LIVE: IMF projects sharp contraction of 4.5% in Indian economy in FY21
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1:57 PM
Global output is projected to decline by -4.9% in 2020: International Monetary Fund
1:57 PM
Latest News LIVE: All cooperative banks to come under RBI supervision
The government on Wednesday said that all urban cooperative banks and multi-state cooperative banks will come under the supervision of the Reserve Bank of India, a development aimed at providing comfort to depositors and prevent repeat of PMC Bank like scams.
The President of India will promulgate an ordinance to this effect, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters after the meeting of the Union Cabinet. Terming it a landmark decision, the minister said 1,540 urban cooperative banks and multi-state cooperative banks will be brought under the RBI supervisory process as is applicable in case of scheduled commercial banks.
"...depositors (of cooperative banks) will get protection and benefit from this decision," Javadekar said.
There are 1,482 urban cooperative banks and 58 multi-state cooperative banks having about 8.6 crore depositors with total savings deposit of about Rs 4.85 trillion. The decision assumes significance in the wake of a scam in the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank and some other cooperative banks affecting lakhs of customers who are facing difficulty in withdrawing their money due to restrictions imposed by the Reserve Bank of India.
1:50 PM
Competition Commission approves Facebook's 9.99% stake purchase in Jio
The Competition Commission on Wednesday said it has cleared Facebook's proposed acquisition of 9.99 per cent stake in Jio Platforms, the digital arm of Reliance Industries.The $5.7 billion (Rs 43,574 crore) deal -- the single largest FDI in the technology sector in India -- was announced in April.
The US social-networking major had set up a separate entity -- Jaadhu Holdings LLC -- for making the investment. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved "acquisition of 9.99 per cent stake in Jio Platforms by Jaadhu Holdings LLC", according to a tweet. Jio Platforms was created in October last year to house all-digital initiative of Reliance.
1:33 PM
Latest News LIVE: IMF downgrades outlook for global economy in face of coronavirus
The International Monetary Fund has sharply lowered its forecast for global growth this year because it envisions far more severe economic damage from the coronavirus than it did just two months ago. The IMF predicts that the global economy will shrink 4.9% this year, significantly worse than the 3% drop it had estimated in its previous report in April. It would be the worst annual contraction since immediately after World War II.
For the United States, the IMF predicts that the nation's gross domestic product the value of all goods and services produced in the United States will plummet 8% this year, even more than its April estimate of a 5.9% drop. This, too, would be the worst such annual decline since the U.S. economy demobilized in the aftermath of World War II.
The IMF issued its bleaker forecasts Wednesday in an update to the World Economic Outlook it released in April. The update is generally in line with other recent major forecasts. Earlier this month, for example, the World Bank projected that the global economy would shrink 5.2% this year.
The IMF noted that the pandemic was disproportionately hurting low-income households, imperiling the significant progress made in reducing extreme poverty in the world since 1990.
1:22 PM
IOC reports massive loss of Rs 5,185 crore in Q4 on inventory losses
State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) on Wednesday reported a massive Rs 5,185 crore loss in the March quarter after a slump in oil prices resulted in record inventory losses for the company.
The net loss of Rs 5,185.32 crore in January-March compared to Rs 6,099.27 crore net profit in the same period a year back, IOC Chairman Sanjiv Singh told reporters. The loss was primarily due to inventory losses and lower refining margins.
The company recorded an inventory loss of Rs 14,692 crore in the fourth quarter of 2019-20 as compared to an inventory gain of Rs 1,787 crore in the same period a year back, he said.
An inventory loss is recorded when a company buys raw material at a particular price but by the time it is shipped and processed into fuel, rates have fallen. Since retail prices are benchmarked to prevailing international prices, an inventory loss is recorded. In case of reverse, an inventory gain is booked.
12:55 PM
Army Chief visited Eastern Ladakh today and reviewed operational situation
12:46 PM
Four Indian education institutes make it to QS Next 100 under 50 rankings
Led by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, four Indian institutes have made it to the 2021 edition of QS 'Next 100 under 50' rankings. With the debut of IIT Hyderabad as the second best young Indian institute under the age of fifty years, India's representation increased by one in the latest edition from three institutes last year.
The other two Indian institutes under the age of fifty years include University of Hyderabad as the third best and OP Jindal Global University as the fourth best.
In all, four Indian universities feature in the Next 100 under 50 table, one more than last year, thanks to the debut of IIT Hyderabad in the 101-150 band. However, no Indian university made it to the top 50 under 50 rankings yet. READ MORE...
12:37 PM
Coronavirus cases breach 70,000-mark in Delhi with 3,788 new cases in the last 24 hours
Coronavirus cases breach 70,000-mark in Delhi with 3,788 new cases in the last 24 hours. Death toll at 2,365. Out of the total, 26,588 are active cases and 41,437 people have recovered.
