News digest: 10% quota for upper caste poor, Bandhan buys Gruh, and more

The Modi government plans to include criteria of economic backwardness by amending Articles 15 and 16

1. 10% quota for poor in general category: Rao failed, will Modi succeed?

All previous attempts at carving out a quota in jobs and education for the economically backward in the ‘general’ category, including the Hindu upper castes, have failed to pass legal muster. The most famous case was when the P V Narasimha Rao government proposed a 10 per cent reservation for such sections in September 1991. Read more here

2. Govt pegs FY19 GDP growth at 7.2%; estimate lower than RBI prediction

The economy is likely to grow at a slower pace in the current financial year (2018-19, or FY19) than what was previously expected despite a significant rise in investment and manufacturing activities, showed the latest data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Monday. Click here to read more.

3. Liquidity infusion will not be 'easy money': RBI governor Shaktikanta Das

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Monday dealing with issues of liquidity was one of the central bank's biggest priorities. However, any infusion would be strictly based on the need to ensure that it was not seen as “easy money” by the markets. 

This comes a day before Das meets the representatives of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) in Mumbai. Read more here

4. Bandhan Bank buys Gruh Finance; promoter stake in bank to reduce to 61%

Gruh Finance, the HDFC group’s affordable housing finance arm, will merge with Kolkata-based Bandhan Bank, helping the latter’s promoters to reduce stake in tune with regulatory norms.

The proposed merger will also avoid a potential conflict of interest for HDFC to grow its affordable housing loan portfolio. Read more here

5. Direct tax collection rises 13.6% to Rs 7.43 trn in Apr-Dec, refunds up 17%

The government collected income tax revenue amounting to Rs 7.43 trillion in April to December 2018-19, 13.6 per cent higher than that collected in the same period of the previous financial year, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a release on Monday. Read more here