Daily Sector News Today – 26.07.2017

Daily Sector News Today – 26.07.2017



* AVIATION: The government may not sell Air India's domestic and international operations separately.

* BANKING: The Reserve Bank of India has stopped printing 2,000-rupee notes and has stepped up the printing of other denominations, including new 200-rupee notes.
 - The RBI will soon direct lenders to set aside 50% of bad debt as soon as a referral happens, and 100% if the tribunal orders liquidation.
 - Ten state-owned banks, including BANK OF INDIA, IDBI BANK, and UNION BANK OF INDIA, have submitted their turnaround plans to the government, which is a pre-requisite for getting fund infusion.

* CORPORATE: The Supreme Court has approved the Official Liquidator of Bombay High Court's scheme for the auction of Sahara Group's Aamby Valley project and asked the liquidator to publish the sale notice by Aug 14.

* DIVESTMENT: The disinvestment department has invited proposals to appoint merchant bankers for the initial public offerings of state-owned MSTC and North Eastern Electric Power Corp.

* ECONOMY: India's GDP growth in 2012-14, the first two years of the 12th Five-Year Plan, was even slower than what the erstwhile Planning Commission had forecast in the worst policy scenario, NITI Aayog said in a review of the Plan.
 - The government is not considering any proposal to consolidate public sector banks at present,
Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar said.

* FINANCE: The Prime Minister's Office has called a meeting with officials from the finance ministry today to discuss the proposal to change the financial year from Apr-Mar to Jan-Dec, a senior finance ministry official said.
 - As the corporate bond investment limit for foreign portfolio investors rises to an all-time high, the
Securities and Exchange Board of India will today conduct an auction to allocate the unutilised debt
limits worth 74.18 bln rupees.

* INSURANCE: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India has asked Life Insurance Corp to reduce its stake to 15% in listed companies over the next two years.

* OIL AND GAS: The price of petrol for today has been kept unchanged at 64.57 rupees per ltr in Delhi, while the price of diesel has also been kept unchanged at 54.95 rupees per ltr, according to information available on INDIAN OIL CORP's website.

* REGULATORY: In view of the large number of requests from urban local bodies, the Securities and Exchange Board of India is currently exploring a framework for the issuance of pooled municipal bonds through a trust.
 - The Securities and Exchange Board of India has expanded position limits across all spectrums at the client, member and exchange levels for traders in agriculture commodity futures market.

* TAXATION: Applications of around 747,000 new taxpayers have been approved ever since the Goods and Services Tax Network reopened on Jun 25 for fresh registration, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said.
 - The GST Council has constituted a selection committee, headed by Cabinet Secretary P.K. Sinha, to recommend members for the National Anti-profiteering Authority.

* TELECOMMUNICATION: As part of a bailout package, the finance ministry may relax some of the payment obligations of telecommunication companies, on the logic that a robust sector is good for
government finances too.
 - The central agencies, which probed corruption allegations in Aircel-Maxis case, questioned the verdict of the special court that discharged Maran brothers.