1. RBI issues draft norms on rupee-linked bonds
overseas
i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday said that Indian corporates, eligible to raise external commercial borrowings (ECBs), are permitted to issue rupee- linked bonds overseas.
i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday said that Indian corporates, eligible to raise external commercial borrowings (ECBs), are permitted to issue rupee- linked bonds overseas.
ii. Corporates
which are, at present, permitted to access ECB, under the approval route, will
require prior permission of the RBI to issue such bonds and those coming under
the automatic route can do so without prior permission of the RBI.
iii. The RBI
proposed that the subscription, coupon payments and redemption might be settled
in foreign currency.
iv. It also
stipulated the coupon on the bonds should not be more than 500 basis points
above the sovereign yield of the Government of India security of corresponding
maturity as per the FIMMDA yield curve prevailing on the date of issue.
2. Government to Give Rs 6,000 Crore Interest-Free
Loans to Sugar Mills
i. The government
has approved interest-free loans for cash-strapped sugar mills to help them pay
nearly 30 per cent of the record Rs 21,000 crore they owe to cane farmers, many
of whom are struggling with huge debts as the first country-wide drought in six
years looms.
ii. Sugar cane
prices, meanwhile, have jumped over the years due to the populist policies of
state governments to raise minimum support prices for farmers.
iii. Mills in
India, the world's biggest sugar producer after Brazil, have been lobbying the
government for months seeking relief as prices of the sweetener have fallen
below the cost of production due to ample supplies.
iv. The federal
government earlier this year approved a subsidy to export raw sugar, although
that failed to boost shipments amid a global glut.
3. Small traders' body CAIT to launch ecommerce
platform
i. After fighting
tooth and nail with online retailers, the apex body of small traders,
Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), has decided to launch its own
ecommerce portal in the next three months.
ii. Named 'e-Lala',
the proposed portal will provide a direct interface between sellers and
consumers and there will be no third agency which will be involved in any transaction,
thereby eliminating the commission component which the sellers need to pay.
iii. The proposal
was recently discussed at the national governing council meeting of CAIT. The
body has constituted a committee under the chairmanship of its national president
BC Bhartia to implement the plan.
iv. It will be the
first ecommerce portal in the country by the traders for the traders. It will
be a location-based portal wherein traders from different cities will be
registered under their respective category of items.
v. Consumers will
have the option to buy either online or from the physical store of the chosen
seller
4. Microsoft begins rebranding of Nokia Priority
Stores
i. In order to
increase its presence in emerging markets like India, Microsoft on Wednesday
kick-started rebranding of Nokia Priority Stores as Microsoft Priority
Resellers.
ii. India is the
first country among Microsoft's global markets to roll out the new look for its
retail outlets.
iii. This is
perhaps one of the biggest rebranding exercises undertaken by a mobile
manufacturer and we wanted India to lead the way being a priority market for
us. For many consumers, the rebranded shops will be their first experience of
Microsoft as a consumer hardware manufacturer.
iv. While existing
Nokia stores would transform into Microsoft Priority Resellers, housing only
Microsoft products, the multi-branded retail stores will be rechristened as
Microsoft Mobile Resellers.
5. Kapil Mishra to Succeed Jitender Tomar as Delhi's
Law Minister
i. Delhi Jal Board
vice chairman Kapil Mishra will succeed Jitender Tomar as Delhi's law minister.
A letter has been sent to the president in this regard.
ii. Mr Tomar had
stepped down on Tuesday after being arrested over allegations that he had faked
his law degree.
iii. Mr Mishra, the
legislator from northeast Delhi's Karawal Nagar, was placed in the crucial Jal
Board to help realise the Aam Aadmi Party's election promise of providing cheap
water to Delhiites.
6. SEBI cracks down on 200 illicit fund-raising activities
in 1 year
i. Stepping up
action against illicit fund-raising in a big way, SEBI has cracked down on
nearly 200 such activities in last one year relating to fraud against gullible
investors and recovered Rs. 25 crore.
ii. SEBI has passed
close to 200 orders in last one year against illegal fund-raising activities
and barred individuals and companies from mobilising money from public.
iii. The Securities
Laws Amendment Act, which was notified by the government in August 2014,
empowers SEBI to pass orders for attachment of properties, arrest of defaulters
and to access call data records.
iv. A majority of
orders against deemed public issues were in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh and Odisha. The same for CIS activities are in Tamil Nadu, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.