Other Briefings
Two Gov’t Departments Warn Against Opening Up Retail to FDI
Nov. 10 – Two government departments are warning against opening up multi-brand retail to foreign direct investment in an effort to slow momentum towards opening the sector following U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to the country. According to the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, the government should not allow more than 18 percent […]
NGOs in India No Longer Need to Renew Tax Concession Status
Nov. 8 – India’s Central Board of Direct Taxes announced on Wednesday that non-governmental organizations, charitable institutions and other groups that are eligible for tax benefits and can issue tax benefit receipts to those who give donations will no longer need to renew their tax concession status every three years. In line with the mandate […]
India’s MFIN Agrees to Cap Interest Rates at 24 Percent in AP
Nov. 5 – India’s Micro-Finance Institutions Network (MFIN) agreed to collectively cap their interest rates at 24 percent in Andhra Pradesh, a state in southern India. Banks – state-owned and privately held, foreign and local – have over US$6 billion dollars (Rs.27,000 crore) worth of exposure to microfinance companies in India, which currently borrow at […]
RBI Hikes Interest Rates for Sixth Time this Year
Nov. 3 – India’s central bank raised interest rates on Tuesday for the sixth time this year, but said that rates will probably remain stable for the next three months. The Reserve Bank of India, which has tightened its monetary policy the most in Asia this year, increased the repurchase rate, or lending rate, by […]
RBI to Issue Draft Guidelines for NBFCs by January
Nov. 2 – The Reserve Bank of India said on Monday that it will release draft guidelines for the entry of new banks into the country’s banking market by January, something India’s non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) have been requesting for a while now. “Based on the comments and suggestions received from various parties and discussions […]
India May Soon Allow 100% FDI in Single-Brand Retail
Nov. 1 – Comments made by India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Friday imply that India is likely to allow 100 percent FDI in the single-brand retail sector, a move that, if made, would encourage companies such as IKEA to do more in India than simply purchase source materials and intermediate products. IKEA’s […]
India’s Central Bank Seeks Lock-in Period for Hotel, Tourism FDI
Oct. 26 – The Reserve Bank of India has asked the Indian government to impose new regulations to prevent a domestic real estate bubble. The central bank fears that funds being brought into India under the pretext of hotel and tourism investments are not being adequately monitored and are being used to purchase immovable property […]
Indian Gov’t Turns Down Proposal to Reduce Foreign Bank Holdings
Oct. 25 – A proposal by the Reserve Bank of India to reduce the cap on aggregate foreign holdings in banks to 50 percent, down from the current 74 percent, was shot down by India’s Ministry of Finance in a recent meeting. The proposal was submitted by the RBI in August, but officials at the […]
