Press notes 2 and 3 of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) have been notified by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently. The notes, which have been pending for the last four years, relate to guidelines for foreign direct investment (FDI), defining control over the company and transfer of ownership. The press notes provide definition of 'owned or controlled', a term which is essential to determine whet
Category: Infrastructure Finance
Post
Post
Liquidity improves in banking system
Liquidity in the banking system has eased as is evident from the decline in the borrowing of banks through Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) liquidity adjustment facility (LAF). Money market participants feel that the easing liquidity may be because the government has already started spending. On a recent day, banks borrowed Rs 10,880 crore through RBI's LAF and this is sharply lower than over Rs 100
Post
Bank credit to housing sector declines since FY08
The financial stability report of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shows bank credit to the housing sector declined to 9.5 percent in 2012-13 from a high 13.3 percent in 2007-08. The report notes that the decline in the growth of bank credit to the sector brought down demand. However, despite this, house prices in some metropolitan cities have witnessed significant increases in the recent past, the report notes
Post
RBI to use all tools to reduce currency volatility
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor D Subbarao informed reporters that the central bank does not have any target for rupee level but will use all the instruments it has to reduce volatility. The Indian rupee depreciated against the dollar sharply to over Rs 60 recently
Post
Several infra projects in Mumbai face delay
Several infrastructure projects in Mumbai are delayed because of various reasons including the lack of co-ordination between Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). Therefore, some experts argue that these infrastructure projects must be implemented by only one
Post
Rail projects in Karnataka get additional Rs 6 bn funds
In 2013-14, the central government would spend an additional Rs 300 crore on railway projects in Karnataka, while the state government would contribute an equivalent amount for these projects. Thus, a total of Rs 600 crore would be spent on rail projects in the state during the current financial year over and above what was budgeted. The Union Railway budget 2013-14 allocated Rs 900 crore for rail projects in the state. Including electrification and doubling of tracks, it would top Rs 1200 Rs 1
Post
Minister urges state-run lenders to trim base rate
At a review meeting with top officials of state-run banks, Finance Minister P Chidambaram urged them to cut base rates in order to spur credit growth in the economy. Chidambaram feels that reduction of the base rate will be a powerful booster to credit growth and this may in turn turn around the economy, which grew at a decade-low pace of 5 percent in 2012-13. The minister argues that while Reserve Bank of India trimmed policy rates by 125 basis points, banks must
Post
Weakening rupee may hit finances of OMCs
The financial position of state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) may be adversely affected because of the depreciation of rupee against the dollar. Rupee's depreciation would put strain on the working capital of oil companies. Some reports indicate that the borrowing of oil companies, which was in the range of Rs 1.5 lakh crore, may rise further if they don't raise domestic fuel prices to compensate for the rise in import cost.
Post
Govt to seek assistance to rebuld infra in Uttarakhand
Ministry of Finance, Government of India, has decided to seek external assistance from the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) like Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank for rebuilding of damaged infrastructure in Uttarakhand. Loans from the MDBs would be passed on by Government of India to the state of Uttarakhand as 90 percent grant and 10 percent loan, since it is a special category state
Post
BofA-ML expects no rate cut from RBI until rupee stabilises
In its recent report, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA-ML) opined that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may not reduce policy repo rate until the volatility in the currency market subsides. According to the brokerage, the central bank may prefer to reduce Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by 25 basis points on July 30 instead of cutting policy rates if the Indian currency remains