1. Banking Services to be Hit as 10 Lakh Staff go on Two-Day Strike
Nearly 1 million bank employees will go on a two-day nationwide strike starting Wednesday, disrupting transactions across the country. Nine employees unions across 21 public, 12 private and 7 foreign banks will participate in the strike, said CH Venkatachalam, general secretary, All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA). The strike was called after unions refused to accept an offer of a 2 percent wage hike for junior level officers up to Scale III.
Other activities like cheque clearance and foreign remittances from banks participating in the strike will be hit. However, ATMs will function normally as cash refilling is typically outsourced by banks.
Some private banks, including HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and Indusind Bank, will see no impact since these banks are not part of the union.
(Source: Livemint)
2. CBI Files Case Against AirAsia, Fernandes for Alleged Corruption
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday raided the offices of AirAsia India and filed a complaint against Tony Fernandes, chief executive of the company’s Malaysian parent, for allegedly lobbying the government for overseas flight permits and violating rules that prevent foreign airlines from controlling Indian operators.
CBI’s first information report (FIR) says the violations occurred from 2013 to 2016, before the government eased restrictions on Indian airlines starting overseas flights in June 2016. The rule that bars giving management control to foreigners remains.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy approached the Delhi high court in 2016, seeking suspension of AirAsia’s licence. Swamy was joined by Federation of Indian Airlines, which represents IndiGo, Jet Airways, GoAir and SpiceJet, in his challenge. In November 2016, the Delhi high court directed the airline regulator to conduct an inquiry into the issue.
(Source: Livemint)
3. India GDP Growth Seen at 7.3% in January-March 2018
The Indian economy probably gained a little momentum in the first three months of 2018 which should ensure that it remains the world’s fastest growing major economy, a Reuters poll found.
Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded an annual 7.3% in the first three months of 2018, the 24-29 May poll of 55 economists predicted, a touch faster than the 7.2% achieved in the last three months of 2017— and well above China’s pace of 6.8% for the quarter ending in March. Forecasts ranged from 6.9 to 7.7%.
If the poll is right, the January-March 2018 GDP growth figures would be the highest since demonetisation in November 2016 and GST rollout in July 2017.
(Source: Livemint)
4. Mahindra Planning Record Rs15,000 Crore Investment in Next 3 Years
Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd is planning to invest a record Rs 15,000 crore over the next three years, said managing director Pawan Goenka on Tuesday after announcing the tractor maker’s Q4 results.
Of the intended investment, Rs 10,000 crore will be classified as capital expenditure for expanding capacity for its utility vehicles, tractors as well as commercial vehicles, in addition to product development.
Goenka is “cautiously optimistic” about the automobile industry’s performance in 2018-19 on the back of a positive economic environment, stable inflation and interest rates, and expectations of a normal monsoon, though rising crude oil and commodity prices may play spoilsport.
(Source: Livemint)
5. India Delays Plan to Roll Out 10,000 Electric Cars to 2019
India has pushed back a deadline to put thousands of battery-driven cars on the road by nearly a year, in a setback to its ambitions of having electric vehicles comprise about a third of its fleet by 2030.
State-owned Energy Efficiency Services Ltd, which is responsible for procuring electric cars to replace the petrol and diesel vehicles used by government officials, will roll out the first 10,000 vehicles by March 2019, Saurabh Kumar, the agency’s managing director said. EESL issued its first tender for 10,000 cars in September. It planned to roll out 500 cars by November and the rest by June.
“The need for building more charging points for 10,000 electric cars and states being slow in taking deliveries are the reasons for the delay,” Kumar said in a phone interview. There are about 150 cars in the capital New Delhi and about 100 in southern Andhra Pradesh state and other provinces as of now, Kumar said. Of the about 200 charging stations built for these cars, over 100 are in Delhi.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
6. WhatsApp Is Said to Hasten Payments Push for 200 Million Indians
Facebook Inc is set to offer its WhatsApp payment services to the whole of India as early as next week in an attempt to win market share, even though its partners aren’t all ready, said people familiar with the matter.
The messaging app will partner HDFC Bank Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd and Axis Bank Ltd to process the transfers, and State Bank of India will join once it has the necessary systems in place, the people said. Facebook was aiming for a full rollout with four partners but decided to go ahead with just three as its rivals were racing ahead, the people said, asking not to be named as the information isn’t public.
The entry of Whatsapp into India’s payments space has been likened to WeChat, which reshaped payments in China when it expanded beyond messaging. The pilot version of WhatsApp Pay – started with 1 million users in February – received rave reviews, threatening the market share of incumbents Google Tez and Alibaba-backed Paytm, which lack the benefits of a social network.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
7. Agarwal Wants to Build Indian Commodity Giant to Rival Majors
Billionaire industrialist Anil Agarwal plans to leave behind a legacy: an Indian resources group to rival the world’s biggest.
The founder and owner of Vedanta Resources Plc wants to keep building the company into a giant producer of the commodities that India needs to curb its reliance on imports, create jobs and reduce poverty. Despite its insatiable appetite for materials, India is yet to impose itself among the mining heavyweights in the way that Australia, China or even the UK does.
"It can be the second- or third-largest resource company in the world," Agarwal, 64, said in an interview in London. Domestic resources have been key to the success of all of the world’s biggest economies and India should be no different, he said. “We thought India should have a company.”
(Source: BloombergQuint)
8. Trump Ratchets Up Pressure on China With Swerve on Tariff Plans
US President Donald Trump said he’s moving ahead with plans to impose tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports and curb investment in sensitive technology, ratcheting up pressure on Beijing days before the next round of trade negotiations.
In a statement Tuesday, the White House said a final list of targeted imports will be released by 15 June and the tariffs will be imposed “shortly thereafter.” It’s the most specific the administration has been about the timing for the duties to take effect.
The administration also said new restrictions on Chinese investment and enhanced export controls will be announced by 30 June and then implemented shortly after. China’s commerce ministry responded hours later with a statement, saying it was surprised by the US announcement and remains confident the country can protect its interests.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
9. Soros Sees New Global Financial Crisis Brewing, EU Under Threat
A surging dollar and a capital flight from emerging markets may lead to another “major” financial crisis, investor George Soros said, warning the European Union that it’s facing an imminent existential threat.
The “termination” of the nuclear deal with Iran and the “destruction” of the transatlantic alliance between the EU and the US are “bound to have a negative effect on the European economy and cause other dislocations,” including a devaluing of emerging-market currencies, Soros said in a speech in Paris on Tuesday. “We may be heading for another major financial crisis.”
(Source: BloombergQuint)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)