Today Sector News – 13.04.2018
* AVIATION: After muted response in the past and many a tweakings in parameters, the government finally got multiple bids for operating Jaipur and Ahmedabad airports. The government has formed a 13-member task force under the chairmanship of Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha to fast track the rollout of technology for unmanned aerial vehicle or drones.
-The government is open to changing some of the restrictive conditions laid out in the terms of sale for state-run Air India if it finds that investor interest in the asset is lukewarm after the May 14 deadline for submission of initial bids.
-Global investors, including US-based International Finance Corporation and Warburg Pincus and
Singapore's GIC, have evinced interest in bidding for Air India even as Indian carriers INDIGO and JET AIRWAYS decided to give it a miss.
-Air India registered around 11% growth in revenue, as the airline's fiscal and performance parameters were good in the last financial year, according to its chief Pradeep Singh Kharola.
-Gulf airline major Etihad is planning to bid for state-owned carrier Air India.
* BANKING: The government has reconstituted the Banks Board Bureau with Bhanu Pratap Sharma as its chairman and three other members, Department of Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar said.
-The Reserve Bank of India has asked banks to shift to lockable cassettes in their automated teller machines in a phased manner by March 2021.
-The government is still considering the plan to convert the Banks Board Bureau into a holding company for state-owned lenders, Department of Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar said.
-The banking sector may soon see the resolution of some cases referred under the Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Code, Uday Kotak, executive vice chairman and managing director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, said.
* CEMENT: Cement companies could be in for hard times if the government decides to ban use of pet coke in the country, because it will increase the input costs and directly hit companies' margins.
* CORPORATE: Deepak Kochhar's company NuPower Renewables has sought more time to explain its Mauritius connections, having failed to meet the Apr 10 deadline for answers demanded by the income tax department.
* ECONOMY: Indian companies invested $1.55 bln in their overseas joint ventures and subsidiaries in March, sharply higher from $784.28 mln a month ago, according to Reserve Bank of India. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank sanctioned a $140-mln loan to improve the rural road connectivity in Madhya Pradesh.
* FUNDS: The government today kept the interest rate on General Provident Fund for Apr-Jun unchanged at 7.6%, the finance ministry said.
* OIL AND GAS: Essar Oil & Gas Exploration and Production will invest $1 bln for shale gas extraction at its Raniganj block in West Bengal from where the company currently produces 1 mscmd of coal bed methane. Essar Oil still owes about 500 mln euros (around 40.23 bln rupees) in payments for previous purchases of Iranian crude after having paid about 2 bln euros (around 160.92 bln rupees) in outstanding dues, Chief Executive B. Anand said on Thursday.
* PORTS: JSW Group-owned South West Port has stopped cargo handling operations at Mormugao Port Trust from Apr 1, after the Goa State Pollution Control Board revoked consent to operate the facility citing non-compliance with approval terms.
* REGULATORY: In order to standardise performance disclosure of schemes once they have been merged, the Securities Exchange Board of India has asked mutual funds to disclose the weighted average performance of the new as well as the old product.
* SHIPPING: Rolls-Royce and Goa Shipyard have agreed to manufacture MTU engines which are fitted onboard of all offshore patrol vessels recently constructed or under construction in India.
* TAXATION: The goods and services tax regime should be extended to hitherto uncovered sectors
electricity, real estate, alcohol and petroleum products, the new CII President Rakesh Bharti Mittal said.
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-The government is open to changing some of the restrictive conditions laid out in the terms of sale for state-run Air India if it finds that investor interest in the asset is lukewarm after the May 14 deadline for submission of initial bids.
-Global investors, including US-based International Finance Corporation and Warburg Pincus and
Singapore's GIC, have evinced interest in bidding for Air India even as Indian carriers INDIGO and JET AIRWAYS decided to give it a miss.
-Air India registered around 11% growth in revenue, as the airline's fiscal and performance parameters were good in the last financial year, according to its chief Pradeep Singh Kharola.
-Gulf airline major Etihad is planning to bid for state-owned carrier Air India.
* BANKING: The government has reconstituted the Banks Board Bureau with Bhanu Pratap Sharma as its chairman and three other members, Department of Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar said.
-The Reserve Bank of India has asked banks to shift to lockable cassettes in their automated teller machines in a phased manner by March 2021.
-The government is still considering the plan to convert the Banks Board Bureau into a holding company for state-owned lenders, Department of Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar said.
-The banking sector may soon see the resolution of some cases referred under the Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Code, Uday Kotak, executive vice chairman and managing director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, said.
* CEMENT: Cement companies could be in for hard times if the government decides to ban use of pet coke in the country, because it will increase the input costs and directly hit companies' margins.
* CORPORATE: Deepak Kochhar's company NuPower Renewables has sought more time to explain its Mauritius connections, having failed to meet the Apr 10 deadline for answers demanded by the income tax department.
* ECONOMY: Indian companies invested $1.55 bln in their overseas joint ventures and subsidiaries in March, sharply higher from $784.28 mln a month ago, according to Reserve Bank of India. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank sanctioned a $140-mln loan to improve the rural road connectivity in Madhya Pradesh.
* FUNDS: The government today kept the interest rate on General Provident Fund for Apr-Jun unchanged at 7.6%, the finance ministry said.
* OIL AND GAS: Essar Oil & Gas Exploration and Production will invest $1 bln for shale gas extraction at its Raniganj block in West Bengal from where the company currently produces 1 mscmd of coal bed methane. Essar Oil still owes about 500 mln euros (around 40.23 bln rupees) in payments for previous purchases of Iranian crude after having paid about 2 bln euros (around 160.92 bln rupees) in outstanding dues, Chief Executive B. Anand said on Thursday.
* PORTS: JSW Group-owned South West Port has stopped cargo handling operations at Mormugao Port Trust from Apr 1, after the Goa State Pollution Control Board revoked consent to operate the facility citing non-compliance with approval terms.
* REGULATORY: In order to standardise performance disclosure of schemes once they have been merged, the Securities Exchange Board of India has asked mutual funds to disclose the weighted average performance of the new as well as the old product.
* SHIPPING: Rolls-Royce and Goa Shipyard have agreed to manufacture MTU engines which are fitted onboard of all offshore patrol vessels recently constructed or under construction in India.
* TAXATION: The goods and services tax regime should be extended to hitherto uncovered sectors
electricity, real estate, alcohol and petroleum products, the new CII President Rakesh Bharti Mittal said.
