Centre clears Rs 3,048 crore grant for flood-hit Kerala
The Centre on Thursday cleared a grant of Rs 3,048 crore to Kerala, which was hit by massive floods in August, as an additional assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), officials said.
Advertising Besides, Rs 539 crore will be given to cyclone-hit Andhra Pradesh and Rs 131 crore to Nagaland, which was also affected by floods.
A high-level committee met to consider the additional central assistance to Kerala, Nagaland and Andhra Pradesh. The committee, headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, approved the additional assistance of Rs 3048.39 crore to Kerala, Rs 131.16 crore to Nagaland and Rs 539.52 crore to Andhra Pradesh, a home ministry spokesperson said.
Fitch cuts India's FY19 GDP growth forecast to 7.2% from 7.8%, sees Re at 75/$ by 2019-end
Fitch Ratings cut India's FY19 GDP growth forecast to 7.2 percent from 7.8 percent on December 6. The rating agency has also cut growth forecasts for FY20 and FY21 to 7 percent from 7.3 percent and 7.1 percent from 7.3 percent, respectively.
The cut comes after India's GDP growth softened quite substantially in Q3 FY19, growing 7.1 percent year-on-year (YoY) after 8.2 percent in the previous quarter. Consumption was also at the weak spot, falling to 7 percent from 8.6 percent, though still growing at a healthy rate, Fitch said in its report.
On December 5, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had projected FY19 GDP growth at 7.4 percent (7.2-7.3 percent in H2) as in the October policy and at 7.5 percent for H1 FY20, with risks somewhat to the downside.
Moderation in private consumption and a large drag from net exports led to a slowdown in the gross domestic product (GDP) growth of the country, said Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee in its bi-monthly policy statement on December 5.
Sahitya Akademi announces winners in 24 languages
An extensive range of works representing diversity in contemporary Indian literature, comprising seven collections of poetry, six novels, six short story collections, three works of literary criticism and two collections of essays were announced on Wednesday as the winners of the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award 2018 in 24 languages.
Winners include Anees Saleem in English, Rama Kant Shukla in Sanskrit, Rajesh Kumar Vyas in Rajasthani, Rahman Abbas in Urdu, Lok Nath Upadhyay in Nepali, Chitra Mughal in Hindi and S. Ramakrishnan in Tamil. Akademi Secretary K. Sreenivasarao said at a press conference announcing the winners that the books were selected on the basis of recommendations made by a jury of three members in each language in accordance with the rules.
Government sanctions 254 projects worth over 24 thousand crore rupees under National Mission for Clean Ganga
Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Nitin Gadkari said, around five thousand crore rupees have been spent in the last four years under it.
Mr Gadkari was speaking after inaugurating India Water Impact Summit 2018 in New Delhi today. He said the government has decided to spend another three thousand crore rupees next year under the programme.
He also said the government has earmarked 20 thousand crores for five years towards the clean Ganga programme.
Mr Gadkari informed that his Ministry has taken up construction of 197 ghats in five states, including Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. The Minister said the priority is to check pollution of the Ganga, adding that there will be no compromise on it.
Axis Capital CEO Dharmesh Mehta steps down
Leading Investment Bank Axis Capital on Tuesday said its MD & CEO Dharmesh Mehta has stepped down. The bank also said it has elevated Salil Pitale and Chirag Negandhi as Joint Managing Directors and Co-Chief Executive Officer.
Pitale and Negandhi’s appointment will be with immediate effect, the company said in a statement.
“Dharmesh Mehta, MD & CEO of Axis Capital today submitted his resignation, having decided to pursue other interests,” the company said.
The Board of Axis Capital in a meeting held today accepted Mehta’s resignation.
It further said: “The Board has decided to elevate Salil Pitale and Chirag Negandhi as Joint Managing Directors & Co-Chief Executive Officer”.
However, their elevation will be subject to requisite regulatory approvals, it added.
Both are currently Co-Head of Investment Banking at Axis Capital since 2016.
Pitale has been with Axis Capital and Axis Bank since 1999, and has led several sector practices for the investment bank.
