Blog for Stock tips, Equity tips, Commodity tips, Forex tips: Sharetipsinfo.com

http://sharetipsinfo.comJust get registered at Sharetipsinfo and earn positive returns

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has built a database of stressed non-banking finance company (NBFC) loans, similar to the Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) that it has built for banks in 2014, sources privy to the developments told CNBC-TV18.

According to multiple people familiar with the development, the central bank has directed the NBFCs to inform the RBI database about SMA 1 and SMA 2 loans since last year.

SMA 1 refers to those loan accounts in which the instalment or interest is overdue for 1 month from 31st day to 60 days. SMA 2 refers to accounts in which the instalment or interest is overdue for 2 months from 61st days to 90 days.

For the past year or so, the data given by the NBFCs to the central bank is methodically arranged, plus the RBI has other data too, sources in the know told CNBC-TV18.

NBFCs, including housing finance companies (HFCs), came under stress following a series of defaults by the group companies of IL&FS in September last year.

http://sharetipsinfo.comJust get registered at Sharetipsinfo and earn positive returns

India's fuel demand rose 2.8 percent in August compared with the same month last year.

Consumption of fuel, a proxy for oil demand, totalled 17.04 million tonnes, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry showed.

Sales of gasoline, or petrol, were 8.9 percent higher from a year earlier at 2.57 million tonnes.

Cooking gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sales increased 13.0 percent to 2.40 million tonnes, while naphtha sales surged 3.7 percent to 1.15 million tonnes.

Sales of bitumen, used for making roads, were 23.8 percent up, while fuel oil use edged lower 15.9 percent in August.

http://sharetipsinfo.comJust get registered at Sharetipsinfo and earn positive returns

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepal counterpart K P Sharma Oli on Tuesday jointly inaugurated the Motihari-Amlekhganj petroleum product pipeline via a video link.

The over 60 km-long pipeline is the first-ever cross-border petroleum product pipeline in the South Asia region, according to a video presentation made before the inauguration.

As of now, tankers carry petroleum products from India to Nepal as part of an arrangement which is in place since 1973.

"This India-Nepal energy cooperation project is a symbol of our close bilateral relations. It will help to enhance the energy security of the region and substantially cut down on transit costs," the Prime Minister's Office had said on Monday.

http://sharetipsinfo.comJust get registered at Sharetipsinfo and earn positive returns

Ashmit Gupta, a 38-year old Kolkata businessman who has filed for a divorce, must arrange Rs 30 lakh for the alimony his ex-wife has sought. While he has investments worth Rs 10 lakh that will pay a part of that amount, he is still to arrange Rs 20 lakh within the next few months.

Countries like Egypt are now contemplating a law to make divorce insurance mandatory to ensure that men are able to pay alimony to their ex-spouses without having to face a financial burden. Considering the financial costs linked to a divorce and subsequent payments to the spouse, it could be time for Indians to seek insurance to cover divorces as well.

While India still has among the lowest divorce rates, the numbers have doubled over the last one decade. As per Census 2011, there were 1,362,316 divorces in India. While the number is low compared to other countries, it is still a significant number.

If the average alimony amount per divorce stood at Rs 15 lakh, it is a whopping Rs 2.04 lakh crore in settlements itself for the 1.36 million divorces. Over and above that are the legal expenses and child support which would run into several lakhs of rupees.

It is estimated that the alimony payment amount in India has risen by 35 percent over the last five to seven years.

Taking an insurance policy that pays for the divorce proceedings is a financially-prudent idea. Usually taken at the time of marriage, this insurance product will provide for all financial costs pertaining to a divorce.

The premium payable depends on the earning capacity of the individual and the income profile of the couple. There is usually a period of initial two to three years during which a claim is not admissible.

As a starter, policies with a standard cover of Rs 25 lakh or 30 lakh could be offered. These would be priced at less than Rs 15,000 per annum. If any individual seeks additional insurance, top-up plans could be offered.

The amount and duration for which alimony is payable depends on how long the marriage existed. Marriages that last more than 10 years are even entitled to get a lifelong alimony.

In India, there is no cap on the amount of alimony that can be sought by the wife. In case of a lump-sum settlement, the amount could go up to one-third of the husband’s net-worth.