12:34 PM
RBI asks banks, NBFCs to disclose digital lending agents upfront
To make digital lending more transparent, the Reserve Bank on Wednesday directed banks, NBFCs and digital lending platforms to disclose full information upfront on their websites to customers. The direction comes against the backdrop of several complaints relating to exorbitant interest rates and harsh recovery measures, among others, against lending platforms.
While the banks and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) are being directed to disclose the names of agents engaged by on their websites, digital lending platforms have been asked to tell their customers upfront the names of the bank/ NBFC on whose behalf they are disbursing loans.
"outsourcing of any activity by banks/ NBFCs does not diminish their obligations, as the onus of compliance with regulatory instructions rests solely with them," the RBI said in a communication to the scheduled commercial banks and NBFCs.
The RBI further said that immediately after sanction of loan, a letter must be issued to the borrower on the letter head of the bank/ NBFC concerned.
12:28 PM
Cabinet approves participation of private sector in entire range of space activities: Union minister Jitendra Singh
12:25 PM
IMD issues orange alert for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, and four other Kerala districts
12:19 PM
About 6,500 Pak nationals operating as terrorists in Afghanistan: UN report
About 6,500 Pakistani's are operating as terrorist ranks in Afghanistan, posing a significant threat to the peace, stability and security of the war-torn country and South Asia region, stated a UN Security Council report.
The report released by Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities, published in the EU Chronicle, stated that the fighters trained by Pakistan-based terror outfits such as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) act as advisers, trainers and specialists in improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan, ANI reported.
The presence of such terrorists poses a complex challenge for the Taliban to prove its credibility as a counter-terrorism partner in the war-torn country. Furthermore, Pakistan's ambitions for Afghanistan and the support of its Inter-Intelligence Services (ISI) to Pak based terrorist organisations, as per the UN report implies that it too wants to be included in the race for control.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, in July 2019, on his three-day official visit to Washington, admitted to American lawmakers that successive governments in his country previously had not told the truth to the United States, in particular over the past 15 years where forty different militant groups were operating in Pakistan.
12:06 PM
Latest News LIVE: China continues military build-up along LAC near Eastern Ladakh
Even as India and China continue to talk, the Chinese have continued the build-up all along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) including the Finger area where they have strengthened themselves with more positions and constructions, ANI reported.
The Chinese Army started its build up along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh sector from May 4 and deployed more than 10,000 troops along with heavy artillery, armoured regiments and defence batteries. "In the Finger area along the Pangong Tso lake, the Chinese have continued to indulge in heightened military activities like deployment of troops and construction," a source told ANI.
The Indian side claims the areas up to Finger 8 but the Chinese Army during the recent face-offs have been blocking Army patrols from going beyond Finger 4.
The Chinese side has been aggressively trying to bring newer areas under its control in the Finger area, the sources said. In the Galwan river area, where the violent face-off took place between the two armies resulting in a high number of deaths on both sides, the Chinese have built some of their structures after the clash, the sources said.
An observation post-like structure of the Chinese removed by the Indian Army troops on June 15-16 night has also come up again near the Patrolling Point 14, they said. The build up on the Indian positions PP-15, PP-17 and PP-17A also continues to exist as the Chinese have been using a road, which moves close to Indian patrolling points from its side, to send both men and equipment urgently to the Indian side.
11:56 AM
OBC Commission's tenure extended by 6 months, says Prakash Javadekar
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday decided to extend the tenure of the OBC Commission by six months, Union minister Prakash Javadekar said. He said the panel was tasked to make various recommendations related to Other Backward Classes, but its work was affected due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Among other things, the panel was also mandated to examine the issue of sub-categorisation within the Other Backward Classes. Now its tenure has been extended till January 31, 2021.
11:47 AM
LIVE updates: Ladakh orders ban on use of plastic water bottles in govt offices, other institutions
As a step to realise the long term goal of 'carbon neutral Ladakh', the Union Territory administration has ordered a complete ban on the use of plastic water bottles and other plastic made objects in government offices and other institutions, an official spokesman said on Wednesday.
The target and timeline for phased ban would be 100 percent of plastic bottles by July 15 and 100 percent of plastic files and folders by July end, the spokesman said, quoting an order issued by Commissioner Secretary Finance and General Administration Department, Ladakh, Rigzian Sampheal on Tuesday.
The spokesman said all government offices, boards, corporations, autonomous bodies or units, educational institutions including universities would dispense with the use of plastic water bottles in their respective offices and make alternate arrangements for safe drinking water that does not generate plastic waste, PTI reported.
He said the order directed for necessary initiatives and steps to ensure a total ban on the use of plastic bottles, plastic folders and similar plastic made objects by the end of July in all government offices, while alternative eco-friendly measures be implemented and substitutes made of biodegradable materials be used for all purposes.
Topics : Coronavirus Lockdown Today News India China tension Ladakh standoff top news of the day ISRO
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First Published: Jun 24 2020 | 7:24 AM IST