Volume XXXIV Number 24 March 11, 2019

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 11

D. INDUSTRY 12

E. SMALL SCALE INDUSTRY 13

F. INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS 14

G. LABOUR & PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT 15

H. MANAGEMENT 15

I. MISCELLANEOUS 15

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BANKERS' BRIEF Vol. XXXIV No. 24March 11, 2019

ECONOMY"Deepening slowdown" – Can the RBI's reduction in borrowing costs help check the demand slowdown? An

editorial. – (H Mar 4, 2019 p 8)

"Economy slows down in Q3FY19" – India's economic growth slowed down to a six-quarter low of 6.6 percent in the third quarter of the current financial year, showed data released by the Central Statistics Office(CSO). A graphical report. – (BS Mar 4, 2019 p 4)

"Expect further moderation in the economic cycle over next 6 months, says Nomura MD" – Editedexcerpts from a discussion with Sonal Varma, MD & Chief India Economist, Nomura Financial Advisory andSecurities; Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist, HSBC. The latest set of growth numbers shows that theIndian economy slowed down 6.6% in the December quarter, the slowest in five quarters. Sonal expects afurther moderation in the economic cycle in the next six months. While Pranjul says we shouldn't get carriedaway by a negative narrative. Consumption was weak on private and govt side but investment was strong.We should not get carried away by a negative narrative, according to Bhandari. We are expecting anothercut in April and one more after that, average inflation projection for FY20 is still looking sub-4%, according toVarma. – (Mint Mar 4, 2019 p 11)

"GDP growth declines to 6.6% in Q3, the slowest in five quarters: CSO also revises downward itsfull-year growth forecast for fiscal 2019 to 7% from 7.2% estimated earlier" – The Indian economydecelerated at a faster pace than anticipated in the December quarter of 2018- 19 to 6.6% - the lowest in fivequarters - increasing chances of another round of rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in April tosupport growth. – (Mint Mar 1, 2019 p 16)

"India to grow at 7.3 per cent in 2019, 2010: Moody's" – Indian economy is expected to grow at 7.3 percent in calendar year 2019 and 2020, and the government spending announced ahead of elections this yearwhich will support near-term growth, according to the Moody's. The US-based rating agency said that thecountry is less exposed to a slowdown in global manufacturing trade growth than other major Asian economiesand emerging markets and is poised to grow at a relatively stable pace in the two years. "We expect India'seconomy to grow around 7.3 per cent in both years (2019, 2020)," Moody's said in its quarterly Global MacroOutlook for 2019 and 2020. Moody's growth estimates in based on calendar year. – (BS Mar 2, 2019 p 6)

"Modi govt's reforms have put economy on a strong footing: CEA" – India's next government will haveto bring in land, labour and financial sector reforms to improve the productivity of the manufacturing sectorand boost economic growth, according to chief economic adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian. These arethe critical areas, we need to work on. He said the Indian economy could grow at 7.2-7.5% in the next fiscalyear beginning 1 April. – (Mint Mar 5, 2019 p 16)

"Poll spending could give a brief boost to economy" – Edited excerpts from an interview with Pronab Sen,former chief statistician and A Prasanna, chief economist, ICICI Securities Primary Dealership Ltd (I-SecPD). Election spending could give a temporary boost to the economy. – (Mint Mar 1, 2019 p 14)

"Route to reform" – 'The Third Pillar' by Raghuram G Rajan. In these excerpts from his latest book, TheThird Pillar, former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan talks of how India needs a more independent privatesector, how the state can do more for its people by trying to do less, and how India is better positioned thanChina for growth. – (FE Mar 3, 2019 p 5)

Bhattacharya, Saugata – "Growth weakening, capex a concern" – The current slowdown might also haveripple effects on FY20 growth, with falling capex further lowering India's potential output growth. An article.– (FE Mar 6, 2019 p 8)

Bhusnurmath, Mythili – "Eenie, meenie, minie, moe?" – Look beyond headline GDP estimates and drawthe right policy conclusions for the economy. The problem is compounded by the fact that there is no oneview of GDP. Whether a particular GDP number is good, bad or ugly lies in the eyes of the beholder. Anarticle. – (ET Mar 4, 2019 p 12)

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Ghosh, Soumya Kanti – "Growth numbers do not inspire optimism" – Q3GDP numbers came in at 6.6per cent, mostly in line with market consensus. However, with FY19 growth now at 7%, Q4GDP numbersare at 6.5 per cent. With Q4FY18 revisions due in May, it is likely that Q4 numbers could be even at sub 6.5per cent. An article. – (BS Mar 1, 2019 p 4)

Goyal, Ashima – "Sustaining high growth with low inflation" – If supply-side polices successfully reducecosts and inflation, macroeconomic policy can afford to be stimulatory. An article. – (HBL Mar 4, 2019 p 14)

Iyer, Aparna – "India's GDP data lends support to demand for monetary policy push" – India's third-quarter economic growth confirmed the widespread worry that it is losing momentum and needs policysupport. Now, should the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut policy rates by a bigger margin than the 25 basispoints most expect? Perhaps it should, but first the central bank should lower its own forecasts from optimisticlevels. Investment is still sluggish, but the fact that it hasn't worsened more is a good sign, say economists.– (Mint Mar 1, 2019 p 4)

Mishra, Neelkanth – "What can be done to revive growth?" – Economic growth solves many problems.Can lower interest rates help reverse the slowdown? An article. – (BS Mar 6, 2019 p 9)

Moss, Daniel – "India's economy just fell in with bad crowd" – Not only is growth slowing, but like otheremerging - and fully emerged - markets, inflation is basically nowhere. That opens up space for the centralbank which means more interest rate cuts and fiscal priming ahead of the national elections. An article.– (FE Mar 2, 2019 p 8)

Rajadhyaksha, Niranjan – "The mounting challenges of a two-speed Indian economy" – The dualismof income stagnation in the farm sector and the rapid growth in rest of the private sector is our next bighurdle. An article. – (Mint Mar 6, 2019 p 15)

EMPLOYMENT/UNEMPLOYMENTVijayalakshmi V – "Quest for employment" – An article. – (SE 57(19) Feb 1, 2019 pp 5-6)

FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES"Forex reserves up by $944 mn as foreign currency assets swell" – The country's foreign exchange

reserves increased by $944.7 million to $399.217 billion in the week to February 22, due to increase in foreigncurrency assets, according to the Reserve Bank of India data. In the previous week, the reserves hadincreased by $150.2 million to $398.272 billion. In the reporting week, foreign currency assets, a majorcomponent of the overall reserves, rose by $928.6 million to $371.99 billion. – (BS Mar 2, 2019 p 5)

OFFSHORE RUPEE MARKET"RBI forms task force under Thorat on offshore rupee mkts" – The RBI announced a task force headed

by its former deputy governor Usha Thorat to examine issues related to offshore rupee markets and recommendpolicy measures to ensure stability of the external value of the domestic currency. The eight-member taskforce will assess the causes behind the development of the offshore rupee market and study the effects ofthe offshore markets on the rupee exchange rate and market liquidity in the domestic market.– (FE Mar 1, 2019 p 10)

SERVICES SECTOR"Services sector activity gathers pace in February on uptick in new orders" – The country's services

sector activity gathered momentum in February, driven by a quicker expansion in new work orders thatsupported a faster increase in output and job creation, according to a monthly survey. New business receivedby services companies rose to a greater extent in February amid strengthening underlying demand. Theservices PMI was in the expansion territory for the ninth straight month. – (FE Mar 6, 2019 p 5)

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UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME SCHEMEKanungo, Anil K – "How to do UBI" – Neither Centre nor states have fiscal capacity to implement anything

close to a true UBI. If properly targeted, Universal basic income (UBI) can reduce corruption and leakageof funds. And it will be politically correct. An article. – (FE Mar 6, 2019 p 9)

Singh, Ram – "Ensure a minimum income for all" – A basic income scheme will deliver benefits to the pooronly if it comes on top of public services. An article. – (H Mar 2, 2019 p 8)

BANKING"Non-food credit grows 14.3%" – Non-food credit or loans to individuals and companies grew 14.3% year-

on-year (y-o-y) during the fortnight ended February 15, marginally slower than 14.4% y-o-y reported in theprevious fortnight. During the comparable fortnight a year ago, non-food credit growth stood slower at11.6%. Meanwhile, deposits with the banking system grew by 10.2% y-o-y to Rs.121.21 lakh crore as onFebruary 15, a shade faster than 9.63% y-o-y in the previous fortnight. During the comparable fortnight of2018, deposits with banks had grown by only 5.9%. – (FE Mar 1, 2019 p 10)

KERALA– FARM LOANS

"Kerala banks seek RBI nod to freeze farm loan recovery till Dec" – Banks in Kerala will seek thepermission of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to extend moratorium on loan recovery proceedings on farmerstill December 31. In the wake of rising spate of farmer suicides in Kerala, the State-level Bankers' Committee(SLBC) has also favoured increasing the loan limit from Rs.1 lakh to Rs.2 lakh. A report.– (FE Mar 7, 2019 p 10)

ALLAHABAD BANK"After central bank nudge, Allbank cuts borrowing rates" – Persuasion appears to have outscored logic

in influencing rate decisions at high-street banks. About three weeks after Mint Road unexpectedly lowereda key benchmark for broader interest rates. Allahabad Bank reduced borrowing rates, just a day after thecentral bank eased operational curbs on the state-owned lender. – (ET Mar 1, 2019 p 7)

BANK OF BARODA"BoB to cut MCLR by 10 basis points" – Bank of Baroda said it will cut its marginal cost of funds-based

lending rate (MCLR) across all 5 tenors by 10 basis points with effect from March 7. Following the revision,the new benchmark one-year MCLR will be 8.65 per cent against 8.75 per cent now.– (HBL Mar 6, 2019 p 8)

"Govt appoints Hasmukh Adhia as Chairman of Bank of Baroda" – The government Friday appointedformer Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia as chairman of state-owned Bank of Baroda (BoB). Bank ofBaroda is set to become the third largest lender of the country after amalgamation with Vijaya Bank andDena Bank effective April 1. "Shri Hasmukh Adhia, former Finance Secretary appointed non-executiveChairman of Bank of Baroda. Bank poised to leverage benefits of synergy and scale with stronger pan-Indiapresence," according to Financial Services, Secretary, Rajiv Kumar. – (HBL Mar 2, 2019 p 7)

BANK OF INDIA/UNION BANK OF INDIA– EMPLOYEE SHARE PURCHASE SCHEME

"BoI, UBI staff may get Canara Bank loans to buy shares of their banks" – Special Canara BudgetScheme priced at 8.7% per year which is the bank's one-year MCLR. State-owned lenders Bank of Indiaand Union Bank of India appear to have made arrangements with Canara Bank to provide collateral-freeloans to their respective employees, a veiled move to fund purchase of shares under Employee Stock PurchaseScheme (ESPS). – (ET Mar 1, 2019 p 11)

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BANK OF MAHARASHTRA"Bank of Maharashtra receives Reforms Excellence Award" – Bank of Maharashtra has been awarded

Enhanced Access & Service Excellence (EASE) Banking Reforms Award at the hands of Union FinanceMinister Mr Arun Jaitley in the function held on 28th February, at New Delhi. EASE is the Public SectorBanks (PSBs) reform agenda launched by Government of India through Indian Banks Association (IBA) forpublic sector banks of the country. The Boston Consultancy Group (BCG) was appointed by the IBA toexamine PSB performance under six themes through 140 objective metrics. The Bank has showncommendable improvements in such themes and has been awarded under Top Improvers Award.– (BS Mar 5, 2019 p 6)

CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA"Central Bank puts NPAs on the block: Stressed assets worth over Rs.3,300 crore up for auction" –

Central Bank of India on Saturday put on the block stressed assets worth Rs.3,322 crore, including itsexposure to Essar Steel India with an outstanding balance of Rs.423.61 crore, Bhushan Power & Steel(Rs.1,550.07 crore) and Alok Industries (Rs.1,251.10 crore), to be sold on a full-cash basis to any interestedbank, asset reconstruction company, non-banking financial company or foreign investor. Notably, all threestressed accounts are undergoing corporate insolvency resolution proceedings. A report.– (FE Mar 3, 2019 pp 1, 11)

FEDERAL BANK"Our overall loan growth will be at 20-23%: Federal Bank MD" – Edited excerpts from an interview

with Shyam Srinivasan, MD and CEO, Federal Bank. He said bank has continued on the planned loangrowth, but shifted focus slightly from longer-duration corporate loans to retail loans.– (Mint Mar 1, 2019 p 14)

HDFC BANK"HDFC Bank plans to acquire 9% stake in CSE E-Governance Services for Rs.14 .6 cr" – Private

sector lender HDFC Bank will buy a 9.11 per cent stake in CSC E-Governance Services. The acquisition, forRs.14.62 crore, which HDFC Bank termed as a "strategic investment", will be on cash basis.– (HBL Mar 1, 2019 p 6)

ICICI BANK"ED to review loans sanctioned during Kochhar's ICICI tenure: Former CEO of ICICI bank

questioned for the fourth consecutive day" – In light of similarities observed in suspect credit transactionsinto the account of Nupower Renewables Private Limited, owned by Deepak Kochhar, the EnforcementDirectorate has decided to expand the scope of its investigation and examine other large loans sanctioned bythe ICICI bank during the time that Mr Kochhar's wife, Chanda, was at the lender's helm.– (H Mar 5, 2019 p 7)

"ICICI Bank to buy 9.9% in NBFC Kisan Finance for Rs.18 crore" – ICICI Bank said it will acquire9.9% stake in non-banking finance company Kisan Finance for cash consideration of Rs.17.82 crore. Thebank said it will buy 1.49 crore shares to acquire 9.9% stake in Kisan Finance for Rs.17.82 crore. Theacquisition is expected to be over by the end of March 2019. – (FE Mar 5, 2019 p 8)

IDBI BANK"IDBI Bank gets nod to handle exim transactions with Iran: Sources" – The IDBI Bank has received

government nod to handle import and export transactions with Iran, a move which would help in promotingtwo-way trade amid US sanctions on the Persian Gulf nation. – (HBL Mar 5, 2019 p 4)

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"IDBI Bank invites application for two dy managing directors" – Life Insurance Corporation (LIC)-owned IDBI Bank has invited application for two deputy managing directors. LIC had completed acquisitionof 51 percent stake in IDBI Bank in January. Currently, there are two DMDs at the bank - K P Nair and GM Yadwadkar who are due for retirement soon. The new DMDs will be appointed for three years, which willbe extendable by two more years or up to 60 years, the bank said in an advertisement.– (FE Mar 5, 2019 p 3)

"IDBI Bank receives govt nod to handle import, exports with Iran: Sources" – The IDBI Bank hasreceived government nod to handle import and export transactions with Iran, a move which would help inpromoting two-way trade amid US sanctions on the Persian Gulf nation, according to industry sources.– (FE Mar 5, 2019 p 8)

"IDBI Bank seeks bids for Lanco Solar (Gujarat) plant" – Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India, on behalf ofIDBI Bank, has invited expressions of interest (EoIs) for the sale of a 30-megawatt (MW) solar powerproject in Patan, Gujarat, owned and operated by Lanco Solar (Gujarat) (LSGPL), according to a publicnotice. The plant's total debt outstanding as on October 8, 2018, stood at Rs.346 crore. IDBI is the onlylender to the project. – (FE Mar 6, 2019 p 7)

INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK (IOB)"IOB bags EASE Awards in 2 categories" – Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has announced that it has won

the Enhanced Access & Service Excellence (EASE) Awards in two out of eight categories. The award wasframed as the reforms agenda for PSBs, and covers themes such as customer responsiveness, responsiblebanking, and credit offtake. IOB won the awards under 'reforms excellence' and 'deepening financial inclusionand digitalisation' categories. – (HBL Mar 2, 2019 p 7)

LAKSHMI VILAS BANK"LVB in talks with Indiabulls Hsg, others to raise growth capital: A merger could offer NBFCs long-

term solution to asset liability management, lower borrowing costs" – Lakshmi Vilas Bank is in initialdiscussions with two NBFCs, including Indiabulls Housing Finance, to evaluate a potential merger deal thatcould help address its current struggle for growth capital. The South-based bank has been proposing toNBFCs a merger structure like that of IDFC Bank and Capital First, according to two sources privy to thediscussions. – (ET Mar 7, 2019 p 9)

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK– REFORMS AGENDA

"Scam-hit PNB comes first in executing 'reforms agenda'" – Punjab National Bank has been ranked firstamong public sector banks in the implementation of 'reforms agenda', followed by Bank of Baroda and StateBank of India, according to a report. The BCG-IBA report - EASE Reforms for Public Sector Banks -measures the performance of each PSB on 140 objective metrics across six themes, including customerresponsiveness, credit offtake, and digitalisation. – (HBL Mar 1, 2019 p 6)

STATE BANK OF INDIA"SBI reports frauds of Rs.7,951 crore" – State Bank of India (SBI) said frauds amounting to Rs.7,951.29

crore were reported during the first nine months of 2018-19. All these accounts became NPAs much earlierand most of the portfolio is already provided for with 100 per cent provision, SBI said in a regulatory filing.Moreover, we provide additional provision on new frauds in each quarter to cover the gap, if any. ln thisconnection, while all fraud related laid down guidelines are being followed, resolution process for recoverythrough Debt Recovery Tribunal and other mechanism is also under way. – (IE Mar 2, 2019 p 14)

"SBI, Hitachi arm to roll out digital payments platform" – State Bank of India (SBI) and Hitachi PaymentServices Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd, launched their merchant-acquiring joint venture,SBI Payment Services Pvt Ltd (SBIPSPL), in Mumbai, for establishing a digital payments platform for Indiaand other countries in the region. – (HBL Mar 6, 2019 p 8)

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UNION BANK OF INDIA"Union Bank fixes ESPS price band at Rs.58-59" – State-owned Union Bank of India has fixed the price

band for its Employee Stock Purchase Scheme at Rs.58-59 per share, looking to raise about Rs.470 crore,according to the people familiar with the matter. The issue is likely to be open on March 5.– (ET Mar 2, 2019 p 5)

"Union Bank reduces MCLR by 10 bps" – State-run Union Bank of India said it has reduced marginal costof funds-based lending rate (MCLR) by 10 basis points across all tenors. The lender has reduced its one yearMCLR or the minimum lending rate, against which most of the consumer loans are benchmarked, to 8.60percent from 8.70 percent earlier. Taking a cue from the latest measures announced by the Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI) and to support growth of economy, we have reduced MCLR by 10 basis points across all tenors.– (FE Mar 2, 2019 p 10)

UNITED BANK OF INDIA"United Bank, HDFC Life sign bancassurance deal" – United Bank of India has signed a bancassurance

deal with private life insurer HDFC Life Insurance Company. Through this partnership, United Bank'scustomers will be able to take advantage of HDFC Life's expertise in life insurance products, distribution andcustomer service. – (HBL Mar 7, 2019 p 5)

YES BANK"Ravneet Gill takes over as MD and CEO at YES Bank" – The transition of the top management at YES

Bank seems to be complete with Ravneet Gill taking over as the Managing Director and CEO of the privatesector lender. His tenure, as approved by the Reserve Bank of India, is three years from the date of hisjoining - March 1, 2019, to February 28, 2022. – (HBL Mar 2, 2019 p 7)

EUROPE– EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

Bershidsky, Leonid – "The next ECB chief economist is more than a dove" – Philip Lane is strongly infavour of creating a European safe asset and for tight macro-prudential regulation. An article.– (HBL Mar 1, 2019 p 8)

Wolf, Martin – "The ECB must reconsider its plan to tighten" – The constraints on the central banktaking effective action are a permanent threat to stability. An article. – (FT Mar 6, 2019 p 11)

GERMANY"German bank merger would erode bail-in rules" – Deutsche-Commerzbank deal seems driven by systemic

precaution. An editorial. – (FT Mar 7, 2019 p 8)

Morris, Stephen – "Berlin eyes a superbank" – Rumours of a possible merger of Deutsche Bank andCommerzbank have rumbled on for a decade. But now a deal to combine the two struggling German banksappears to have political momentum. An article. – (FT Mar 5, 2019 p 7)

BANK CONSOLIDATION"Policy to merge state-owned banks will continue: Jaitley: PNB tops list of best-performing

government banks" – The Narendra Modi government will continue to follow a policy of amalgamatingpublic sector banks to create a few but giant state-owned lenders which are globally competitive, accordingto the Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley. – (BS Mar 1, 2019 p 6)

– BOB/VIJAYA/DENA BANK

"SC to take up petitions challenging BoB, Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank merger" – The Supreme Courthas agreed to transfer the writ petitions challenging the constitution of an 'alternative mechanism' for formulatinga scheme of amalgamation between Bank of Baroda, Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank, filed in various HighCourts to it. A report. – (HBL Mar 4, 2019 p 13)

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BANK LENDING"Banks encash bond holdings to service rising credit demand" – Banks are selling their surplus stocks of

government bonds, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data shows, as they seek to free up resources to meetdemand for loans at a time when deposit growth is slowing. RBI mandates banks to keep a minimum of19.25% of their liabilities in risk-free government securities before lending to customers, but many bankshave for long maintained a statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) of as much as 30% because credit growth wasweak. Bank credit has grown between 10% and 15% every two weeks since June, while deposit growth wasat 6-10%. A report. – (Mint Mar 7, 2019 pp 1, 5)

"RBI norms to carve Rs.1.4 lakh-cr headroom for bank credit: Crisil" – The Reserve Bank of India's(RBI's) move to align risk weights of banks' exposure to non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) with theirrespective credit ratings will help banks create a lending headroom of Rs.1.4 lakh crore, according to Crisilreport. First, the release of capital for banks should increase deployment opportunities for them. Secondly, itenhances funding access for NBFCs. – (FE Mar 5, 2019 p 8)

– NBFCs

"Bank credit to NBFCs grows 48.3%" – The growth of bank credit to non-banking financial companies(NBFCs) as of January 18, 2019 stood at 48.3% year-on-year (y-o-y), which aided the overall growth indeployment of gross bank credit to major sectors to 13.1% y-o-y. Growth of bank credit to NBFCs from April2017 to January 2018 stood at 16.1% y-o-y. – (FE Mar 2, 2019 p 11)

BANKERS' INVESTIGATIONS"ED carries out searches at homes, offices linked to Kochhars, Venugopal Dhoot" – The Enforcement

Directorate (ED) is carrying out searches at the premises of former CEO of ICICI Bank Chanda Kochhar,her husband Deepak Kochhar and Videocon Industries promoter Venugopal Dhoot in a case of allegedmoney laundering, according to the agency. – (Mint Mar 2, 2019 p 22)

CORPORATE INSOLVENCY RESOLUTION PROCESS"Trustees too can initiate CIRP under IBC against corporate debtors: Govt" – The government has

allowed trustees, estate administrators, persons authorised by a company's board of directors etc to initiatecorporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) against a corporate debtor before the NCLT, on behalf offinancial creditors under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016. – (IE Mar 5, 2019 p 13)

– RESOLUTION PROFESSIONALS, COMMITTEE OF CREDITORS

"IBBI suggests ground rules for Resolution Professsionals, Committee of Creditors" – The Insolvencyand Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has come up with a charter of responsibilities for Insolvency ResolutionProfessionals (IRPs) and Committee of Creditors (CoC) so that stakeholders have a complete and clearunderstanding of their roles and responsibilities in a Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) underthe Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). – (HBL Mar 5, 2019 p 1)

CORPORATE LENDING– INCENTIVES

"Why banks can't afford to ignore the $23-trillion market for doing good" – When British housingassociation London & Quadrant needed a 100 million-pound ($132 million) loan last year, its bank offeredsomething unusually generous: A discount on interest if L&Q met an annual target of helping 600 unemployedresidents find work. A report. – (HBL Mar 7, 2019 p 5)

CURRENCY SWAP AGREEMENT"RBI, BoJ complete signing of $75-bn currency swap pact" – The RBI and Bank of Japan have completed

signing of the bilateral currency swap agreement for $75 billion that will help in bringing greater stability inforeign exchange and capital markets in the country. – (FE Mar 1, 2019 p 10)

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EXECUTIVE COMPENSATIONSabnavis, Madan – "Strike a balance on bank CEO compensation" – While all companies follow the

practices under corporate governance, the board is often not assertive enough given the stature of the CEOwho could be the owner. While NPA divergence is a serious issue, could there be other issues which areequally or more severe that have been left out in the paper. An article. – (FE Mar 7, 2019 p 8)

Vikraman, Shaji – "Levelling the bankers' field" – RBI has unveiled draft rules on compensation of topbank execs who take undue risks. A look at how some bank executives entered into questionable deals, andthe private bankers got away. This is set to change. An article. – (IE Mar 7, 2019 p 6)

FOREIGN BANKS IN INDIA– CREDIT SUISSE

"Credit Suisse headcount in India hits 14k" – Credit Suisse has grown its headcount in India to 14,000.This includes 5,000 direct employees and one-third of these are in IT roles. The rest are spread acrossvendors such as Wipro, Congnizant, Accenture, TCS and HCL, among others. India has become the secondlargest location for the bank in terms of number of employees after Switzerland. – (FE Mar 7, 2019 p 11)

– DBS BANK

"DBS expects India unit to generate Rs.1.50-lakh cr business in five years" – Singapore-based DBSBank expects the business of its wholly-owned Indian subsidiary, DBS Bank India Ltd (DBIL), to treble toabout Rs.1.50-lakh crore in the next five years. – (HBL Mar 5, 2019 p 5)

"DBS India to hire 600-800 people in next 18 months" – DBS India will hire about 600-800 persons in thenext one and a half years as part of its expansion plans, as the Singaporean lender now has acquired adomestic subsidiary licence in India, according to a senior official of the bank. – (FE Mar 7, 2019 p 11)

"DBS to operate as wholly-owned arm in India" – Singaporean lender DBS is set to convert its Indiaoperations into a wholly-owned subsidiary from Friday, and the transition will have no impact on the servicesand benefits extended to existing customers. The Asian bank, which presently operates 12 branches in thecountry as a franchise, will be incorporated locally as DBS Bank India Ltd on March 1.– (BS Mar 1, 2019 p 2)

"Nobody makes money in domestic payments: It's only a means to build full-service capability, SaysDBS Group CEO Gupta" – Excerpts from an interview with Piyush Gupta, CEO and Director, DBSGroup. Singapore's largest lender DBS Bank launched its wholly owned Indian subsidiary with a paid-upcapital of Rs.7,700 crore. It plans to add 100 touch points in 25 cities, and triple its Rs.50,000 crore businessin three years. It also aims to add 800-1,000 people, including in its tech centre in Hyderabad.– (TI Mar 5, 2019 p 20)

"SMEs positively impacted by GST" – Edited excerpts from an interview with Piyush Gupta, CEO, DBSBank. DBS Bank became the first major international bank to locally incorporate its operations from being abranch. Technology has changed banking in the four years it took DBS to get the licence. He says India couldwell be the laboratory where a combination of digital and physical would be experimented.– (ET Mar 6, 2019 p 10)

INDIAN ACCOUNTING STANDARDS (IND-AS)"Banks want RBI to defer IndAS roll-out: Cite higher loan-loss provisioning, pending legislative

changes" – Banks are seeking an extension for the roll-out of the Indian Accounting Standards (IndAS), setto come into effect from April 1. They have cited higher capital for bad-loan provisioning, pending legislativeamendments, and delay in finalising rules by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as some of the reasons. "Thegovernment has given capital to banks with great difficulty and banks are under pressure to improve theirfinancials. IndAS will further add to banks' compliance burden, especially for loan-loss provisions," accordingto the managing director of a public sector bank. The new accounting regime: (a) Likely impact ofimplementation: * Will give realistic picture of liabilities; * Enhance transparency; * Align with global accountingstandards. (b) Push for deferment: * Banks fear uptick in bad loan provisions; * Govt yet to make legislativechanges; * RBI-specific guidelines still in the works; * Too little time to tweak software, systems. A report.– (BS Mar 7, 2019 pp 1, 7)

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INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY CODE"Govt maintaining safe distance from IBC pays rich dividends to the banking system: Committee of

Creditors given free hand to take independent decisions: Arun Jaitley" – Finance Minister ArunJaitley said the government's conscious decision to keep distance from the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code(IBC) process has paid rich dividends to the banking system. In a little over two years after the code wasrolled out, as much as Rs.2.8 lakh crore has returned to the banking system, Jaitley revealed at an event heldto launch the first-ever EASE Reforms Index for public sector banks (PSBs). – (HBL Mar 1, 2019 p 6)

Marwah, Varun – "Imperfect ruling on constitutionality of IBC" – On January 25, 2019, the SupremeCourt upheld the constitutionality of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code henceforth), in itsentirety. The scheme of the Code, as a whole, was challenged on the ground that it violated Article 14 of theConstitution. An article. – (BS Mar 1, 2019 p 9)

Mohamed, Sajid – "Why the insolvency law is neither expedient nor appropriate in the Indian context"– The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has only caused distress and discomfort among Indianpromoters. An article. – (Mint Mar 6, 2019 p 3)

Satija, Aishwarya – "Farmer relief: IBC's loan-term solution" – An article. – (ET Mar 5, 2019 p 12)

– CROSS BORDER INSOLVENCY

"Ordinance on cards to tweak IBC for cross-border cases" – The government is planning to promulgatean Ordinance amending the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and adding a chapter on cross-borderinsolvency. This would give comfort to foreign investors in India and vice-versa. A source in the governmentsaid, "We plan to get a Cabinet nod for this soon." The Ordinance will be based on the UNCITRAL modellaw for cross-border insolvency. – (BS Mar 5, 2019 pp 1, 13)

– NPAs RESOLUTION

"Over Rs.2 lakh-crore bad loans settled" – Over Rs.2 lakh crore worth of loan defaults have been settledand fresh addition of non-performing assets of financial institutions has also come down after the Insolvencyand Bankruptcy Code (IBC) came into being in 2016, according to a top government official. "I do not wantIBC to be the first resort, we wanted it to be the last resort. What is the situation today is exactly that (lastresort)," according to secretary to Ministry of Corporate Affairs Injeti Srinivas. – (FE Mar 2, 2019 p 10)

INTERNET BANKINGRao, Rajkamal – "Time to upgrade internet banking" – Google's re-Captcha tech, OTP transmission

backup solutions can make life easier for customers. An article. – (HBL Mar 4, 2019 p 14)

LIQUIDITY DEFICIT"Banks' liquidity deficit stands at Rs.94,585 crore" – The average liquidity deficit in the banking system in

the week ended February 28 moderated significantly to Rs.94,585 crore, against the deficit of Rs.1.28 lakhcrore - an eight-week high - in the preceding week. The fall in deficit by Rs.34,266 crore was on account ofhigher government spending towards salaries and pensions, and liquidity infusion of Rs.12,500 crore throughopen market operations (OMOs) by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), according to a CARE Ratings report.– (FE Mar 5, 2019 p 8)

MSME LENDING– PSBLOANSIN 59MINUTES.COM

"Over Rs.35L crore sanctioned: 59-minute MSME loan portal is top fintech lending platform" – Webportal PSBloansin59minutes.com, where MSMEs can avail loans of up to Rs.1 crore in just 59 minutes, hasbecome the country's largest online lending platform after sanctioning loans worth over Rs.35,000 crore. Areport. – (FE Mar 4, 2019 p 2)

– 10 –

NON-PERFORMING ASSETS– NEW NORMS

"Banks face risk of adding $25-b debt on SC decision: Apex court to begin hearing arguments onwhether the RBI's diktat applies across industries" – A year after the RBI tightened the screws oncompanies delaying debt payments, the Supreme Court is poised to begin hearing arguments on whether theregulator's diktat applies across industries. Hanging in the balance is the fate of more than $25 billion of loansto power producers. They are among parties contesting the central bank directive that forced lenders recogniseloans as soured if dues are delayed even by a day and to approach bankruptcy courts if a restructuring is notagreed to within 180 days. The Supreme Court, in September, halted proceedings against power, sugar andshipping companies after they challenged the central bank's rules. A report. – (HBL Mar 7, 2019 p 5)

PENALTY– IDBI BANK/DENA BANK

"RBI penalises IDBI Bank, Dena Bank" – The Reserve Bank has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs.2crore on Dena Bank and Rs.1 crore on IDBI Bank for non-compliance with various directions.– (FE Mar 3, 2019 p 1)

– SWIFT - BANK MESSAGING SYSTEM

"Five more banks face RBI fine for non-compliance with Swift norms" – Five banks, including ICICI,Yes Bank and Canara Bank, faced a total penalty of Rs.10 crore from, the RBI for non-compliance withvarious directions. Bank of Baroda, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and Canara Bank have been penalized by thecentral bank for not complying with directions on global transaction messaging software Swift, according toregulatory filings by the lenders. Allahabad Bank was also fined for non-compliance of directions with regardto Nostro accounts. A Nostro account is an account that a bank holds in a foreign currency in another bank.– (FE Mar 6, 2019 p 10)

"RBI slaps Rs.11-crore fine on 4 banks for non-compliance in Swift operations" – The RBI has imposeda total monetary fine of Rs.11 crore on four banks - Karnataka Bank, United Bank of India, Indian OverseasBank and Karur Vysya Bank - for non-compliance of directions on Swift messaging software.– (FE Mar 5, 2019 p 8)

PREVENTION OF FRAUDS– MONITORING AGENCIES

"To prevent frauds, banks plan to appoint agencies to monitor large-value accounts: Under IBAaegis, banks set up a committee of senior bankers to shortlist the agencies" – In a bid to preventfrauds in large-value accounts, banks are planning to engage the services of specialised monitoring agenciesto closely track their activity, including purchases/invoices, actual production vis-a-vis projections, high-valuetransaction/payment as regards beneficiary and purpose, and cash inflows/outflows. Banks, under the aegisof the Indian Banks' Association (IBA), have set up a committee of senior bankers to shortlist and empanelthe agencies (for an initial period of three years) for specialised monitoring of loan accounts where thecollective exposure is Rs.500 crore and above. A report. – (HBL Mar 6, 2019 p 8)

PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS– GOVERNANCE REFORMS

Basu, Debashis – "PSBs get money while RBI, MoF get away. Again" – The new Chief EconomicAdvisor (CEA) Krishnamurthy Subramanian said a few days ago that it is important to implement the P JNayak committee's recommendations on governance reforms in public sector banks (PSBs). Until thesereforms were institutionalised, the risk in the sector would persist. An article. – (BS Mar 4, 2019 p 9)

– 11 –

– GOVERNMENT STAKE

"PSBs face task to cut govt shareholding: Banks may bring down govt equity through QIP, FPO orrights issue" – Public sector banks (PSBs), especially the ones that have come out of prompt correctiveaction (PCA) framework, are likely to go on a fundraising spree, with the twin purpose of raising growthcapital and bringing down government shareholding in the banks to 75 per cent. The dilution of governmentstake is essential to meet the 25 per cent public float norms mandated by Securities and Exchange Board ofIndia (Sebi). A report. – (BS Mar 4, 2019 p 6)

– NPAs

"PSBs see sharp rise in gross NPAs from FY15 to Q3FY19" – Gross non-performing asset (GNPA) inpublic sector banks (PSBs) witnessed a sharp increase from 5% to 13.7% of gross advances between FY15and Q3FY19, while standard restructured assets (SRAs) reduced from 7% of gross advances in FY15 to0.5% by the end of Q3 of FY19, according to EASE reforms index - 2019, released by the Indian BanksAssociation and Boston Consulting Group. A graphical report. – (IE Mar 4, 2019 p 14)

RBI CIRCULAR"Auction of Government of India Dated Securities"– (RBI Circulars RBI/2018-2019/134 Ref.No.IDMD/

2459/08.02.032/2018-19 dated 01.03.2019)

"Hedging of exchange rate risk by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) under Voluntary RetentionRoute"– (RBI Circulars RBI/2018-2019/136 A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 22 dated 01.03.2019)

"Interest Subvention Scheme for Short Term Crop Loans during the years 2018-19 and 2019-20"–(RBI Circulars RBI/2018-2019/137 FIDD.CO.FSD.BC.No.15 /05.02.001/2018-19 dated 07.03.2019)

"White Label ATMs (WLAs) in India - Review of Guidelines"– (RBI Circulars RBI/2018-2019/138DPSS.CO.OD.No.1916/06.07.011/2018-19 dated 07.03.2019)

"'Voluntary Retention Route' (VRR) for Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) investment in debt"–(RBI Circulars RBI/2018-2019/135 A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 21 dated 01.03.2019)

AGRICULTURE & RURAL DEVELOPMENT

AGRICULTURAL GROWTH"Agri growth seen slipping to 2.7% versus 5% in FY18" – India's wheat production in the 2018-19 rabi

season is expected to be 99.12 million tones, marginally less than 99.7 million tones last year, according to thefourth advanced estimates. Overall foodgrain production too is projected to fall slightly to 281.37 milliontones, as less rains brought down output. – (BS Mar 1, 2019 p 4)

NATIONAL RURAL ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION PROJECT– RURAL WOMEN

"World Bank to provide $250 m to increase rural income" – The World Bank will provide a $250-millionloan for the National Rural Economic Transformation Project (NRETP) to help women in rural householdsdevelop viable enterprises for farm and non-farm products. An agreement in this regard was signed betweenthe World Bank and the Government of India. – (FE Mar 6, 2019 p 4)

RURAL EMPLOYMENT"MGNREGS unaffected by regime change in '14" – Analysis of data shows little difference in the functioning

of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme under NDA-II, UPA-II. A graphicalreport. – (Mint Mar 4, 2019 p 2)

– 12 –

RURAL LENDING"Banks see upsurge in rural credit growth: Loans to finance agricultural and allied activities drive

rural lending" – Banks are now seeing an upsurge in credit growth in rural areas, while at the same timereducing their advances in urban and semi-urban areas. According to Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) data,rural credit by scheduled commercial banks had gone up by 13.2 per cent as on December 2018 as against11.5 per cent in the same period last year. This has pushed up total bank credit by 12.9 per cent compared to10.7 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year. – (HBL Mar 5, 2019 p 4)

INDUSTRY

EXIM BANK"Exim Bank eyes 10% growth in business at Rs.1 lakh cr in FY19" – The Export-Import Bank of India

(Exim Bank) is expecting a 10 per cent growth in business this fiscal. According to David Rasquinha, ManagingDirector, Exim Bank's balance sheet will touch Rs.1 lakh crore by March 2019. A majority of the growth isdriven by overseas project finance business. – (HBL Mar 2, 2019 p 7)

HOUSING FINANCE COMPANIES"Regulator proposes tighter norms for HFCs" – The National Housing Bank has proposed to raise the

capital adequacy ratio (CAR) for housing finance companies (HFCs) and cap their borrowing to 12 timestheir net worth, after the IL&FS fiasco exposed weaknesses in the profile of some HFCs. This is to be donein a phased manner, by March 31, 2022. – (BS Mar 6, 2019 p 6)

INFRASTRUCTRUE FINANCE"Is lending to the infrastructure sector back with a bang?" – Loans to the infrastructure sector grew at a

brisk pace of 12.5% in January as against a drop of 2.9% a year ago, shows recent data published by theReserve Bank of India. The growth is also more than twice that of the overall loans to industry. A graphicalreport. – (Mint Mar 5, 2019 p 4)

INFRASTRUCTURE LEASING & FINANCIAL SERVICES"IL&FS ignored risk assessment reports while extending loans: Audit: Firms took money from

company to pay off existing loans to its subsidiary" – A forensic audit report of IL&FS has foundserious lapses in the manner in which huge loans were extended to certain entities even after internal riskassessment clearly showed that the borrowers were under financial stress. Further, various instances havebeen found wherein the committee of directors of the infrastructure financing company extended loans at anegative spread to borrowers facing liquidity issues. – (H Mar 4, 2019 p 1)

"Poor prescription: NCLAT ruling on IL&FS undermines RBI's role" – The National Company LawAppellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has ruled that the debt of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS)and its group entities should not be declared non-performing assets by lenders without explicit approval fromthe appellate tribunal. On the face of it, the NCLAT ruling passed last week will provide relief to both IL&FSand the banks that are reeling from huge non-performing assets. The NCLAT ruling implies a status quo thatwill help the lenders to avoid classifying loans of around Rs.53,000 crore as NPAs, helping them to avoidprovisioning, at least for the time being. But the NCLAT should have thought through the issue before passingsuch an order. An editorial. – (BS Mar 4, 2019 p 9)

"The IL&FS mess: Audit report shows collapse of governance norms" – An editorial.– (BS Mar 7, 2019 p 9)

INFRASTRUCTURE SECTOR"Core sector growth down to 19-month low of 1.8%: Electricity, refinery products remain in negative

zone" – The first month of 2019 saw growth in the eight core sectors of the economy crash to a 19-monthlow at 1.8 per cent, slipping below the 2.8 per cent growth in December. Core sector growth continued to godown for the third straight month in January, as the two largest contributing sectors of electricity and refineryproducts, remained in the negative zone. – (BS Mar 1, 2019 p 4)

– 13 –

MANUFACTURING"Manufacturing PMI climbs to 14-month high of 54.3 in Feb" – Amidst lower estimation for economic

growth, a private survey said manufacturing expanded to 14-month high in February. The ManufacturingPurchasing Managers' Index (PMI) touched 54.3 in February, as against 53.9 in January. According to thereport accompanying the PMI, the health of the Indian manufacturing sector strengthened further during themonth, with a sharp increase in sales boosting growth of output and employment. There was a solid rise ininput buying and a modest accumulation in pre-production inventories, but stocks of finished goods decreasedas firms utilised them to fulfil orders. Rates of both input cost and output charge inflation remained subduedby historical standards, despite picking up from January. A report. – (HBL Mar 2, 2019 p 4)

NATIONAL HOUSING BANK"NHB plan to hike capital adequacy ratio may impact highly leveraged HFCs but not HDFC" – Edited

excerpts from an interview with Keki Mistry, vice chairperson and chief executive officer, HDFC. The newconsultation paper by the National Housing Bank does not impact HDFC as it is well capitalised and haslower leverage. After IL&FS crisis, NHB or RBI for NBFCs and HFCs was expected to look into restrictingthe amount of borrowing that could be done in the market. – (Mint Mar 6, 2019 p 10)

NON-BANKING FINANCE COMPANIES"NBFCs face new governance, exposure code: RBI wants to snuff out ever greening, stock-play via

bank-led units; risk-based supervision on cards" – The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is drawing up anew code for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) which envisages curbs on the licensing and businessesof bank-led units, parity in CEO remuneration package with that of private banks, and a gradual shift to therisk-based supervision (RBS) system. – (BS Mar 6, 2019 pp 1, 13)

Sinha, Rajani – "Getting NBFC regulation right" – The core vulnerability of NBFCs is borrowing short-term and lending long-term and this can only be tackled by strengthening the long-term bond market. NBFCshave become a very important part of India's financial system and we cannot afford to let the sector slip. Anarticle. – (FE Mar 6, 2019 p 8)

SEBI"No open offer exemption without IBC: Sebi" – Companies and investors looking to buy firms, whose debt

restructuring exercise is not under the insolvency rules, will not get exemptions from open offer to publicshareholders, a move that comes as a setback to Jet Airways' revival plan. This, along with a raft of decisionssuch as allowing mutual funds in commodity derivatives, tightening valuation norms for debt mutual funds andgranting permanent registration to custodians, among others, were taken by the Securities and ExchangeBoard of India (Sebi) in its board meeting that was addressed by finance minister Arun Jaitley.– (ET Mar 2, 2019 p 5)

"Sebi wants govt rethink over RBI representation on board" – Sebi wants the government to do awaywith the practice of its board having a nominee from the Reserve Bank of India, or alternatively provide fora cross-representation of the two regulators on each other's boards. – (BS Mar 1, 2019 p 10)

SMALL SCALE INDUSTRY

ENTREPRENEURSHIP"Entrepreneurs' value system is key: Murthy" – Edited excerpts from an interview with M R Narayana

Murthy, Co-founder, Infosys Ltd. on India's startup ecosystem and corporate governance standards.– (Mint Mar 6, 2019 p 10)

Ghani, Ejaz – "Helping young Indian entrepreneurs" – While the efforts to improve business environment,reduce corruption, and increase the efficiency of public sector spending are important, they are not a substitutefor scaling up investments in physical and human infrastructure. Entrepreneurship and the Indian dream ofmore jobs and development go hand in hand. Entry of new and young firms is low, but starting to improve, andfurther growth in entrepreneurship is an important stepping stone in India's continued development.– (FE Mar 2, 2019 p 9)

– 14 –

MSMEs"CRISIL SME tracker: Co-working spaces can help MSMEs grow business" – Two-thirds of the

micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) rated by CRISIL operate from non-metros and smaller cities/towns such as Guntur, Gulbarga, Guna and Guwahati - this, despite the fact that three-fourths of their keyclients are headquartered in metro and Tier-I cities. The primary reason why these MSMEs lack a presencein big cities is the cost involved - real estate, overheads, etc. In this context, CRISIL believes co-workingspaces are a flexible and cost-effective solution for MSMEs to have a full-time marketing or customersupport/service team closer to their clients. A report. – (BS Mar 5, 2019 p 12)

MUDRA LOANS"Banks need to lend Rs.11 cr to meet Mudra target for FY19" – With less than one month left in the

current fiscal, banks will have to work overtime to meet the MUDRA loan lending target of Rs.3 lakh crore,as only about Rs.2 lakh crore have been disbursed till February 22. As on February 22, the total loan disbursedunder the Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Ltd (MUDRA) scheme stood at Rs.2,02,668.9crore as against sanctioned amount of Rs.2,10,759.51 crore, said a government data. The latest data of thefinance ministry said over 3.89 crore MUDRA loans have been sanctioned this fiscal so far.– (FE Mar 4, 2019 p 2)

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS"OECD cuts global economy growth forecast for 2019 to 3.3%: Raises concern over issues such as

trade disputes, Brexit" – The OECD cut forecasts again for the global economy in 2019 and 2020,following on from previous downgrades in November, as it warned that trade disputes and uncertainty overBrexit would hit world commerce and businesses. A report. – (HBL Mar 7, 2019 p 4)

CHINA"China's economy: Slowness is in the eye of the beholder" – Headlines about China's weakest growth in

28 years are accurate but misleading. An article. – (Eco 430(9127) Jan 26-Feb 1, 2019 p 66)

Moss, Daniel – "China's too big not to slow down" – China is losing that wow factor. Another economicgrowth number with a six in front of it. Another tired superlative about the slowest expansion in threedecades. There's going to be a lot of that as China's economy gets bigger, older and loses that emerging-market glamor. Nothing inherently bad about that. An article. – (ET Mar 6, 2019 p 9)

EURO-ZONE"OECD slashes eurozone economic growth forecasts" – There is no let-up in sight for the eurozone

economy, according to the latest predictions from the OECD, which has slashed its forecasts for the countriesthat drive the bloc's growth. The Paris-based international organisation expects eurozone gross domesticproduct to grow just 1 per cent year on year in 2019 and 1.2 per cent in 2020, according to its interimeconomic outlook. A report. – (FT Mar 7, 2019 p 4)

USA"Economic rebound: US growth begins to weaken in fourth quarter" – The US economic rebound lost

some of its vigour in the final months of 2018 as consumers reined in spending growth and residential investmentshrank for the fourth quarter in a row. A report. – (FT Mar 1, 2019 p 3)

"US economy grew 2.9% in 2018, highest in 13 yrs" – The US economy kicked into high gear last year,recording the strongest growth in 13 years in the wake of sweeping tax cuts and fiscal stimulus, according tothe government statistics. But the world's largest economy was slowing toward the end of 2018, suggestingthe boom had begun to fade, according to the Commerce Department report. – (FE Mar 1, 2019 p 14)

FUND MANAGEMENT"Global fund management" – A weekly report. – (FT Feb 25, 2019 Supl. pp 1-16)

– 15 –

"Global fund management" – A weekly report. – (FT Mar 4, 2019 Supl. pp 1-16)

GLOBALISATION"Slowbalisation: The global list" – Globalisation has faltered and is now being reshaped. An article. – (Eco

430(9127) Jan 26-Feb 1, 2019 pp 17-20)

WORLD BANKChhibber, Ajay – "Time to re-orient the bank" – A new World Bank leadership can provide it with the

impetus needed to face new global realities. What low middle-income countries like India, whose per capitaincome is around $2,000, need are huge amounts of capital to propel their development in an inclusive andsustainable manner and ensure they are not stuck in a 'middle-income trap'. An article.– (ET Mar 2, 2019 p 8)

LABOUR & PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

LABOUR MARKETNagaich, Ranveer – "The jobless growth narrative is a myth" – According to our analysis, approximately

24 million non-agriculture jobs have been created in the three years between 2016-17 and 2018-19. This is anaverage of 8 million per year. Clearly, the jobless growth narrative is, indeed, a myth. The construction sector,with the highest elasticity, has benefited from the current government's push towards infrastructure creation.The services sector has added about 12 million jobs in these three years as well. This indicates that enoughjobs are being created for new entrants to the labour market. An article. – (FE Mar 1, 2019 p 9)

MANAGEMENT

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY"CSR spending crosses Rs.50K-cr mark in 4 yrs" – Cumulative spending on corporate social responsibility

(CSR) has crossed Rs.50,000 crore mark in just four years. The spending over the four years stands atRs.34,100 crore for listed companies and Rs.18,900 crore for unlisted ones, totalling Rs.53,000 crore, ratingagency Crisil said in a report. – (FE Mar 1, 2019 p 11)

MISCELLANEOUS"India's billionaire club to grow 37% in 5 yrs: Report: Will beat global average, says Knight Frank

study; Bengaluru to lead the pack" – India's billionaire population is expected to grow 37 per cent in thenext five years, beating the global and Asian averages, according to a new report by UK-based propertyconsultant Knight Frank. – (BS Mar 7, 2019 p 20)

"Mukesh Ambani is 13th richest in world, Bezos tops list" – Richest Indian Mukesh Ambani jumped sixpositions to rank 13th on Forbes World's Billionaire list released Tuesday that was again topped by JeffBezos. E-commerce colossus Amazon founder Bezos, 55, remains the world's richest person, ahead of BillGates and Warren Buffett, as his riches swelled by $19 billion in one year and is now worth $131 billion,according to Forbes. – (Mint Mar 6, 2019 p 6)

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