With Indian couples being far more open to the idea of a divorce than a decade ago, it is imperative that the financial costs will also be considered. Having insurance products available for this purpose could help sort out the financial matters and help the couple focus on other crucial matters including property division and child custody.

http://sharetipsinfo.comJust get registered at Sharetipsinfo and earn positive returns

India Inc's foreign borrowings grew over two-fold to $4.98 billion in July over the same month a year ago, according to Reserve Bank data.

Indian firms had raised $2.18 billion in borrowings from overseas markets in July 2018.

Of the total money borrowed by the domestic companies, $3.37 billion was through the automatic route of external commercial borrowing (ECB), $1.56 billion via approval route of ECB and the rest of $50.9 million was raised by issuing masala or rupee denominated bonds.

In the ECB category, the major borrowers tapping the automatic route were Adani Ports And Special Economic Zone Ltd -- which raised $750 million for rupee expenditure and $650 million for refinancing of earlier ECB, ONGC Videsh $500 million for other purposes.

Larsen & Toubro and HPCL-Mittal Energy raised $150 million and $125 million, respectively for rupee expenditure.

Among others, Aditya Birla Housing Finance; L&T Finance; GACL-NALCO Alkalies & Chemicals and India Infoline Finance raised $100 each for on-lending purposes.

In the approval route of ECB, Reliance Industries raised a total of $912.87 million in three different tranches to meet rupee expenditure and import of capital goods while REC Limited raised $650 million for on-lending.

Toyota Financial Services India was the only company that raised $50.86 million by issuing masala or rupee denominated bonds in the overseas market for the purpose of sub-lending.

http://sharetipsinfo.comJust get registered at Sharetipsinfo and earn positive returns

The labour ministry will soon notify 8.65 percent rate of interest on Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) for 2018-19 as the finance ministry does not disagree on this rate, said Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar on Friday.

A notification by the labour ministry is required regarding the interest rate for crediting the interest amount into accounts of over 6 crore subscribers.

Besides, it would enable retirement fund body Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to settle on withdrawal claims on this rate. Now, the EPFO is paying an interest rate of 8.55 per cent for 2018-19 under PF withdrawal claims. The 8.55 per cent interest rate on PF deposits was fixed for 2017-18.

"The finance ministry does not disagree with 8.65 per cent interest on EPF for 2018-19. I believe that it will soon be notified," Gangwar told reporters on the sidelines of a conference on private security guards at FICCI here.

In February, the EPFO's apex decision-making body Central Board of Trustees, headed by the labour minister, had decided to raise the interest rate on EPF to 8.65 per cent for 2018-19, which was the first increase in the past three years.

In April, the Department of Financial Services (DFS), a wing of the finance ministry, had given its concurrence to the EPFO's decision to provide 8.65 per cent rate of interest for 2018-19.

The rate was raised to 8.65 per cent for the previous financial year from 8.55 per cent provided in 2017-18. The EPFO had earlier reduced the interest rate for 2016-17 to 8.65 per cent as compared with 8.8 per cent for 2015-16.

After the finance ministry's concurrence, the income tax department and the labour ministry are required to notify the rate of interest for 2018-19. Thereafter, the EPFO would give directions to its over 136 field offices to credit the rate of interest into subscribers' account and settle their claims accordingly.

According to the EPFO estimates, there would be a surplus of Rs 151.67 crore after providing 8.65 per cent rate of interest for 2018-19 on EPF. There would have been a deficit of Rs 158 crore on providing 8.7 per cent rate of interest on EPF for the previous financial year. That is why the body decided to provide 8.65 per cent rate of interest for 2018-19.

http://sharetipsinfo.comJust get registered at Sharetipsinfo and earn positive returns

The package, aimed primarily at home buyers and real estate developers, is expected this week, the paper quoted government officials as saying.

"There have been discussions on a task force for real estate similar to the one for infrastructure projects announced last week. The finance minister spoke about promoting rental housing sector. A new policy is in the works," one of the officials told BS.

Measures being considered include the creation of a task force, easing of interest subvention norms, new rental housing policy, lifting the affordable housing category cap, cutting processing time for housing applications under partial guarantee scheme, and expanding credit reach to small exporters, they added.

The task force will identify and revive stalled projects while the recent circular by the National Housing Board (NHB), prohibiting interest subvention for housing loans, would be under review.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman might also lift the affordable housing category cap in metro cities from the present Rs 45 lakh to Rs 1 crore.

