Banks eye family trusts of defaulting tycoons to recover loans, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Armed with the Supreme Court go-ahead to seize assets of personal guarantors, banks are looking to recover money parked in family trusts.

Many of the family trusts created by businesspeople are meant primarily to protect their assets from potential claims related to their companies, such as in bankruptcies. Neither lenders nor agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate or income tax department have been able to penetrate these asset protection trusts.

The SC verdict

The Supreme Court had upheld the validity of the Centre’s notification allowing banks to proceed against personal guarantors for recovery of loans given to a company under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

A bench comprising justices L Nageswara Rao and S Ravindra Bhat held that approval of resolution plan under the IBC does not discharge personal guarantors of their liability towards the banks.

“In the judgment, we have upheld the notification,” Justice Bhat said while reading out the conclusion of the judgement which decided as many as 75 petitions pertaining to the validity of the notification.

Petitioners had challenged the November 15, 2019 notification issued under the IBC and other provisions in as far as they relate to personal guarantors to corporate debtors.

Upholding the validity of the notification, the top court ruled that initiation of an insolvency resolution plan for a company does not absolve corporate guarantees given by individuals from paying up the dues to financial institutions.

The IBC law

Under the IBC law, banks can go after the family trusts formed by promoters or those who have given personal guarantees, provided there is a fraud or siphoning of money involved as per provisions of the IBC.

Promoters of several Indian companies had earlier accused their professional managers of fraud and diverting company funds. But they would not get any respite from the IBC as lenders will now invoke their personal guarantees.

SBI action

SBI was one of the respondents to the 74 petitions and challenges by promoters on invocation of personal guarantees. It has been in the forefront of invoking guarantees of promoters of defaulting companies. It had invoked Rs 1200 crore of guarantees given by Ambani for defaulting companies Reliance Communications and Reliance Infratel.

In January ET had reported SBI had also approached the Mumbai bench of the NCLT to initiate guarantees by the Videocon Indsutries’ Dhoot brothers totalling Rs 11,500 crore.

It had also taken Bhushan Power & Steel promoter Sanjay Singal to court to recover Rs 12,276 crore dues to the bank for which he was a guarantor. All these promoters had challenged these actions in court.



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RBI Annual Report, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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The Reserve Bank of India in its annual report stated that a total of 7,363 frauds worth Rs 1,38,422 crore were reported. These frauds have been reported across all banks and areas of operations.

The RBI said the number of frauds reported in 2020-21 decreased by 15 per cent in terms of number and 25 percent in terms of value as compared to 2019-20. The share of PSBs in total frauds decreased while the number of frauds in private sector banks increased during the corresponding period.

Source: RBI Annual Report

Majority of the frauds have been occurring predominantly in the loan portfolio both in terms of numbers and value. However the value of frauds in advances category remained almost same as compared to the last year and the incidence of frauds in advance category have come down over the previous year.

As per the annual report the average time lag between the date of occurrence of frauds and the date of detection was 23 months for the frauds reported in 2020-21.

Source: RBI Annual Report
Source: RBI Annual Report

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6 Best Bluechip Mutual Funds SIPs To Invest in 2021 For Safe and Long Term Investments

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What are Bluechip Mutual Funds?

In India, blue-chip mutual funds invest in blue-chip equities. Bluechip mutual funds are not classified individually by mutual fund houses. Quality blue-chip stocks are invested in some large-cap mutual fund schemes. In most cases, mutual fund houses include the term “blue chip” at the conclusion of the mutual fund scheme, indicating that it is a bluechip mutual fund.

A blue-chip mutual fund is one that invests in blue-chip stocks or shares, which are well-established corporations with strong financial results. A blue-chip fund’s shares are invested in companies that have provided strong returns to their owners for many years. Investors profit handsomely from their sales. Furthermore, the risk associated with such funds is minimal.

Blue-chip funds have a very high market capitalization. Blue-chip stocks can be pricey due to their strong demand. Blue-chip funds have a long track record of profitability, which is why so many investors want to include them in their portfolios.

