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<keyword id="51958" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="YES">Yes</keyword>, it’s a true story. According to a <keyword id="274437" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Quora">Quora</keyword> post, <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword> cleared IIT- <keyword id="6392660" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="JEE">JEE</keyword> and secured a rank that made him take admission in <keyword id="71852" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="IIT-Mumbai">IIT Mumbai</keyword>, one of the most prestigious technology institutes in the country. When the inter-science results were announced later, he left IITB to join ICT, Mumbai (then UDCT) to pursue Chemical Engineering. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/ratan-tata-isnt-as-rich-as-mukesh-ambani-heres-why/articleshow/56179917.cms">ALSO READ: Ratan Tata isn’t as rich as Mukesh Ambani. Here’s why</a> 
 It is well known that the <keyword id="4007263" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="chemical-engg">Chemical Engg</keyword> department at ICT, Mumbai is at par or even better than that of the IITs or any other premier institution in India. 
 
 
Here’s the proof from the interview with <a href="http://inwww.rediff.com/money/2007/jan/17inter.htm">Moneylife</a> , where <keyword id="10924" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ambani">Ambani</keyword> revealed the fact. While speaking on his youth he said, “Nobody asked me to do chemical engineering. I chose to study science and which college I would go to.” 
 “By that time -- the early '70s -- <keyword id="180516" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vimal">Vimal</keyword> was a fairly successful textile brand. So everybody expected me to do textile engineering. I shocked them by saying that I would go to IIT. Interestingly, 4-5 of us friends studying together for Inter-science were all among the top 10. Ajay <keyword id="30629" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parekh">Parekh</keyword>, who runs Pidilite, topped <keyword id="201207" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bombay-University">Bombay University</keyword>. I stood fifth or sixth.” 
 “Since Inter-science results were announced after the IIT entrance, I joined IIT- <keyword id="6356654" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bombay">Bombay</keyword>. After the Inter-science results a few weeks later, I left and joined <keyword id="1325139" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="University-Department-of-Chemical-Technology">University Department of Chemical Technology</keyword> (UDCT) along with my friends,” he added.

Did Mukesh Ambani go to IIT Bombay?

