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A. Economy,

Business and Finance ............................................... 2-4

B. News from Capital Market ..................................... 5-5

C. Regulatory News ......................................................... 6-7

ECONOMY, BUSINESS AND FINANCE Budget 2015: Plan to auction infra projects in ‘plug-and-play’ mode

may face clearance hurdle: The government’s plan to auction projects in ‘plug-and-play’ mode in infrastructure sectors like roads, ports, rail lines and airports will help investors back to the Indian infrastructure space but there are concerns that obtaining clearances before auction will delay award of the projects by at least two years. The government proposes to set up five new ultra mega power projects (UMPPs) of 4,000 Mw each worth about Rs 1 lakh crore in the mode, whereby all clearances and linkages will be in place before the projects are awarded through auction. According to experts, the implementation of the model will be difficult for the government as it will take at least a year to acquire land and statutory clearances while award of the project and financial closure will take another year.

Budget 2015: Service tax hike likely to hit overall consumption: According to Union Budget-2015, the rate of service tax will increase to 14% from 12.36% and lack of any sops for consumers will marginally impact overall consumption just when the consumer products industry looks to come out of its worst slowdown in a decade. It will hamper a host of categories including eating out, grooming, movies, phone bills and grocery shopping which, companies fear, will all result in squeezing the household budgets, dampening the industry’s revival process.

Budget 2015- Government sets disinvestment target of Rs 69,500 crore: The government has stepped up its disinvestment target at Rs. 69,500 crore to sell stakes in government companies to generate non-debt resources to expand public investment and contain the fiscal deficit, while giving a larger share of its tax revenues to the states, as per the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission

Government targets Rs 1 lakh crore in dividend collection next fiscal: The government aims to collect over Rs 1 lakh crore in dividend from public sector companies and banks in 2015-16, a 13 per cent increase over previous year. The government will collect Rs 88,781 crore on account of dividends in the current fiscal according to the Budget document. All profit-making central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) are required to declare a minimum dividend on equity of 20 per cent or a minimum dividend payout of 20 per cent of post-tax profit, whichever is higher, subject to availability of disposable profits.

RBI enters into currency swap contract of 400 million with Sri Lanka: The Reserve Bank of India signed a $400 million currency swap agreement with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka for three years that will allow the nation to draw the amount in dollars or euros in multiple tranches.

Oil Prices appear to rise again: Brent crude oil shot up nearly 6 per cent on Thursday after Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies began a military operation in Yemen, although importers saw little immediate threat to supplies. Oil prices jumped as traders and importers said they were worried the Saudi attack was a sign that fighting in the oil-rich Middle East was out of control and spreading. Brent futures rose as high as $59.71 a barrel, up almost 6 percent since their last settlement, before dipping back to $59.10 a barrel, though still up over $2.60. US crude was up $2.55 at $51.76 a barrel.

New gas price to be $5.01 a unit from April 1: In the first ever reduction in domestic natural gas prices, the rates will be slashed by 9 per cent to USD 4.56 per unit from April 1 to reflect the softening in international prices, benefiting users in the power and fertiliser sectors.The government had in October last year fixed natural gas price at USD 5.05 per million British thermal unit based on weighted average of international hub rates. This was on gross calorific value (GCV) basis. “The price of gas on GCV basis from April 1 will be USD 4.56 per mmBtu,” a top source said. On net clarofic value (NCV) basis, the

EDItORIAL ADvISORS Prof. Jita Bhattacharya, Professor, Dept. of Commerce, CU Prof. Swagata Sen, Professor, Dept. of Commerce, CU Prof. Malayendu Saha, Professor, Dept. of Commerce, CU Ms. Sripriya Senthilkumar, DGM, CSE

EDItORIAL BOARDEditor-in-Chief

Prof. D. R. Dandapat, Director, CUCSE-CEFM

Associate Editor CA Mr. Snehamay Bhattacharyya, Head, Dept. of Commerce, CU

MEMBERS OF thE EDItORIAL BOARD Dr. Ashish Kumar Sana, Dept of Commerce, CU Dr. Tanupa Chakraborty, Dept of Commerce, CU Dr. Ramprahlad Choudhary, Dept of Commerce, CU Mr. Sanat Bharadwaj, CSE Enlisted Resource Person Mr. Manoj Garg, CSE Empanelled Resource Person

CONtENt DEvELOPMENt & CIRCULAtION Nimai Sundar Manna, JRF, CUCSE-CEFM Pallavi Julasaria, Academic Associate, CUCSE-CEFM Sweta Gupta, Academic Associate, CUCSE-CEFM

Gourab Chakraborty, Academic Associate, CUCSE-CEFM

CONtENtS

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price would come to USD 5.01 per mmBtu as compared to USD 5.61 per mmBtu rate prevalent currently. “The government does not fix or notify a rate. A formula was notified last year, based on which the price applicable from April 1 would be USD 4.56 per mmBtu on GCV basis,” said the source. This will be the first reduction in price of natural gas ever in India. While it will impact the revenue producers like Oil and Natural Gas Corp and Reliance Industries, it will be a bonanza for users in the power and fertilizer sector.