Advantages of Investing in Bluechip Fund

Advantages of Investing in Bluechip Fund

Every investor seeks consistency in their returns. Profits stabilize their finances, thus it’s critical. Blue-chip funds are investments that increase an investor’s financial security by ensuring a predictable return. A child’s education, marriage, and other financial ambitions necessitate a large sum of money. Blue-chip funds can help finance such endeavors Blue Chip Fund is an open-ended scheme that allows investors to redeem or withdraw their investments at any time. A simple withdrawal allows investors to cash out their capital without incurring debt in times of uncertainty. BlueChip Funds often invest in equity equities of companies with a market cap equal to the BSE 100 Index’s least market-capitalized stock. As a result, by investing in this scheme, investors will be able to gain higher benefits and meet their financial needs. In the event of a crisis, blue-chip funds provide more consistent returns than other funds. Many investors desire blue-chip stocks in their portfolios because they are low-risk.

6 Best Bluechip Mutual Funds SIPs To Invest in 2021

6 Best Bluechip Mutual Funds SIPs To Invest in 2021

6 Best Bluechip Mutual Funds SIPs To Invest in 2021

Fund Name 1 Year 3 Years NAV
Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Fund 88.8% 21.0% Rs 90.98
Canara Robeco Bluechip Equity Fund 64% 18.2% Rs 39.94
Axis Bluechip Fund 56.6% 16.6% Rs 44.68
SBI Bluechip Direct 72.6% 12.9% Rs 57.67
Kotak Bluechip Fund Direct 71.33% 15.2% Rs 357
Franklin India Bluechip 78.6% 13.8% Rs 686

Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Fund

Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Fund

The fund has a 5 Star rating from Value Research Online. Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Fund Direct-Growth returns are 88.81 percent over the last year. Since its inception, it has generated an average yearly return of 24.85 percent. The fund’s top 5 holdings are in ICICI Bank Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Infosys Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd., State Bank of India.

Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Fund’s NAV on May 26, 2021, is 90.98.The AUM of Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Fund is Rs 16,602 Crs.

If you had invested Rs 1,000 per month for 3 years through SIP, your investment value would have been Rs 48,206 Lakhs.

Canara Robeco Bluechip Equity Fund

Canara Robeco Bluechip Equity Fund

Canara Robeco Bluechip Equity Fund Direct-Growth is a medium-sized fund with 28272 Crores in assets under management (AUM). The fund’s expense ratio is 0.45 percent, which is comparable to that of most other Large Cap funds.

Canara Robeco Bluechip Equity Fund Direct-Growth gains are 63.96 percent during the last year. It has provided 15.27 percent average yearly returns since its inception. Every five years, the fund has doubled the amount invested in it.

If you had invested Rs 1,000 per month for 5 years through SIP, your investment value would have been Rs 60,000 Lakhs (Rs 1,000 x 60 months) and the fund’s value would have grown to Rs 92,964.

Axis Bluechip Fund

Axis Bluechip Fund

Axis Bluechip Fund Direct Plan’s 1-year growth returns are 56.61 percent. Since its inception, it has generated an annual return of 16.62 percent on average. The fund’s top 5 holdings are in Infosys Ltd., Bajaj Finance Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. The AUM of Axis Bluechip Fund is Rs 25,183 Crs. The Axis Bluechip Fund’s direct plan has an expense ratio of 0.5 percent which is low when compared to its peers. If you had invested Rs 1,000 per month for 3 years through SIP, your investment value on the fund’s would have grown to Rs 45,412.

SBI Bluechip Direct

SBI Bluechip Direct

SBI Bluechip Direct Plan-Growth is a medium-sized fund in its category, with 505373 Crores in assets under management (AUM). The expense ratio of the fund is 0.98 percent, which is greater than most other Large Cap funds. The fund’s top 5 holdings are in HDFC Bank Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., Infosys Ltd., HCL Technologies Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd.. SBI Bluechip Direct Plan-Growth returns over the last year have been 72.26 percent. It has provided 15.79 percent average yearly returns since its inception.

Kotak Bluechip Fund Direct

Kotak Bluechip Fund Direct

The fund’s top 5 holdings are in ICICI Bank Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., Infosys Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. The 1-year returns for Kotak Bluechip Fund Direct-Growth are 71.33 percent. It has had an average yearly return of 14.85 percent since its inception. The fund’s expense ratio is 0.92 percent, which is higher than the cost ratios charged by most other Large Cap funds. The scheme aims to create capital appreciation by investing in a portfolio of mostly equities and equity-related instruments from large-cap businesses.

