Business Tit-bits: Recent Episodes
Business Tit-bits
Insights on finance and business and on happenings from the sphere of business by Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Busines and Finance
If the government wants to tackle the massive NPA crisis that the banking system is currently going through from the root, forensic audits, particularly where defaults are wilful, are a must. Forensic Audits focus on related party transactions, bogus transactions, money laundering, tax evasion and vanishing of securities. However, to get to the root of the problem, the forensic audit/investigation should not only focus on the borrower, but also the banker who gave such a loan, because the banker is equally at fault and can stop such a fraud immidiately. This criminal game cannot be played without the minimum of 2 players
As many industry and tax associations approach the Revenue Secretary for help to prevent income tax authorities from unfairly harrasing and prosecuting them for minor discrepencies, we ask Mr. Arun Jaitley why is this being done. This culture of "prosecution raj" is hurting small and big businesses alike and is sending the wrong message to India Inc. Giving arbitary powers and setting not only revenue, but also prosecution targets for income tax officers is unfair and businessman are bearing the brunt of this. In addition to penalty and interest, other prosecution punishment is being handed down for the most minor of offences which is leaving a bad taste in the mouth of industry at large.
"With elections on the cards, it is hardsell time for Mr.Jaitley, as he keeps writing about the achievements, of the five year rule of the Modi government. In one of his recent blog posts,
he says that government has given a Rs.2 lacs crore annual benefit to the middle class, without a single tax being raised. He says that includes the reduction of GST on many commodities, which will make them cheaper, at a loss of Rs.1 lac crore to the revenue. The FM says that since July 2017, the GST on 350 items and 66 types of services has been lowered, such that almost 97.5% of goods now attract GST at 18%. He then refers to the loss of Rs.97000 crores to the exchequer due to the tax rebates on account of small savings investments, PPF, insurance premium etc. and the standard deduction of Rs.40000 given to
all salary earners. The problem is that with all this, why is it that the middle class feels bamboozled with Arun Jailtey's approach? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW News Network shares his insights on the matter.
India could have grown much faster in the past two years, but for the demonetisation blunder and the flamed GST introduction. The present challenges to growth are the SME sector which is in a mess, the need to revive the agricultural sector, the unresolved banking crisis, an improved ease of doing business at the ground level and a durable and sustainable increase in new investment. The question is will BJP focus on growth any sooner? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
India has been passing through an era, when those in power blatantly conceal the truth and project that what is false. The bigger the neta, babu, banker, auditor or industrialist, the bigger is the lie they say, confident that they will get away with it. So why is it that the year 2018 in particular is a year of truths? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
A defining feature of 2018, has been the downfall of powerful CEOs and promoters, due to their gross and criminal misdeeds being exposed and their carefully crafted reputation in tatters. They were exposed, not because of vigilance in the organisations they headed, or due to any action by the government, but were so either because their giant misdeeds could no longer be concealed, or because of action by a determined whistleblower. The question arises, is there something to be learnt from the falling stars? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
Liquidity, which is the availability of funds, remains scarce in the Indian economy and youdo not need any economist or banker to tell that to you. Ask any small time trader orbusinessman and he will confirm it to you. Even the Reserve Bank now admits that there has been chronic shortage of liquidity in the Indian economy, notwithstanding the fact that cash in circulation in the system is over Rs.3 lac crores more than what it was in November 2016, when the blunder of demonetisation was announced. The question is where is the liquidity and where is all the cash? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Ediotor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), which manages a huge corpus of Rs. 28 lac crores of its policy holders is a thoroughly mismanaged entity. Its pathetic and untenable state of affairs has been widely exposed by the fraudulent ILFS saga. The question is that why life needs to be put in LIC? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
Among other agencies, the SFIO has been investigating the affairs and books of account of ILFS and its hundreds of subsidiary companies. In its preliminary findings, the SFIO is reported to have found shocking details of corruption, personal enrichment of employees, non-transparent deals, gross mismanagement including misreporting of income, dubious transactions, conflict of interest and evergreening of loans. This shady group seems to have blatantly violated every corporate and banking law with impunity. So why are the accounts of the IL&Fs and Patanjali doubtful? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