Larsen & toubro wins orders worth about Rs. 1711 Cr.: L&T Construction, an arm of the engineering and construction major Laresn and Toubro, today said it has bagged orders worth Rs 1,711 crore this month across various business segments. The scope of the work involves civil, structural, architectural finishes and mechanical, electrical and plumbing jobs. Buildings and factories business fetched Rs 880 crore, while power transmission and distribution wing got Rs 676 crore orders. About Rs 155 crore came from water and renewable business segment, the company said in an exchange filing. Construction of a residential building in Mumbai for a private developer forms the major part of the total order received in the buildings and factories business segment. L&T Construction has also received an order from a cement producer for civil, structural, fabrication and erection of a greenfield unit in Madhya Pradesh. In power transmission and distribution business, L&T has received order for supply, installation and commissioning of a 220 kV double-circuit transmission line from Bihar State Power Transmission Company. It has bagged works from Power Grid Corporation of India for turnkey construction of 220kV multi-circuit and double- circuit transmission lines in Jammu & Kashmir and 765kV double-circuit transmission lines in Uttar Pradesh.

Moody’s downgraded its ratings on local and foreign-currency deposits of Central Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank: Moody’s downgraded two Indian state lenders to below investment grade. The agency downgraded its ratings to Ba1 from Baa3 on local and foreign-currency deposits of Central Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank. IOB’s senior unsecured debt was also downgraded to Ba1 from Baa3. Moody’s actions reflect its assumption of a lower level of support from the government, which is rated Baa3/BBB-/BBB-

As small firms default, ratio of recoveries and upgrades to gross non-performing assets (NPAs) at PSU banks falls: According to data collated by ratings company ICRA Ltd, the ratio of recoveries and upgrades to gross non-performing assets (NPAs) in the October-December quarter at public sector banks was 14%, compared with 40% in the April-June quarter. Gross NPAs at public sector banks rose from 4.6% of their advances as of 30 June to 5.1% in December, according to the report of ICRA ltd as small companies default on payments against a still-difficult macroeconomic backdrop. Gross NPAs at 40 listed banks in the December quarter goes up 20.5% to Rs.2.93 trillion from Rs.2.43 trillion a year earlier, according to data available from Capitaline database.

Banks’ total NPAs increase to Rs 3, 00,611 crore: TThe non-performing assets (NPAs) of banks in the country stood at Rs.3,00,611 crore as on December 2014, attributing the increase of non-performing assets (NPAs) to sluggishness in growth. Of the total NPAs, Rs.2,62,402 crore belonged to nationalized banks and Rs.38,209 crore belonged to private sector banks. Sluggishness in the domestic growth in the last few years and slowdown in the global economy is the key reasons for the increase of NPAs.

SBI sells 124 out of 350 properties in mega e-auction, raises Rs100 crore: The state-owned bank was able to sell 124 properties worth Rs.90-100 crore. A majority of the properties sold were residential properties, bought by those who were looking to reside in these. The value of the 350 residential and commercial assets up for sale ranged

between Rs.1,000-1,200 crore. The auction was aimed at supporting and strengthening the bank’s attempts at bad loan recovery.

top 30 defaulters’ bad loans amount to Rs 95, 122 crore in PSU banks: As per data made available by RBI (Reserve Bank of India), the top 30 non- performing assets (NPAs) of public sector banks amount to Rs.95,122 crore as on December 2014 which is more than one-third of the entire non-performing assets of public sector banks as on December 2014.

Fraud worth Rs11, 022 crore detected in PSU banks in April-December: TPublic sector undertaking (PSU) banks have reported over 2,100 fraud cases involving a sum of Rs.11,022 crore in the first nine months of the ongoing fiscal, with Punjab National Bank (PNB) reporting the maximum number of such instances. Delhi-based PNB had 123 cases of fraud totaling Rs.2,036 crore, followed by Central Bank of India with 147 cases involving an amount of Rs.1,783 crore. Although the number of such fraud cases is the highest in country’s largest lender State Bank of India at 474, the total amount involved was less at Rs.1,327 crore.