RBI to implement an Ombudsman scheme for digital transactions
Reserve Bank of India has said that it will implement an Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions covering services provided by entities falling under Reserve Banks regulatory jurisdiction.
According to the central bank, the scheme will be notified by the end of January 2019. In a statement,
RBI said, with the digital mode for financial transactions gaining traction in the country, there is an emerging need for a dedicated, cost-free and expeditious grievance redressal mechanism for strengthening consumer confidence in this channel. The scheme will be notified by the end of January 2019.
In another customer protection initiative, the RBI said that it has issued instructions on limiting customer liability in respect of unauthorised electronic transactions involving banks and credit card issuing non-banking financial companies (NBFCs)
Lone Star appoints Ambrish Singh as India head
US’s private equity and distressed assets investor Lone Star Funds, which manages more than $45 billion in assets, has appointed Ambrish Singh, former Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) executive, as the head of its India operations, said two people directly aware of the development, requesting anonymity.
According to the people, Singh will come on board as managing director and will be responsible for Lone Star’s investments across asset classes, including private equity, distressed debt and structured credit.
In his previous stint, Singh was the director of global credit and special situations group for India, South-East Asia and Australia at BofAML. He also held senior roles in Credit Suisse, Daiwa Securities Group Inc., ICICI Securities Ltd and Enam Holdings Pvt. Ltd.
Singh’s appointment comes at a time when Lone Star is planning to commit at least $1 billion in India across various strategies, said one of the people cited above. In April, Lone Star and RattanIndia Group had planned to invest ₹2,600 crore to set up a non-banking financial company, RattanIndia Finance, in an equal joint venture. RattanIndia Group chairman, Rajiv Rattan, is the chairman and chief executive of the NBFC.
Atlanta United’s Josef Martinez wins MLS MVP Award
Josef Martinez choked up a bit when he saw his grandparents in the front row. On most days, he’s not susceptible to tears. This time, he couldn’t help himself. A teary eyed Martinez claimed the MVP award from Major League Soccer on Wednesday after shattering the record for goals in a season and leading Atlanta United to the championship game.
“This is a special day for me, for my family, for my teammates, for the city,” Martinez said, without the benefit of notes. “I want to say thank you to the fans for the amazing support this year.”
In just two years, Atlanta United has established itself as a flagship franchise in MLS, setting numerous attendance records and achieving immediate success on the field with a high-scoring, attacking style spearheaded by its 25-year-old Venezuelan striker.
RBI keeps repo rate unchanged at 6.5%, stance remains unchanged
he Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday (December 5) kept key lending rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent after the conclusion of its fifth bi-monthly policy review.
Not only did the 6-member committee decide to keep the repo rate (the rate at which RBI lends money to banks) unchanged, but also kept its 'calibrated tightening' stance in tact.
"The decision of the MPC is consistent with the stance of calibrated tightening of monetary policy in consonance with the objective of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4 per cent within a band of +/- 2 per cent, while supporting growth," the central bank said in a statement.
It has come to light that only one out of the six members voted in favour of easing the stance. Economists suggested that the RBI kept its stance unchanged as it may be too early to alter its stance.
Gautam Gambhir announces retirement from all forms of cricket
Gautam Gambhir has announced his retirement all forms of cricket. Gambhir, who played a key role in helping India win the World T20 in 2007 and the 2011 World Cup, made the announcement on Twitter.
"The most difficult decisions are often taken with the heaviest of hearts. And with one heavy heart, I've decided to make an announcement that I've dreaded all my life," Gambhir tweeted.
While he scored a blazing 75 against Pakistan in the World T20 final at Johannesburg, his 97 against Sri Lanka in 2011 helped India lift the World Cup at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.
Gautam Gambhir reached the career-high ranking of No.1 in Tests in 2009 two years after he was ranked No.1 T20I batsman. In ODIs, Gambhir achieved his career-best 8th rank in ODIs.
Gambhir played 58 Tests, 147 ODIs and 37 T20Is for India since making his international debut in 2003 in Dhaka. The left-handed bat scored 10,324 runs in international cricket.