<ul><li><keyword id="68683" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sanjiv-bajaj" source="Orion">Sanjiv Bajaj</keyword>, the chairman of <keyword id="85462" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bajaj-finserv" source="Orion">Bajaj Finserv</keyword> has said that his company will come out with a ‘right to be forgotten’ feature for users who want to opt out of its marketing calls. </li><li>RBI deputy governor when asked said on Thursday that the telecom regulator is the right authority to deal with the issue. </li><li><keyword id="6358511" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bajaj" source="Orion">Bajaj</keyword>’s plan to offer a parallel <keyword id="5984827" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="do-not-disturb" source="Orion">do-not-disturb</keyword> (<keyword id="311748" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="dnd" source="Orion">DND</keyword>) feature has angered the <keyword id="639251" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="twitterati" source="Orion">Twitterati</keyword>. </li></ul> A day after Sanjiv Bajaj, the chairman of Bajaj Finserv stirred the hornet’s nest by promising that his company will bring down marketing calls with a ‘new feature’ in three months, India’s banking regulator RBI said that the telecom regulator is the right authority to address the issue, when posed a question at a press conference but added that it will look into it as the question has been raised. Bajaj said that his company would bring either a feature on its website or an app wherein people who do not want to receive calls can register. The feature is to be called ‘right to be forgotten’. "You will see, in three months' time, on our website and our web app will be an option – you click it – we will never bother you again. You'll have the right to be forgotten by us but then make sure you don't come back to us for our products and solutions," Bajaj said on Wednesday with reference to a question on cross-selling of financial products to existing customers. When the RBI was asked to comment on customer service standards, the central bank said there were rules which apply to telemarketers and recovery agents. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has a Do Not Call registry where customers can register their numbers if they do not wish to be disturbed. However, it does not make the distinction between receiving calls for transactions and calls by telemarketers. “On the calls as far as recovery agents are concerned we have already issued our guidelines and put out a code as to what they have to follow. As a marketing tool, it’s the decision of the individual bank and the TRAI has to look into as there is a do not call registry. Now that you have brought it up, we will look into it,” M K Jain, deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) told at a press conference following <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/rbi-mpc-holds-interest-rate-as-expected-but-stance-maintained-at-withdrawal-of-accommodation/articleshow/100839034.cms">monetary policy committee decisions</a>. TRAI is the telecom regulator which has set up a Do Not Call registry wherein users can opt out of marketing calls. However, it’s without teeth since most agencies break the registry rules, spamming consumers with unwanted calls and offers. A survey by <a href="https://www.localcircles.com/a/press/page/unwanted-phone-calls-survey">Localcircles claims that </a>two in three people get at least three pesky calls per day. Opt out? When did we opt in?, ask Twitterati Amongst the sea of real estate project updates and credit card offers that come via calls, Bajaj Finance’s calls have stood out in volume and persistence. Its aggressive marketing tactics have amused, angered and irritated Twitterati — which is rife with memes and updates from its agents offering loans. Bajaj’s recent move to run a parallel DND has annoyed the Twitterati, even more. “Can’t believe Sanjiv Bajaj of Bajaj Finance said you can opt out of our telemarketing calls, but don’t come back to us for loans. As if the loans they are selling are part of Charitable Services. It’s their business and they are making money out of it,” said @joydas, a Twitter user. “What is opt out? When did we opt in? Does Bajaj Finance only call people who need a loan. Are there no other loan providers?” said Debashis Basu of Moneylifers. The Twitterati was also sarcastic of Bajaj’s ‘magnanimous concession’ to those bothered by calls. “Bajaj Finance is primarily a spamming company and only secondarily a finance company. Ask anyone and they will tell you about it,” said another Twitter user. A lot of companies’ customer service or the lack of it has been a hot topic across social media. Be it endless harassment via calls, selling wrong products to customers and irate lack of redressal — are now being taken <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/personal-finance/news/ulips-are-not-for-senior-citizens-heres-how-to-pick-the-right-investments-to-secure-the-golden-years-of-your-life/articleshow/100591746.cms">up by regulators </a>and companies alike, as it’s becoming tough to ignore.

After Twitterati scream foul about pesky calls, RBI says 'will look into it'