ICICI said to restart special unit to check rise in bad debt: ICICI Bank will restart the Special Asset Management Group which it shut a decade ago by April to recover bad debts.

RBI eases the lending restrictions imposed on UBI: The Reserve Bank of India withdrew the restrictions which were imposed upon UBI in November 2013 from lending over Rs.10 crore to a single borrower after the bank’s bad loans piled up. But, after the restriction being withdrawn, the bank is free to lend, but its capital adequacy does not fall below 9.5%.

Bank credit up by 10.39% at Rs 64, 53,394 crore: Banks' credit has grown at 10.39 per cent at Rs 64,53,394 crore in the fortnight to February 20, up from Rs 58,45,833 crore a year ago, according to the latest data released by the Reserve Bank. While deposits increased by 11.85 per cent to Rs 84,74,824 crore in the reporting fortnight as against Rs 75,76,609 crore in the same fortnight last year.

State Bank of India sees loan growth picking up from FY16: State Bank of India, expects loan growth to rise to as much as 15 per cent in the 2015-16 financial year, boosted by government auctions for coal blocks and telecom spectrum.

Axis Bank cuts deposit rates by up to 0.25 per cent: Axis Bank has cut its deposit rates by 25 basis points across buckets in the 18-36 months tenure. Interest on deposits for less than 17 months has been reduced by 15 basis points to 8.50%. The bank has also reduced interest rates on bulk deposits of Rs 5 crore and above by 10 basis points across maturity.

Yes Bank changes balance slab for 7% interest rates on savings accounts: The bank said only savings account deposits of over Rs.3 lakh will earn a 7% interest while deposits below Rs.3 lakh will earn 6% interest every year. Yes Bank’s new rates will be applicable for the new financial year 2015-16

Private Banks to hike fines, charges for the new financial year starting from April: Private Banks will introduce a new set of charges and higher penalties for its customers for the new financial year 2015-16 on non-maintenance of minimum average balance in savings accounts.

Axis Bank raises $250 million to add to $500 million raised in Nov: Axis Bank Ltd, India’s third largest private sector bank by assets, raised $250 million by selling bonds to add to the $500 million it had raised in November last year. The bonds will mature in 2020. Axis Bank will apply the net proceeds to meet the funding requirement of its foreign branches and for general corporate purposes. Asia contributed 63%, Europe 15%, and the Middle East investors contributed 22%.

EXIM Bank raises $500 million to Finance Green projects: Export and Import Bank has raised $500 million by selling bonds maturing in 5

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years to the foreign investors based in Europe and Asia at a coupon rate of 2.75% to finance environmental friendly projects in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

hDFC Bank launches mobile app to transfer fund to phonebook contact: HDFC bank launched Chillr, a mobile app which allows users to instantly transfer money to any contact in their phone book. Chillr is a first of its kind application that is linked directly to the customer’s bank account, so there is no need to worry about filling up a prepaid wallet. No passwords are stored on the phone and it can be accessed only with M-PIN known to the customer alone. The Bank will charge Rs 3.50 along with service tax for each transaction. A user could transfer a maximum amount of Rs 5,000 and could do 10 transactions per day.

Xpress Money introduced new service to remit funds: Money transfer operator Xpress Money launched a new service to help consumers send money directly to any bank account in the country. The company has been accompanied by Axis Bank to offer this service. All transactions under this service would be controlled through the Axis Bank. Once the transaction has been processed, the amount would be credited to beneficiaries’ accounts within 24 to 48 hours. Beneficiaries would be able to withdraw the remitted money from close to 1, 50,000 ATMs in the country or from the designated bank branches.

Axis Bank, MasterCard, vayana partner for B2B invoicing: Axis Bank has tied up with MasterCard and Vayana Network to provide digital invoicing solutions for B2B payments. This solution aims to simplify B2B payments in India, estimated at over $ 95 billion annually.

Zebpay launched bitcoin mobile wallet in India: Tech firm Zebpay has launched its ‘bitcoin’ mobile wallet in the country. The wallet, which is in form of a mobile application, will help its user buy, sell and transact in bitcoins which is presently valued at around $280 per unit. The Zebpay application is available on Android platform.

UAE Exchange offers instant India bank transfers: Global remittance provider UAE Exchange has tied up with YES Bank, India’s 4th largest Private Sector Bank, for real time money transfers to any bank in India. The tie up will integrate UAE Exchange FLASHremit, an instant account credit facility, with IMPS (Immediate Payment Service). IMPS is a network of banks in India, launched by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). ‘FLASHremit’ service started by the bank enables customers to conveniently send money instantly to their beneficiaries in India in Indian Rupees.

