Other Briefings
India and China Call for More Banking Presence in Each Other’s Countries
Dec. 17 – The China Banking Regulatory Commission and the Reserve Bank of India signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on December 16, the second day of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to India, in order to spur on more mutual banking presence as well as financial cooperation. A joint statement was also issued after […]
Bill to Allow Options Trading, Commodity Derivatives Introduced
Dec. 7 –The Minister of State for Agriculture K.V. Thomas introduced in Lok Sabha on Monday a new bill that would allow trading in options in goods and would likely lead to the development of new commodity derivatives that will provide a wider set of opportunities to investors for risk management. The bill would also […]
RBI Governor Asks for Interest Rate Reform, Pitches Regulatory Changes
Dec. 6 – The governor of the Reserve Bank of India asked banks to raise deposit rates and lower lending rates on Friday to improve the efficiency of Indian banks against global competitors. “We need to raise the level of national savings and channel those savings into investment. This means banks need to raise the […]
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’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 […]