<ul><li>The State Bank of India overstated its profits by as much as ₹9,500 crore for three years in between 2012-13 to 2014-15, according<a href="https://www.moneylife.in/article/exclusive-rbi-inspection-reports-on-sbi-reveal-evergreening-window-dressing-cover-ups-and-worse/57631.html"> </a>an expose by Moneylife.</li><li>The revelations came out of a Right To Information (RTI) application.</li><li>The country’s largest bank has suppressed employee fraud, covered bad loans, flouted anti-money laundering rules, covered up bad loans by a mechanism referred to as ‘window dressing’.</li><li>In many cases, the bank has not enforced securities provided on a loan, and loans were disbursed even before a charge was created on the collateral.</li></ul> A fourth of the country’s bank deposits are making their way to State Bank of India (SBI). But, how safe is it there? According<a href="https://www.moneylife.in/article/exclusive-rbi-inspection-reports-on-sbi-reveal-evergreening-window-dressing-cover-ups-and-worse/57631.html"> to an expose by Moneylife</a>, the bank has overstated its profits by as much as ₹9,500 crore for three years in between 2012-13 to 2014-15. What makes it worse is that all this information is available with the banking regulator, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the dated details came out after a petition was filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, by an activist Girish Mittal. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Year </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Overstated profit </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">2012-13 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹1,220 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">2013-14 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹5,038 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">2014-15 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9960975000000001pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹3,252 crore </td></tr></tbody></table> Source: Money Life There were two chairpersons running the bank during the period-- Pratip Chaudhuri was the chairman from 2011 to 2013 as Arundhati Bhattacharya too charge to stay on till 2017. SBI’s box of troubles The annual inspection of banks’ accounts by RBI has opened a Pandora’s Box where many evils came out—where the country’s largest bank has suppressed employee fraud, covered bad loans, flouted anti-money laundering rules, covered up bad loans by a mechanism referred to as ‘window dressing’, according to the report. An e-mail sent to SBI seeking answers on the revelations, did not elicit any response. Most Indian banks were found guilty of trying to hide the rising problem of bad loans. They would either give fresh loans to pay old ones or book the losses in a different year to soften the blow on the company’s financials. In SBI’s case, the RTI response reportedly revealed that these factors were seen in the loans given out to diamond trading and power sector. Loans to diamond traders have brought down banks, especially Punjab National Bank scam where diamantaire Nirav Modi made away with unpaid loans of ₹2 billion and is now in the UK. Yet, SBI is not in as much trouble, not from RBI who is aware of the situation, not from its 435 million customers --- that’s over 30% of India’s population! Like Goldman Sachs, it is everywhere and, probably, too big to fail. Flouting Norms The report says that the bank also flouted norms laid down by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) itself with regards to Know Your Customer (KYC), lending limits set on sectors and individuals. The bank, as per the report, was also lax with its loans. In many cases, the bank has not enforced securities provided on a loan, wherein assets of defaulters are taken over. In some cases loans were disbursed even before a charge was created on the collateral. And, the suppression of data has happened at every level since most of the credit problems were never taken to the board as well. Scrubbing it clean In all, the bank performed a clean-up exercise every time a new chairman took over. The first year a new chairman comes in, huge amounts are written off the books, and has become a common practice with the bank. This leaves the chairman of the bank concentrating on ‘managing profits’. The owner of the bank however is the government. And it seems to be doing its part too. As non-performing assets as a result of bad loans increased and credit growth slowed down, the government is looking to recharge public sector banks (PSBs) with fresh funds. In the latest Budget 2019, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that they would be giving out as much as ₹75,000 crore to re-capitalise government banks, so that they can kickoff growth in the country, with renewed interest. The mistakes of the past have been conveniently forgotten. SEE ALSO 
 <div type="NEWSINCONTEXT" target="false" refhostid="261" refmsid="69557477" refmstype="2" refmssubtype="0"><cdata><![CDATA[An Indian bank is still making the same mistake of hiding the worst and hoping for the best]]></cdata></div>


<h1 style="line-height:1.44;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:8pt;border-bottom:solid #eeeeee 0.75pt;background-color:#ffffff;padding:0pt 0pt 15pt 0pt;"> </h1>

India’s largest bank was caught lying about its profits for 3 years but no one got punished, according to an expose

<ul><li><keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>’s <keyword id="6354977" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Supreme-Court">Supreme Court</keyword> has asked the RBI to assess whether <keyword id="43352" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Repo-rate">repo rate</keyword> cuts translated into lower retail loan rates for Indian people. </li><li>The order from the Supreme Court follows a public interest litigation filed by Moneylife Foundation, which complained that Indian banks were overcharging retail borrowers. </li><li>Despite the recent rate hikes, the RBI embarked on an easing cycle from early 2015 to August 2017, lowering the repo rate rom 8% to 6%. </li></ul>Despite its recent rate hikes and shift towards <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/reserve-bank-of-india-surprises-all-by-keeping-interest-rates-unchanged/articleshow/66086453.cms">a tighter monetary policy</a>, the <keyword id="6354335" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="reserve-bank-of-india">Reserve Bank of India</keyword> (RBI) actually embarked on one of its longest easing cycles from early 2015 to August 2017, lowering the repo rate, or the rate at which it lends money to banks, from 8% to 6% - a seven year low. However, while rate cuts lead to increased consumer confidence and investor sentiment, it remains to be seen the extent that commercial banks pass them on to customers. Seeking a definitive answer on the issue, on 8 October India’s Supreme Court asked the RBI to assess whether repo rate cuts translated into lower rates for Indian people for loans on housing, education, cars and consumer goods.The central bank, which has been given six weeks to present its findings, explained that it was ready to make it binding for domestic banks to cut <keyword id="6371181" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="interest-rates">interest rates</keyword> every time the repo rate was cut. The order from the Supreme Court follows a public interest litigation filed by Moneylife Foundation, an NGO focusing on personal finance issues. In response to a RBI report alluding to the same, the foundation wanted to know the extent to which banks and non-banking lenders were overcharging retail borrowers by extending credit at higher rates than the repo rate. The petition also calls for banks to publish the methodology they use to settle on specific lending rates. The issue has been a thorn in the RBI’s side for a while. In response to what it perceived as a slowness of banks to implement repo rate changes, it <a href="https://rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=35749">announced</a> the introduction of its Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR) regime in April 2016. The system compels commercial banks to consider the repo rate when pricing loans as they have to readjust rates on a monthly basis. The MLCR takes into account the incremental changes in cost of funds for banks as opposed to the base rate system, which takes into account the average cost of funds. A change of pace this year The repo rate has been going up since April 2018 as the RBI has sought to keep inflation in check and prevent the return of foreign funds to safe havens like the US, which has embarked on a tightening cycle of its own. However, last week, the central bank opted to keep rates on hold to boost corporate demand and consumer confidence, which has shown signs of declining in response to higher lending rates. Clearly, banks have no qualms in passing on higher rates to customers everytime the RBI increases the repo rate In fact, in anticipation of a rate hike last week, banks like the State Bank of India and HDFC actually increased retail lending rates further.

