News digest: New RBI guv, whitewash for saffron, stock markets, and more

Shaktikanta Das named RBI governor ahead of board meeting on Friday

When Shaktikanta Das retired as secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, in May 2017, he got a Rs 1 note from the government with his signature on it as a farewell gift. Das, who was appointed 25th governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday, will now have his signature on all the banknotes that are printed during his three-year tenure.

As early as Wednesday, Das is expected to move to the Mint Road corner room, vacated by Urjit Patel after his sudden exit as RBI governor. While there’s been much speculation on whether the RBI board meeting scheduled for December 14 will be put off or not, it is learnt that there’s no change in date. In fact, Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Garg told reporters that as of now, the board meeting was as scheduled. Read more

Heartland heartbreak: BJP gets a shock in MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh

While the outcome of the Madhya Pradesh election still hung in the balance, the results of the five Assembly polls marked a resurgence of the Congress in northern India. The Congress’ rise and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) below-par performance can be ascribed, in part, to people’s anger at the latter’s failure to address agrarian distress and rural poverty.

By voting the K Chandrashekar Rao government back to power in Telangana, the electorate rewarded the only state government that had a record of positively intervening to alleviate agrarian distress and put money in the rural economy. The Rao-led Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) swept the polls and increased its vote share by as much as 12 per cent. Read more

Markets shrug off BJP loss in Assembly polls, Urjit Patel's sudden exit

The equity markets recouped losses and shrugged off the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) poor showing in the state elections on Tuesday. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel's resignation on Monday also failed to affect Street sentiment.

During the market hours, the BJP looked set to lose power in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, putting a question mark on the party’s prospects in the upcoming general elections next year. Read more

Shaktikanta Das's to-do list at RBI: Easing liquidity to deciding on PCA

Shaktikanta Das, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) 25th governor, will have to deal with issues that need to be sorted out immediately in order to create a bridge between the government and the central bank.

A staunch defender of demonetisation, it would be interesting to see how he handles the government’s increasing demand for more cash from the RBI, and letting some weak banks get out of prompt corrective action (PCA).

Also, the government favours a special liquidity line for the non-banking financial sector, which the RBI has resisted so far. Read more

Shapoorji to roll out 80 mn sq ft housing projects in the next three years

Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate, the property development arm of the Shapoorji Pallonji group, plans to offer myriad residential projects of 80 million square feet in the next three years.

Experts said this is the highest volume of launch for any property developer in the country. “We will launch 25 million-30 million square feet each in the next three years and complete the projects in the next 6-7 years,” said Venkatesh Gopalkrishnan, chief executive of Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate. Read more