Today Sector News – 28.03.2018
* AVIATION: The government plans to sell 76% stake each in Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express, a source told Cogencis. For other Air India operations ranging from flight kitchen to engineering services, the government plans to sell 50-100% stake. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is working on a policy that will mandate airlines to increase flights to non-trunk routes so as to keep airfares reasonable to small cities.
* BANKING: The Reserve Bank of India said that banks will remain closed on Monday for annual closing of their accounts. The Reserve Bank of India has restarted the tradition of holding meetings with top bankers to get industry inputs ahead of meetings of the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee. Governance issues had been evident in public sector banks and the banking sector needed to be cleaned up in more ways than one, said Bibek Debroy, chairman of economic advisory council to the Prime Minister.
- Bank branches will remain open till 2000 IST on Saturday to allow tax payers to complete transactions on the last day of the fiscal year. The committee reviewing the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code has proposed that a case admitted for resolution can be withdrawn if 90% of creditors agree, implying that unsuccessful bidders could get back in the reckoning for an asset with a better deal.
* CAPITAL GOODS: The capital goods sector is expected to recover after declining between 2011 and 2017, on the back of an expected increase of large orders in the sector over the next three years, Motilal Oswal Securities said in a report.
* ECONOMY: India expressed hopes that its two-way trade with Africa would reach $150 bln in the next five years from $52 bln currently.
* ENERGY: Citing urgency in the need for maintaining quality of solar equipment being deployed in the country, ministry of new and renewable energy has brought forward the implementation date of a quality control order that requires sellers and manufacturers of solar photovoltaic modules to have their products registered under parameters set by the Bureau of Indian Standards.
* FAST-MOVING CONSUMER GOODS: India's food regulator plans to bring about comprehensive amendments to licensing and registration regulations, classifying businesses based on turnover in order to align them with the goods and services tax.
* GOVERNMENT: The Central Board of Direct Taxes has extended the deadline for linking Aadhaar numbers with Permanent Account Numbers to Jun 30, the government said.
* INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: In the context of Cognizant under the scanner of the income tax department for allegedly evading dividend distribution tax, the Income Tax Department has frozen some bank accounts and deposits held by software exporter Cognizant Technology Solutions, confirmed a highly placed official with the Income Tax Department.
* INFRASTRUCTURE: The government has approved construction of 321,567 affordable houses for urban poor with central assistance of 47.52 bln rupees under the 'Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban)' scheme. The government has imposed a definitive anti-dumping duty on veneered engineered wooden flooring from China, Malaysia, Indonesia and the European Union for a period of five years.
* METALS: Valuations of aluminium producers are attractive as the share prices of these companies are not factoring in a structural improvement in aluminium prices over the next two years.
* OIL & GAS: Oil hit $71 a barrel before retreating, supported by concerns over possible disruption to West Asia supply but capped by fast rising global output and a dollar recovery.
* POWER: Officials from the power ministry will meet finance ministry officials on Wednesday to discuss issues related to the stressed assets in the sector as well as the new Reserve Bank of India guidelines on non-performing assets.
* REGULATORY: Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board Of India exempted the central government from making an open offer for the shareholders of three lenders - DENA BANK, IDBI BANK and BANK OF INDIA - following capital infusion. A Securities and Exchange Board of India constituted committee to review norms for market infrastructure institutes has recommended steps to improve governance at exchanges, depositories, clearing corporations and registrar agents.
- SEBI will discuss a slew of measures at its board meeting today for strengthening the algo trading framework, amending norms for companies undergoing bankruptcy proceedings and increasing regulatory oversight on auditors. Asset managers have overcharged mutual fund investors by as much as 15 bln rupees in the last five years by unfairly charging fees, according to an internal study by the market regulator.
* STEEL: The Ahmedabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal on Tuesday adjourned the hearing on the petitions filed by ArcelorMittal and Numetal, challenging the ineligibility of their bids for Essar Steel. Steel producers may look at increasing prices at home, as macro trends show signs of a global recovery and as they try to extract maximum benefit from pricing in the first quarter before the lax monsoon season sets in.
- The National Company Law Tribunal declined to stay the second round of bidding for the bankrupt Essar Steel or defer the deadline for it as sought by Numetal, and asked the committee of creditors not to decide on the bids till the final hearing on Apr 4.
* TAXATION: The income-tax department told the Madras High Court that it has asked banks last week to freeze funds to the tune of 25 bln rupees held as deposits by Cognizant Technology Solutions, due to a dispute over unpaid dividend tax by the company.