Franklin India Bluechip

Franklin India Bluechip

The Franklin India Bluechip Direct Fund’s 1-year growth returns are 78.62 percent. It has returned an average of 13.42 percent per year since its inception. The fund’s top 5 holdings are in ICICI Bank Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd., State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel Ltd., Infosys Ltd. Franklin India Bluechip Direct Fund-Growth has assets under management (AUM) of 83524 Crores, making it a medium-sized fund in its category. The fund’s expense ratio is 1.19 percent, which is higher than the cost ratios charged by most other Large Cap funds.

Disclaimer

Disclaimer

We are not a licensed financial advisors, and the information provided here does not constitute investment advice. Its purpose is to provide information. Readers and investors should be aware that neither Greynium nor the authors of the articles can be held liable for any decisions made as a result of reading them. Please seek the advice of a professional advisor. Greynium Information Technologies Pvt Ltd, its subsidiaries, associates, and authors are not liable for any losses or damages resulting from the use of information on GoodReturns.in.



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Online Will Or E-Will: Platforms Offering This Service In India

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Planning

oi-Roshni Agarwal

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Writing a Will ensures that your assets and investments are passed on to your legal heirs smoothly. Amid this Covid crisis, when life seems so uncertain, it shall be wise to get it made at the earliest and to make the work further easy now you can take the e-route to write your E-Will or online Will.

5 Platforms Offering Online Will Writing Service In India

Online Will Or E-Will: Platforms Offering This Service In India

What is a Will?

A Will is a legal document stating the distribution of your assets, investments, property etc. as per your desire and will to your subsequent generations. The Will gets effected after the death of the testator or the Will maker.

Few terms related to Will Making

1. Testator: He or she is the person writing the Will and as per legal condition must do this Will writing out of his or her own will, should be above 18 years of age and should be of sound mind.

2. Executor: The person appointed in a Will who will execute the terms of the legally binding Will.

3. Probate: The ‘Probate’ implies the Will copy that is certified under the seal of a court of relevant juriscdiction with a grant of administration of the estate of the testator. The probate is provided only to the executor appointed under the Will.

4. Will registration: In India, Will registration is not mandatory, but if registered it is a proof that the suitable parties have come before the registering officer and the latter had made an attestation after establishing their identity.

Now as with other financial matters, there are platforms in India that enable Will making through the online route:

Here we will list out a few of them that provide Will making service:

1. WILLSTAR:

It has a mobile app too for ‘Will making’ service. An individual via an easy intuitive interface can make a Will from the comfort of one’ s home. Currently the services if offered in Hindi, English and Tamil. Also, there is a facility wherein you can seek professional help to get your Will checked and registered via a lawyer.

How it works:

1. The person creating the Will needs to mention his or details such that he or she is identified in the Will.

2. For each of the listed item you need to list out the beneficiaries, including for remaining assets.

3. Specify executor for your Will, and guardian for minor children, if any.

4. Review and download the Will. Print, sign and attest and the Will making process is complete.

2. EzeeWill:

EzeeWill in association with Warmond Trustees and NSDL e-Gov offer you a smooth succession planning service wherein you as a testator can declare your assets and investments as per your desire to your legal heirs.

The service from EzeeWill enable you to write a Will as per your chosen mode which can be you getting the Will written through the mobile or e-mail, you visiting their office or doorstep Will.

3. WillJini:

This Will making service provider has tied with institutions such as HDFC Securites, ICICI Securities, HDFC Bank and Tata AIA Life Insurance. The company is a group entity of LegalJini.com and eSupportkpo.com.

4. Aviva Will Writing service:

The insurance company also offers free Will writing service. And in case some of the employee of the company has referred you for the Will making service at this company, you would need to also mention his or her employee Id. 3 of the steps listed are:

1. List you assets and personal details

2. Provide the beneficiaries

3. Preview and generate the Will

5. Legaldesk.com

As per the site it seems to be a paid service charging Rs. 3499 plus delivery charges and the platforms offers you expert verified, pre-drafted Will templates that can be used by the person writing the Will. For the purpose after you have given the requisite details, list of properties and listed the beneficiaries together with the ratio in which it has to be distributed, your will shall be ready in few minutes.