It maybe noted that the GST law has been a complex one right since its inception. The government introduced it hurriedly and without complete thought. For example, the 28% GST was meant to be only for luxury and sin items, but today, even items like cement, tyre and auto components are taxed at 28%. The GST forms are difficult to understand and a nightmare to fill. Not only is the law inherently complex, but is was made worse due to multiple GST rates, which is a fertile breeding ground for tax disputes. The question is why is it better late than never? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
The Finance Minister, Mr.Arun Jaitley declared at an event that the government had not sought the resignation of the Reserve Bank governor Dr. Urijit Patel, over various differences between the RBI and the government. What's the complete story behind the forced exit of Mr. Urjit Patel? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
Who all are they that are to be blamed for the rising NPAs in banks aside of the top management that have a direct involvment? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
All is not well at Jet Airways, said to be India’s second largest airline by market share, as it heads into rough weather. It is not just that it is starved of cash and is defaulting on payments right, left and centre and that it has been incurring cash losses of over Rs.1000 crore per quarter, including a loss of Rs.1297 crore in QE September 2018, but that there are serious
issues of mismanagement, that lurk behind its disturbing performance and financial position. The question is why is Jet Airways in rough weather? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
The new governor of the Reserve Bank of India, who was hastily appointed by the
government, is a highly experienced bureaucrat, with a questionable past, if Subramanian Swamy is to be believed. An IAS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre, he retired last year and is apparently a most trusted aide of PM Narendra Modi, having launched and very staunchly defended demonetisation, at which time he was the Secretary, Department of Economic
Affairs. Mr. Das is thus a member of the 15 th Finance Commission and has also been India’s representative/sherpa, at the G20 nations. He is a seasoned babu, having successfully worked under three disparate FMs viz. Mr.Manmohan Singh, Mr. Chidambaram and Mr. Arun Jaitley, which explains his ability to fit into any given situation. Question is what is more important experience or expertise? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
With a huge base of highly educated youth, willing to take an entrepreneurial risk, or rather at times compelled to take suchrisk for want of suitable jobs, together with a giant domestic market opportunity waiting to be exploited, India should ideally be brimming with prosperous start up enterprises. With a support base of a formidable legal/banking/financial framework at least on paper, together with our dynamic homegrown talent, which is capable of interfacing with world markets. The question is why do startups need a better EODB? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
The prices of crude oil in international markets have fallen by almost 35%, to below $60 a barrel, after having touched a recent peak of $85 to a barrel, in October 2018. These prices are now at a 13 month low and are predicted to fall further. Crude oil prices are volatile and unpredictable and curiously when they go up, the market predicts that they will only keep going up, but when they start falling, they reverse the prediction. Will petrol prices fall any sooner ? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter
It is a common experience that uncontrolled powerful CEOs, with no checks on their power go astray and indulge in serious malpractices. They ensure that there is no one in the organisation to restrain their unbridled power. As they ascend the ladder of power, they gather a bunch of eminent sounding yesmen around then, who willingly collude in their blatant abuse of power. These ambitious/greedy CEOs manage to totally centralise power in their hands, such that they subvert all and sundry and they become the system itself. At this point of time, the institution that they head is subverted and they verily become the institution, which is very dangerous for any country, particularly when it is a democracy like India. who are the boneless chickens? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
"It is reported that numerous high profile cases of taxevasion, have been under discussion between India and the BVI, with the former seeking
data/documents. Interestingly, the BVI authorities have informed India that it is now unableto share information on tax evasion, since the data has got destroyed in floods in August 2017
and files have been lost. The direct beneficiaries of this ‘natural calamity’ are the tax evaders amongst India’s rich and famous. Such a response from the BVI is difficult to believe and
reminds one of mysterious fire last year, that destroyed the Scindia house building at Mumbai, (which head quartered the investigation wing of the Income tax Department), and
all the sensitive/incriminating data/documents therein. Earlier it was the authorities that protected the tax evaders, and now curiously calamities do that, whether it be floods or fire. How is it that the excuse of fire and floods help the case of tax evaders? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter."
The FY 2017-18 was a good one for the Income Tax Department (ITD). As against an average increase of 7% to 8% per year, the number of income tax returns filed in India,
increased by about 20% and the gross income tax collections of India crossed Rs.10 lac crores, for the first time ever. This was despite the fact that India’s GDP growth in FY 2017-
18 was patchy and inconsistent, which is incompatible with such growth in the tax returns filed. This growth in tax returns filed looks to be more due to a onetime after effect of
demonetisation/GST and the tightening of the tax laws, than due to a push up in income tax due to all round economic growth that boosts corporate profits. The CBDT reports that due to
demonetisation 2.15 lac persons who had not filed tax returns, have done so, resulting in an additional income tax collection of Rs.6410 crores. The CBDT is also investigating 80000
cases, where individuals deposited cash during demonetisation, but did not file income tax returns. The question is why is the Income Tax facing such an uphill task ? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
The giant sized loans of tens of thousands of crores, given by banks to the most
unworthy/undeserving borrowers and the soft kid glove treatment given to them, when they
deliberately defaulted, has always been shrouded in inexplicable secrecy. Bankers have been
unwilling to reveal their names. Even when these powerful borrowers were found to be wilful
defaulters, the bankers were unwilling to take any coercive recovery action and strangely,
they were also unwilling to disclose their names. Who are these offenders? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
The Economic Times reports that the jailed directors of Unitech Ltd., who are guilty of cheating thousands of home buyers, have been having a great time at the Tihar Jail. These Unitech directors, though in jail, have been leading a luxurious life. An inspection of the jail conducted by an Additional Sessions Judge, on the directions of the High Court, upon a complaint filed by 25 jail inmates of Tihar, found that these white collar criminals were indeed having a good time at the supposedly notorious jail. They were found enjoying amenities/privileges, far beyond the limits laid down in the jail rules manual. How is it that these offenders are having such a gala time in Tihar Jail? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
The hawala operators had a business turnover consisted of giving bogus bills of purchase and sale, for almost any item and of almost any company too. These fake bills helped companies not just to show a rosy picture of performance, but to also evade taxes, by booking bogus expenses. In this episode of Business Tit-Bits, our Business Editor Akhilesh Bhargava discusses how implementation of GST led to crackdown on this bogus turnover.
The fugitive Sandesaras, the dubious promoters of the Sterling Biotech Group, which has duped banks of over Rs.8100 crores (it could be much more), and who have run away to Nigeria, which has no extradition treaty with India, where they have established a huge asset base, built by looting banks in India, has had companies and offices at British Virgin Islands, Liechenstein, Seychelles, Dubai and China and whose overseas assets have included oil rigs, offshore oil blocks and infrastructure for oil evacuation and transportation; yet in India, the company addresses of this asset loaded multinational group, were located in a chawl, a slum, in vacant buildings, as also in buildings that did not exist at all. But this is not it. The saga of this fraud has more to it. Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his singhts on the matter.
The fugitive Sandesaras, the dubious promoters of the Sterling Biotech Group, which has duped banks of over Rs.8100 crores (it could be much more), and who have run away to Nigeria, which has no extradition treaty with India, where they have established a huge asset base, built by looting banks in India, has had companies and offices at British Virgin Islands, Liechenstein, Seychelles, Dubai and China and whose overseas assets have included oil rigs, offshore oil blocks and infrastructure for oil evacuation and transportation; yet in India, the company addresses of this asset loaded multinational group, were located in a chawl, a slum, in vacant buildings, as also in buildings that did not exist at all. But this is not all. What more is there that the audit reveals? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
With a huge election season on the cards, amidst rampant reports of a resurgent Opposition, the government has finally come out with a package of reliefs for the MSME. In order to alleviate the liquidity crisis of the SMEs and to strengthen their cashflows, they will be granted loans upto Rs. 1 crore, through a dedicated portal, within 59 minutes. The PM in fact said that when you will file your GST returns, the web portal itself will ask whether you need
a loan. But is this relief really viable for the economy of the country? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
As the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) labours to resolve the NPA cases that are queued up before it, the humongous losses, called haircut in the banking jargon are emerging on the horizon with certainty. In the first twelve cases referred to the NCLT for NPA resolution, the losses to the banks are to the tune of a shocking Rs.2.65 lac crores. And this is despite the best of efforts being put in by the NCLT to get the best offers for the companies lined up before it. The question is why should NCLT recover the losses and punish the culprits?