Govt. expects Rs 25,000 crore investment in insurance sector: To increase insurance penetration from 3 per cent currently to 6 per cent, the Govt. has decided to initiate the inflow of (foreign) investment in the range of Rs 25,000 crore in the insurance sector to get to 6 per cent penetration in the medium term.

LIC is willing to buy 40-year government bonds: Life insurance major LIC is keen on buying 40-year bonds which the government is set to issue this year.

LIC to invest Rs 1.5-lakh crore in Railways over 5 years: LIC, state-run insurance major committed Rs 1.5 lakh crore to the Indian Railways for development of various commercially viable projects in one of the largest railway networks in the world. The investment would be made over a period of five years. The investment would be done in bonds issued by various railway entities such as Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC), beginning next fiscal. On an average, LIC (Life Insurance Corporation) will be subscribing bonds worth Rs 30,000 crore over next five years.

NABARD launches digitization scheme for women’s groups: In an experiment to empower women through information technology and promote financial inclusion, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) launched a pilot project for complete

digitization of women’s self-help groups (SHGs) for efficient and hassle-free delivery of banking services. The project will benefit various stakeholders. It will facilitate mainstreaming of SHG members with Aadhar-based financial inclusion and Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana enabling access to wide range of financial services. Digitization will bring transparency, credibility to operations of SHGs through inbuilt grading MIS (management information systems) and thereby increasing the comfort of bankers in credit appraisal, disbursement and monitoring.

Many MSMEs either shut down or sick due to shortage of funds: A number of MSME units across the country have either shut down or became sick due to inadequate funds, power shortage, high cost of capital and recession. According to the data given by Reserve Bank of India from scheduled commercial banks, the position regarding the number of sick MSMEs in the country at the end of March 2014 is 4, 68,399. MSME sector contributes 8 per cent of GDP and accounts for around 40 per cent of the total exports and around 45 per cent of the manufacturing output.

the Non-Banking Finance Company Mudra bank to be launched on 8th April, 2015: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (Mudra) Bank on 8 April in New Delhi. Mudra Bank will be set up with a corpus of Rs.20, 000 crore and credit guarantee corpus of Rs.3, 000 crore. The corpus will be funded from the shortfall in banks’ priority sector lending. The objective of the bank is o make the money available at cheaper rate to the small enterprises in India.

Ratan tata buys minority stake in Grameen Capital India: Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata has purchased a minority stake in the non-banking finance company of Grameen Capital India (GCI).

Govt. asks PSU banks to step up lending to minorities: The government has advised PSU banks to step up lending to minorities to ensure that they get loans in proportion to their population to increase the percentage share of lending to each minority community in proportion to their respective share in minority population. In order to ensure proportionate credit to minority communities, public sector banks are opening branches in minority concentration areas.

US NGO partners with MetLife to provide microfinance in UP: Grameen Foundation US has partnered with MetLife Foundation to provide savings and other services to at least 40,000 poor and women clients in Uttar Pradesh. This is to be executed over the next two years.

Asian Development Bank to give $300 milion loan to India for North East Region: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will extend a loan of $300 million to India for improving road connectivity and increasing the domestic and regional trade along the North Bengal-North Eastern Region (NER). An agreement in this regard was signed with the ADB here, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement. The loan has a 25-year repayment term. “The loan is the first tranche under $500 million multi-tranche South Asian Sub-regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Road Connectivity Investment Programme. Under this programme, about 500 km of roads will be constructed,” it said. “The project will improve road connectivity and efficiency of the international trade corridors by expanding roads in NER of the country. “The investment on the ‘last mile’ connectivity will contribute to achieve the objective of regionally balanced and inclusive growth of remote and economically lagging regions,” said Tarun Bajaj, Joint Secretary in the Ministry. Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission Teresa Kho said that the improvements in road connectivity will enable efficient and safe transport within India and regionally with other SASEC member countries. The first tranche will be used to construct two national highways totalling about 150 km in West Bengal and State roads totaling about 180 km in Manipur, extending to Myanmar. “The project is expected to be completed by December 2021,” the Ministry said.

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NEWS FROM CAPItAL MARKEtS MCX surges over 8% on Proposed FMC Merger with SEBI: Shares

of commodity bourse Multi Commodity Exchange surged over 8 per cent to hit fresh 52-week high of Rs 1,289 after Arun Jaitly in his Budget speech proposed to merge Forward Market Commission (FMC) with SEBI. The shares of MCX came in high demand as the proposed move will repress the illegal trading called “dabba trading” in commodities.

Government to reduce holding in PSBs to 52% in a phased manner: Government has decided to bring down its holding in public sector banks (PSBs) to 52 per cent in a phased manner to ensure that capital needs of banks are taken care of. The government will continue to support those banks with alternative strategies which will still not be able to raise capital.

SBI composite index for March shows significant uptrend: The SBI Composite Index, an indicator for tracking India’s manufacturing activity, has indicated a significant growth in output both in terms of month-on-month and yearly basis in March. The monthly index has shown robust growth of 58.5 in March 2015, from 47.6 in February 2015, implying the highest pace of growth in last 48 months.

SBI likely to sell up to Rs 15,000-crore shares by end April: State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender by assets, plans to raise between Rs 11,000 crore and 15,000 crore ($1.8-$2.4 billion) via share sale by April-end. SBI received shareholders approval to raise up to Rs 15,000 crore last week, as part of its efforts to strengthen its balance sheet on hopes of a pickup in loan demand in the economy. SBI has selected eight investment banks including Axis Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, JM Financial, and Kotak Mahindra Capital to advise on the sale.

DhFL raises Rs 809.61 crore from institutional investors: Dewan Housing Finance Corporation has raised Rs 809.61 crore by issuing shares to institutional investors. It has issued and allotted 1, 69,31,102 equity shares to the Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) at a price of Rs 478.18 per equity share, including a premium, aggregating to Rs 809.61 crore. Its paid-up equity capital has increased to Rs 145.67 crore consequent to the allotment of shares to the QIBs.

FPI Inflow Hits $12 Billion so far in 2015: Overseas investors have poured in $2.5 billion into the Indian capital markets so far this month, taking the total inflow to around $12 billion since the beginning of the year. Analysts expect the inflows to accelerate further going ahead following the passage of bills related to insurance, coal allocation and mining and assurances in the Union Budget to revisit controversial issues like General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR). Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have bought shares worth a net Rs. 9,931 crore ($1.6 billion) during March 2-20 period. In the debt segment, their net inflows stand at Rs. 5,788 crore ($931 million) taking the total to Rs. 15,719 crore ($2.53 billion), as per the data compiled by Central Depository Services Ltd. The inflows take the foreign investment level in the country’s capital markets (equity and debt segments) to Rs. 73,971 crore (approx. $12 billion) so far this year.

SAIF Partners raises $350 million for New India Fund: Venture capital firm SAIF Partners has raised $350 million (about Rs 2,170 crore) for a new India-focused fund. SAIF Partners has raised its targeted amount from 27 investors, according to a filing with US regulatory agency SEC. SAIF Partners invests in early to growth stage companies across sectors such as mobile, internet, consumer products, industrials, financial services and IT. SAIF Partners has been among the most active VC firms in India, deploying Rs 900 crore in 17 investments last year.

Reliance Capital sold its stake to Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui trust Bank: Preparing for its banking foray, Reliance Capital has completed sale of 2.77 per cent stake for Rs 371 crore to Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, which would be a strategic partner in the proposed bank. Reliance Capital, which is present across a host of financial services

segments, including insurance, mutual funds, commercial and home finance, broking and wealth management, plans to set up a full-fledged bank as and when RBI opens the window for new licenses. SMTB has made its investment in the company at a price of Rs 530 each through preferential allotment of shares.

Accel Partners doubles its fund size to Rs 1,890 crore with latest offering: Venture capital firm Accel Partners has raised a new fund of Rs 1,890 crore ($305 million). Accel, best known as an early investor in Flipkart, expects to make more investments in consumer, enterprise software, mobile and healthcare sectors.

Ujjivan raises Rs 600 crore from private equity funds: Micro lender Ujjivan Financial Services has raised Rs 600 crore from investors, including CX Partners Fund I, CDC Group, New Quest Asia Investments and Bajaj Holdings. “This equity transaction is the largest of its kind in the sector. Funds which have been raised would be used to expand the loan book across products, including joint liability group lending and individual lending to economically active poor.

SREI Equipment to raise Rs 500cr via NCD issue: SREI Equipment Finance has filed draft prospectus with SEBI to issue secured, redeemable non-convertible debentures of a face value of Rs 1,000/- each, aggregating unto Rs 250 crore with an option to retain over-subscription up to Rs 250 crore aggregating to a total of up to Rs 500 crore. The NCD issues have been rated “CARE AA” by Credit Analysis & Research Limited (“CARE”) and “BWR AA” (Outlook Stable) by Brickwork Ratings India Private Limited.

India Bulls housing Finance has borrowed $150 million from Qatar Bank: India Bulls Housing Finance (IBHFL) has raised $150 million (Rs 940 crore) from Qatar National Bank Group (QNB Group) under external commercial borrowings for low-cost and affordable housing.

Private equity players seal over $737 million deals in February: According to Grant Thornton report Private equity deals worth $ 737 million were sealed in February through 73 transactions, registering a fall of 7 per cent over last year The PE investment activities fell in February despite the increase in number of deals.

Kedaara Capital invests Rs 700 crore in three deals: Private equity firm Kedaara Capital is investing about Rs 700 crore, or $110 million, across three control-type deals. One is buying 24% stake in Manjushree Technopack, a packaging materials company which is delisting from the stock exchanges. Another one is to acquire a large stake in Bangalore-based auto components maker Bill Forge for about Rs 300 crore . The third one is another investment deal with Parksons Packaging, one of the country’s largest manufacturers of folding cartons and paper packaging.

Private Equity giants to acquire $300m stake in ICICI Prudential: Private equity heavyweights and sovereign investors including Temasek Holding, Capital International and GIC of Singapore have lined up to acquire a stake in India’s biggest private sector life insurer ICICI Prudential Life for $300 million, valuing the firm at $6 billion.

India Inc. is in effort to persuade the govt. to allow private companies to accept public deposits: India Inc. has urged the government to allow private companies to accept deposits from the public without a deposit insurance contract for one more year, as they are already facing challenges with the provisions introduced in the company’s law. Under new norms, the government has made deposit insurance mandatory for private companies raising money through deposit-taking schemes from next month. This is to protect consumers from possible defaults. Companies will not to be allowed to pass on the expenses of deposit insurance to investors and will have to bear it themselves.

Australia’s IAG to increase its stake in Jv with SBI to 49 per cent: Insurance Australia Group (IAG) will raise its stake to the maximum allowed 49 per cent in a general insurance joint venture with State Bank of India (SBI). The SBI will dilute its stake in SBI General Insurance from 76 percent to 51 percent. AIG’s stake will increase to 49 percent from 26 percent.

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REGULAtORY NEWS RBI cuts repo rate by 25 bps to 7.5%; keeps CRR unchanged:

RBI slashed key policy (repo) rate by 0.25 per cent to 7.5 per cent, with effect from April 1, 2015, the second such surprise rate cut outside regular policy review in less than two months. The cut in the policy rate by RBI will help in lowering interest rate for individual and corporate borrowers. It will thus make home, auto and corporate loans cheaper. However, cash reserve ratio has been left unchanged at 4 per cent. The finance ministry has asked banks to step up to the occasion and pass on the rate cuts to consumers or face the possibility of an intervention from the government which owns a majority stake in over two dozen public sector banks. Keki Mistry, Vice Chairman and CEO of HDFC, said that the central bank may cut the repo rate further by 50 basis points in 2015.

RBI allows t+2 bond settlements for foreign investors: The Reserve Bank of India will extend the time frame for settling government bond trades to two days from one day for foreign institutional investors starting from 6 April. The custodian bank or the counterparty of the foreign investors needs to report the deal on the day of the trade itself. All sale and purchase transactions in Government securities, where at least one of the parties is an FPI (foreign portfolio investors), will be settled only on T+2 basis.

RBI revised priority sector lending norms: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revised priority sector lending (PSL) norms, with loans to medium enterprises, sanitation and renewable energy sectors coming under the ambit of priority sector lending. PSL target for all banks, including foreign banks, is retrained at 40% of adjusted net bank credit or credit equivalent of off-balance sheet exposure, whichever is higher, for all scheduled commercial banks. Foreign banks will however be given time to comply with the revised norms, the central bank added, without specifying on a time period. The target for lending to the agriculture sector has been retained at 18 per cent of ANBC, but the Reserve Bank has recommended a sub-target of 8 per cent of ANBC for small and marginal farmers, which is to be achieved in a phased manner.

Government allows seven PSU banks to raise capital from market: The government has allowed seven state-run banks to raise capital from market as part of efforts to help them comply with global Basel III banking rules. The government in its budget for the next fiscal year that starts from 1 April has allocated Rs7, 940 crore ($1.26 billion) for capital infusion in state-banks, far lower than what the market had expected.

RBI issues new norms on NPA sales: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked banks facing rising asset quality issues to reverse the excess provision on sale of bad loans to their profit and loss account provided the transaction took place before 26 February 2014. The move is aimed at incentivizing banks to recover appropriate value in respect of NPAs (non-performing assets). From 1 April, banks will have to make full provision—5% of the bad asset—if they have restructured the loan, and the entire amount if the asset in corporate debt restructuring (CDR) turns bad. The apex bank said new guidelines will be applicable if only the excess is for a value higher than the bank’s net book value (NBV).

the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) planning IPO rule changes to lure home grown startups: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is planning the IPO rule changes that will make it easier for homegrown start-ups to list their shares on local bourses. The SEBI is considering easing rules on mandatory disclosure for the draft prospectuses of Internet-based companies.

SEBI earns Rs 391cr revenue during Apr-Feb this fiscal: Capital markets regulator Sebi has generated Rs 391 crore revenue during April-February period of this financial year (2014-15). Till February in the current fiscal, the amount of revenue earned by Sebi stood at Rs 390.90 crore, higher than Rs 363.85 crore posted in the preceding fiscal. It earns revenues from offer documents, fee from mutual funds, stock brokers, and alternative investment fund and investment advisers.

SEBI rearranges panel on disclosures, accounting standards: SEBI has re-organized its committee which advices the regulator on issues related to disclosure requirements and accounting practices for various entities in the securities market. The 17-member Committee on Disclosures and Accounting Standards will continue to be chaired by Tata Sons’ Director (Finance) Ishaat Hussain. Other members on the panel include Wipro CFO and Executive Director Suresh Senapaty, NSE Managing Director and CEO Chitra Ramkrishna, Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Director General AB K P Sasidharan and ICAI’s S Santhanakrishnan. The expert panel also includes representatives from SEBI, Finance Ministry and Corporate Affairs ministry. The main objectives of this committee are to advise SEBI on issues related to disclosure requirements in the offer documents, application forms, advertisements and other mode of mass communication by the issuers, issues related to the continuous disclosure requirements pertaining to listing of equity or debt of an issuer. The panel also has to advise SEBI on issues for addressing the operational and systemic risks in primary market. The committee's job is to smoothening the implementation of accounting standards, statements, guidance notes and studies evolved by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) to the extent that it pertains to disclosures in the capital market documents and for disclosures related to intermediaries.

SEBI steps up media campaign in 13 languages to safeguard investors: The capital markets watchdog is looking to expand its investor education and awareness programmes through various platforms, including radio and TV advertisements, wherein its focus areas would include Investor Grievance Redressal Mechanism and Collective Investment Schemes. Besides, SEBI plans to launch mass media campaigns on topics such as promotion of mutual funds as an available investment option for small investors. During the current fiscal ending this month, SEBI has already undertaken an all-out mass media campaign to make the public aware about troubles of investing on hearsay and in pursuit of high returns in less time. SEBI has been pursuing a massive Investor Education and Awareness Campaign since December 2012 through media on relevant topics of investor awareness. For the maximum impact, SEBI had roped in professional agencies for these campaigns and have made them in as many as 13 languages - Bengali, Assamese, Oriya, Gujarati, Kannada, Malyalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu, besides Hindi and English.

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Index 1 Year 6 Month 1 Month S&P BSE SENSEX 21646.07 26826.59 27957.49 PMC Fincorp 41.90 43.75 4.23 GVK Power & Infra. 9.51 8.17 16.40S & P BSE MID CAP 6815.173 9483.66 10592.22 Sadbhav Engg. 338.60 352.55 3.96 Biocon 469.50 435.25 7.87S & P BSE SMALL CAP 6786.994 10353.87 10890.45 India Cements 86.45 89.30 3.19 Gujarat Gas Co. 630.40 587.95 7.22S & P BSE Auto 13111.03 17574.36 19258.66 Thermax 1069.00 1103.85 3.16 NCC 112.00 104.55 7.13S & P BSE BANKEX 12944.35 18412.48 20865.31 PNB 144.40 148.55 2.79 Bhushan Steel 65.90 61.95 6.38S&P BSE FMCG 6583.150 7454.87 7773.44 India Bulls 65.45 67.15 2.53 Firstsource Solutions 30.90 29.25 5.64S&P BSE HEALTHCARE 11335.71 13918.02 17284.94 ONGC 306.80 314.70 2.51 Vakrangee 102.85 97.55 5.43S & P BSE IT 9916.24 10274.19 11404.12 Max India 435.00 446.15 2.50 GMR Infra. 16.60 15.75 5.40S&P BSE Metal 8,660.83 12,252.68 10,298.15 Oriental Bank 204.70 209.95 2.50 Future Retail 98.60 93.60 5.34S & P BSE Oil & Gas 8,425.99 11,184.90 10,053.06 Gujarat Min. D. C. 112.15 115.00 2.48 BPCL 809.95 769.40 5.27

(Source: bseindia.com) (End note: Figures as on March 31, 2015)

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SEBI eases debt-equity conversion norms for banks: Under the relaxed norms, which were approved by SEBI, banks would be allowed to convert their debt into equity in a listed borrower entity that is in distress without applicability of the markets regulator’s pricing formula in such conversions.

SEBI notifies easier delisting rules: Making voluntary delisting easier for companies, capital markets regulator SEBI has amended the De-Listing regulations, Buy-back regulations and Takeover regulations that will reduce the time taken for completing the process and provides for relaxation on case-to-case basis.

FMC modifies KYC registration process in line with SEBI: There will be a common Know- Your-Client (KYC) process for both commodity and stock markets henceforth as the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) has modified norms to make it easier for clients to register for trading in these two financial markets. This will make it easier for clients to register for trading and to avoid duplication of paper work with various intermediaries.

tax Proposals from Union Budget 2015-16: The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley in his Budget Speech in Lok Sabha proposed no change in the rate of personal Income-tax. He announced the tax proposals with no change in the rate of tax for companies in respect

of the income earned in the financial year 2015-16, assessable in the assessment year 2016-17.

However, Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley proposed to levy a surcharge at the rate of 12% on individuals, HUFs, AOPs, BOIs, artificial juridical persons, firms, cooperative societies and local authorities having income exceeding Rs 1 crore. Surcharge in the case of domestic companies having income exceeding Rs 1 crore and upto Rs 10 crore is proposed to be levied @ 7% and surcharge @ 12% is proposed to be levied on domestic companies having income exceeding Rs 10 crore. Shri Jaitley further proposed that in the case of foreign companies the surcharge will continue to be levied @ 2% if the income exceeds Rs 1 crore and is upto Rs 10 crore, and @ 5% if the income exceeds Rs 10 crore. It is also proposed to levy a surcharge @ 12% as against current rate of 10% on additional income-tax payable by companies on distribution of dividends and buyback of shares, or by mutual funds and securitization trusts on distribution of income.

The education cess on income-tax @ 2% for fulfillment of the commitment of the Government to provide and finance universalized quality based education and 1% of additional surcharge called ‘Secondary and Higher Education Cess’ on tax and surcharge is proposed to be continued for the financial year 2015-16 for all taxpayers.

Index 1 Year 6 Month 1 Month CNX NIFTY 6447.26 8031.01 8491.00 PNB 144.00 148.55 3.06 BPCL 809.00 769.30 5.16CNX NIFTY JR 12738.59 17147.13 19441.70 ONGC 305.80 315.20 2.98 Tata Power 77.05 74.35 3.63CNX Midcap 8204.94 11383.65 13001.25 NDMC 126.80 129.40 2.01 GAIL 388.60 380.05 2.25CNX IT 10472.74 10880.13 12083.00 Tata Steel 316.15 322.40 1.94 Tata Motors 550.60 540.00 1.96CNX 100 6328.85 7971.70 8519.50 UltraTech Cement 2,887.00 2,944.05 1.94 Dr. Reddy's 3,490.00 3,425.30 1.89BANK Nifty 11337.16 16092.72 18206.65 Hindalco 128.65 131.15 1.91 Cairn India 214.85 211.65 1.51Nifty Midcap 50 2261.20 3166.01 3373.65 ACC 1,557.05 1,582.65 1.62 Reliance Ind. 822.90 810.75 1.50CNX Realty 158.83 219.71 216.15 HDFC Bank 1,022.55 1,036.90 1.38 Cipla 711.00 702.20 1.25CNX Infra 2382.10 3132.91 3249.65 Yes Bank 811.95 822.95 1.34 Bharti Airtel 393.95 389.40 1.17CNX Energy 7488.77 9434.04 8264.25 Mahindra & Mahindra 1,184.90 1,200.30 1.28 HUL 872.00 862.05 1.15

(Source: nseindia.com) (End note: Figures as on March 31, 2015)

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Calcutta University in association with the Calcutta Stock Exchange Investor Protection Fund has established the “University of Calcutta – Calcutta Stock Exchange Centre of Excellence in Financial Markets ( CUCSE – CEFM)” with a special thrust in the field of Capital Markets, Financial Inclusiveness and Ethics in Financial Markets. The centre focuses mainly on Research activities and Publications, Seminars/Conferences/Outreach Programmes for increasing investors’ awareness, improvement in Syllabi/Curricula at different academic levels and to conduct Joint Certification Programmes. The Governing Board of the centre is represented by eminent professors of the University with the Honourable Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University as the Chairman and the MD & CEO of CSE represents the CSE Investor Protection Fund.

Published by Director, CUCSE-CEFM, Darbhanga Building 3rd Floor, University of Calcutta, 87/1, College Street, Kolkata-700073,E-mail: cucsecefm@gmail.com; info@cucsecefm.org; website: www.cucsecefm.org , Ph:033-2241 0071/72/73/74(Extn-316)

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