Points to note in E-Will or Online Will preparation:

In a case when you are preparing the WILL through the online route following the template provided you need to be highly careful as any discrepancy may arise when there is no human interface involved.

What all needs to be checked

1. Asset details are properly listed out
2. Holding pattern
3. Beneficiaries name

Data and confidentiality of your inputs is another concern which the online platform needs to address.

GoodReturns.in



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3 Equity Mutual Fund Schemes For Long-Term Investors

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Mirae Emerging Bluechip Fund

This fund is rated as 5-star by CRISIL, Value Research and Morning Star. The only problem for the fund is that the portfolio is heavily skewed towards financials with 4 out of the top 5 holdings being from the financial sector space. As such any weakness in the economy and subsequent fall in stock prices can see the portfolio under performing.

If you are looking to buy into the fund under the growth plans than the current NAV of the fund is Rs 84.13.

The portfolio of the fund include names like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Axis Bank and State Bank of India. While the fund invests both in large cap and mid cap stocks, the portfolio is more aligned towards the large cap stocks. Almost 99 per cent of the fund is invested in stocks, while the remaining 1 per cent is in cash.

Canara Robeco Emerging Equities Fund

Canara Robeco Emerging Equities Fund

This is another fund that is well rated, though its assets under management is significantly lower to the Mirae Emerging Bluechip Fund. The fund size as at the end of April was around Rs 8,000 crores, which may have gone higher now as the markets have gathered steam since then.

Again, like Mirae Emerging, the funds top 5 holdings are in and around the banking and financial sector with names like HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and Bajaj Finance among its top 5 holdings. The number of stocks in the portfolio is 60, with the top 10 holdings forming around 37% of the portfolio.

The growth plan has an NAV of Rs 136.17. Again, a good bet for those looking to invest for the long term. As indicated, invest in staggered amounts over the long term and avoid investing lumpsum.

Invesco India Midcap

Invesco India Midcap

Invesco India Midcap is a fund that invests in midcap stocks. The Fund has been well rated by rating agency Crisil, which has given it a 5-star rating. It’s important to understand that the markets are at a peak and investing in midcaps is more risky than largecaps.

There is a tendency for returns to be more volatile and hence we should be invest in midcap funds only if we have an appetite for risk. The fund has generated a 1-year returns of 74%, while the 5-year returns on an annualized basis is around 18%.

The fund has holdings in stocks like Vinati Pharma, Gland, Mphasis, Voltas, Endurance Technologies etc.

Disclaimer

Disclaimer

Goodreturns.in has taken utmost care in compilation of data for this article. We are not a qualified financial advisor and any information herein is not investment advice. It is informational in nature. All readers and investors should note that neither Greynium nor the author of the articles, would be responsible for any decision taken based on these articles. Please do consult a professional advisor. Greynium Information Technologies Pvt Ltd, its subsidiaries, associates and authors do not accept culpability for losses and/or damages arising based on information in GoodReturns.in



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Brokerage CEOs on building customer wealth on digital, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Brokerage industry has been early adopter of technology and digital capabilities. From quickly onboarding customers with demat account to enabling trading in seamless manner, trading and investing has never been simpler before.

Speaking at 2nd ETBFSI Virtual Summit, Top CEOs of leading brokerage and asset management company share their thoughts on how digital is becoming a game changer for the wealth management industry.

ICICI Securities

Vijay Chandok, MD & CEO at ICICI Securities said, “Broking Industry has been one of the frontrunners in digital adoption. The convergence of advanced analytics and convergence benefits is unleashing a whole new world of opportunity. Wealth business is a big need gap in the marketplace, challenge has been providing wealth services at scale, most offerings are in boutique type services.”

According to Chandok, Industry players are poised to take the opportunity of the huge gap which exists in the wealth management market

LIC Mutual Fund

Dinesh Pangtey, CEO at LIC Mutual Fund said, “Direct market access was the real game changer for building customer wealth on digital modes. Computing powers and leveraging emerging tech has enabled market players to offer seamless digital services Going forward Blockchain and AI will be playing a vital role in the wealth management space.”

