SEBI Chief Denies Hindenburg Research Charges; NPCI Wants BHIM To Take On PhonePe, GooglePay

Hindenburg Says SEBI Boss Clarification Raises New Questions, Makes Admissions 

Hindenburg Research has said SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch's statement accusing the US-based short-seller of attempting a "character assassination" of the Buchs has raised new questions and includes important admissions, the Economic Times reported.

On Sunday, the Buchs had dismissed the allegations made by Hindenburg Research is in response to a show-cause notice issued by SEBI in connection with its earlier report on Adani. The short-seller's response to the Buchs' statement alleges that Buch’s response now "publicly confirms her investment in an obscure Bermuda/Mauritius fund structure, alongside money allegedly siphoned by Vinod Adani. She also confirmed the fund was run by a childhood friend of her husband, who at the time was an Adani director." Read More 

NPCI Wants BHIM App To Grow, Take On PhonePe, GooglePay

Retail payments regulator National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is in the process of spinning off Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) into a subsidiary as the home-grown payments application looks to expand its presence in the country, Business Standard reported.

The NPCI has appointed Lalitha Nataraj the chief executive officer (CEO) of the new subsidiary, the sources added. Nataraj had previously worked with IDFC FIRST Bank and ICICI Bank.  There will be more focus on growing BHIM as a payments application. Both the government and the Reserve Bank of India are keen on expanding the app, the report said. The idea is to reduce reliance on two American companies, Walmart-backed PhonePe and Google, in India’s payments ecosystem. More here

Three PSU Banks Hike MCLR A Day After RBI Monetary Policy Statement

Public sector lenders Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank and UCO Bank have announced an increase in their benchmark marginal cost of fund-based lending rate (MCLR), a day after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released its monetary policy statement, the Economic Times reported.

Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank have increased their lending rates by 5 basis points on six-month and one-year tenures with effect from August 12. UCO Bank, too, has raised its lending rates by 5 bps, effective from August 10. One bps is 0.01 percentage point.  MCLR is the minimum rate at which a bank lends to corporate loan customers. For banks, the cost of funds or deposits plays a major role in determining the MCLR. More here

Centre Readies Plan Against Misleading Ads To Place Before Supreme Court

India plans to roll out a unified system to address consumer complaints against misleading advertisements, days after the Supreme Court pulled up the government citing inadequate action, Livemint reported.

While completely overhauling the mechanism, the government will also establish a central data repository of consumer complaints, sources said. Currently, complaints against misleading ads are registered with Broadcast Seva, Press Council of India and the National Consumer Helpline. The government aims to streamline the process as multiple platforms often lead to delays and inconsistencies in addressing grievances, the report said. The government’s plan for a unified mechanism is likely to be presented to the Supreme Court this week by information & broadcasting, and consumer affairs ministries. More here 

New Shipbuilding Policy To Develop Three New Clusters In Andhra, Gujarat, Odisha 

The government will soon seek cabinet approval for a new shipbuilding policy that includes introducing a recycling credit note scheme, a fixed rate of subsidy for 10 years and the establishment of three maritime clusters in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Odisha, the Economic Times reported.

Officials said this is part of the Centre's push to grab a larger share of the global shipbuilding market. It's proposed that a credit note equivalent to 40 per cent of the scrap value of a ship being dismantled in an Indian breaking yard would be given to fleet owners, both Indian and global. This can be reimbursed against the cost of construction of a new vessel at an Indian yard, officials said. More here

Cabinet Okays Reduction In Per Unit Assistance For 20 Million Rural Homes

The Union Cabinet has approved the construction of 20 million new homes in rural areas over the next five years starting FY25, but the unit assistance for each home has been earmarked at Rs 120,000 for plains and Rs 130,000 for hills, Business Standard reported.

This is lower than the unit assistance approved in the FY25 Budget where a footnote under the Ministry of Rural Development said the per unit assistance for the 20 million new homes in a rural area would be at a higher rate of Rs 200,000 for plains and Rs 220,000 for hills. Based on the five-year outlay, the full Budget of FY25 had allocated a sum of Rs 54,500 crore as the Centre’s share for the first year of the five-year programme. More here