The development follows long-standing demands for regulatory and tax changes as the sector suffered a steady decline in demand and a sharp liquidity crunch over the past four years.

Sitharaman, in her budget, proposed "several reforms to promote rental housing … a model tenancy law to be finalised and circulated to the states."

While announcing the first set of economic measures on August 23, Sitharaman also promised two more packages. The expectations are stronger after the finance minister and Urban Development Minister Hardeep Puri met with industry representatives.

Apart from real estate, the other anticipated announcement is goods and service tax (GST) e-wallet provision for exporters, the report added.

In June, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that exporters should be able to take more and more export credit in foreign currency. The ministry is now looking at raising the share of foreign currency in total export credit much beyond the present level of about 50 per cent.

"The same has been forwarded to the RBI for consideration as its foreign exchange reserves can be used for providing a line of credit for swap to good banks for this purpose. This will result in cheaper foreign currency loans," a senior official said.

The ministry has also discussed in detail the possibility of easing norms for banks when it comes to lending export credit by extending the cap on banks from the present two percent, the official pointed out.

http://sharetipsinfo.comJust get registered at Sharetipsinfo and earn positive returns

India's July crude oil imports declined from a year earlier, while petrol imports climbed to their highest since at least April 2011, data from the oil ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) showed on Wednesday.

Crude oil imports into the world's third-largest consumer declined 1.2% from a year earlier to 19.34 million tonnes, but increased 14.6% from the previous month.

Petrol imports rose to 230,000 tonnes in July, the highest since PPAC data going back to 2011.

Government data published earlier this month showed sales of gasoline, or petrol, were 8.8% higher from a year earlier at 2.52 million tonnes.

LNG imports, meanwhile, fell to their lowest since February 2018 at 850,000 tonnes.

India's imports of crude oil have stalled in recent months, with both coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) also soft. This could be attributed to Indian refiners adjusting to the loss of cargoes from Iran after the United States did not extend waivers to buyers of Iranian crude beyond the beginning of May.

Meanwhile, imports of oil products rose by about 9% from a year earlier to 2.81 million tonnes. Year-on-year exports fell 5% last month to 5.07 million tonnes, the data showed.

Exports in Naphtha fell to their lowest since October 2015 at 400,000 tonnes.

http://sharetipsinfo.comJust get registered at Sharetipsinfo and earn positive returns

The news comes when India is in talks for a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) which was proposed by the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) as the biggest trade proposal. It has 16 participating countries and was expected to conclude this year.

The review will decide the future of RCEP along with other FTAs. The report pointed out that the government is also targeting to increase the share of manufacturing in the economy to 25 from about 16 percent (at current prices) by 2022.

Another reason to assess the current trade arrangement was given by tax authorities who have seen imports being brought from FTA route-- to save on raised custom duties. It sometimes beat the idea of tariffs discouraging import of certain goods. Moreover, imports from non-FTA nations could claim treaty benefits if got from the FTA route.

Large companies could have been violating these rules which undermines the swadeshi movement under Make in India.

This week, the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India had also filed a petition on behalf of Indian palm oil producers against increased imports from Malaysia hurting the domestic market. They claim that lower custom duties under the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) have negatively impacted domestic production and sales. A probe has been initiated after the complaint.

The review will help the country implement better trade pacts if they hurt domestic manufactures.

http://sharetipsinfo.comJust get registered at Sharetipsinfo and earn positive returns

The National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) has recommended to the ministry of finance that the upper price limit in the definition of affordable housing for metro cities be raised from the current Rs 45 lakh to Rs 1 crore, DNA has reported.

Since land and construction cost come at a premium especially in metros, the council has sought relaxation of the norms by amendments to the Real Estate (regulation and development) Act, 2016.

This imperative amendment would bring more locations and projects under affordable housing, benefiting investors, a NAREDCO spokesperson told the daily.

Confederation of real estate developers' associations of India (CREDAI) has also on its part recommended amendment of RERA in view of soaring property prices.

Currently, to avail credit subsidy benefits for affordable housing, a home must be priced at less than Rs 45 lakh and not exceed 60 sq metre carpet area or about 850 sq ft built-up area, including overall loading.

The affordable housing segment has seen rising demand which has been aided by lower goods and services tax (GST). As per a report by Livemint, this segment has emerged as the sweet spot for both builders and buyers, even in the current slowdown.