Axis Securities

B Gopkumar, MD & CEO, Axis Securities said, “The brokerage industry is a 30 year old FinTech industry from ring to mobile a lot has changed. Regulators and exchanges have created a superior ecosystem for all players involved. At large, wealth industry is changing while still products are being pushed and should be goal based driven.”

Gopkumar believes that savers have been turning towards investing and that is what’s helping the industry to grow. Only scalable technologies can tap to build the mass affluent business and create an informed investing ecosystem and they aim to build products which provide all asset classes on their platforms.

HDFC Securities

Dhiraj Reli, MD & CEO, HDFC Securities, said, “BFSI was the earlier adopter of technology, banks did a better job but brokerages were born digital. Broking firms have always been in forefront in adopting emerging technology, regulators and exchanges have accelerated the digital journey.”

There’s a need to build products and services which exceed customer’s requirements.

Reli adds, “JAM Trinity & Smartphones have enabled us to serve the length and breadth of the country. Financialisation of saving is on the cusp of exponential growth, we’ve just seen the tip of the iceberg Only 18mn customers are active on the exchanges with one trade despite the spurt we have seen recently so it’s a long way to go.”



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RBI may not relent on ‘game-changing’ joint audit of banks, NBFCs, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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The Reserve Bank of India may not relent on its new norms that mandate joint audit of banks and NBFCs above a threshold and auditor rotation despite widespread opposition from banks, NBFCs and auditors.

The central bank sees it as a game-changing move, which will ensure the independence of auditors and increase opportunities for firms, according to a report.

According to RBI, the guidelines are compulsorily applicable to only 300 NBFCs, out of the 9,600 in India, and other NBFCs with asset size below Rs 1,000 crore can continue with the existing system.

The statutory auditors of public sector banks, financial institutions already have a tenure of three years, and RBI has reduced the tenure of private bank auditors from four years to three, according to the report.

The six-year rotation policy of auditors is in place for private and foreign banks which has been extended to NBFCs.

Audit firms at loggerheads

Top multinational auditing firms in the country are at loggerheads with their Indian peers once again, with the former lobbying to make the Reserve Bank of India reconsider its latest auditing regulations that open up new opportunities for smaller Indian firms.

The new guidelines will curtail growth opportunities for multinational firms and create substantial transitional issues, but Indian firms a chance to get more audit business from the lucrative financial sector currently dominated by the Big Four.

Multinational auditors have started reaching out to RBI, industry associations like CII and FDCI, and even larger financial companies to highlight transition problems and risks of joint audits.

Indian firms have launched a counter-offensive by supporting the central bank’s move and taking their case to the regulator and financial companies directly and through industry associations such as Assocham.

The RBI regulations

On April 27, the RBI released new guidelines for statutory auditors of financial entities to enhance the independence of auditors and tackle concentration issues. The guidelines require mandatory rotation of auditors after three years with a six-year cooling-off period, and appointment of joint auditors in entities having asset size of Rs 15,000 crore and above.

The opposition

The regulations ran into opposition from bankers and auditors who wanted it to be deferred citing less time to appoint auditors and crunch. “The new guidelines have come in at the end of April. We have to evaluate how we can sort of look at appointing new auditors so quickly.

Because the RBI guidelines say that existing auditors cannot continue (auditing) if they have done three years. I think in the case of most companies (non-bank lenders), the auditors would have already done more than three years, probably done four years… So, I hope that RBI defers this applicability by year or so because the year has already started, and a lot of them would have to start looking around for new audit firms,” Keki Mistry, MD and Vice Chairman Keki Mistry had told ETCFO.

“Many challenges here if implemented from FY22. Some bank auditors have already finished three years — they will only have weeks to make a new selection. The pool available to choose from will be limited for FY22 and many potential suitors would be conflicted under the new one-year cooling-off period having done such non-audit services in FY21,” Grant Thornton Bharat CEO Vishesh Chandiok had said.



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Sanjiv Bajaj, Bajaj Capital, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Q. Thoughts on digital proliferation bringing changes in the financial services space?

Earlier there was a clear distinction, there used to be offline players and online players trying to disrupt. The Covid-19 pandemic induced lockdown made everyone shift to digital which was no longer a choice but a necessity and survival tool. Regulators have been supportive of these digital advancements and all companies have put their best in improving digital capabilities and subsequently the IT related hiring has also gone up.

Today, even for an offline player like us (Bajaj Capital) our 60% of business is happening online and there’s no difference between us and the offline player. This is going very very fast. Those who couldn’t shift online are probably already out of business, now we are much more efficient.

Most businesses are at 90% of normalcy and most have exceeded the normalcy times as well as many are focusing on investments and insurances. Insurance has become a pull product.

The demand for online services has gone up and we have to put customers on waiting lists at times.

Q. How are your Phygital services shaping up?

Phygital is the future. For e.g. For Insurance, People have realised the level of services he/she wants without a physical presence, today service is very important. People are actually moving from pure digital services to phygital service where they know they can do their transactions online but they are aware that there is somebody to depend on for any other services like claims, etc. and it is becoming a part of it.

We are seeing a migration of people towards Bajaj Capital as we do have an offline presence too. Mass Affluent and HNI is moving to phygital unless it’s something like trading which they would do on their own but other segments are preferring that they know somebody to support.

Q. How do you leverage new emerging technologies?

It is important to have the process of onboarding completely online, earlier there used to be processes with physical signatures and these have been removed by the regulators. Digital experience depends on specific products. For e.g. Stock broking is completely digital, the other extreme end where customers require handholding and don’t want to do it completely online is investments, where they think it’s their hard-earned money and realise the importance of it and seek wealth manager and have become risk averse.

Customers have the capability to do everything online but they need a person to guide along with advice as market changes keep happening. Insurance is also witnessing a similar shift: few products and segments in non-life like car insurance have gone completely online, health & life – people are seeking phygital support and quality services.

Mass-affluent customers are demanding a premium experience with hand holding at the same time even if they’re capable of doing it completely online.



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Reserve Bank of India – Press Releases

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April 14, 2015





Dear All




Welcome to the refurbished site of the Reserve Bank of India.





The two most important features of the site are: One, in addition to the default site, the refurbished site also has all the information bifurcated functionwise; two, a much improved search – well, at least we think so but you be the judge.





With this makeover, we also take a small step into social media. We will now use Twitter (albeit one way) to send out alerts on the announcements we make and YouTube to place in public domain our press conferences, interviews of our top management, events, such as, town halls and of course, some films aimed at consumer literacy.




The site can be accessed through most browsers and devices; it also meets accessibility standards.



Please save the url of the refurbished site in your favourites as we will give up the existing site shortly and register or re-register yourselves for receiving RSS feeds for uninterrupted alerts from the Reserve Bank.



Do feel free to give us your feedback by clicking on the feedback button on the right hand corner of the refurbished site.



Thank you for your continued support.




Department of Communication

Reserve Bank of India


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Uday Kotak, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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NEW DELHI: The decision to relax partial lockdowns and restrictions imposed by various state governments to contain second wave of Covid-19 pandemic should be based on the advice of experts as the July-September period is going to be crucial for the nation, said CII President Uday Kotak.

As vaccination drive picks up in July-September and positive cases come down on account of current restrictions and partial lockdowns imposed by various state governments, the main challenge would be to take a decision on opening up the economy, he said.

“After vaccination picks up, what do we do? Do we open up or be cautious? So, that will be the trade-off which will be crucial between July and September in the race between vaccination going up, current positivity rate remaining low.

“But, the worry that if you open up too soon, we will get COVID 3.0 quickly and that is the trade-off for which we need to take a calibrated call, not today but in the second half of June,” Kotak told PTI.

The decision to open up should be taken on the advice of experts based on scientific evidence, he said adding that the July-September period needs to be handled with care.

“Let us get scientists and experts to do their analysis and then take the call based on expert advice. One of the challenges, I feel, we in India face is that many people take decisions without depending enough on expertise.

“I would rather depend on expertise and based on that, take the right decisions,” he said.

As per estimates, he said, by August, India should be produce about 15 crore vaccines per month, and there is a decent hope that post-September and October, India would be vaccinating a lot of people.

“What is really the issue is this 3-4 months hiatus which we have now is the challenge that we need to handle with care because post-COVID 2.0, most states have effectively curtailed economic activities,” he added.



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