India’s Supreme Court wants to know if consumers actually benefit when the RBI cuts interest rates

<ul><li>It’s been three years since the Insolvency and <keyword id="43550" type="EVENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bankruptcy">Bankruptcy</keyword> Code (<keyword id="192838" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="IBC">IBC</keyword>) was implemented, and while progress hasn’t been as swift as expected, the results so far are still formidable. </li><li>Nearly ₹700 billion of recoveries took place in 2018-19, according to a report by <keyword id="6359483" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Crisil">CRISIL</keyword>. This was twice as much as the ₹355 billion that was recovered in 2017-18 through other debt recovery schemes such as Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) and the SARFAESI Act. </li><li>However, the average resolution time for a case stood at 324 days, well over the maximum amount of 270 days as stipulated in the code.</li></ul> It’s been three years since the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) was implemented, and while progress hasn’t been as swift as expected, the results so far are still formidable. Nearly ₹700 billion of recoveries took place in 2018-19, according to a report by CRISIL. This was twice as much as the ₹355 billion that was recovered in 2017-18 through other government debt recovery schemes such as Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) and the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest (SARFAESI) Act. In fact, the recovery rate for 94 cases in 2018-19 was 43% and recoveries were twice as much as the overall liquidation value for assets in said cases, according to CRISIL’s President, Gurpreet Chhatwal. In comparison, the other schemes had a recovery rate of 25.2%. As a result, the build up in India’s <keyword id="142154" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="bad-loans">bad loans</keyword> has decelerated in the recent past. CRISIL pegged the bad loan ratio at Indian banks at around 10% by the end of March 2019, compared with 11.5% at the end of March 2018. However, the report wasn’t all cheers and hurrays. CRISIL found that the average resolution time for a case stood at 324 days, well over the maximum amount of 270 days as stipulated in the code. Moreover, there are still 1,143 cases pending resolution, a third of which have been on the backburner for longer than nine months. This is likely because the <keyword id="6354457" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Company-Law-Tribunal">National Company Law Tribunal</keyword> (NCLT), the judicial authority to facilitate resolution proceedings, does not have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sc-slams-govt-for-lack-of-staff-at-nclt/articleshow/68594331.cms">sufficient resources</a>. In March, India’s Supreme Court had criticised the government for inadequate staffing and delays in hiring at the NCLT. This was corroborated by <a href="https://www.moneylife.in/article/the-ibc-is-going-the-way-of-previous-failed-laws-on-bad-loan/57121.html">a report</a> by MoneyLife, which found that banks were searching for other resolution options owing to the long delays and extensive litigation under the IBC. That being said, the IBC has had its fair share of champions among India’s corporate world as well as its politicians. In <a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/arun-jaitley/two-years-of-insolvency-and-bankruptcy-code-ibc/938314493023766/">a post</a> titled, “Two years of insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC),” in early January, Arun <keyword id="6390789" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="jaitley">Jaitley</keyword> said that as much as ₹800 billion worth of funds had been recovered following the resolution of 66 cases by the NCLT. Looking ahead to the current financial year, Jaitley expected around ₹700 billion of additional recoveries to take place. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indias-finance-minister-touts-the-success-of-the-countrys-recently-implemented-bankruptcy-code-but-it-still-requires-significant-improvement/articleshow/67382165.cms">India’s finance minister touts the success of the country’s recently-implemented bankruptcy code — but it still requires significant improvement</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sc-slams-govt-for-lack-of-staff-at-nclt/articleshow/68594331.cms">India's Supreme Court slams the government for leaving the country's bankruptcy court short-staffed</a>