It is the political and bureaucratic interference in the functioning of all institutions, that has been primarily responsible for their decimation and downfall in India. If Air India has been a victim of such corrupt interference, so have been the public sector banks, which have lost their capital, by giving loans to the most unworthy and undeserving borrowers, at the behest of politicians. Such political meddling has also been a regular feature in India’s top criminal investigation agencies like the CBI, (whose dirty linen is now being washed in full public view), but in recent times it has also encroached upon the domain of the likes of ED, SFIO and the ITD. Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
There has been a sharp fall in the recently reported quarterly profits of Yes Bank and ICICI Bank. Their quarterly profits fell by over 50% and did not even meet the tapered down expectation of the street analysts. This collapse of quarterly profits coincides with the change of guard at the two banks. Both, Ms. Chanda Kochhar the former MD/CEO of ICICI Bank, as well as Rana Kapoor, the truncated founder CEO of Yes Bank, have been found guilty of accounting malpractices, violation of corporate governance norms and regulatory failures by the RBI, all of which make the financial statements of the two bank, authored under their tenure, to be suspect. The question is why is there a change of bank CEO and fall in profits? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
It is now the turn of the CAG to accuse the Reserve Bank of irresponsibility. The present CAG, while speaking at the launch of the Indian School of Public Policy, has questioned the role of the RBI, in the present banking crisis and has demanded to know, as to what was the banking regulator doing, when the banks went berserk, mindlessly lending huge amounts of
money, which has resulted in the humongous NPAs and the asset/liability mismatch in the banking system. The question is why is the RBI becoming the punching bag of the government? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW News Network shares his insights on the matter.
It was just last year that in the World Bank rankings India had jumped up 30 notches as far as ease of doing business in India is concerned. The Modi government felt the occasion called for a celebration and termed things to be on the improving side. The question here arises if this is the real picture? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
BusinessTitBits: The Finance Minister Shri #ArunJaitley calls India a low compliance nation, to mean that we evade tax laws and do not pay taxes and file our tax returns. And for that he points to the small number of tax returns that are filed in India, as compared to its huge population. While his comment ignores the fact that millions of Indians still live below the poverty line, with no income as such and that the agriculture sector in which a large part of our population is engaged in, is tax exempt, yet in order to ferret out tax evaders and shore up the government’s tax collections, Operation Clean Money was launched by the NDA government, in the early part of its tenure. The question is why more tax returns are being filed now all of a sudden? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
Dubai has been a favourite destination for parking of illegal funds of Indians, who may have evaded various laws, including FEMA and the Income Tax Act. With a zero tax regime and a very liberal banking system, with few questions asked regarding funds inflow and outflow, it has been a tax haven of sorts, which has been patronised not just by South East nations like India, but by the nearby African, Central Asian and European nations too. The question is why Dubai deals are under investigation? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
In yet another setback for Rana Kapoor, who is now trying to mend fences with Madhu Kapoor, the other large founder shareholder of Yes Bank, the Yes Bank board has recommended that the huge bonuses paid to him for the two years ended 31.03.2016 be taken back and that no bonuses be paid to him thereafter, till his tenure ends on 31.01.19. While the reasons for this harsh decision of the Yes Bank board are not known, it is certainly a sequel to the adverse observations of the RBI against Rana Kapoor/Yes Bank, in its annual inspections. In this video, Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on as to why CEOs should return their bonuses.
At a time when India needs to strengthen its foreign exchange inflows the most, the reverse has been happening on many fronts. India’s forex reserves have receded by USD 25bn to USD 400 billion, primarily because of the outflow of about Rs.66000 crores from the Indian stock markets, by the foreign investors and the huge increase of USD 26 bn in India’s annual oil import bill, due to the rising increase in global crude oil prices. The rupee has weakened considerably and despite that, there has been no major upsurge in India’s exports, which can help to mitigate the impact of a rising dollar on our CAD. The question is under such forex crisis, do we need to panic? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
Money is extremely scarce at present in the Indian economy. Experts say that India is passing through its worst liquidity crisis, of the past five years. It is not that Indians are not earning/saving enough, or that there is a shortage of currency in circulation in the system, (it is in fact at a record high), but for those businesses that desperately need it, the money is missing. The question is why Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
It was last Thursday that founder of The Quint Mr. Raghav Bahl was subjected to what he calls a 'gruelling' Income Tax Raid. His offices were searched, along with his residence for straight 23 hours. His wife and mother as he says were confined and were not allowed any access to mobile phones or any kind of communication or the need to take advice from consultants. The Income Tax department on the other hand says that the raid was for Bahl's bogus claims of long-term capital gains worth Rs. 100 crores, which he clearly denies. The question is, was this raid on him a political vendetta? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
With a huge election season on the cards leading to the general elections in 2019, political parties and their advisors are desperate to judge the mood to the electorate. All kinds of voter surveys are conducted by these parties. The voter mood is best reflected in the consumer confidence surveys because there is a direct correlation between the happiness and confidence of the consumer and the chances of him voting for the party in power. The question is, how will the consumer confidence shape up towards the upcoming elections? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
As the investigation by multiple agencies continues into the affairs and accounts of the scammy ILFS, shocking details of misreporting and manipulation of the audited financial statements are being revealed with each passing day. But the question is, what is the unknown reality of ILFS? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
Like the Indian rupee, which has been the worst performing Asian currency in 2018, so has been the case with the Indian stock markets. The share prices have been falling in trading session after session and dozens of prime scrips trade at a discount of over 50% to their 52 week high. The question is what has Donald Trump got to do with the market crash? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter
Chanda Kochhar the embattled MD/CEO of ICICI Bank, who is under investigation for serious questionable practices and misconduct, finally put in her papers and resigned as the CEO of the bank yesterday. She also resigned from her directorship in all other subsidiaries of ICICI Bank. There is no element of surprise in this news. With the litany of charges against her that have kept surfacing and are under investigation by various agencies, her position as MD/CEO, had become wholly untenable. But the question is why did ICICI's Chanda Kochhar quit now and not earlier? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
It was on 7th August 2018, that Elon Musk, the maverick founder of Tesla Motors tweeted, that he was considering taking Tesla private, by buying back its shares from the public at USD 420 per share, and that he had secured the funding for it. It was an impulsive tweet, with no basis whatsoever. It created a chaos in the American stock markets. Trading in the shares of Tesla was suspended and its share price fell, amidst chaos and confusion in the stock markets. It hurt shareholder interest and warranted strict action from the regulator. SEC, the American regulator of securities/stock markets swiftly got into action. It sued him for securities fraud and corporate misgovernance and decided that he was not fit to lead a company. With this incident, what lessons are there that India could take from India? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
A news item says that the board of directors of IDBI Bank will meet on October 4, 2018, to consider the preferential allotment of equity shares to the LIC, such that its shareholding in the bank, after such allotment of shares will increase to 51%. LIC has already conveyed its approval to such allotment of shares to the board of IDBI Bank. By virtue of such allotment of shares, for which LIC will invest another Rs.12000 crores in a bankrupt and mismanaged entity, it becomes the controlling owner of yet another financial institution. The question is why is LIC going on an investment spree? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
While the mystery over why did Dassault partner with a wholly inexperienced, debt-ridden Ambani company in an Rs. 30000 crore order remains unresolved, yet another instance of a bankrupt Anil Ambani Group company called RNaval being given a favoured treatment, though ineligible for it, is waiting to burst into a national controversy. Why Ambani was favoured, in spite of being bankrupt. Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter
As the ILFS Group threatens to collapse like a pack of cards, more and more instances of its mismanagement and reckless financial policies are coming out in the open. The spate of resignations of its top honchos, starting from its CEO of 30 years, Shri Ravi Parthasarthy is only confirming the chronic malpractices and financial mismanagement of ILFS, which engineered its collapse. It now turns out that with loans of over Rs.90000 crores, ILFS had heavily borrowed, far beyond its sustainable capacity and its failure was imminent. The question is why such a borrowing spree of ILFS? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
The Appointments Division of the RBI had approved the Yes Bank’s founder CEO Rana Kapoor's extension of appointment for another three years until August 2021, but it was rejected by the RBI top brass. Interestingly, even though the officers of the said Appointment Division had a number of adverse observations against Yes Bank and its management under Rana Kapoor, they yet for strange reasons chose to recommend his continuation as its CEO for another three years. Why? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
The bankrupt Dena Bank is being merged into Vijaya Bank and Bank of Baroda. So huge are the losses in the Bank that it needed two healthy banks to be able to absorb and withstand its losses. Its carcass of mismanagement is so heavy that it needed more than one bank to be able to carry it. But these are the privileges of being a government-owned entity, where accountability and answerability are not enforced even in a case of blatant misconduct and criminal misfeasance, which is the true story of Dena Bank. Why is it that such privileges are permitted to such government-owned entities ? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
The saga of shell companies and bogus capital as the government alleges is one such instance, where due to a miniscule number of shell companies, the entire corporate world has suffered. Almost 3 lakh entities have been closed down in this manner. To detect and close down alleged shell companies and to tax share capital, on sheer suspicion, the most irrational and illogical measures have been initiated. Why such illogical and irrational moves? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
The suspense over the continuity of the flamboyant Rana Kapoor, as the managing director/CEO of Yes Bank, is finally over. In a decisive move, which was seen to be coming, the Reserve Bank has informed Yes Bank that Rana Kapoor can continue as its CEO, only until 31st January, 2019. This entire saga of wait and watch over his continuity as MD of Yes Bank, started when in June 2018, the shareholders of the Bank approved his reappointment as its MD/CEO and sent it to the RBI, for its ratification/approval. The Reserve Bank, in a cryptic letter dt.31.8.2018 approved his appointment, but only until further instructions. It resulted in a suspense, because the reasons for such a reply by RBI were not clear and nor was it sure as to what would the further instructions of the Reserve Bank in the matter of renewal of Rana Kapoor’s appointment be. The RBI has now made its mind clear. Rana Kapoor remains the MD/CEO of Yes Bank until 31.1.2019 only and the bank needs to immediately appoint his successor. The question is why only him ? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
The rapid build-up of the giant and unmanageable NPA crisis that India faces today, has been gradually coming out in the open. Between 2006 to 2009 the aggregate loans by banks doubled from Rs.18 lac crores to about Rs.36 lac crores and then increased by yet another 50% to about Rs.54 lac crores by end 2013. By this time, bankers had exhausted their capital, their money was blocked in bad loans, they had no capacity to lend and were themselves headed to bankruptcy since their losses due to bad loans had actually eroded their entire capital. The question is what was the former prime minister Manmohan Singh doing all this while? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
A recent issue of the Financial Express carried a few interesting news items. In an address to the Bohra Muslim community, the PM preached or rather warned that business should be done within the rules and laws. Good advice, but looks to be one-sided for sure. Another news item on the same page said that even if someone who has inadvertently claimed a wrong GST credit, has on his own noted the error and has rectified it, he will yet be liable to pay penalty for putting up a wrong claim. Is it not evident already that the government should first practice and then preach? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
In a recent case before the Bombay High Court, concerning a writ petition filed by NDTV, in the matter of alleged FEMA violations by it, the advocate for the Enforcement Directorate, handed over to the judges, a sealed envelope containing the evidence on the basis of which ED has initiated proceedings against NDTV. The counsel for the ED, requested the Court to not permit the same to be perused by the complainant ie. NDTV. The Hon’ble Court in its wisdom has discussed the contents of the said sealed envelope in its order passed on 26th June, 2018. What kind of classified evidence did this sealed envelope contain? Mr. Akhilesh Bharagav, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter?
A recent RBI study says that there are 63 mn MSME units in India, employing over 11 crores persons and contribute to 30 % of our GDP. This sector also contributes to 45% of our manufacturing output and to 40% of our total exports. But then this is the small industries sector and it thus has no voice and no say in policy making and legislation. The MSMEs battle an oppressive environment, where the big business houses rule over them, letting them survive and not thrive. Over 97% of these units work in the informal sector and are India’s response to the dearth of jobs, where the youth venture out on their own in a never say die spirit.Despite its preeminence, this sector yet faces huge difficulties and hurdles in accessing bank loans and credit, which is critical for their survival and growth. Why is it so? Mr Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance, shares his insights on the matter.
