RIL hires SBI, other banks to raise over USD 1 bn loan

Billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries is believed to have hired banking majors SBI, Bank of America and Citigroup among others to raise debt of about USD 1.1 billion (about Rs 5,000 crore).

The energy-to-retail conglomerate plans to utilise the fresh five-year term loan to refinance its existing higher interest rate debts, sources said.

When contacted, a company spokesperson did not comment on the debt raising plans.

The banks hired for raising USD 1.1 billion of loans include SBI, Stanchart, Bank of America, RBS, HSBC, ANZ Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, DBS and Sumitomo Mitsui.

Earlier this month, Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani said at the company''s AGM that RIL would become debt-free on net basis in the current financial year ending March 2012.

RIL had an outstanding debt of Rs 67,397 crore (USD 15.1 billion) as of March 31, 2011, as against Rs 62,495 crore (USD 13.9 billion) a year ago.

At the same time, RIL had cash and cash-equivalents of Rs 42,393 crore (USD 9.5 billion) as on March 31 this year, which was nearly double the level seen a year ago.

The company began a process last month to raise fresh loans worth about USD 1.5 billion.

Out of this, loans worth about USD 1.1 billion are for repaying its existing loans maturing in next two years, while the company would also look at further USD 400-500 million of fresh borrowings from abroad.

Last year in October, RIL had raised USD 1.5 billion for the first time through bonds denominated in US dollars.

While it raised USD one billion through 10-year bonds, another USD 500 million were arranged through sale of 30-year bonds. These funds were raised through RIL''s wholly-owned subsidiary Reliance Holding USA Inc.

This USD 1.5 billion bond sale was the company''s first such bond issue after 13 years. Besides, it was the largest ever public market offshore bond offering by RIL and largest ever corporate bond from India.

This debt raising exercise was followed by plans to raise funds through sale of bonds in global markets by other Indian companies.

These companies included the likes of Anil Ambani group firm Reliance Communications, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Essar Energy, JSW Steel and IDBI Bank.

KG basin contract: RIL under scanner again

Reliance Industry Limited (RIL) which is already facing criticism for pumping less gas than it should have from the key D6 block is once again under scanner for its alleged nexus with the Oil ministry for the KG basin gas contract.

The CAG report has said that the energy major Reliance Industries had inflated development costs on its D6 block in the Krishna-Godavari basin.

The CAG report which has ignited a lot of political fire also noted that former Director General of Hydro-carbons (DGH) permitted Reliance to inflate its development costs on extracting the gas in the D6 block to the KG basin from $2.47 billion to a whopping $ 8.84 billion.

The CAG also cited a joint venture of Reliance with BG and ONGC for hiking development costs in the Panna-Mukta and Tapti gas fields, newspaper reports added.

The Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) had asked the oil ministry to reply within two weeks as to why it had allowed some explorers to overstate costs of field developments and explore beyond their contracted areas, a newspaper report said.

It has been earlier been alleged that an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) had allowed RIL to sell per unit of the gas at a price of rupees 4.20 even as the government companies were selling the same for just rupees 1.20.

In a statement issued late Monday this week, the oil ministry said it was examining the draft report, received on June 8, and would prepare a reply to the audit observations after obtaining details from relevant agencies.

The CAG report comes at a time when the government is struggling to fend off allegations of massive corruption in awarding of telecoms licences that may have resulted in revenue losses worth billions of dollars.

Mutual funds in a demat account

Investors can now hold their mutual fund units in dematerialized form. Investor who own a demat account can use it to hold mutual fund units. It is however not mandatory to convert units into demat form. Investors can also use the electronic platforms of stock exchanges to transact in their mutual fund units through the brokers of the stock exchange.

For this, investors have to use a standard form specified by the depository (CDSL or NSDL) called the conversion request form (CRF) or destatementisation request form (DRF). This form is available with the depository participant (DP). The completed form, along with the statement of account (SoA) which shows the unit holdings of the investor, has to be submitted to the DP. The DP will verify and forward it to the registrar and transfer agent, who in turn will confirm the details of units held in the SoA. Units will be credited to the demat account after this confirmation.

1. ISIN: Each mutual fund is assigned an ISIN (International Security Identification Number). It can be obtained from NSDL or CSDL and has to be included in the CRF/DRF.

2. Details: The details of each scheme with respect to scheme name, ISIN and number of units held should be correctly mentioned in the CRF/DRF and should tally with the SoA being attached.

3. Holding Pattern

The holding pattern of the mutual fund folios and that of the demat account should be the same, and in the same order.

4. Free & Lock-in Units

Mutual fund units such as those of tax-saving schemes may be subject to lock-in. Different forms have to be used for free and locked-in units of the same scheme even if held under the same folio.

Points to note

Signatures: The CRF/DRF has to be signed by all the unit holders of the folio, irrespective of the mode of operation of the folio.

Transacting with the mutual fund: Once units are dematerialized, investors cannot transact in them directly with the mutual fund or investor service centers. Transactions are routed through the stock exchange platform or through the DP.

Re-materialsation of units: Investors can also make an application for re-materialisation of the dematerialised units and only then transact with the mutual fund.

Historic Speech Delivered by Swami Vivekananda at world’s parliament of religions, Chicago: September 11, 1983:

Sisters and Brothers of America,

It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions; and I thank you in the name of millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects.

My thanks, also, to some of the speakers on this platform who, referring to the delegates from the Orient, have told you that these men from far-off nations may well claim the honour of bearing to different lands the idea of toleration. I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to Southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: “As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee.”

The present convention, which is one of the most august assemblies ever held, is in itself a vindication, a declaration to the world of the wonderful doctrine preached in the Gita: “Whosoever comes to me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me.” Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilisation and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honour of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.

Tips on Energy Conservation: Domestic Sector

 Lighting System

01.  One of the best energy-saving devices is the light switch. Turn off lights when not required.

02.  Many automatic devices can help in saving energy used in lighting. Consider employing Infrared sensors, motion sensors, automatic timers, dimmers and solar cells wherever applicable, to switch on/off lighting circuits.

03.  As for as possible use task lighting, which focuses light where it's needed. A reading lamp, for example, lights only reading material rather than the whole room.

04.  Dirty tube lights and bulbs reflect less light and can absorb 50 percent of the light; dust your tube lights and lamps regularly.

05.  Fluorescent tube lights and CFLs convert electricity to visible light up to 5 times more efficiently than ordinary bulbs and thus save about 70% of electricity for the same lighting levels.

06.  Ninety percent of the energy consumed by an ordinary bulb (incandescent lamp) is given off as heat rather than visible light.

08.  Replace your electricity-guzzling ordinary bulbs (incandescent lamps) with more efficient types. Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) use up to 75 percent less electricity than incandescent lamps.

09.  A 15-watt compact fluorescent bulb produces the same amount of light as a 60-watt incandescent bulb.

Room Air Conditioners

01.  Use ceiling or table fan as first line of defense against summer heat. Ceiling fans, for instance, cost about 30 paisa an hour to operate - much less than air conditioners (Rs.10.00 per hour).

02.  You can reduce air-conditioning energy use by as much as 40 percent by shading your home's windows and walls. Plant trees and shrubs to keep the day's hottest sun off your house.

03.  One will use 3 to 5 percent less energy for each degree air conditioner is set above 22°C (71.5°F), so set the thermostat of room air conditioner at 25°C (77°F) to provide the most comfort at the least cost.

04.  Using ceiling or room fans allows you to set the thermostat higher because the air movement will cool the room.

05.  A good air conditioner will cool and dehumidify a room in about 30 minutes, so use a timer and leave the unit off for some time.

06.  Keep doors to air-conditioned rooms closed as often as possible.

07.  Clean the air-conditioner filter every month. A dirty air filter reduces airflow and may damage the unit. Clean filters enable the unit to cool down quickly and use less energy.

08.  If room air conditioner is older and needs repair, it's likely to be very inefficient. It may work out cheaper on life cycle costing to buy a new energy-efficient air conditioner.

Refrigerators

01.  Make sure that refrigerator is kept away from all sources of heat, including direct sunlight, radiators and appliances such as the oven, and cooking range. When it's dark, place a lit flashlight inside the refrigerator and close the door. If light around the door is seen, the seals need to be replaced.

02.  Refrigerator motors and compressors generate heat, so allow enough space for continuous airflow around refrigerator. If the heat can't escape, the refrigerator's cooling system will work harder and use more energy.

03.  A full refrigerator is a fine thing, but be sure to allow adequate air circulation inside.

04.  Think about what you need before opening refrigerator door. You'll reduce the amount of time the door remains open.

05.  Allow hot and warm foods to cool and cover them well before putting them in refrigerator. Refrigerator will use less energy and condensation will reduce.

06.  Make sure that refrigerator's rubber door seals are clean and tight. They should hold a slip of paper snugly. If paper slips out easily, replace the door seals.

07.  When dust builds up on refrigerator's condenser coils, the motor works harder and uses more electricity. Clean the coils regularly to make sure that air can circulate freely.

08.  For manual defrost refrigerator, accumulation of ice reduces the cooling power by acting as unwanted insulation. Defrost freezer compartment regularly for a manual defrost refrigerator.

Water Heater

01.  To help reduce heat loss, always insulate hot water pipes, especially where they run through unheated areas. Never insulate plastic pipes.

02.  By reducing the temperature setting of water heater from 60 degrees to 50 degrees C, one could save over 18 percent of the energy used at the higher setting.

Microwave Ovens & Electric Kettles

01.  Microwaves save energy by reducing cooking times. In fact, one can save up to 50 percent on your cooking energy costs by using a microwave oven instead of a regular oven, especially for small quantities of food.

02.  Remember, microwaves cook food from the outside edge toward the centre of the dish, so if you're cooking more than one item, place larger and thicker items on the outside.

03.  Use an electric kettle to heat water. It's more energy efficient than using an electric cook top element.

04.  When buying a new electric kettle, choose one that has an automatic shut-off button and a heat-resistant handle.

05.  It takes more energy to heat a dirty kettle. Regularly clean your electric kettle by combining boiling water and vinegar to remove mineral deposits.

06.  Don't overfill the kettle for just one drink. Heat only the amount of water you need.

Computers

01.  Turn off your home office equipment when not in use. A computer that runs 24 hours a day, for instance, uses - more power than an energy-efficient refrigerator.

02.  If your computer must be left on, turn off the monitor; this device alone uses more than half the system's energy.

03.  Setting computers, monitors, and copiers to use sleep-mode when not in use helps cut energy costs by approximately 40%.

04.  Battery chargers, such as those for laptops, cell phones and digital cameras, draw power whenever they are plugged in and are very inefficient. Pull the plug and save.

05. Screen savers save computer screens, not energy. Start-ups and shutdowns do not use any extra energy, nor are they hard on your computer components. In fact, shutting computers down when you are finished using them actually reduces system wear - and saves energy.

Wish you all a happy energy saving.

India loses $16 bn every year due to corruption: Bedi

India loses a whopping USD 16 billion a year due to corruption, IPS officer-turned social activist Kiran Bedi has said. 

Speaking at an event organised by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, she said, "out of every Rs 100 meant for infrastructure development, only Rs 16 is used and Rs 84 is lost."

She said that if India is free of corruption, it could become the most developed country in the world and all its debt would go away.

"I would like to see Indians in America collectively raising a voice because it is our future," said Bedi, who is associated with social activist Anna Hazare's anti-corruption campiagn.

Speaking about the Lokpal Bill, Bedi said corruption has increased because there was no system to check it and and there was no system in place to handle the negative aspects of positive growth. 

"It is only in the last two months thanks to the Supreme Court that key players and politicians went to jail for the first time and have not been bailed out till now," Bedi said.

She also spoke at the India Against Corruption event held at the Gayatri Shaktipeeth. "Scams have increased over the years and the number of recorded scams have also increased," she said, adding that records show that there are no commensurate punishment for such scams.

Bedi said that she needed the support of Non-Resident Indians to give the movement an additional momentum. "We can also try to weed out corruption if we allocate even 0.5 per cent of % for anti-corruption,"

Courtesy-http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/currentaffairs/indialoses3616bneveryyearduetocorruptionbedi_558218.html

Market seen range-bound around 18000 level: Morgan Stanley

Adverse global cues have been pulling Indian equities towards consolidation. In fact, according to Sridhar Sivaram, ED at Morgan Stanley Investment Managers, the market is already in consolidation phase. He sees it trading in a tight range around 18,000 levels for the next three to six month as he doesn't see improvement in the macro front till then. "Lack of reforms is a worry for the market. And, on back of that we may end the year flat."

Moreover, he sees some slowdown in consumption and infrastructure sectors. He is also underweight on the consumer discretionary space and neutral on consumer staples. On retails, he says investors have moved to commodities, especially gold and silver. "Retail volumes on the equity side have dwindled as investors are currently on the sidelines," he explained.

Being overweight on pharma and IT space, Sivaram says, "We may see value emerging in the industrials. We also see money coming into debt funds."

Below is the verbatim transcript of the interview. Also watch the accompanying video.

Q: The market has been range bound for the last many weeks. How much longer do you see things continuing?

A: It’s a consolidation phase for the market. The market will not do too much until and unless the macro for the country improves. We don’t see that improving at least in the next three-six months. If inflation starts to tick down, then there is a possibility that RBI would pause.

The market would trade in a range for at least three-six months. Towards the end of this year, we could see some movement depending on how the macros behave by then. We would get more sense on the numbers towards the second half.

Q: What kind of numbers are you expecting to see? Is it going to be time correction or is there room for sharper price correction in this market?

A: I would be in that camp where around 18,000 plus or minus 5% market is range bound. Once we see some sort of positive signals from the macro side which also is a precursor of how the micro for respective companies would behave. Be it on the infra side or the consumption side, we have been seeing slowdown because of high inflation and high interest rates. So, the market would start to look ahead and build momentum from there.

Q: This year, only defensives have done well and the high beta sectors have languished. Tactically, how are you positioned now?

A: They are broadly defensive bear. Our over weights are slightly outward looking at this stage which is overweight on pharmaceuticals and IT which is broadly immune to domestic negative news. They are underweight on the consumer discretionary and are neutral on the staples segment. They are underweight on industrial that we are closely monitoring.

Some of these stocks have got beaten down substantially and there might be some value emerging out there. If the macro improves, we could see some of these sectors moving ahead. We have been trying to evaluate how much is already priced in and what is the worst case possibility.

Q: The retail participation is extremely low in the equity market. Are you getting a sense that in another asset classes like in commodities (gold and silver), the participation is picking up?

A: They are pretty much on the sideline. We see money coming into the debt fund. FMPs saw some interesting data that the volumes on the commodity side have gone up substantially in MCX exchanges.

It seems like the retail and some of the speculative elements have moved to the commodity side, especially on gold and silver. The retail volumes on the equity side have dwindled which is a reflection of how the volumes for the market are behaving.

Until the macro improves, it is very difficult to se the micro or the companies starting to do extremely well. To that extent, we are in that tight range right now. It’s the same even for the retail investors. They are currently on the sideline.

Q: The problems largely are global for the last few sessions. Do you see a bit leg down in global equities?

A: It’s very difficult to say what the worst case scenario is because we don’t know if there is some crisis in Europe and things could go bad. If status quo remains and there isn't too much of you know major negatives, then plus-minus 5% or at least minus 5% from here the markets could settle. There could be a time correction. Once that time correction is over and things start to improve, we could see a rally.

Last year till about May, the markets were down 10%. The markets improved last year in the second half and we ended the year by 15%. We saw a rally of almost 20% last year towards the second half. I’m not expecting that sort of a rally this year as it happened because of QE2 last year.

Currently, we are minus 10% for the year. It is highly possible that if things improve, we could close the year flat which could help looking at the next year in 2010 and see how things are playing out there.

Q: Market men have been living in the hope of some reform all through the year. Are you worried about the lack of reforms in India now?

A: It is a worry but, those are the difficulties of a coalition government which is reflecting in the market. Until and unless we see some drastic measures form the government in terms of reforms, the market will not cheer immediately which is a concern.

Most global investors looking at India closely would be worried that there has been policy inaction for almost six-eight months now. We get some indication that this could change in the near future.

The government is now quite seriously looking at building some consensus from the opposition parties to push through some of the reforms, on the FDI, insurance or some policy measure on the oil and energy side. If these things play out over the next six months, that would be a sentiment booster for the markets.

Courtesy -  http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/fiiview/marketseenrange-boundaround18000levelmorganstanley_558177.html

SEBI decision on takeover code likely on June 30

Market regulator SEBI is likely to raise the trigger limit for open offer to 25% when it takes a decision on the new takeover code for merger and acquisitions at its board meeting scheduled later this month.

"SEBI is likely to clear the takeover code in its board meeting scheduled on June 30," an official said. An agreement seems to have emerged between the Finance Ministry and the capital market regulator for raising the trigger limit from 15% to 25%, as recommended by a SEBI panel but the government is not in favour of 100% open offer, sources said.

"Certainly not 100%," the official said when asked if the the open offer would be for the entire stake.

"More or less it would be between 50% and 75%," he added.

The SEBI committee headed by C Achuthan on a new takeover code had suggested that the acquiring company should make 100% open offer, thus giving the exit option to all the shareholders of the target company.

Current norms mandate acquirer to make an open offer of 20% in the target company. The recommendation of 100% open offer was opposed by the industry as it would have made acquisition a very expensive proposition.

As per the SEBI panel's recommendations made in July last year, an entity buying 25% stake in a company should make an open offer to the rest of the shareholders.

India’s Sensex Retreats for Second Week on Greece, Interest Rate - Businessweek

India’s Sensex Retreats for Second Week on Greece, Interest Rate - Businessweek

The perticipation of children from sexual offence bill,2011

The Ministry of Women & Child Development organised a conference of States / UTs Ministers in-charge of the Women & Child Development department, in New Delhitoday.

The discussions included primarily the implementation of ICDS Scheme in the States / UTs specially in the context of the directions given by the Prime Minister’s National Council on Nutrition Challenges regarding strengthening and re-structuring of ICDS, progress and implementation of the ICPS, the newly introduced Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) – ‘SABLA’ and Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY).

The agenda also included a discussion on the status of two Bills viz. the Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2010 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill, 2011.

In her inaugural speech Smt. Krishna Tirath outlined the initiatives of the Ministry and the status of the implementation of various schemes. While speaking about ICDS, she mentioned the challenges in universalisation of ICDS, like shortfall in the operationalisation of Anganwadi Centres and Projects, filling up of vacancies and access to the vulnerable sections.

She emphasised on the importance of pre-school education in the Anganwadi Centres and requested participation of States / UTs in consultations on Early Childhood Education ECE policy and curriculum. The Ministry is now considering the Annual Programme Implementation Plans for ICDS to be prepared by States / UTs which would improve their accountability and would be a precursor to bringing ICDS in a Mission Mode.

Smt. Krishna Tirath asked the States / UTs to diligently follow the norms of providing supplementary nutrition under ICDS and ensure supply without disruption.

Since the food grains are provided at BPL rates, care should be taken that the requirement of food grains is projected according to the recipes given to the children. Keeping in view the NCEAR report, the feeding efficiency needs to be improved and monitoring to be strengthened for correct reporting.

She emphasised on improvement of infrastructure at the Anganwadi Centres since the two new Schemes – SABLA and IGMSY, are also to be implemented from the same platform.

The WCD Minister inaugurated the Nutritional Resource Platform (NRP), based in NIPCCD by the click of a button. NRP is a strong ICT platform having digital library, knowledge management platform and mobile telephony based services like voice / SMS broadcast, inter – active voice response based data capturing for monitoring and toll free helpline. Test pilots in some of the select blocks and districts will commence in February 2011.

Smt. Krishna Tirath touched upon the two newly introduced schemes – SABLA and IGMSY which are being piloted in 200 and 52 districts respectively and emphasised the significance of undertaking Baseline Surveys for identification of beneficiaries and validation of data carefully so that only those who are eligible and deserving are included.

It is also important to judge the efficacy of pilot schemes, before upsclaing them to cover the whole country.

The Union Minister exhorted the States / UTs to take advantage of ICPS and ensure a protective and caring environment for all the children so that no child is found on streets or begging or serving in a shop or factory.

Talking about the Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill 2010 she shared that efforts are being made to get the Bill passed in the Parliament early. The suggestions given by the States / UTs would be incorporated in the Bill if found feasible.

In view of increasing incidence of child abuse in the country, Bill on Protection of Children from Sexual Offences has been prepared by the Ministry.

It is a step towards developing child jurisprudence in the country. Smt. Krishna Tirath requested the State Governments to expedite the setting up of State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights which exists in eleven States / UTs only as of now. The Ministers of State Governments / UT Administrations highlighted the progress made by them under different Schemes and shared the best practices besides the local initiatives taken by them.

They committed to operationalise the pending AWCs and Projects under the universalisation of ICDS. The Ministers and Secretaries of the States / UTs endorsed and complemented the conceptualisation of SABLA and IGMSY. They also supported the Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill 2010.

Among issues of concern raised were like timely release of funds under ICDS including honorarium, requirement of funds for construction of AWCs, inadequacy of funds for uniforms, rent in urban areas and vehicles (for improving mobility), revision of cost norms which were revised in 2008, waiving of population norms for the mini-AWCs and cost norms for SNP.

The States / UTs felt that the cost of implementation of Acts should be borne by Central Government and that the Kishori Shakti Yojana norms under “Sabla” may be improved. Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand demanded funding of ICDS in the same pattern as is available to the North – Eastern States.

The Ministers and Secretaries assured that they are committed to the cause of the welfare of children and empowerment of women and that the ongoing as well as new Schemes of the Ministry would all be implemented in true spirit as intended.

Courtesy- http://equalityindia.wordpress.com/category/ncpcr/

EMIs set to rise as RBI hikes repo rate by 0.25%

The Reserve Bank of India has hiked policy rates for the tenth consecutive time in a bid to contain rising inflation. The repo rate, at which the RBI provides credit to banks, has been hiked by 0.25 per cent to 7.50 per cent. The reverse repo rate, which is 1 per cent below the repo rate, now moves up to 6.50 per cent.

Reacting to the policy, former Governor of Reserve Bank C Rangarajan said, “The action was warranted by the circumstances. The May inflation went up contrary to expectations leaving RBI with no option but to raise rates.”

Retail lending rates are bound to follow the policy rates. That means consumers will have to pay a higher EMI on their home loans and auto and personal loans will cost more. In the last two years, interest on home loans has gone up by at least 2 per cent, from about 8 per cent to above 10 per cent.

MV Nair, CMD of Union Bank said, “In the last 4-5 quarters, banks have hiked lending rates by 200-225 bps but lending remains robust except agriculture. Considering this, we will have to pass on the policy rate hike to the Industry.”

The RBI's tough stance on monetary policy emerges from the fact that despite several rate hikes, inflation continues to be northbound. Inflation has risen despite a favorable base effect. Headline inflation in May went up to 9.06 per cent on the back of a rise in prices of manufactured products and petrol. The core inflation in May rose to 7.20 per cent and real interest rates continue to be negative.

Sajjid Chinoy, India Economist at JP Morgan said the central bank is definitely not at the end of the rate cycle and another 50-75 bps rise should be expected through the course of the year.

In its statement, the Reserve Bank said, "Domestically, inflation persists at uncomfortable levels. Moreover, the headline numbers understate the pressures because fuel prices have yet to reflect global crude oil prices...Going forward, notwithstanding both signs of moderation in commodity prices and some deceleration in growth, domestic inflation risks remain high.


Against this backdrop, the monetary policy stance remains firmly anti-inflationary; recognizing that, in the current circumstances, some short-run deceleration in growth may be unavoidable in bringing inflation under control."

Courtesy- http://profit.ndtv.com/news/show/emis-set-to-rise-as-rbi-hikes-repo-rate-by-0-25-160540

New Interface Wednesdays: Multi-dimension reporting - Inside AdSense

New Interface Wednesdays: Multi-dimension reporting - Inside AdSense

Financial health seems fine

The Reserve Bank of India came out today with its health check report for the country’s financial sector — the third in the past 12 months — and pronounced that it was in fine fettle but admitted there were some wobbles ahead for the economy.

The report said the economy faced downside risks from a slowdown in global recovery, high oil and commodity prices, and sovereign debt problems in the Euro area and a decline in domestic investment demand.

However, it added that the Indian financial system was stable despite some fragility in the global macro-financial environment.

For the banking sector which has been witnessing a hike in key interest rates because of stubborn inflation, the report said that increasing interest rates, hike in the savings account rate, amortisation of pension and gratuity liabilities and potentially enhanced provisioning requirements for non performing assets might impact their profitability.

The report also raised some caution on the structure of bank’s loan books. Though the credit portfolio of commercial banks was diversified across industries, geography and sectors, the report said that during the last few years, incremental credit growth was observed to be mainly propelled by credit growth in a few sectors — retail, commercial real estate and infrastructure.

In March 2011, these sectors accounted for 19 per cent, 4 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively of the gross advances of banks and the combined contribution of the three sectors to the incremental gross outstanding credit was to the extent of 40 per cent.

“Each of these sectors were characterized by unique asset quality features and, given their large share in credit portfolio of banks, required careful monitoring,” the report noted.

On real estate loans, which registered a growth of 24.6 per cent in 2010-11, more than the overall credit growth of 22.6 per cent, the financial stability report said the sector posed some concerns given the large and growing share of these loans in the credit portfolio of banks. “Going forward, the asset quality in this segment may come under further pressure given the increasing interest rate environment. There is also some anecdotal evidence of increasing inventory levels in the sector even as prices continued to remain elevated,” it observed.

Banks have also been told to monitor the rise in growth of retail loans. Here the worry is that bad loans in this category could rise as interest rates keep rising. “The robust rebound in retail loans witnessed during recent quarters warrants close monitoring as the asset quality of such loans could come under pressure given the increasing interest rate environment. The performances of these loans are closely linked to the individual income and wealth levels, which could be affected if the risks to economic growth were to materialise,” the report said.

Admitting that the elevated inflation and interest rate may also impact the balance sheet of financial entities, the report said the central bank needed to manage the volatility in the liquidity situation in the financial system which had been in a deficit mode for almost a year.

Burning Fuels

Oil minister Jaipal Reddy today pressed for a hike in diesel and domestic LPG cylinder prices before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

PSU retailers Indian Oil, BPCL and HPCL were suffering daily revenue losses of Rs 450 crore, and officials said the oil ministry was lobbying for a hike of at least Rs 3-5 per litre in diesel and Rs 25-50 per LPG cylinder.

Reddy’s meeting comes a day after the CAG criticised the oil ministry’s role in approving Reliance Industries’ KG-D6 field cost. The oil minister briefed the Prime Minister about his ministry’s stand on the CAG’s draft report.

While Reddy refused to comment on his 15-minute meeting with the Prime Minister, officials said the meeting was fixed much before the CAG submitted its draft report on June 8.

Reddy’s meeting today with the Prime Minister was on fuel prices.

The oil minister had last week met Mukherjee to push for a fuel price hike. Oil companies are losing Rs 14.22 on the sale of every litre of diesel. In addition, they lose Rs 27.47 on a litre of kerosene and Rs 381.14 per 14.2-kg domestic LPG cylinder.

The three firms may end the fiscal with a revenue loss of Rs 160,568 crore, at least half of which will have to be met by the government from its budget. The rates for the three products were last hiked in June 2010, when crude was ruling at $72 per barrel.

The basket of crude India buys averaged $110 a barrel this month.

The CAG report alleged that the oil ministry bent the rules to allow Reliance Industries to benefit at the cost of the government’s own financial stake in the development of the country’s largest gas fields in 2004-06.

Reliance is developing the D-6 gas field in the Krishna-Godavari basin.

The report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) states that the company revised the costs of developing the field by more than $6 billion.

“However, at this stage, based on the information provided, we are unable to comment on the reasonableness, or otherwise, of the increase in cost, both overall and in respect of individual line items,” the CAG said.