Indian banks are recovering over 1.5 times as much money under the bankruptcy code —  but it's still painfully slow

<ul><li>India’s <keyword id="107956" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Serious-Fraud-Investigation-Office">Serious Fraud Investigation Office</keyword> (SFIO) arrested <keyword id="1827312" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hari-Sankaran">Hari Sankaran</keyword>, the former chairman and the managing director of <keyword id="6357293" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ILFS">IL&amp;FS</keyword> under Section 447 of the Companies Act, which deals with fraud. </li><li>The SFIO said in a statement to media outlets that it had arrested Hari Sankaran for abusing his powers in IL&amp;FS’s financial services unit by granting loans to companies that weren’t creditworthy. </li><li>In early February 2019, the SFIO alleged that the company’s directors had knowingly laundered funds meant for employee benefits and sanctioned investments in projects without guarantees. </li></ul> India’s Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has made its first arrest linked to the default of IL&amp;FS. The body remanded Hari Sankaran, the former chairman and the managing director of the infrastructure lender, under <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/business/companies/ilfs-crisis-hari-sankaran-arrest-sfio-5653790/">Section 447 of the Companies Act</a>, which deals with fraud. The SFIO said in a statement to media outlets that it had arrested Hari Sankaran <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/banking/finance/banking/sfio-arrests-ex-chairman-of-ilfs-hari-sankaran-on-grounds-of-abusing-his-power/articleshow/68676550.cms">for abusing his powers</a> in IL&amp;FS’s financial services unit by granting loans to companies that weren’t creditworthy. These loans eventually became non-performing. The weak financial position of IL&amp;FS came to light in July last year when one of the lender’s subsidiaries, IL&amp;FS Transportation Networks, defaulted <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/business/companies/ilfs-shell-companies-income-tax-investigation-5558580/">on a ₹4.5 billion payment </a>on commercial paper. The crisis eventually heightened as the lender was subjected to a series <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/icra-downgrades-ratings-of-il-fs-loans-debentures-to-junk-status-118090900267_1.html">of credit downgrades</a>. In early February 2019, the SFIO alleged that the company’s directors had knowingly <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/top-ilfs-execs-swindled-money-meant-for-employees-says-indias-serious-fraud-investigation-office/articleshow/67893939.cms">laundered funds</a> meant for employee benefits and sanctioned investments in projects without guarantees. It had previously declared that IL&amp;FS executives had <a href="https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/sfio-says-top-executives-led-ilfs-to-its-ruin">“window-dressed” </a>the lender’s books to prove eligibility for further loans. Furthermore, it came to light yesterday that the Indian government had <a href="https://www.moneylife.in/article/ilfs-shocker-govt-quietly-paying-up-on-sovereign-guarantees-to-adb-and-kfw-for-failed-groups-504-million-loan/56743.html">arranged a sovereign guarantee on behalf of IL&amp;FS</a> for loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and KfW, Germany’s development bank. Once IL&amp;FS defaulted, the government was forced to pay back the loans itself but it do so quietly without disclosing the payments to the NCLAT, according to MoneyLife. IL&amp;FS had around <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/after-idbi-bank-lic-now-has-to-bail-a-huge-infrastructure-lender-out/articleshow/65840416.cms">₹940 billion</a> in outstanding loans at the end of 2017-18, ₹573 billion is in the form of loans to Indian banks - most of which are state-run. The infrastructure lender, which invests in government projects like highways, ports, bridges and dams, reached its current state of high debt and illiquidity owing <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/after-idbi-bank-lic-now-has-to-bail-a-huge-infrastructure-lender-out/articleshow/65840416.cms">to a lack of regulatory oversight and inadequate due diligence</a> before spending on projects. As the prospects for the infrastructure and power sector declined following the financial crisis of 2008-0, the company’s projects were either stalled or faced huge cost overruns. Hence, the returns for IL&amp;FS’s subsidiaries dried up and its debts continued increasing. In a bid to pay off its debts and avoid bankruptcy, the company has been selling of a range of assets, including its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indias-largest-infrastructure-lender-is-selling-its-renewable-energy-assets-to-avoid-defaulting-on-its-debts/articleshow/66864194.cms">renewable energy business</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/ilfs-has-no-option-but-to-sell-its-profitable-financial-services-unit-as-it-tries-to-avoid-bankruptcy/articleshow/65898283.cms">financial services unit</a>. The sales are part of a resolution plan that a government-appointed committee, led by Uday Kotak, submitted to the <keyword id="6354457" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Company-Law-Tribunal">National Company Law Tribunal</keyword> (NCLT), a special insolvency court, on 31 October. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/top-ilfs-execs-swindled-money-meant-for-employees-says-indias-serious-fraud-investigation-office/articleshow/67893939.cms">Top IL&amp;FS execs swindled money meant for employees, says India's Serious Fraud Investigation Office</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/even-ba-and-philips-lost-money-in-indias-biggest-financial-scandal-of-2018/articleshow/68613199.cms">Even British Airways and Philips stand to lose money in India's biggest financial scandal of 2018</a>

