Kerala Government is against the merger of State Bank of Travancore with State Bank of India

Kerala Government is against the merger of State Bank of Travancore with State Bank of India, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said today. This is the first political opposition to the proposed merger of SBI associate banks with the parent. "People of state consider SBT as a bank of Kerala and the Government also has the same view. We want SBT to remain as it is," Vijayan said at a meet-the-press programme in Thiruvananthapuram.
-Business Today

The Tamil Nadu State Government has made it clear that the labour legislations are applicable to all the IT and ITeS companies and that the IT firm employees are free to form a trade union. The Government has also pointed out the fact that the IT industry has not been exempted from the provisions of Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The categorical clarification came from Kumar Jayant, principal secretary in the labour and employment department, Tamil Nadu, while responding to a petition by New Democratic Labour Front (NDLF), which sought action from the Government on the vexed issue of 'labour freedom' in the IT companies.
-The Financial Express

RBI Deputy Governor S S Mundra today asked banks to refrain from being “over-zealous” while lending, saying it leads to over-indebtedness of customers, results in default and spoils their credit history.
-The Financial Express

Bankers' hopes of recovering money from assets qualified as 'bad' recently will come true in the latter half of the next fiscal, once changes in redressal mechanisms are introduced, BofA-ML said on Thursday. The American brokerage said the banks will keep recognising more stress for up to a year more, but once all the necessary changes including the stressed asset fund become a reality, the recovery process should start.
-NDTV Profit

RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on today came in for praise from Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who said Rajan is doing a "good job" and has controlled inflation.
-Thehansindia

Minister of State for Finance, Jayant Sinha on Thursday said the Government is working on the extradition of Vijay Mallya from Britain. Sinha told the Government has filed for Mallya's extradition from the UK, adding it is a lengthy legal process. "We have filed for extradition; it is lengthy legal process that has to be approved by the UK judicial system," he said. "On our end, we will do everything possible, and hopefully, we will be able to enable him to face justice in India," he added.
-The Siaset Daily

Taking cognisance of the mounting bad loans in the system, the RBI is planning to overhaul the entire strategic debt restructuring (SDR) mechanism. This includes giving more power to lenders while taking haircuts during the resolution process, bankers aware of the development told. According to bankers, the RBI is expected to allow lenders to convert debt into equity to initiate an SDR but without changing the current management.
-The Financial Express

Seeking to clear the air on a second term for RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, Union Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha today said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will take a call on this "at an appropriate time".
-The Financial Express

The top management from ICICI Bank including managing director Chanda Kochhar have received a an average of 15% hike in their basic salary for the fiscal year ended March 2016 even as they decided to forgo their bonuses for the year. The annual report released on the bank's website earlier this week showed that Kochhar received a 15% hike with basic salary in the fiscal year ended March 2016 at Rs 2.31crore compared to Rs 2.01crore in the year ended March 2015.
-Economic Times

The Government should empower the boards of the public sector banks and form an "asset revival bank" to deal with bad assets, Assocham said here on Thursday. The asset revival bank, a special purpose vehicle (SPV), can lay guidelines for the lenders to take "haircuts" to cut the losses in the sectors in distress, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) said in a statement.
-B K Online

Firing yet another salvo at RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy today alleged that the former IMF chief economist had planted "a time bomb" in the Indian financial system that will explode in December. Swamy took to Twitter to criticise the Governor.
-Financial Chronicle

Delhi High Court has ruled that no service tax can be levied in respect of the agreements entered into between buyers and builders for flats in an under-construction building in a housing project. The Courty, however noted that service tax could be levied on amount charged by the builders for preferential location of the flat, saying it was based on the preferences of customers and amounted to value addition.
-Business Today

Air India 's "books are so bad" that nobody will buy it even if the Government wanted to sell off the national carrier, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said on Thursday. Ruling out disinvestment in the carrier that has a debt of some Rs 50,000 crore, Raju at the same time made it plain that the taxpayers' money cannot be committed "for eternity".
-Business Today

India has surpassed Japan to become the world’s third-largest oil consumer, with its oil demand galloping 8.1% in 2015, according to BP Statistical Review of World Energy. With demand of 4.1 million barrels per day, India is the third-largest consumer behind US (19.39 million bpd) and China (11.96 million bpd).
-Hindustan Times