INDIAN ECONOMY: OVERVIEW, GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT
SC asks Ex-Ranbaxy promoters to apprise it
The Supreme Court Thursday asked former Ranbaxy promoters Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh to submit a concrete plan for paying Rs 3,500 crore to Daiichi Sankyo as directed by a Singapore tribunal.
The top court asked the Singh brothers to consult their accountants as also financial and legal advisors and apprise it by March 28. The Japanese firm has filed a contempt plea against the Singh brothers, saying that it was promised some shares of Fortis Healthcare by them and sought the recovery of Rs 3,500 crore as directed by the tribunal. Calling them “flag bearers” of the Pharmacare industry of the country, a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said that it does not look good that they are in the court. out of this,” said the bench, also comprising justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna. It asked them to appear before it on March 28 and submit the plan, saying “hopefully it will be the last time you are appearing in the court”.
At the outset, senior advocate Fali S Nariman, appearing for Daiichi, said in its reply that Malvinder claimed he is honest and bona fide and would pay the outstanding at the earliest. He added that the younger brother Sivender, on the other hand, has stated that he has taken ‘Sanyas’ (renounciation) and become a ‘Sadhu’ (monk) and has nothing to do with the company.
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Bank of India to raise Rs 400-500 crore
State-run Bank of India on Thursday said it is looking to raise at least Rs 400-500 crore from sale of a non-core asset by end-March, a top bank official said. It could be noted that the bank has been looking to sell its stake in a few non-core assets including Star Union Dai-Ichi Life Insurance, STCI Finance and SIDBI.
The bank’s managing director and CEO Dinabandhu Mohapatra told reporters Thursday the process to sell a non-core asset are on and the bank has already floated a request for proposals (RFPs).
The lender is examining all the offer it has received, he said. “It will take some time. We are very hopeful of one transaction will be completed by March-end. We may be able to raise around Rs 400-500 crore,” Mohapatra told reporters on the sidelines of a Ficci-IBA event.
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SC reserves order on RBI circular
The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on the complaints filed before it against the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) February 12 circular on bad loans. It has given 10 days for all the petitioners (power, sugar and shipping companies) to provide a written submission in the case.
As per RBI’s notification on ‘Resolution of Stressed Assets – Revised Framework’ on February 12, banks have been asked to classify even one-day delay in debt-servicing as default, formulate a resolution plan within 180 days of default, and if it’s unresolved by the end of 180-day period, refer the case to National Company Law Tribunal under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
Bankers have claimed that the revised norms would lead to about `1.75 crore power sector lending into non-performing assets (NPA).
On September 11, the Supreme Court had transferred to itself all the petitions moved by power, sugar and shipping companies against the order in different courts across the country.
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MCA awaits nclt order to seal Essar-Mittal deal
The long-drawn Essar Steel saga seems to be finally heading towards a denouement with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the nodal ministry for IBC, ready to hand over the management of the insolvent firm to AreclorMittal.
Official sources said the ministry is waiting for the written order from the Ahmedabad bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which has approved the resolution plan of ArcelorMittal for Essar Steel.
“We expect the written order to come in a day or two, after which the order will be issued for the management change in Essar Steel,” the official said, adding that the legal contentions against the takeover can continue even after it.
Even as the ministry is awaiting the written order from the NCLT bench to clear the order on management change in Essar Steel, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), which was scheduled to hear the petition moved by promoters of Essar Steel against NCLT Ahmedabad
’s ruling, asked the promoters to first clear the whole of Essar Group’s debt and then come with a resolution plan for Essar Steel as per the Supreme Court judgement.
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DGCA may bar jet airways from accepting advance bookings
Aviation regulator DGCA may bar beleaguered carrier Jet Airways from taking advance bookings beyond a particular period amid reduced capacity and massive flight cancellations, an official said Thursday.
The official also said the private airline has been flying only 61 of the 116 planes it has in the fleet, forcing it to cancel as much as 45 per cent of total flights per day.
Jet Airways operates over 600 flights within India and overseas.
“We may ask Jet Airways not to accept forward bookings beyond a particular period,” a senior DGCA official told .
The official also said a final decision on the issue would be taken after seeking a report from Jet Airways.
However, a DGCA spokesperson said there is no such proposal.
“We do not have any such proposal. We shall continue to share relevant information with you all,” the spokesperson said.
The full service carrier has started discounted sale of tickets with all-inclusive fares starting from Rs 1,165 for flights to 37 domestic destinations and validity for one year, as per its website.
In addition, the airline is offering 10 per cent discount on flight bookings for four or more passengers travelling together.
It has, however, not given any cut-off date for booking tickets under the offer.
“The tickets are valid for 12 months from the date of commencement of journey,” according to the website.
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58 PC ads target women exclusively, 35 pc target both genders
Marketers in India are missing potential opportunities to reach out to men in the categories where both genders are equal decision makers, according to a Kantar report. It revealed the disconnect between consumer and business opinions of gender portrayals in advertising.
The AdReaction report noted that 58 per cent ads on air target women exclusively, and only 35 per cent are targeted towards both genders.
While the clear majority of marketers globally (more than 75 per cent) think they are avoiding gender stereotypes, 76 per cent of female consumers and 71 per cent of male consumers believe that the way they are portrayed in advertising is completely out of touch, it said.
It noted that globally, gender-balanced brands drive greater brand value while brands that skew towards men tend to underperform and are valued on average USD 9 billion less, while only one in three brands achieve this balance in India.
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TATA Motors’ Jaguar Land Rover recalls 44,000 cars over CO2 emission levels
Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has initiated a voluntary recall of around 44,000 cars in the UK over higher than certified levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
The UK-based luxury car-maker said on Thursday that it will contact the owners of the affected vehicles to arrange for free-of-charge repairs after regulators found 10 models were emitting more of the greenhouse gas than they had been certified to emit.
“Jaguar Land Rover is conducting a voluntary recall following the identification of CO2 performance variability with certain Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles fitted with 2.0L diesel or petrol engines,” a JLR statement said.
“Affected vehicles will be repaired free of charge and every effort will be made to minimise inconvenience to the customer during the short time required for the work to be carried out,” the statement noted.
The repairs could include software updates as well as physical alterations, with some Range Rover Evoque models possibly requiring new tyres. The UK’s Vehicle Certification Agency found 10 models for the Land Rover and Jaguar brands were emitting more greenhouse gases than had been certified initially. JLR then informed the country’s Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which handles recalls, of the findings.
The recall will affect versions of the Land Rover Discovery, Discovery Sport, Range Rover Sport, Velar and Evoque made between 2016 and 2019. Jaguar models affected include the E-Pace, F-Pace, F-Type, XE and XF.
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SEBI slaps over Rs 27 lakh fine on 5 entities
Markets regulator SEBI has levied a total penalty of over Rs 27 lakh on five entities for fraudulent and manipulative trading in illiquid stock options on BSE. Jahangirabad Finance Co Pvt Ltd, Renesola India Pvt Ltd, Rakesh Garg, Rattan Ispat Pvt Ltd and Ritman Commodities are the entities facing action, as per separate orders by the regulator.
SEBI conducted an investigation into the trading activity in illiquid stock options on BSE from April 2014 to September 2015 after observing a large-scale reversal of trades in the bourse’s stock options segment.
The regulator observed that the entities placed buy and sell orders in a synchronised manner within seconds of each other and reversed the trades within a short time with wide variation in prices of the trades.
The entities generated trading volumes without any change of beneficial ownership, thereby creating an appearance of artificial trading, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said. Such trades executed by the entities were non-genuine in nature, the regulator said.