India sees the first arrest in the country’s biggest financial scandal of 2018

There is growing concerns amidst shareholders over <keyword id="6355199" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Reliance-Industries">Reliance Industries</keyword>’ investment in ventures such as media and telecom, especially over its recent gesture to give loans to media firm NDTV. Shareholders at the recent annual general meeting in Mumbai demanded to know the rationale behind such <keyword id="6362476" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="investments">investments</keyword> and loans, according to a Press Trust of India (PTI) report. RIL shares, once the darling of the stock market, have languished in recent years as production from the KG-D6 gas fields fell and the government became increasingly reluctant to increase the price of commercial gas. In the last one year, they have fallen 4.6% compared with the benchmark Sensex's 10.8% gain. Moneylife magazine has revealed details of the loan to NDTV in an article which points out that an RIL affiliated arm Viswapradhan Commercial Pvt Ltd gave a loan of Rs 350 crore to promoters of NDTV through convertible warrants in 2009. These warrants give the lender, (Reliance or the Ambani family) the power to convert at any time during the tenure of the loan or thereafter into equity shares of the NDTV holding company. The two partners planned to find a buyer for NDTV for 3-5 years. Since the sale has not fructified, NDTV is effectively owned by the <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword> company, the article concludes. The PTI reported that at the annual general meeting shareholders were upset with Reliance' dividend policy even as it continues to make these unrelated investments. Chairman Mukesh Ambani assured shareholders that the company would reward investors with a combination of dividend, bonus and buyback once it completes its ongoing investment cycle. 

	But shareholders continued to raise questions over return on shares and the company's investment decisions. Ambani chose not to reply to the questions from shareholders as is the practice at AGMs, stating that the company will answer shareholders through direct correspondence. 
 

	Some shareholders demanded that the next dividend payout should at least be 150%, while some demanded bonus debentures in the interim as the share prices of RIL continued to be low when it ideally should be priced at around Rs 5,000 a piece, PTI reported. 
 
 

	A Reliance Industries spokesperson did not reply to an email questionnaire on the issue. 
 Some RIL investors also expressed concerns over continuing losses of its media arm - 17 news channels under Network18 and 14 GEC channels, along with their e-commerce and publishing arms. PTI reported that an investor questioned the rationale behind the company giving an interest free loan of Rs 350 crore to <keyword id="201527" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="NDTV-Group">NDTV Group</keyword> even as it already has these many channels and also queried about the fate of this investment. 
	 
	(image credits: )

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