1,000 NPA accounts under scanner in ICICI Bank probe
ICICI Bank Ltd is preparing to submit details of at least 1,000 loan accounts that turned sour since April 2010 to an independent panel, as part of a board-instituted probe into alleged wrongdoings by the lender’s top executives, including its off-duty CEO Chanda Kochhar, two people aware of the development said. The panel, headed by former Supreme Court judge B.N. Srikrishna, has started investigating, among other issues, three of the most serious allegations made by a whistleblower—impropriety in lending decisions; conflict of interest in loans made to business groups; and that Kochhar favored certain borrowers.
Govt raises threshold for filing tax appeals to cut down litigation
The government on Wednesday sharply increased the monetary threshold for filing appeals in tax disputes in various courts and decided to withdraw many pending appeals to cut down litigation and improve ease of doing business. The monetary threshold for filing appeals in tribunals handling income tax as well as customs, excise and service tax disputes has been doubled from Rs10 lakh to Rs20 lakh, the finance ministry said. In the case of high courts, the monetary threshold is now Rs50 lakh instead of Rs20 lakh earlier. In the Supreme Court, the threshold has been increased from Rs25 lakh to Rs 1 crore.
Telecom Commission approves new telecom policy, backs net neutrality
Net neutrality, a controversial issue around the world, has emerged a winner in India. In a heavy-duty meeting on Wednesday, the Telecom Commission, the highest decision-making body in the Department of Telecommunications, approved the net neutrality rules implying internet will remain open to everybody in the country. Apart from net neutrality rules, the commission has also approved the new telecom policy — National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP), 2018 — aimed at promoting investments, ease of doing business, and emerging technologies like 5G.
Sebi not averse to the merger of exchanges, says Chairman Ajay Tyagi
Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chairman Ajay Tyagi on Wednesday said the regulator was not against the merger of exchanges. Speaking on the sidelines of an event organized by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), he said, “More players are required, but if the economics determine there should be a consolidation, then so be it.” The comments come amid reports of merger talks between the country’s largest equity bourse, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the largest commodity bourse Multi Commodity Exchange.
Government starts process of selling Air India Mumbai headquarters
The iconic Air India building at Mumbai’s Nariman Point would soon have a new owner in the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, with the financial advisors in the ministries of shipping and civil aviation beginning the process of appointing private evaluator for the takeover. “The evaluation process will take a month or two, following which the building would be bought by JNPT,” Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari told Business Standard. The exercise is being undertaken after the proposed stake sale of the national carrier failed to attract investors. The 23-storey building at Nariman Point is the national carrier’s headquarters and is prime real estate that is expected to fetch high valuation.
GST ministerial panel against sugar cess to compensate cane farmers
A goods and services tax (GST) ministerial panel, led by Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, is not supporting a proposal for a sugar cess to compensate cane farmers. It does favour a rate reduction on ethanol, from 18 per cent now to 12 per cent. The panel will wait for the Attorney General’s opinion before taking a view on whether it is constitutionally possible to levy a separate cess under GST for sugar. The report will be put before the GST Council at a meeting scheduled on July 21. The five-member panel also has Uttar Pradesh finance minister Rajesh Agrawal, Maharashtra’s Sudhir Mungatiwar, Kerala’s Thomas Isaac and Tamil Nadu’s fisheries minister, D Jayakumar.
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