Daily Sector News Today – 29.12.2017
* AGRICULTURE: The Centre could exceed the farm credit target of 10 trln rupees budgeted for 2017-18 (Apr-Mar) as around 6 trn rupees has already been disbursed in the first six months.
* AVIATION: The road transport ministry has requested the civil aviation ministry to frame regulations for scheduled commercial operators to operate single-engine seaplanes with safety aspects in place.
* BANKING: The Reserve Bank of India formally turned down requests from banks to extend the
deadline for restructuring the debt of companies on a second list of bad loan accounts that it had issued in August.
* CORPORATE: The Advertising Standards Council of India has rapped HINDUSTAN UNILEVER, DABUR INDIA, INDIAN OIL CORP, HINDUSTAN PETROLEUM CORP, and some other companies for misleading advertisements. Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairman Ajay Tyagi said that more discussion was needed on the guidelines for debt default disclosures before these are implemented. SEBI, at a board meeting, approved the listing and trading of security receipts issued by asset reconstruction companies on an exchange platform. The government has proposed to provide a maximum 30 days to promoters of companies classified as nonperforming assets for clearing outstanding dues to be eligible to bid during the insolvency
resolution process.
* ENERGY: The government is pushing for greater use of methanol as a fuel and aims to save nearly
30% in crude oil import bill annually by 2030, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said in Lok Sabha.
* INFRASTRUCTURE: An Essel Infra-sponsored company that operates the Sion-Panvel toll road has decided to vacate the toll plaza and stop all maintenance work for the road, citing non-payment of dues from the authorities.
* MARKETS: SEBI has simplified norms for foreign portfolio investors to make their access to the capital markets easier.
* MUTUAL FUNDS: SEBI has barred a sponsor of a mutual fund house from holding 10% or more stake in another mutual fund.
* OIL AND GAS: The government has withdrawn its directive to state-owned fuel retailers to hike the price of subsidised cooking gas by 4 rupees per cylinder every month due to fear that the move may be interpreted as"anti-consumer" To promote the use of clean fuel, the oil ministry plans to set up bio- compressed natural gas plants and allied infrastructure at a cost of 70 bln rupees.
* POWER: Thailand's Electricity Generating Public Company is scouting for power generation assets in India, including those in the clean energy space.
* RAILWAYS: The Indian Railways' target to electrify all its broad gauge tracks by fiscal year 2022 can open up large opportunities for engineering, procurement and construction companies.
* REAL ESTATE: The Ministry Of Housing And Urban Affairs has approved the construction of 545,000 more affordable houses under its flagship Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, with an investment of 310 bln rupees.
* REGULATORY: SEBI has cleared the way for the universal exchange concept, allowing the convergence of stock and commodity bourses from Oct 1, 2018. SEBI tightened capital, corporate governance, and cross-holding norms for credit rating agencies, with Chairman Ajay Tyagi saying these changes were necessary as such agencies were key stakeholders in the regulatory process. Commodity bourses had three years to comply with various norms related to net worth and clearing corporations, among others, in order to compete with stock exchanges, SEBI Chairman Ajay Tyagi said.
* TELECOMMUNICATION: Phone companies have sought basic customs duty exemption on fourth
generation network gear to reduce overall 4G LTE network rollout costs, besides also seeking a cut in
the withholding tax on discounts extended to prepaid distributors among key recommendations in the
upcoming Union Budget. Unitech Wireless and Loop Telecom are the two telecommunication companies acquitted in the secondgeneration case by the special court last week and are now evaluating the legal option, according to company executives and legal advisors.
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* AVIATION: The road transport ministry has requested the civil aviation ministry to frame regulations for scheduled commercial operators to operate single-engine seaplanes with safety aspects in place.
* BANKING: The Reserve Bank of India formally turned down requests from banks to extend the
deadline for restructuring the debt of companies on a second list of bad loan accounts that it had issued in August.
* CORPORATE: The Advertising Standards Council of India has rapped HINDUSTAN UNILEVER, DABUR INDIA, INDIAN OIL CORP, HINDUSTAN PETROLEUM CORP, and some other companies for misleading advertisements. Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairman Ajay Tyagi said that more discussion was needed on the guidelines for debt default disclosures before these are implemented. SEBI, at a board meeting, approved the listing and trading of security receipts issued by asset reconstruction companies on an exchange platform. The government has proposed to provide a maximum 30 days to promoters of companies classified as nonperforming assets for clearing outstanding dues to be eligible to bid during the insolvency
resolution process.
* ENERGY: The government is pushing for greater use of methanol as a fuel and aims to save nearly
30% in crude oil import bill annually by 2030, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said in Lok Sabha.
* INFRASTRUCTURE: An Essel Infra-sponsored company that operates the Sion-Panvel toll road has decided to vacate the toll plaza and stop all maintenance work for the road, citing non-payment of dues from the authorities.
* MARKETS: SEBI has simplified norms for foreign portfolio investors to make their access to the capital markets easier.
* MUTUAL FUNDS: SEBI has barred a sponsor of a mutual fund house from holding 10% or more stake in another mutual fund.
* OIL AND GAS: The government has withdrawn its directive to state-owned fuel retailers to hike the price of subsidised cooking gas by 4 rupees per cylinder every month due to fear that the move may be interpreted as"anti-consumer" To promote the use of clean fuel, the oil ministry plans to set up bio- compressed natural gas plants and allied infrastructure at a cost of 70 bln rupees.
* POWER: Thailand's Electricity Generating Public Company is scouting for power generation assets in India, including those in the clean energy space.
* RAILWAYS: The Indian Railways' target to electrify all its broad gauge tracks by fiscal year 2022 can open up large opportunities for engineering, procurement and construction companies.
* REAL ESTATE: The Ministry Of Housing And Urban Affairs has approved the construction of 545,000 more affordable houses under its flagship Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, with an investment of 310 bln rupees.
* REGULATORY: SEBI has cleared the way for the universal exchange concept, allowing the convergence of stock and commodity bourses from Oct 1, 2018. SEBI tightened capital, corporate governance, and cross-holding norms for credit rating agencies, with Chairman Ajay Tyagi saying these changes were necessary as such agencies were key stakeholders in the regulatory process. Commodity bourses had three years to comply with various norms related to net worth and clearing corporations, among others, in order to compete with stock exchanges, SEBI Chairman Ajay Tyagi said.
* TELECOMMUNICATION: Phone companies have sought basic customs duty exemption on fourth
generation network gear to reduce overall 4G LTE network rollout costs, besides also seeking a cut in
the withholding tax on discounts extended to prepaid distributors among key recommendations in the
upcoming Union Budget. Unitech Wireless and Loop Telecom are the two telecommunication companies acquitted in the secondgeneration case by the special court last week and are now evaluating the legal option, according to company executives and legal advisors.