* TELECOMMUNICATION: US technology giant Apple Inc and India's telecom regulator are at loggerheads over the development of a government anti-spam mobile application, with user privacy at the heart of a deepening rift between both sides.
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* BANKING: The Reserve Bank of India said that banks will remain closed on Monday for annual closing of their accounts. The Reserve Bank of India has restarted the tradition of holding meetings with top bankers to get industry inputs ahead of meetings of the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee. Governance issues had been evident in public sector banks and the banking sector needed to be cleaned up in more ways than one, said Bibek Debroy, chairman of economic advisory council to the Prime Minister.
- Bank branches will remain open till 2000 IST on Saturday to allow tax payers to complete transactions on the last day of the fiscal year. The committee reviewing the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code has proposed that a case admitted for resolution can be withdrawn if 90% of creditors agree, implying that unsuccessful bidders could get back in the reckoning for an asset with a better deal.
* CAPITAL GOODS: The capital goods sector is expected to recover after declining between 2011 and 2017, on the back of an expected increase of large orders in the sector over the next three years, Motilal Oswal Securities said in a report.
* ECONOMY: India expressed hopes that its two-way trade with Africa would reach $150 bln in the next five years from $52 bln currently.
* ENERGY: Citing urgency in the need for maintaining quality of solar equipment being deployed in the country, ministry of new and renewable energy has brought forward the implementation date of a quality control order that requires sellers and manufacturers of solar photovoltaic modules to have their products registered under parameters set by the Bureau of Indian Standards.
* FAST-MOVING CONSUMER GOODS: India's food regulator plans to bring about comprehensive amendments to licensing and registration regulations, classifying businesses based on turnover in order to align them with the goods and services tax.
* GOVERNMENT: The Central Board of Direct Taxes has extended the deadline for linking Aadhaar numbers with Permanent Account Numbers to Jun 30, the government said.
* INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: In the context of Cognizant under the scanner of the income tax department for allegedly evading dividend distribution tax, the Income Tax Department has frozen some bank accounts and deposits held by software exporter Cognizant Technology Solutions, confirmed a highly placed official with the Income Tax Department.
* INFRASTRUCTURE: The government has approved construction of 321,567 affordable houses for urban poor with central assistance of 47.52 bln rupees under the 'Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban)' scheme. The government has imposed a definitive anti-dumping duty on veneered engineered wooden flooring from China, Malaysia, Indonesia and the European Union for a period of five years.
* METALS: Valuations of aluminium producers are attractive as the share prices of these companies are not factoring in a structural improvement in aluminium prices over the next two years.
* OIL & GAS: Oil hit $71 a barrel before retreating, supported by concerns over possible disruption to West Asia supply but capped by fast rising global output and a dollar recovery.
* POWER: Officials from the power ministry will meet finance ministry officials on Wednesday to discuss issues related to the stressed assets in the sector as well as the new Reserve Bank of India guidelines on non-performing assets.
* REGULATORY: Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board Of India exempted the central government from making an open offer for the shareholders of three lenders - DENA BANK, IDBI BANK and BANK OF INDIA - following capital infusion. A Securities and Exchange Board of India constituted committee to review norms for market infrastructure institutes has recommended steps to improve governance at exchanges, depositories, clearing corporations and registrar agents.
- SEBI will discuss a slew of measures at its board meeting today for strengthening the algo trading framework, amending norms for companies undergoing bankruptcy proceedings and increasing regulatory oversight on auditors. Asset managers have overcharged mutual fund investors by as much as 15 bln rupees in the last five years by unfairly charging fees, according to an internal study by the market regulator.
* STEEL: The Ahmedabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal on Tuesday adjourned the hearing on the petitions filed by ArcelorMittal and Numetal, challenging the ineligibility of their bids for Essar Steel. Steel producers may look at increasing prices at home, as macro trends show signs of a global recovery and as they try to extract maximum benefit from pricing in the first quarter before the lax monsoon season sets in.
- The National Company Law Tribunal declined to stay the second round of bidding for the bankrupt Essar Steel or defer the deadline for it as sought by Numetal, and asked the committee of creditors not to decide on the bids till the final hearing on Apr 4.
* TAXATION: The income-tax department told the Madras High Court that it has asked banks last week to freeze funds to the tune of 25 bln rupees held as deposits by Cognizant Technology Solutions, due to a dispute over unpaid dividend tax by the company.
* TELECOMMUNICATION: US technology giant Apple Inc and India's telecom regulator are at loggerheads over the development of a government anti-spam mobile application, with user privacy at the heart of a deepening rift between both sides.
