Oil Companies Hand Over Large Dividends To Centre; No More Physical Insurance Copies From Today

ONGC Leads Oil Firms In Dividend Payout To Govt in FY23-24 

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has paid a dividend of Rs 7,224 crore to the Centre for FY 2023-24, the Economic Times reported. It led the pack of oil and gas companies which form the biggest block of dividend payers to the Central government.

The ONGC dividend was almost double the Rs 3,636 crore dividend by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), nearly three times Bharat Petroleum Corporation's Rs 2,413 crore, close to four times GAIL's Rs 1,863 crore and about ten times Oil India's Rs 737 crore. Heavy payouts have been driven by strong profits during the financial year. Here’s more 

Banks Look To Shield Officials Monitoring Loan Defaulters After HC Order

Banks will seek advice from the Reserve Bank of India on protecting the identities of officers who spot willful defaulters and build cases against errant borrowers, the Economic Times reported. A recent Bombay High Court order had directed banks to name employees on committees identifying a borrower as a willful defaulter.

The order also asked banks to provide the petitioner full access to documents and material on record. This is another contentious issue between lenders and the borrower. The bank argued that it is not obliged to provide evidence to the borrower as per RBI guidelines. Lenders will seek RBI's guidance on this issue. Here’s more

AI Platform To Make Citizens Aware Of Government Schemes 

The government is planning to deploy artificial intelligence to spread the reach of government schemes, the Business Standard reported. The blueprint for the next phase of accelerated digitisation of public services sees the government powering it with AI to help citizens find schemes they are entitled to.

As of now, citizens can only access details of schemes they have signed up for. It is not easy for citizens to be aware of each scheme run by different ministries and thus choose what they want to avail. An AI platform to make this is being developed and will help citizens know of other schemes they are entitled to. More here

Inter-ministry Panel Should Oversee AI Regulation

An inter-ministerial body has been recommended to oversee artificial intelligence (AI) regulation by a committee comprising representatives from various central ministries, the Business Standard reported. In a report submitted last month, the committee recommended following a whole-of-government approach to regulate AI, wherein every ministry has a role, apart from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity). 

The submissions by the committee propose a disclosure provision for companies in cases where the AI platform/model causes harm to the user. Representatives from Meity, the Department of Science & Technology, the Department of Telecommunications, and NITI Aayog were part of the committee. Read more

Digital-Only Insurance Policies Kick Off From Today

Insurance companies will issue policies only in digital form from April 1, Moneycontrol reported. This is in line with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India’s Protection of Policyholders’ Interests regulations that make it mandatory for insurers to issue policies in dematerialised form.

The option was introduced in 2013, and now four insurance repositories – CAMS Repository, Karvy, NSDL Database Management (NDML) and Central Insurance Repository of India – facilitate the opening of e-insurance accounts. The regulator, insurers and other stakeholders say e-insurance will help policyholders and the entire insurance ecosystem.

Most private insurers already open e-insurance accounts for policyholders. Here’s more

People Willing To Buy EV Cars If In Rs 8-10 Lakh Range

A survey has found that only 5 per cent of those looking to buy a four-wheeler in the country are likely to buy an electric car this year, the Economic Times reported. The survey of 40,000 people across 319 districts found that more than half the existing or prospective car owners are willing to buy an electric car if it is available in the Rs 8-10 lakh price range.

Car sales in India crossed 4 million units last year, while 72,321 electric four-wheelers were registered, per the survey by online consumer pulse aggregator platform, LocalCircles. About 21 per cent respondents flagged lack of charging stations while 12 per cent said they didn’t know enough about these vehicles. Read more