SBI to monetise non-core assets

SBI said it is planning to monetise non-core assets and list some of its subsidiaries for meeting capital needs as well as global risk norms, Basel III, which will kick in from March 2019, according to the media reports.

Public sector banks need Rs. 1.80 lakh crore to meet Basel III norms, while the Government will provide only Rs. 70,000 crore, SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya said, adding that the rest will have to be borne by banks through profits and non-core assets.

“For instance, for us, we have a number of non-core assets which we are looking at monetising. We also have very successful subsidiaries which we have not listed. So, we can look at those as well,” she said at an Assocham event.

DCB Bank’s net dips 3.1% at Rs 41.2 cr in Dec quarter

Private sector lender DCB Bank Ltd on Tuesday reported a decline of 3.1 per cent in its standalone net profit for the third quarter ended December 31, 2015 at Rs 41.2 crore.

The bank had posted the net profit of Rs 42.5 crore in corresponding quarter of previous fiscal, said DCB Bank Ltd in a filing to the BSE on January 12, 2016.

However, total income of the bank rose 17.9 per cent to Rs 477.05 crore in Q3 FY16 from Rs 404.49 crore in Q3 FY15.

In the quarter, provisions (other than tax) and contingencies decreased to Rs 20.96 crore from Rs 21.67 crore in previous quarter and increased from Rs 18.42 crore in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

NII, the difference between interest earned on loans and interest paid on deposits, grew 31.6 per cent at Rs 160.46 crore versus Rs 121.9 crore in the year ago period. Non-interest income down marginally by 1.6 per cent to Rs 47.20 crore from Rs 47.99 crore in the same period a year ago.

During the quarter under review, the bank’s gross non-performing assets (Gross NPA) increased to 1.98 per cent of total loans, compared with 1.87 per cent in the year-ago quarter. Net NPA of the bank too grew to 1.12 per cent against 1.00 per cent in corresponding period last year.

Meanwhile, shares of the Bank ended Tuesday’s trade at Rs 75.10 apiece, down 1.18 per cent, from previous close on BSE.

Solar sector funding dips to $25.3 bn in 2015

Solar sector globally attracted corporate funding worth USD 25.3 billion in 2015 against that of USD 26.5 billion in 2014, says a report. "Total global corporate funding in the solar sector, including venture capital/private equity (VC), debt financing, and public market financing, raised by public companies came to USD 25.3 billion, compared to USD 26.5 billion in 2014," according to a report by clean energy communications and consulting firm Mercom Capital Group. Mercom Capital Group CEO Raj Prabhu said that overall it was a good year for the solar sector considering the turbulence in the stock markets and trouble with "yieldcos in the second half of the year. The extension of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) was a much needed boost for the sector, paving the way for a strong 2016." Global VC investments came to USD 1.1 billion in 83 deals in 2015, compared to USD 1.3 billion in 85 deals in 2014, the statement said. Despite a weak fourth quarter, public market financing had its strongest year with almost USD 6 billion raised in 38 deals, compared to the 2014 record of USD 5.2 billion in 52 deals.

Fertilizer production to touch 245 lakh mt this fiscal: Min

The Indian Government has said that the fertiliser production will touch 245 lakh mt this fiscal as against 225 lakh mt last year. Commenting on the issue, Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Anant Kumar told the media, "About half-a-dozen closed fertiliser plants are made functional and are going for production soon. First of them would be Gorakhpur plant of Uttar Pradesh which would start production in 2-3 days." “There will be no stoppage of subsidy to farmers as "it is necessary for strengthening the agriculture sector. We will continue to give subsidy on fertilisers," he added. The Minister asserted that there would be no shortage of urea this year and ruled out any scope for black marketing. As per reports, the Government is planning to introduce 'Khanij Kalyan Yojna' in mining areas of the country.

Govt launches road safety week, allots Rs 11,000 cr to fix black spots

The Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday launched ‘Road Safety Week’ in the presence of the road transport & highways minister, Nitin Gadkari.

Speaking on the occasion, Singh called upon all stakeholders to play effective role in ensuring safety on roads. Expressing concern over about five lakh road accidents in the country every year in which about 1.4 lakh people lose their lives, Singh said that there is a need for proper training of drivers before they are issued driving licenses.

