"Indian financial markets were cautious ahead of the election results, and a result against the BJP should lead to market weakness. We feel that today's results — the BJP's big defeat — could be a material sentiment dampener in Monday's early trade as this might be perceived as an additional stumbling block to the central government's reform agenda," said Sidhartha Sanyal and Rahul Bajoria, economists at Barclays Bank. 
 
Finance minister Arun Jaitley had hoped to roll out GST by April 1, 2016 but that looks difficult to achieve, considering the government still has a lot of ground to cover to push the most ambitious indirect tax reform since Independence. With assembly elections due in Assam, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, the road ahead may be rocky. Similarly, the pace and direction of labour reforms could also face roadblocks. 
 
The winter session of Parliament, which was expected to see progress on GST, may be stormy as the opposition is likely to step up its attack on the government on various issues. The NDA government has taken several steps to boost sentiment and growth but an overwhelming view has been that the speed of economic reforms has not kept pace with the need of the economy. Economists said the government should focus on the farm sector and address rural distress. "The focus should shift away from foreign tours, FDI and bullet trains to what are happening in the farms and rural space," said Ashok Gulati, Infosys chair professor at ICRIER, an economics think tank. 
 
(Image credit: BCCL)

You Searched For "Ashok Gulati" and got 12 results

India’s auto stocks cheer after Parliamentary Panel agrees that they need more stimulus and the dealers need loans with less collateral

Navdeep Yadav

RBI Central Board discusses functioning of co-operative banks

PTI

Trump lauds Indian-American scientists for their efforts in developing a coronavirus vaccines and medicines

PTI

Over 300 economists, social scientists seek 4-fold hike in payout to vulnerable

PTI

India puts a pause on new bankruptcy cases for a year ⁠— and other changes that will cap the rise in bad loans

Prabhjote Gill

Reliance Industries' ₹53,125 crore right issue will kick off on May 20 — you'll have till June 3 to subscribe

PTI

Trump calls Modi a 'good friend', promising to donate ventilators to India to fight coronavirus

PTI

Modi is using the COVID-19 crisis to push through APMC reforms he has wanted for long⁠— but states may oppose

Rounak Jain

Here's a breakup of Narendra Modi's ₹20 lakh crore stimulus⁠— RBI measures make up for nearly half of it

Preeti Soni

Bigg Boss 8 To FINALLY Come To An End

Nandini Sharma

Govt Constitutes High-level Panel For FCI Restructuring

BI India Bureau

NDA's defeat may delay GST rollout, decelerate pace of reforms

BI India Bureau

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides