Volume XXXII Number 52 September 25, 2017

Weeklies

BI – Business India

BusW – Business World

BusT – Business Today

CMar – Capital Market

EPW – Economic and Political Weekly

SE – Southern Economist

Eco – Economist

For(Asia) – Fortune AsiaCI – Corporate India

Newspapers

BS – Business Standard

ET – Economic Times

FE – Financial Express

FT – Financial Times

H – Hindu

HBL – Hindu Business Line

HT – Hindustan Times

IE – Indian Express

TI – Times of India

Mint – Mint

Classifications

Economy Banking Agriculture & Rural Development Industry Small Scale Industry

International Economics Labour & Personnel Management Management Miscellaneous Books

CONTENTS

A. ECONOMY 1

B. BANKING 3

C. AGRICULTURE & RURAL DEVELOPMENT 16

D. INDUSTRY 16

E. SMALL SCALE INDUSTRY 17

F. INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS 17

G. MANAGEMENT 17

H. MISCELLANEOUS 18

– 1 –

BANKERS' BRIEF Vol. XXXII No. 52September 25, 2017

ECONOMY"Brainstorming session: PMO prods finmin on growth, jobs" – The Prime Minister's Office has asked

the finance ministry to hold discussions with key ministries and stitch together a comprehensive presentationon ways to create massive jobs and stimulate economic growth that hit a three-year through in Q1FY18. Areport. – (FE Sep 20, 2017 pp 1, 2)

"CEA briefs PM on state of economy" – Amid slowing growth and rising inflation, chief economic adviser(CEA) Arvind Subramanian met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to brief him on the state of the economy,including on issues like recent increases in domestic fuel prices. – (FE Sep 16, 2017 p 3)

"DBS pegs India's GDP below 7%" – India's GDP growth is likely to face near-term headwinds and mightslip below 7 per cent mark to a three-year low this financial year, according to a DBS report. According tothe global financial services major, two recent policy measures - demonetisation in November 2016 and GSTrollout in July 2017 had a short term impact on economic activity and aggravated the already slowingmomentum. – (FE Sep 16, 2017 p 2)

"Economy to rebound in Oct-Mar: CII" – Looking forward to a recovery in the economy in the second halfof the fiscal, industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said that in many sectors, includingautomobiles, production and sales have rebounded after a temporary slowdown following introduction ofGST. A report. – (IE Sep 20, 2017 p 13)

"India set to replace China as growth engine" – India is poised to emerge as an economic superpower,driven in part by its young population, while China and the Asian Tigers age rapidly, according to DeloitteLLP. The number of people aged 65 and over in Asia will climb from 365 million today to more than half abillion in 2027, accounting for 60% of that age group globally by 2030, Deloitte said in a report. In contrast,India will drive the third great wave of Asia's growth - following Japan and China - with a potential workforceset to climb from 885 million to 1.08 billion people in the next 20 years and hold above that for half a century.'India will account for more than half of the increase in Asia's workforce in the coming decade, but this isn'tjust a story of more workers: these new workers will be much better trained and educated than the existingIndian workforce,' according to the Deloitte report. – (Mint Sep 19, 2017 p 1)

"India's economy: Dark clouds and silver linings" – India may see a small cyclical recovery in the monthsahead. However, a sustainable recovery will depend on investment activity. An article.– (Mint Sep 19, 2017 p 16)

"Indian economy facing downside risks: UN report" – The Indian economy faces 'serious downside risks'as the government's demonetisation drive, implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) and corporatedeleveraging could accelerate a slowdown and make recovery difficult, the United Nations Conference onTrade and Investment (UNCTAD) said in its Trade and Development Report, 2017.– (HT Sep 15, 2017 p 13)

"Measures to revive growth to be announced soon: FM" – Finance Minister Arun Jiatley said his ministrywould soon announce measures to revive economic growth that has decelerated to the slowest pace in threeyears. Jaitley's comments come against the background of the most serious economic challenge the governmenthas faced since it came to power in 2014. A report. – (Mint Sep 21, 2017 p 1)

"Middle income trap" – India's rising per capita income has created a problem for its export subsidies andmuch else. An editorial. – (HBL Sep 18, 2017 p 14)

"Modi said to consider extension for CEA" – India is considering extending chief economic adviser (CEA)Arvind Subramanian's term, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Prime Minister NarendraModi had hired Subramanian in 2014 for three years due to end in October, according to the people.– (FE Sep 16, 2017 p 3)

– 2 –

"SBI sees sub-6% GDP growth in Q2" – The country's GDP is likely to remain below 6 per cent in thesecond quarter of 2017-18 owing to muted agriculture growth and sluggish performance of manufacturingand mining sector, says a SBI research report. While it has estimated GDP numbers to remain muted at sub-6 per cent for the July-September quarter, the third and fourth quarter growth is expected to be below 6.5 percent. A report. – (HBL Sep 15, 2017 p 4)

Ahluwalia, Sanjeev – "Bimal Jalan reflects" – 'India: Priorities for the Future' by Bimal Jalan. A bookreview. – (BS Sep 19, 2017 p 13)

Desai, Meghnad – "The economy is an urgent problem" – India's jobs problem is tied to its manufacturingstagnation - which in turn is tied to the lack of labour reforms. An article. – (FE Sep 19, 2017 p 8)

Lahiri, Ashok K – "A macro perspective" – Macroeconomic stability with low inflation has been achievedwith policy perseverance. Throwing the gains away would not be judicious. An article.– (BS Sep 20, 2017 p 12)

Mahapatra, Rajesh – "Widening current A/c deficit is a new worry" – A slowing economy and a growingCurrent Account Deficit make a lethal combination. While the former would tend to discourage FDI, thelatter would impact inflation. An article. – (HT Sep 17, 2017 p 10)

Mundle, Sudipto – "Sliding economic growth: What is to be done?" – The government must turn aroundthe appreciation of the exchange rate, and bite the bullet on the non-performing loan problem of public sectorbanks. Given this depressing picture of demand, what is surprising is not that GDP growth has declined butthat it has not declined further. An article. – (Mint Sep 15, 2017 p 15)

Ranade, Ajit – "Fiscal push is needed now, not later" – An article. – (Mint Sep 20, 2017 p 16)

CURRENCY MARKET"Is rupee depreciation a good idea to perk up economy?" – Given the resource crunch of the Centre and

the states as well as the limitations of monetary policy tools, depreciating the rupee against the dollar to boosteconomic growth, which fell to 5.7 per cent in the April-June quarter, is an idea that has found favour amongeconomists. The idea had been broached by former chief economic advisor Shankar Acharya. A report.– (BS Sep 19, 2017 p 4)

"RBI should intervene to arrest rupee appreciation: Acharya" – The RBI should step in to preventfurther appreciation of the rupee, according to Shankar Acharya, Honorary Professor, ICRIER, and formerChief Economic Advisor. This would help the economy in the short term, even while structural reforms suchas the GST could usher in growth in the medium to long term. A report. – (HBL Sep 16, 2017 p 6)

EXTERNAL DEBT"External debt drops 2.7% for FY17" – India's external debt stock dropped 2.7 per cent, or $13.1 billion, to

$471.9 billion at the end of March from a year ago, recording the first such drop in at least five years,according to the finance ministry. The decline was due to a fall in long-term debt, particularly NRI depositsand commercial borrowings. – (IE Sep 16, 2017 p 13)

FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKET"RBI needs to allow financial entities to access forex market" – Edited excerpts from an interview with

Jamal Mecklai, CEO, Mecklai Financial Services. – (FE Sep 15, 2017 p 12)

FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES"India's forex reserves cross $400 billion" – India's foreign exchange reserves crossed the $400-billion

mark last week, data released with a lag of seven days by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed. As ofSeptember 8, the forex reserves with the central bank stood at $400.73 billion, up $2.6 billion from a weekearlier. Most of the reserves - about $376.20 billion - are held in foreign currency assets such as the USdollar, euro, pound sterling, Japanese yen, etc, and is valued in terms of the American greenback.– (BS Sep 16, 2017 p 3)

– 3 –

FOREIGN TRADE"Exports jump 10.29% in Aug, 12th straight month of growth: Trade deficit widens as imports rise

further" – A sharp rise in export of petroleum products, chemicals, marine products and engineering goodshas placed export growth in the country on a firmer track with outbound shipments in August 2017 posting adouble-digit year-on-year increase of 10.29 per cent to $23.81 billion. Trade deficit, however, widened to$11.64 billion from $7.70 billion as growth in imports during the month was a higher 21.02 per cent at $35.46billion. – (HBL Sep 16, 2017 p 4)

GSTArun, T K – "End of the informal economy" – The defining feature of the informal sector is its inscrutability

and GST puts paid to it. An article. – (ET Sep 20, 2017 p 14)

Srivastava, Ajay – "It's possible to seriously simplify GST" – The Invoice Generation System will minimiseglitches and be equally efficient for business as well as government. An article. – (HBL Sep 18, 2017 p 14)

INFLATION"WPI inflation soars to 3.24% in August" – Wholesale inflation rose to a four-month high of 3.24% in

August as prices of food articles, led by onions and vegetables, soared. Inflation based on the wholesale priceindex (WPI) was 1.88% in July 2017 and 1.09% in August 2016. The last such high level of inflation waswitnessed in April when the rate of price rise was 3.85%. The government data showed that the prices offood articles went up by 5.75% in August on a yearly basis, as against 2.15% in July.– (BS Sep 15, 2017 p 4)

Datta, Devangshu – "Inflation rears its head again" – The CPI and CFPI are up and there are fears thatfood inflation will continue to rise. High inflation could prevent RBI from reducing policy rates. An article.– (BS Sep 18, 2017 p 10)

BANKING

GENERAL"1,000 bank branches open Aadhaar centres" – The UIDAI said over 1,000 bank branches of 42 private

and public sector banks have opened Aadhaar enrolment and updation centres within their premises.– (FE Sep 21, 2017 p 10)

"Negative outlook by Fitch; crisil predicts rise in NPAs: Rating agencies raise red flag on banks'performance" – Rating agencies have warned the struggling banking sector on its deteriorating performance,especially the weak capitalisation, financial performance and rising non-performing assets (NPAs). WhileCrisil has forecast a rise in NPAs to 10.5 per cent by March and the system level stress at Rs.11.5 lakh crore,or 14 per cent, Fitch Ratings placed the banking sector under a negative outlook. A report.– (IE Sep 15, 2017 p 15)

Bandyopadhyay, Tamal – "Ninth anniversary of Lehman collapse and Indian banking" – An article.– (Mint Sep 18, 2017 p 8)

Mohan, T T Ram – "Rajan in the limelight again" – An article. – (BS Sep 19, 2017 p 13)

ALLAHABAD BANK"Allahabad Bank to merge subsidiary" – The board of directors of Allahabad Bank approved the merger of

wholly-owned subsidiary AllBank Finance with itself. – (HBL Sep 21, 2017 p 6)

AXIS BANK"Growth in retail customer base has been 27% CAGR in 5 years" – An interview with Rajiv Anand,

Executive Director, Retail Banking, Axis Bank. Education loans, small business loans are growth drivers.– (H Sep 17, 2017 Pt. II p 11)

– 4 –

BANK OF BARODA"Amazon ties up with Bank of Baroda to offer micro-loans to sellers: To provide unsecured loans, as

low as Rs.1 lakh, at interest rates of 10.45-11%" – Online marketplace Amazon India is ensuring thatsellers on its platform have adequate working capital. The Indian arm of the US e-commerce giant plans toprovide unsecured micro-loans, as low as Rs.1 lakh, at interest rates as low as 10.45-11 per cent at a shortspan of 3-5 days. The company has tied up with Bank of Baroda for the loans, which can go up to Rs.25 lakh.– (HBL Sep 16, 2017 p 16)

BANK OF INDIA"Bank of India mulling merger, says CEO: To focus on strengthening systems and processes before

exploring consolidation" – The board of Bank of India is examining the possibility of merger with otherbanks, based on the synergy in business. According to Dinabandhu Mohapatra, Managing Director and ChiefExecutive Officer, the bank is in the process of strengthening its systems and processes before exploringmerger possibilities. A report. – (HBL Sep 18, 2017 p 18)

CANARA BANK"Canara Bank seeks bids for its 70% stake in Canbank Factors" – State-owned Canara Bank plans to

sell its entire 70% stake in non-banking subsidiary Canbank Factors Ltd, according to a tender on the bank'swebsite. The Bengaluru-based lender has invited bids from interested parties. The base price, a minimumrealisation expected from the transaction, is set at Rs.90 crore. – (Mint Sep 15, 2017 p 9)

CATHOLIC SYRIAN BANK"Catholic Syrian Bank looks to raise Rs.400 crore through QIP" – Kerala based-Catholic Syrian Bank

(CSB) Ltd is looking to raise as much as Rs.400 crore by selling shares to financial institutions, following thecollapse of its plan to sell a major stake to Prem Watsa owned Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd over differencesin valuation. – (Mint Sep 18, 2017 pp 1, 3)

FEDERAL BANK"Federal Bank close to roping in strategic partner for NBFC arm: CEO says Fedfina's loan book is

on course to double to about Rs.2,000 cr this fiscal" – Federal Bank, India 10th largest bank by marketcap, is close to identifying a 'strategic partner' for its wholly owned subsidiary Fedbank Financial ServicesLtd (Fedfina), according to a top official of the private sector bank. A report. – (HBL Sep 18, 2017 p 18)

"Federal Bank sees loan book growing 20-25% this quarter, says Srinivasan" – Edited excerpts froman interview with Shyam Srinivasan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, The Federal Bank Ltd.– (Mint Sep 15, 2017 p 18)

HDFC BANK"HDFC Bank's OnChat records 160% m-o-m growth in transactions" – HDFC Bank's OnChat, the

Facebook Messenger chatbot created in partnership with Niki.ai, has recorded a 160 per cent month-on-month growth in transactions since its launch in December 2016. The chatbot is the Bank's maiden foray intoconversational banking and since the launch, HDFC Bank OnChat has witnessed an exponential growth inthe number of users garnering over 2.4 Mn messages. – (FE Sep 21, 2017 p 10)

ICICI BANK"ICICI Bank offers cashback on cards for home loan borrowers" – ICICI Bank announced a cashback

scheme for borrowers who receive sanction for a home loan or transfer of their existing home loan withanother lender to ICICI Bank between September 1, 2017 and November 30, 2017. Under the festival-special scheme, eligible borrowers will be entitled to a cashback of 20% on a minimum spend of Rs.30,000 ontheir ICICI Bank credit or debit card. The maximum cashback that can be availed under the scheme isRs.10,000. – (FE Sep 16, 2017 p 10)

– 5 –

"ICICI Bank, Prudential Life weighing 6% stake sale in insurance venture" – ICICI Prudential LifeInsurance Co.'s two biggest shareholders are weighing a sale of about a 6% stake in the Indian insurer,according to people with knowledge of the matter. Prudential Plc and ICICI Bank Ltd. are considering apossible deal to pare their stakes as soon as in the next few months. – (FE Sep 21, 2017 p 10)

"ICICI plans payday-type loans in pact with e-tailers" – In a first of its kind for India, ICICI Bank willpartner with e-commerce firms to provide automated payday loan-type credit to customers at the bottom ofthe digital pyramid. Unlike other software-based loans, the digital credit planned by the bank will be availableto non-customers and new-to-credit borrowers. – (TI Sep 18, 2017 p 17)

IDBI BANK"IDBI Bank sells 2.5% stake in Clearing Corp" – Public sector IDBI Bank said it has sold 12.5 lakh

equity shares in Clearing Corporation of India (CCIL) for an undisclosed amount. IDBI Bank has sold12,50,000 equity shares constituting 2.5 per cent of the paid up capital of Clearing Corporation of India Ltd onSeptember 13, 2017. – (Mint Sep 15, 2017 p 8)

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK"Indian Overseas Bank bags award" – Indian Overseas Bank, MD and CEO R Subramaniakumar received

second prize awarded for bank's quarterly Hindi magazine 'Vani' from President Ram Nath Kovind on theoccasion of Hindi Day celebration function organised in New Delhi in the presence of Home Minister RajnathSingh and other dignitaries. – (Mint Sep 20, 2017 p 13)

INDUSIND BANK"IndusInd secures $200-m ADB loan for microlending" – IndusInd Bank has secured up to $200 million

(about Rs.1,282 crore) loan from Asian Development Bank (ADB) to serve low-income women borrowersin rural areas. The seven-year senior loan will go towards IndusInd Bank's micro-finance activities.– (FE Sep 16, 2017 p 10)

KARNATAKA BANK"Karnataka Bank board to discuss transformation initiatives: External consultant to help reposition

the bank in a host of areas, says MD" – With an aim to reposition itself as a significant force in bankingindustry in the days to come, Karnataka Bank will hold a board meeting on September 24 to discuss itstransformation initiatives. – (HBL Sep 21, 2017 p 6)

KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK"Kotak Mahindra Bank m-cap nudging Rs.2 lakh cr, second only on HDFC Bank" – Kotak Mahindra

Bank (KMB)'s market capitalisation is nudging Rs.2 lakh crore. On Wednesday, the private sector lender'smarket cap stood at Rs.1.95 lakh crore while ICICI bank's m-cap was Rs.1.86 lakh crore. KMB is thecountry's second-most valued private lender after HDFC Bank. – (FE Sep 21, 2017 p 11)

LAKSHMI VILAS BANK"Lakshmi Vilas Bank to open over 50 Aadhaar enrolment centres" – Mid-sized private sector lender

Lakshmi Vilas Bank will be opening over 50 Aadhaar enrolment centres across the country by the end of themonth to facilitate the public to get a new Aadhaar cards or update their existing cards.– (FE Sep 20, 2017 p 10)

SOUTH INDIAN BANK"South Indian Bank wins two IDRBT best bank awards" – South Indian Bank has won the 'Best Bank

Award for Digital Banking among Small Banks' and 'Best Bank Award for High Performance IT Ecosystemamong Small Banks' in the thirteenth edition of the IDRBT Banking Technology Excellence Awards2016-17. – (Mint Sep 20, 2017 p 13)

– 6 –

STATE BANK OF INDIA"Increased smartphone penetration to boost UPI adoption" – Edited excerpts from an interview with

Manju Agarwal, Deputy Managing Director (Corporate Strategy and New Business), SBI.– (FE Sep 15, 2017 p 12)

"SBI hopeful of controlling fresh slippages, says MD" – Country's largest lender State Bank of India(SBI), reeling under huge stressed assets like other banks, is hopeful that going forward it would be able tocontrol fresh slippages. 'Going forward, fresh slippages will be under control. Specifically from Septemberonwards, things will be become better,' according to MD (national banking group) of SBI Rajnish Kumar.Kumar said that gross NPA was 9.93 per cent of its total lending, which was roughly Rs.1.90 lakh crore. Weare rather concerned with the net NPA which is at three per cent now. A report. – (FE Sep 17, 2017 p 3)

"SBI may raise PCR to 67%: Gross NPAs stand at Rs.188,068 crore as of June 2017" – State Bank ofIndia is looking to increase its provision coverage ratio (PCR) to 66-67 per cent by early FY19. According toRajnish Kumar, Managing Director, SBI, the exercise of increasing PCR could be either achieved within thisfiscal or may spill over to early next fiscal. A report. – (HBL Sep 18, 2017 p 18)

"SBI to hire merchant banker for sale of non-core assets: Lender to pare stakes in stock exchanges,depositories, credit rating agencies to grow capital base" – State Bank of India (SBI) has started theprocess for selling some of its investments which are not critical to its core business in an attempt to shore upits capital base, according to two people aware of the development. SBI has stakes in stock exchanges,depositories, clearing and warehousing corporations, and credit rating agencies. As a first step, the bankplans to hire a merchant banker to assist in the process. A report. – (Mint Sep 21, 2017 p 8)

– BANK CHARGES

"SBI 'reviewing' Rs.5K min balance rule" – State Bank of India (SBI) is taking a relook at its Rs.5,000minimum balance requirement following criticism over new charges for customers with a lower balance. Thebank came under attack in the media after accounts opened for students and the underprivileged weresubjected to penalties for holding a balance lower than specified. Speaking to TOI, SBI MD Rajnish Kumarsaid the norms were not 'cast in iron', and were being debated within the bank. A report.– (TI Sep 17, 2017 p 13)

VIJAYA BANK"Vijaya Bank" – Vijaya Bank received the first prize under Rajbhasha Kirti Puraskar (Region C) for the year

2016-17 due to the active implementation of Hindi in its day-to-day activities. – (HBL Sep 15, 2017 p 2)

YES BANK"There's reasonable growth opportunity in retail segment" – Edited excerpts from an interview with

Pralay Mondal, Head of Retail, YES Bank. – (ET Sep 16, 2017 p 6)

"Yes Bank launches offerings for CAs" – Mid-sized private sector lender Yes Bank launched dedicatedofferings for chartered accounts, including business credit cards for free. The product also entails servicesfor their employees and students preparing for CA, it said in a statement. – (FE Sep 20, 2017 p 10)

– WORKFORCE

"After HDFC Bank, Yes says no to 2,500 jobs" – Yes Bank has eliminated about 2,500 jobs - more than10% of its workforce - citing increased redundancy, poor performance and the impact of digitisation. Thereduction in Yes Bank's 21,000-strong workforce marks the second recent cut in India private-sector bankingspace. HDFC Bank, the country's most valuable lender by market capitalisation, has trimmed its workforceby about 11,000 over three quarters to March 2017. A report. – (ET Sep 21, 2017 p 1)

– 7 –

CHINA"China to draft plans for financial sector opening" – China's central bank is drafting a package of reforms

which would give foreign investors greater access to the nation's financial services industry, according topeople familiar with the matter. The People's Bank of China will convene an internal meeting to discuss itsproposals and get feedback from Chinese institutions, said the people, who asked not to be identified as thematter is private. China sent a signal it plans to press ahead with opening up the financial sector when centralbank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said in June that too much protection for domestic institutions weakens theindustry and can lead to financial instability. A report. – (FE Sep 19, 2017 p 16)

EUROPEAN UNION"EU to make banks pay to centralise markets supervision" – The EU wants to centralize market supervision

and make banks pay for it, the bloc's financial services chief said, signaling how it will seek to regroup afterBritain leaves. A more integrated supervisory regime is needed to unify the EU's capital market, according tothe European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis. – (HBL Sep 15, 2017 p 7)

USA

– CHINESE BANKS

"US warns China banks as Pyongyang tensions rise" – The Trump administration has warned China thatthe US will target Chinese banks unless Beijing takes much stronger measures to impose economic pain onNorth Korea by reducing trade and financial transactions with the regime in Pyongyang. A report.– (FT Sep 13, 2017 p 3)

– FEDERAL RESERVE

"Fed set to play safe in face of inflation jitters" – Focus remains on cutting debt as higher employment failsto have expected effect. A report. – (FT Sep 18, 2017 p 2)

Fleming, Sam – "The inflation enigma" – With unemployment low and the economic recovery entering itsninth year, inflation has been sluggish. As the Federal Reserve meets this week, officials are flummoxed bylow levels of price growth. An article. – (FT Sep 19, 2017 p 7)

BANK CAPITAL

– BANK OF INDIA / UNITED BANK OF INDIA

"BoI, United Bank to raise up to Rs.1,500 crore via bonds" – Banks are tapping the bond market to shoreup capital adequacy under Basel-III norms ahead of the end of the financial year second quarter in twoweeks. Two public sector lenders, United Bank of India and Bank of India (BOI), are raising up to Rs.1,500crore through tier-I and tier-II bonds. Kolkata-based United Bank of India is raising up to Rs.1,000 crorethrough the bonds (Rs.500 crore in each tier). Bank of India is raising up to Rs.500 crore via Tier-I bonds.Both banks are facing elevated pressure on asset quality and profitability. They have to set aside higheramounts as provision for bad loans, as growth in interest income tapers due to tepid credit demand. A report.– (BS Sep 18, 2017 p 5)

BANK CONSOLIDATION

– PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS

"Banking on merger" – Urgency on bank consolidation is welcome. But it must not distract from the badloans mess, or problems of governance. An editorial. – (IE Sep 19, 2017 p 10)

"Drop merger and consolidation plans: Bank unions appeal to Finance Minister: Also demandwithdrawal of Bill on separate insolvency regime for financial entities" – The United Forum of BankUnions (UFBU), the representative body of nine bank unions, urged Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to immediatelydrop plans for any mergers or consolidation of banks, stating that the country needs expansion of the bankingsystem, not consolidation. A report. – (HBL Sep 16, 2017 p 6)

– 8 –

BANK LENDING"Non-food bank credit growth slows 7.28%" – Non-food bank credit grew 7.28% year-on-year (y-o-y)

during the fortnight ended September 1. The growth in non-food credit was at a five-month high of 7.42%two fortnights ago. According to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), outstanding loans tocompanies and individuals rose to Rs.77.19 lakh crore from Rs.71.96 lakh crore in the same fortnight lastyear. Bankers and sector analysts have in recent days made a case for measuring credit growth in terms ofoutstandings on loans as well as bonds as better-rated corporates are borrowing increasingly from the moneymarkets. – (FE Sep 15, 2017 p 12)

BANKING REGULATOR

– RESERVE BANK OF INDIA

"OMO: RBI to sell Rs.10K cr bonds" – The Reserve Bank said it would sell government bonds worthRs.10,000 crore through Open Market Operations (OMO) to mop up liquidity from the system. 'Based on thecurrent assessment of prevailing and evolving liquidity conditions, the RBI has decided to conduct sale ofgovernment securities under Open Market Operations for an aggregate amount of Rs.100 billion on September28, 2017 through multi-security auction using the multiple price method,' according to the central bank statement.– (IE Sep 16, 2017 p 13)

BANKING TECHNOLOGY / INNOVATIONPant-Joshi, Deepali – "Future of banking: Technology is changing everything, including the need for

banks and their working models" – Banks are under threat from new processes, new markets anddevelopments. Eventually, they must adapt to technology, changing customers preferences and shiftingconsumer behaviour. This is the message of the small book. Bye Bye Banks? by James Haycock with ShaneRichmond. A book review. – (FE Sep 17, 2017 p 5)

BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCE"Banks play mind game to woo customers" – Up close and personal: * Lenders are of the opinion that by

knowing short-term private dreams of their customers and giving personalised attention to achieve them, thestickiness of customers will improve. * Big data and 'games' are the tools of the trade. * Lenders usebehavioural science as a finance tool was introduced by a Mumbai-based Indian firm, Final Mile Consulting,which claims to be pioneering the practice of behaviour architecture. * In developed markets, banks takethese games and offer them to their customers through their own application. * Final Mile has now partneredwith Transunion Software Services to develop a similar application for the local market. A report.– (BS Sep 19, 2017 p 20)

CENTRAL BANKS"UK shift puts big central banks on same course to end low-rates era" – The world's most important

central banks are on the verge of a simultaneous tightening of crisis-era easy money policies after the Bankof England hinted at an imminent rate increase and rising US inflation made it more likely the FederalReserve would do the same. With the European Central Bank signalling that it would decide in October howto phase out its euro 60 bn-per-month stimulus, announcements set the stage for a fourth quarter where allthree banks could move to normalise policy after month - in some cases years - of inaction. A report.– (FT Sep 15, 2017 p 1)

– MONETARY POLICIES

"Rate rises threaten global growth, warns BIS" – The world has become so used to cheap credit thathigher interest rates could derail the global economic recovery, the Bank for International Settlements haswarned. After cutting interest rates to all-time lows and pumping trillions of dollars into markets to boostgrowth in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, central banks are now preparing to tighten their monetarypolicies. The BIS - known as the bank for central banks, as it is where they hold accounts - said policymakersface a delicate balancing act as they try to wean markets and businesses off extraordinarily cheap money. Areport. – (FT Sep 18, 2017 p 2)

– 9 –

– SOCIAL MEDIA

"On rate-cut tweets and monetary policy videos: Twitter, YouTube gaining currency as communicationtools for central banks" – Central bankers, it was said, must be seen and not heard. That era may wellhave passed with the advent of social media. While the central bankers themselves remain rather circumspectwhile talking, their official communication channels are creating quite a cyber-buzz. Most of the centralbanks across the world are using social media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook as amedium of communication along with traditional media. Twitter is the first choice of most. The RBI, for one,uses Twitter to send press release alerts and YouTube to stream speeches. The recent RBI annual reportsaid central banks around the world have been traditionally cautious and conservative in communicating theirpolicy matters to the public. They are opening up gradually and cautiously and increasingly using social mediato connect with the public, it added. A report. – (HBL Sep 15, 2017 p 7)

CO-OPERATIVE BANKS

– KALUPUR COMMERCIAL CO-OPERATIVE BANK

"Kalupur Bank achieves Financial Literacy Award" – ln the recently held National co-operative Bankingsummit at Jaipur, Kalupur Commercial Co-operative Bank Ltd, bagged the Financial Literacy Award, besidesthe award for Best NPA Management, Best customer Acquisition and Best Green initiatives during 2017.– (BS Sep 21, 2017 p 7)

– VISAKHAPATNAM CO-OPERATIVE BANK

"Visakha Co-op's branches to hit 50 mark soon" – Visakhapatnam Co-operative Bank Ltd, ranked amongthe leading 20 urban co-op banks in the country out of a total of 1,574, is set to touch the 50 branches markthis year, according to Chairman Ch Raghavendra Rao. – (HBL Sep 16, 2017 p 6)

CONSUMER PROTECTIONRoongta, Harsh – "Raw deal for bank customers" – An article. – (BS Sep 21, 2017 p 18)

CORPORATE FINANCE"Bank on further slowing" – Banks' exposure to industry continues to contract. An editorial.

– (FE Sep 16, 20147 p 8)

CURRENCY NOTES

– DEMONETISATION

Baluni, Anil – "The long term gain" – After the short-lived disruption, demonetisation is proving its criticswrong. An article. – (IE Sep 15, 2017 p 11)

Potnuru, Basant – "Demonetisation: Bold steps didn't yield bold results" – Demonetisation, as aneconomic case, does not stand the scrutiny. An article. – (FE Sep 21, 2017 p 9)

DEPOSITS

– GUJARAT

"Deposits in Guj decline by Rs.589 cr in Q1 FY18" – The effects of demonetisation continue to impact thedeposits received by banks in Gujarat. In the first quarter of financial year 2017-18, the deposits of banks inthe state marginally declined by Rs.589 crore. A report. – (IE Sep 17, 2017 p 17)

DIGITAL CURRENCIES"Avoidable 'Lakshmi': India does not need its own cryptocurrency" – An editorial.

– (BS Sep 20, 2017 p 13)

– 10 –

"Central banks can't ignore bitcoin boom: BIS" – The world's central banks can't ignore the growth incryptocurrencies and may at some point have to consider whether it makes sense for them to issue their owndigital currencies, according to the Bank for International Settlements. A report. – (HBL Sep 19, 2017 p 6)

Lavi, Mohan R – "Cryptic currency: India can turn its back on bitcoin" – An article.– (HBL Sep 20, 2017 p 9)

Puri, Nikita – "Biting the bitcoin" – The bitcoin is in a tailspin, but that is not stopping a growing numberof enthusiasts in India from trading in it. The primary reason businesses have not embraced bitcoin paymentsis because of unclear regulations. An article. – (BS Sep 16, 2017 Pt. II p 1)

Shashidharan, K P – "Digital currency is the in thing" – Bitcoin and blockchain - we have to learn to swimin the cyber ocean. An article. – (FE Sep 21, 2017 p 9)

Smith, Noah – "Digital currencies won't kill the dollar, but could change the world" – Jamie Dimon, theCEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., recently slammed bitcoin in no uncertain terms: It 'won't end well,' he said,calling the cryptocurrency a 'fraud' and 'worse than tulip bulbs.' An article. – (ET Sep 19, 2017 p 9)

DIGITAL PAYMENTS"PM's digital payment push is struggling to take off in rural India, reveals audit" – The Narendra Modi

government's pet digital payment projects - the mobile money transfer application BHIM and the Aadhaar-based merchant payment system BHIM-Aadhaar - will need rejigging and a more thoughtful implementationprocess if rural mass adoption is to be achieved. An internal study commissioned by the National PaymentsCorporation of India (NPCI), a public sector bank-controlled entity involved in floating and managing thepayment system, has revealed that poor awareness and a flawed user experience has resulted in a highnumber of rural users 'who have either deleted the application or are inactive'. – (BS Sep 16, 2017 p 3)

"Pushing digital payments: Centre for MDR cap of Rs.200" – In a move to encourage digital transactions,the government has proposed that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cap the merchant discount rate (MDR)on debit card transactions at Rs.200, sources told FE. The central bank is yet to release the final guidelines onMDR. A report. – (FE Sep 19, 2017 pp 1, 2)

DIGITAL PAYMENTS APP

– TEZ

"Tez to make e-payments simple, secure: Google" – Google launched a new digital payments app 'Tez'(meaning fast in Hindi) for the Indian market that aims to make e- transactions simple and secure. The apphas been designed for the Indian market and is powered by the government's Unified Payments Interface(UPI). Available for both Android and iOS (Apple phone) users, it allows users to make payments straightfrom their bank accounts. 'This is a product that is made for India. There are areas where India will leapfrogthe West and one such case is payments and commerce,' according to Caesar Sengupta, Google V-P (NextBillion Users). – (FE Sep 19, 2017 p 6)

DIGITISATION"Big lenders criticised for slow take-up of technology" – Big Japanese and Canadian banks and some of

Europe's major lenders, including Intesa Sanpaolo and Standard Chartered, have been described as laggardsin using technology to cut costs and automate operations, according to research. Nordic and US banks didbest in a digitisation ranking of the 59 biggest developed market lenders compiled by research companyAutonomous. The report forecast digitisation of bank operations would help them cut euro 30 bn of theircombined euro 233 bn of branch network costs, for instance by reducing the number of staff needed to servecustomers and process data. A report. – (FT Sep 14, 2017 p 14)

– 11 –

FOREIGN BANKS IN INDIA

– HSBC

"Govt needs to act decisively to fix the bad debt problem: Milne" – Edited excerpts from an interviewwith Stuart Miline, CEO, HSBC India. – (Mint Sep 18, 2017 p 8)

FORENSIC AUDIT

– BANK FRAUDS

"Big 4 accounting firms on IBA's list of forensic auditors" – The Big 4 auditors - KPMG, EY, Deloitte andPrice water house Coopers - figure in the list of entities that have been empanelled by the Indian Banks'Association (IBA) to do forensic audit of frauds in banks. The number of banking fraud cases involving Rs.1lakh and above is on the rise, which has increased to 5,076 in the fiscal year ending March 2017, from 4,235in 2012-13. As many as 22,949 cases of fraud in both public and private banks came to light in the last fivefiscals. A report. – (HBL Sep 19, 2017 p 6)

FRAUDS"Banks told to scan all accounts of shell cos' directors, promoters" – The government has asked lenders

to scrutinise all bank accounts of promoters and directors of shell companies for possible fraudulent activitiesas part of an ongoing crackdown on shell companies. In some cases, investigating agencies have alreadyshared relevant information with the banks. A report. – (ET Sep 21, 2017 p 11)

INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCE

– ROAD SECTOR

"Don't be wary of funding road projects, Gadkari tells banks: Minister says all earlier stumblingblocks cleared, every project doing well" – Bankers should shed their apprehension about funding roadprojects as most of the roadblocks to the projects from taking off have been cleared, according to Minister ofRoad Transport, Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari. Referring to banks taking a long time to sanction/disburse loans, thereby delaying closure of projects, the minister emphasised that his ministry through its arm,National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), has the wherewithal to raise money and support road projects.A report. – (HBL Sep 19, 2017 p 6)

INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY BOARD OF INDIA"Bankruptcy board to register 100 more insolvency professionals" – The Insolvency and Bankruptcy

Board of India (IBBI), which has so far registered 940 insolvency professionals (IPs), is in the process ofgranting registration to about 100 more such professionals, according to its whole-time member NavrangSaini. We are in the process of giving approval to one of the IU, we may give the final registration if theymeet all criteria. A report. – (IE Sep 16, 2017 p 14)

INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY CODEBasu, Debashis – "Bankruptcy Code being gamed from the start?" – Almost everybody believes that the

problems of bad debt-laden public sector banks can be fixed with the new Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code(IBC). Well, they might like to know that the IBC is already off to a rocky start. The Act, stylishly called theCode, allows for the creation of a massive bureaucracy and multiple levels of professionals who will all needcertification. An article. – (BS Sep 18, 2017 p 11)

Majumdar, Shyamal – "Insolvency Code needs a few tweaks" – An article. – (BS Sep 20, 2017 p 13)

– 12 –

– NPA RESOLUTION

"Banks likely to refer bulk of stressed asset cases on RBI's second list to NCLT" – Lenders are likelyto refer majority of stressed cases identified by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its second list forinsolvency proceedings rather than resolve them outside the National Company Law Tribunal, said threepeople familiar with the matter. That's because lenders are worried that even the portion of debt for thesecases designated as sustainable (which a firm can service through its cash flows) would not qualify for aninvestment grade rating. A report. – (Mint Sep 15, 2017 p 10)

– PROVISIONING / BANK CAPITAL

"Worried finmin seeks details of 40 A/cs tagged for insolvency: Ministry wants to know impact ofRBI move on provisioning & capital needs of state-run banks" – The finance ministry has urgentlysought details of around 40 accounts that have been identified by the Reserve Bank of India for insolvencyproceedings from state-run lenders. The ministry wants to ascertain the impact on provisioning and capitalneeds of already struggling state-run banks. The lenders will need to file bankruptcy cases in respect of theseaccounts if they are unable to find any other way to revive the creditors by end December. According toindustry estimates, these may add up to loans worth Rs.1 lakh crore. A report. – (ET Sep 16, 2017 p 1)

– STANDARD CHARTERED BANK / DBS BANK

"StanChart, DBS file insolvency proceedings against Ruchi Soya" – Standard Chartered Bank and DBSBank Ltd have initiated insolvency proceedings against edible oil maker Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd, thecompany said in two separate stock exchange filings. The two foreign banks have filed petitions to begin thecorporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code at the NationalCompany Law Tribunal, according to the company. A report. – (Mint Sep 16, 2017 p 23)

LOAN DEFAULTS"The impact of stricter loan defaults disclosure norms" – Edited excerpts from a panel discussion with G

Padmanabhan, non-executive chairman of Bank of India; Sandeep Parekh, founder of Finsec Law Advisors;Anjan Ghosh, head, corporate ratings at ICRA; and Ravi Kishan Takkar, MD and CEO at UCO Bank.Starting October, every delay in servicing a loan - even if it is for a single day - has to be reported to the stockexchanges. So far, such information was available only with those who lent the money. So, when the intereston a loan is not paid even 30 days of due date, the bank marks it as a special mention account 1 (SMA-1). Ifit's not paid for 60 days, it becomes an SMA-2 account. It becomes a nonperforming asset (NPA) if not paidby the 90th day. However, all this information is so far available only to banks, which changes from nextmonth. The new rules are expected to bring more transparency in companies servicing their loans, and alsodisrupt markets as rating agencies step in and take note of defaults. – (Mint Sep 18, 2017 p 12)

"Rs.9,000-cr default: Lenders to decide course of action on Reliance Naval loans soon" – Banks ledby SBI will soon call for a lenders meeting to discuss what to do with Reliance Naval and Engineering whichhas defaulted on loans worth Rs.9,000 crore. The Anil Ambani group firm, which was called Pipavav Shipyardand Reliance Defence in earlier avatars, has missed payments to lenders for the last two and a half months,and its loans will be classified as non-performing loan if it does not pay up in the next 15 days.– (ET Awp 15, 2017 p 13)

MICROFINANCE SECTOR"Microfinance providers to curb excess, multiple lending in the sector: Validating total indebtedness

of a client from a credit bureau among steps in mutually agreed code of conduct" – To addressmultiple and over lending issues in the microfinance space, micro-credit providers, including microfinanceinstitutions (MFIs), small finance banks (SFBs) and banks will voluntarily abide by a mutually agreed code ofconduct (MACC), whereby they will not lend to a client who already has current loans from three micro-credit lenders. A report. – (HBL Sep 20, 2017 p 10)

– 13 –

"Microfinance sector must work on its strengths for growth, says RBI Deputy Governor: The daysof regulatory forbearances are over, says N S Vishwanathan" – The days of regulatory forbearancevis-à-vis non-performing assets (NPAs) are over and the micro-finance sector has to grow on the basis of itsown strength, according to Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor N S Vishwanathan. A report. – (HBLSep 21, 2017 p 6)

Merwin, Radhika – "The rejig in the microfinance industry" – By June 2017, banks became the largestprovider of microcredit. With eight NBFC-MFIs becoming small finance banks, the loan portfolio of NBFC-MFIs has fallen significantly. Also, the lingering impact of demonetisation is still visible across all lenderswithin the microfinance industry. A graphical report. – (HBL Sep 15, 2017 p 9)

MONETARY POLICIES

– INFLATION

Roubini, Nouriel – "The mystery of the missing inflation" – Uncertainty over the causes of low inflationmeans that central banks will have to balance competing risks. Unconventional monetary policies carry therisk of undesirable asset-price inflation. An article. – (Mint Sep 18, 2017 p 17)

MONETARY POLICYBhalla, Surjit S – "It is the interest rates, stupid" – Inflation is down by 700 bps since 2013, and policy

rates have declined by 200bps - and you are still wondering why GDP growth is slow? An article.– (FE Sep 19, 2017 p 8)

– INFLATION

Rangarajan, C and Samantaraya, Amaresh – "MPC's inflation data dilemma" – Should it bank onforecasts that could go wrong? Or should it consider current price levels also as an input in policymaking? Anarticle. – (HBL Sep 19, 2017 p 8)

NON-PERFORMING ASSETS"NPAs to touch 10.5% by March, says Crisil" – Crisil Ratings today said banks have only recognised two-

thirds of their stressed loans as non-performing assets, and estimated the bad loan ratio to rise by 1 percentagepoint to 10.5 per cent by March 2018. The 9.5 per cent NPA figure for March 2017 includes only two-thirdsof the overall stressed assets, it said. The agency said it estimates the total amount of stressed loans, whichincludes NPAs and standard assets that are under pressure currently and could deteriorate into NPAs, to beat Rs.11.5 trillion or 14 per cent of the system. A report. – (HBL Sep 15, 2017 p 7)

– GUJARAT

"In 3 yrs, NPAs in Gujarat more than double; cross Rs.35K crore" – The quantum of bad loans registeredin Gujarat have increased by 2.5 times. At the end of June 2017, the gross NPAs or Non-Performing Assets(NPAs) of all the banks in the state crossed the Rs.35,000 crore-mark, which is more than double thenumbers registered in June 2014. According to bankers, the poor performance of textiles, steel, cement andinfrastructure sectors in Gujarat have contributed to the NPAs. A report. – (IE Sep 17, 2017 p 17)

PAYMENTS BANKS

– AIRTEL PAYMENTS BANK

"Airtel Payments Bank integrates UPI to its platform" – Airtel Payments Bank said it has integrated theUnified Payments Interface (UPI) to its digital platform. This will add to customer choice and conveniencefor making secure digital payments to online/offline merchants and for instant money transfers to any bankaccount in India. – (HBL Sep 18, 2017 p 18)

– 14 –

PEER-TO-PEER LENDING"RBI to regulate peer-to-peer lending firms" – Central bank says all P2P loan platforms will be treated as

NBFCs in a likely precursor to releasing guidelines for regulating such lending. A report.– (Mint Sep 21, 2017 p 7)

PROJECT FINANCE"RBI figures for FY17: Number of pvt projects with sanctioned loans rises 58%" – The number of

private sector projects to which banks and financial institutions (FIs) sanctioned loans rose 58% year-on-year (y-o-y) in FY17, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In a report released as part of itsmonthly bulletin for September 2017, the central bank said 547 projects with a total cost of Rs.1.83 lakh crorewere sanctioned financial assistance by banks and FIs in FY17, as against 346 projects worth Rs.91,800crore in FY16. A report. – (FE Sep 16, 2017 p 10)

PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS"Profit-push puts public sector bank staff under pressure: Expense curbs and stiff recovery, credit

targets among steps taken at branch level" – The pressure to get their banks out of the bad loansquagmire and back into profitability is bringing forth varied responses, ranging from well-meaning to knee-jerk, from senior public sector bank officials handling field formations. Be it telling branch heads and officersnot to tarry in the workplace beyond office hours (aimed at curtailing operational expenses and ensuringwork-life balance) to threat of salary stoppage, all appears to be par for the course during the currentstressful times for bankers as well as their banks. A report. – (HBL Sep 19, 2017 p 6)

"PSBs crimp advance tax collection at 10.6%" – A steep fall in advance tax payouts by bad loan-saddledstate-run banks has led to a muted 10.6 per cent growth in overall revenue mop-up from large corporates inthe megapolis in the September quarter. While the country's largest lender State Bank paid a whopping 37per cent less, foreign lender Citigroup also paid 34 per cent less. – (FE Sep 20, 2017 p 2)

Mahapatra, B – "10th year of Global financial crisis: Public sector banks still a drag for India" –Bereft of adequate capital, PSBs can only manage to survive, not grow. Time is now opportune to reflecthow to immediately recapitalise the PSBs in order to achieve healthy growth. An article.– (FE Sep 15, 2017 p 11)

RISK DIVERSIFICATIONParaneswaran, Sunil K – "How banks facilitate risk diversification"

– An article. – (FE Sep 15, 2017 p 17)

SMALL FINANCE BANKS

– UTKARSH SMALL FINANCE BANK

"Utkarsh SFB plans to raise Rs.100-150 cr from stake sale" – Utkarsh Small Finance Bank Ltd isplanning to raise Rs.100-150 crore from its existing investors by selling 10-15% stake, a top bank official said.Varanasi-based Utkarsh SFB's existing investors include Aavishkar Good-well, an microfinance-focusedprivate equity firm; Lok Capital, a venture capital fund; Norwegian Microfinance Institution, a partnershipbetween the Norwegian public and private sectors that invests in microfinance institutions in developingcountries and provides professional assistance and technical support; and CDC Group, a UK-baseddevelopment finance institution. – (Mint Sep 20, 2017 p 8)

STRESSED ASSETS

– POWER SECTOR

"Banks unable to sell stake in stressed power assets: Inability of Discoms to sign new PPAs dampensoutlook on power sector" – Lenders may find it difficult to offload their stake in stressed power assets,

– 15 –

even after taking substantial haircuts, due to lack of optimism in the power industry on the ability of Statedistribution companies to sign new power purchase agreements (PPAs). A number of struggling powerassets, including Jaiprakash Power Ventures Limited (JPVL) of debt-laden Jaypee Group, are looking fornew buyers. Lenders, including SBI, ICICI Bank, IDBI, Punjab National Bank, and Central Bank of India,are looking to offload at least 30 per cent in JPVL. A report. – (HBL Sep 20, 2017 p 18)

WILFUL DEFAULTERS"Declare wilful default of loans a criminal offence: bankers union: Thousands of bank employees to

protest in Delhi today" – The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), a representative body of nine bankunions, on Thursday demanded that the Centre and RBI take steps to strengthen public sector banks ratherthan looking to dilute state shareholding in such banks, bring consolidation or privatise them. The attemptshould be to recover the non-performing loans and not write them off, they said, adding that the currentpolicies on the banking front are against public interest. Opposing government policies on banking sector,thousands of bank employees are to go on morcha to Parliament on Friday. A report.– (HBL Sep 15, 2017 p 7)

"Why the smaller rogue borrowers must be tracked" – Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, Zoom Developers Pvt.Ltd, Winsome Diamonds and Jewellery Ltd and Varun Industries Ltd are faces of the rogue credit culturethat has weakened the Indian banking system. These companies are defaulting on bank loans even thoughthey or their promoters have the ability to repay, or they have siphoned off money, or put it to some other usethan was agreed on with their creditors. Wilful defaulters, the central bank calls them. A dataset compiled byCIBIL shows that, as of 30 June, India had about 6,600 wilful defaulters, defaulting on about Rs.75,000 crore,against whom banks have filed suit. Of these, 52% were defaulting on loans of up to Rs.1 crore. In valueterms, that's only 2% of the total amount,Yet, they cannot be ignored as their collective numbers and patternsraise important questions about credit risk, due diligence and accountability. A report.– (Mint Sep 18, 2017 p 1)

"Wilful defaults in banks on the rise, cross Rs.1 lakh crore" – Banks are witnessing a surge in wilfuldefaults, or refusal of repayment obligations by borrowers despite having the capacity to honour thecommitments. Local lenders have seen a nearly 45 per cent spike of Rs.34,900 crore in wilful defaults fromlast year, according to data available from TransUnion CIBIL, a credit information bureau. The data showsthat wilful defaults by borrowers from banks rose from Rs.74,694 crore in March 2016 to Rs.1,09,594 croreas of March 2017. Over the last five years, data shows, wilful defaults rose by over Rs.84,000 crore - fromRs.25,410 crore in March 2013. Fiscal 2016 witnessed a spurt of 31 per cent, and fiscal 2015 saw an increaseof 47.5 per cent in such defaults, according to the data. A report. – (IE Sep 18, 2017 pp 1, 2)

RBI CIRCULARS"Auction of Government of India Dated Securities" – (RBI Circular RBI/2017-2018/58 Ref.No.IDMD/

748/08.02.032/2017-18 dated 18.09.2017)

"Change in name of 'Gopinath Patil Parsik Janata Sahakari Bank, Ltd., Thane' to 'GP Parsik SahakariBank Ltd, Kalwa, Thane' in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India,1934" – (RBICircular RBI/2017-2018/59 DCBR.RAD. (PCB/RCB) Cir. No. 4/07.12.001/2017-18 dated 21.09.2017)

"Export Data Processing and Monitoring System (EDPMS) Issuance of Electronic Bank RealisationCertificate (eBRC)" – (RBI Circular RBI/2017-2018/57 A. P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 04 dated15.09.2017)

"Formation of new districts in the State of West Bengal - Assignment of Lead Bank Responsibility"– (RBI Circular RBI/2017-2018/60 FIDD.CO.LBS.BC.No.15/02.08.001/2017-18 dated 21.09.2017)

"Inclusion of 'Suryoday Small Finance Bank Limited' in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank ofIndia Act, 1934" – (RBI Circular RBI/2017-2018/62 DBR.No.Ret.BC.87/12.07.150/2017-18 dated21.09.2017)

– 16 –

"Priority Sector Lending - Targets and Classification: Lending to non-corporate farmers - Systemwide average of last three years" – (RBI Circular RBI/2017-2018/61 FIDD.CO.Plan.BC 16/04.09.01/2017-18 dated 21.09.2017)

"Trade Repository for OTC Foreign Exchange and Interest Rate Derivatives" – (RBI Circular RBI/2017-2018/63 FMRD.FMID No.3/02.05.002/2017-18 dated 21.09.2017)

AGRICULTURE & RURAL DEVELOPMENT

FARM SECTORKini, Sahil – "India needs more FaaS than SaaS" – Bharat needs her entrepreneurs to engineer novel

solutions for large and seemingly intractable problems. And agriculture is one such sector where we desperatelyneed founders to think differently and apply learnings from different markets in search of new answers.After all, according to expert estimates, we will have to somehow grow more food in the next 35 years thanwe have ever grown since the dawn of agriculture. Models built on the sharing economy could help us getthere. Sharing might just be caring. An article. – (Mint Sep 19, 2017 p 3)

GRAMEEN BANKS

– KARNATAKA VIKAS GRAMEENA BANK

"Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank looking to digitise 100 villages this fiscal" – Karnataka VikasGrameena Bank (KVGB) is planning to convert 100 villages under its jurisdiction as 'digital villages' forbanking activities by the end of the current financial year. KVGB is one among the few banks to take up thetask of developing digital villages for banking activities soon after the demonetisation in November, accordingto S Ravindran, Chairman of the bank. – (HBL Sep 20, 2017 p 10)

PRADHAN MANTRI FASAL BIMA YOJANA

– GUJARAT

"Banks in Gujarat have enrolled 10.67 lakh farmers under PMFBY" – Despite certain difficulties facedby bankers in the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), banks in the Gujarat haveso far enrolled 10.67 lakh farmers under this scheme. A premium of Rs.365 crore have so far been collectedfrom farmers enrolled under PMFBY and the sum insured is Rs.11,000 crore. A report.– (IE Sep 17, 2017 p 17)

INDUSTRY

HOUSING FINANCE"Loans for affordable homes at 16% of total housing credit: ICRA" – Rating agency Icra said that the

total loan book of all housing finance companies (HFCs) in the affordable housing segment, at Rs.1.26 lakhcrore, constituted 16% of the total housing finance credit as on June 30, 2017. It added that new HFCs -which have started operations in the last four to five years - constituted around 3% of the overall book. Areport. – (FE Sep 19, 2017 p 10)

MUTUAL FUNDS"MFs' assets cross Rs.20 lakh cr: Cut in bank deposit rates drives investors to equity and balanced

schemes" – The highest ever inflow of Rs.20,362 crore in equity-oriented schemes of mutual funds haspushed the industry's asset under management to Rs.20.59 lakh crore in August. A report.– (HBL Sep 19, 2017 p 10)

– 17 –

STEEL INDUSTRY"Banks to gain as steel sector shows signs of growth: Revival could translate into lower haircut for

banks" – With the steel sector showing prospects of improvement in financial health, commercial banks arehopeful of taking a lower haircut on resolution of stressed assets in the sector. Steel industry, which accountsfor a major share of the stressed assets in the books of banks, has been reeling under the pressure of excesscapacity and low capacity utilisation. According to Rajnish Kumar, Managing Director of State Bank ofIndia, the steel sector has been showing signs of improvement. The demand and capacity utilisation is alsoexpected to go up aided by higher government spend. A report. – (HBL Sep 18, 2017 p 16)

SMALL SCALE INDUSTRY

MSMEsDatta, Kanika – "Ease of doing MSME business" – An article. – (BS Sep 21, 2017 p 9)

SMEs

– SKILL DEVELOPMENT

"CRISIL SME tracker: Incentivised SMEs can help bridge India's crucial skill deficit" – CRISILbelieves subsidising and incentivising credible small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to undertake skilldevelopment training programmes can help narrow India's yawning skill deficit. As things stand, less thanfive per cent of the country's workforce possesses formal vocational skills. In the context, engaging SMEs inskill development can offer two major benefits it can boost the effectiveness of the government's Skill Indiainitiative and also improve the competitiveness of the SME sector, which is India's second-largest employmentgenerator. A report. – (BS Sep 15, 2017 p 11)

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICSSabnavis, Madan – "The ghost of Lehman is still with us" – While a lot of housekeeping has been done,

the world economy is still to get back to the earlier normal. An article. – (FE Sep 18, 2017 p 7)

FUND MANAGEMENT"Global fund management" – A weekly report. – (FT Sep 18, 2017 Supl. pp 1-20)

MANAGEMENT"3 Indians among Forbes' 100 greatest business minds list" – Three Indian corporate leaders - Lakshmi

Mittal, Ratan Tata and Vinod Khosla - have been named on Forbes' special list of the world '100 GreatestLiving Business Minds'. Lakshmi Mittal is the chairman and chief executive officer of Arcelor Mittal, RatanTata is Tata group's Chairman Emeritus and Vinod Khosla is the co-founder of Sun Microsystems. The listalso includes Trump Organisation owner and President of the US Donald Trump, Amazon founder JeffBezos, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson; Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett; Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and News Corp Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch. A report. – (BS Sep 21, 2017 p 20)

"Are businesses becoming more responsible?" – 26% more firms published business responsibility reportsand 11% more companies published sustainability reports in FY16 than in FY15, shows study. A report. –(Mint Sep 18, 2017 p 9)

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY"Govt asks firms to allocate 7% of CSR funds to Swachhta Hi Seva" – The government has asked

companies to devote a portion of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds to a cleanliness campaignlaunched by President Ram Nath Kovind. New campaign part of govt's push for sanitation, will run till 2October. A report. – (Mint Sep 16, 2017 p 20)

– 18 –

LEADERSHIPDasgupta, Brinda – "Five way to: Effectively lead a large team" – Managers who lead large teams face

different kinds of challenges. Often, the size of the team becomes a prohibitive factor in effective functioning.There may also be issues with proper coordination as a result of unsystematic communication. He speaks toexperts for ways to effectively lead a large team. * Focus on Values * Create Connections * Focus onAccountability * Drive Better Communication * Ask for Feedback. – (ET Sep 19, 2017 p 8)

MISCELLANEOUS"First 'human library' comes to A.P.: Ordinary people with extraordinary tales of grit share their

experience, says official" – Among the series of measures being initiated by the Andhra Pradesh governmentto provide tools to the people of the State to grow rich in knowledge and culture, 'Human Library' is the latestone. The Andhra Pradesh Grandhalaya Parishad has launched the first 'Human Library' at the Tagore MemorialLibrary on Bandar Road here, familiarising the local people with the concept of 'human books.' In a library,ordinary people with extraordinary tales of grit, hard work and dedication turn into 'human books,' sharingtheir experience and knowledge with fellow beings. A report. – (H Sep 18, 2017 p 5)

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