In his address Nitin Gadkari announced a number of measures to address the problem. He said that a website is being launched to help in identifying black spots where accidents take place frequently. Gadkari also announced that Rs 11,000 Crore are being earmarked in the next five years to fix black spots across the country.

Expressing concern over the way driving licenses are issued, Gadkari said that training schools are being opened and computers will be used for conducting driving tests. He also emphasized use of seat belts and helmets and appealed the people not to use mobile phones while driving. He added that airbags will be made compulsory in every car.

Gadkari also announced that a road safety authority will be constituted and road transport and safety bill will be placed shortly before Parliament. He asked people to take a resolve on road safety and bring down road accidents by 50 per cent in next five years.

The road safety week is organized every year to create awareness among general public to improve the safety on road and to give an opportunity to all stakeholders to contribute to the cause of road safety.

Govt to save $6 bn per annum by using LED bulbs by 2018

The Indian Government has said that its decision to switch over to LED bulbs by 2018 under the energy efficiency mission will result in saving of up to USD 6 billion per annum.

As per reports, under the Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP), nearly 4.59 crore LED bulbs have been distributed so far.

Commenting on the issue, Union Minister Piyush Goyal told the media, "When all the 71 crore conventional bulbs are replaced by LED bulbs it will result in a saving of 100 billion units of electricity."

"We have been able to procure LED bulbs for about Rs 73 per piece as of June, down from Rs 310 in February 2014, a reduction of 76 per cent" he added.

The minister further said that the LED programme was being implemented on a mission mode and the state-run Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), had been successful in bringing down the price of LED bulb to a quarter of what it was priced a year and a half ago.

Digital India effect: E-governance transactions double in 2015

Electronic transactions related to e-governance projects in the country have almost doubled in 2015, owing to the Digital India Programme, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said as per the PTI report.

"According to government website electronic transaction aggregation and analysis layer (eTaal), 3.53 billion transactions took place in 2014, which almost doubled in 2015 to 6.95 billion...This shows Indians' drive for technology," Prasad said while addressing i-bharat conference organised by Ficci.

ETaal is a portal under Communications and IT Ministry which disseminates e-transaction statistics of national and state level e-governance projects, including mission mode projects.

ETaal receives transaction statistics from web-based applications periodically on near real time basis and presents an analysis of transaction counts to give a quick view of transactions done by various e-governance projects.

"Indians have a great taste for technology. They first observe it, then adopt it and finally enjoy it. Indians by temperament are innovative," he added.

The minister said digital momentum in the country has begun, facilitated by programmes like Digital India.

Prasad said Digital India Programme has started bearing fruits, e-services have begun to pick up momentum and reaching the bottom of the pyramid, which is digitally empowering the people of the country.

Highlighting the progress of Digital India, Prasad said so far more than 12,000 rural post office branches have been linked digitally and soon payment banking would also become a reality for them.

The government also plans to make 'digital village' across the country, by linking all schemes with technology.

The 'digital village' would be powered by LED lighting, solar energy, skill development centres and e-services like e-education and e-health.

"To make this programme a success, District Collectors will have to play an important role," he said.

Prasad said the progressive policies and aggressive focus on 'Make in India' have played a significant role in the resurgence of the electronics manufacturing sector.

Tech Mahindra Results

Tech Mahindra Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on February 01, 2016, inter alia, to consider and approve:

1. the audited financial results of the Company for the third quarter and nine months ended December 31, 2015 (Q3); and

2. the audited consolidated financial results of the Company for the third quarter and nine months ended December 31, 2015.

ITC Ltd. - Q3 results on Jan 22, 2016

ITC Ltd has informed BSE that a Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on January 22, 2016, inter alia, to consider and approve the Unaudited Financial Results of the Company for the Quarter and Nine Months ended December 31, 2015 (Q3).

Wonderla Holidays Lt - Board Intimation for Results & Closure of Trading Window

Wonderla Holidays Ltd has informed BSE that pursuant to SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015 and Company's internal Code for Prevention of Insider Trading, the Trading Window of the Company shall remain closed from January 12, 2016 to closing of business hours on February 12, 2016 in view of the Board Meeting scheduled to be held on February 10, 2016 for approval of unaudited Financial Results of the Company for the quarter ended December 31, 2015.

PI Industries - Commencement of Commercial Production

PI Industries Ltd has informed BSE that the Company has commenced the commercial production at its 3rd unit located at Sterling SEZ facility, Jambusar in State of Gujarat w.e.f. January 11, 2016.

Sintex Industries posts 10.42% growth in Q3 net profit

Sintex Industries announced that it has reported a 10.42 per cent growth in its net profit at Rs 158.57 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2015 as compared to Rs 143.60 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2014.

The total income of the company also rose by 32.98 per cent to Rs 1356.43 crore for the quarter under review as compared to Rs 1020.00 crore for the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

On the consolidated basis, the company has reported 11.15 per cent rise in its net profit after taxes, minority interest and share of profit of associates at Rs 180.10 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2015 as compared to Rs 162.04 crore for the same quarter in the previous year.

Moreover, the total income (consolidated) increased by 11.54 per cent at Rs 2057.73 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 1844.77 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2014.

Post Session: Indian markets resume sell-off on lingering China fears

Leading the decline on BSE Sensex pack were Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (Rs. 1156.05,-3.40%), Wipro Ltd. (Rs. 537.80,-3.27%), Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd. (Rs. 234.00,-3.13%), Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (Rs. 149.75,-2.57%), Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. (Rs. 2942.50,-2.26%), among others.

Meanwhile, Reliance Industries Ltd. (Rs. 1051.55,+2.69%), Tata Motors Ltd. (Rs. 360.65,+2.04%), Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (Rs. 4279.45,+1.51%), NTPC Ltd. (Rs. 141.65,+1.47%), ITC Ltd. (Rs. 316.00,+0.85%), were among top gainers on BSE.

The Market breadth, indicating the overall strength of the market, was weak. On BSE out of total shares traded 3076, shares advanced were 1294 while 1636 shares declined and 146 were unchanged.

On the global front, the Asian equities ended in red after China’s December inflation data disappointed traders, raising fresh fears over Asia’s biggest economy. China’s Shanghai Composite crashed over 5 per cent and Hang Seng tumbled nearly 3 per cent on weak Chinese data, signaling weak demand in the country’s economy.

MF investors pump in Rs 1.62 lakh cr in Apr-Dec FY'16

Investors have pumped in a whopping Rs 1.62 lakh crore into various mutual fund schemes in the first 9 months of the current fiscal, mainly in equity and money market categories.

In contrast, inflows worth Rs 87,942 crore were witnessed in the April-December period of last fiscal.

"Inflow has been across asset classes, but investors' participation in equity oriented funds is a positive thing for the industry," Quantum AMC CEO Jimmy Patel said.

Further, volatile markets have not dampened the spirits of investors who continue to pour money into equity funds, he added.

Mutual Fund (MF) is an investment vehicle that pools funds from many entities for investing in securities such as stocks, bonds, money market instruments and similar assets.

As per the latest data available with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, investors put in a net Rs 1,61,696 crore in mutual fund schemes during April-November period of 2015-16.

Yuan impact on Indian exports

According to media reports, the country’s Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has cautioned that a continued devaluation of the Yuan by China may come as a further blow for the country’s exporters already reeling under the effects of a global slowdown, weighing on the outlook for Asia’s third biggest economy.

Sitharaman warned that a weakening of the Yuan will make Indian exports more expensive in China, reducing their appeal, thus widening India’s trade deficit with the world’s second biggest economy. Moreover, Yuan’s devaluation may boost Chinese imports to India by making them cheaper, hurting domestic manufacturers.

“The depreciation of the Yuan is definitely going to make imported goods (from China) cheaper ... the fact is my deficit with China will (also) grow”, she said, the PTI reported.

Sitharaman’s comments come at a time when India’s exports have suffered twelve straight months of decline, plunging by 18.46 per cent to USD 174.3 billion, year on year in April-November 2015, a sign that India isn’t immune to the current bout of global volatility amid a faltering Chinese economy, disinflation risks and the start of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate tightening cycle.

Bilateral trade between India and China was USD 72.3 billion in 2014-15 while the trade gap with China stood at USD 49 billion.

China’s central bank last week weakened the value of the Yuan to the lowest level since March 2011 in a bid to bolster exports and help combat a worsening economic slowdown. However, China’s sharp depreciation move rattled global markets, wiping out more than USD 4 trillion from equities worldwide this year, reigniting fears of a fresh global currency war and signaling heightened worries over the health of the Chinese economy.