The Videocon group invested 64 Crore into a company owned by Chanda Kocchar's husband Depak Kochhar which brought which brought a spat of her questionable deals in the open. The Income Tax Department is investigating a Real Estate transaction related to ICICI and Videocon which had occurred in 2010. The investigation is on a building called Radhika owned by ICICI in Prabhadevi which was sold to Videocon in Rs. 17,000 per sq feet while actually, the prevailing price was Rs. 25,000 per sq feet. the question is why was it done? Or was it done out of some other favour? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
In response to the rising criticism from the Opposition parties, the PM said at a recent conference, that he is not afraid of standing next to industrialists, unlike some Opposition leaders. He also attacked his political rivals for dubbing industrialists as chor and lootere. While the PM has always been seen in the company of big industrialists, he was yet a bit mindful of Rahul Gandhi’s sarcastic jibes of being called a ‘soot boot ki sarkar.’ With an election year on the cards, he seems to have shed these inhibitions and openly stood in support of the big fat industrialists. Why is it so? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of H W Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
The grave lapses of ICICI Bank and the malpractices of its top management have resulted in a huge reputational risk for it, which can be fatal to a banking institution. It is being questioned not just by its institutional shareholders for such mismanagement, but also by the SEC USA. A number of its FII shareholders have sold off their shareholding, not being satisfied with the manner in which the Bank has dealt with these allegations against it and its CEO. The question is why such a compromised governance in this case? Mr Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
While the reports published shows the upsurge of 8.2% of the GDP. The reports however was for first three quarters i.e April, May and June, which is higher then the conses figure which was there in the market of 7.6%. as an expectation of 7.6% it is exponentially well. This helps India to retain it's position as the worlds fastest growing economy. China on the other hand is at 6.7%. As the BJP would want to say the Elephant has started running. But a prominent question arises is that will it continue to grow with this speed in the coming quarters?Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
It was sometime in May 2018, when the Reserve Bank governor was briefing the Parliamentary Standing Committee of the Ministry of Finance, on India’s gigantic banking crisis, that he was asked about the total cash deposited with banks during the demonetisation period. The RBI governor initially evaded the question, but finally said that the RBI is still counting and is yet to finalise the figures. This answer was certainly disappointing, but not surprising at all. Why there are no answers for such pressing concerns of the economy? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
The deep financial crisis that Jet Airways faces today is not an overnight or sudden phenomena. It has been in the making for years and has now spilt over in the open because the alleged management misconduct is no longer sustainable. The airline may have been India’s largest in the past and is now its second largest, but its management and financial practices have not been above board. The present delay in the announcement of its quarterly results for June 2018, is the culmination of a litany of questionable corporate and financial dealings, which were perpetrated for many years. The question is why is its networth is eroding? Mr. Akhilesh Bharagav, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance, shares his insights on the matter.
With the government being the owner of PSBs, as owner, it appoints its top executives viz. chairman, managing director and directors of the bank. In addition to that, it also appoints its nominees, who are generally senior IAS officers, on bank boards. What complicates matters is that under the law, the government also compels the Reserve Bank of India, to appoint its own nominees too on PSB bank boards, much as it has been reluctant to do so. But are the RBI nominees really appointed? Mr. Akhilesh Bharagava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
Recently PM Modi called the NPA crisis "Telephone Banking" wherein a neta or his babu, made a call to senior most bankers, who thereafter hastily sanctioned huge loans, without even appraising the project The PM said that while this shady practice started in 2008, it was at its peak during the UPA 2 regime ie. from 2009 to 2014, such that the aggregate bank loans, which were at Rs.18 lacs crores in 2008, ballooned to a mind-blowing Rs.52 lac crores in 2014. What is the truth behind all these scams? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his take on the matter.
In the case of Bhushan Steel’s takeover by Tata Steel, the loss to the lenders and the creditors is about Rs.25000 crores, which is a humongous sum of public money lost. Many creditors of Bhushan Steel who could be SMEs will perhaps go bankrupt, due to these losses suffered. Who are the culprits who should be blamed and punished? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
While the Indian diamond industry which is a major contributor to India’s foreign trade, is a study of contrasts. Its customs certified imports/exports run into billions of dollars, but are interlaced with hawala, tax evasion and FEMA violations. It polishes 90% of the world’s diamonds and is thus deeply interfaced/interlinked with modern global trade, but it is yet run in a traditional desi style, often violating the laws of the land. It deals in diamonds, a most precious item, but often the supporting documents are missing. Why these shortcomings and loopholes? Mr. Akhilesh Bharagava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
In the most recent case, FIIs, which are major shareholders of HDFC, the housing finance giant, decided to vote against the appointment of its key promoter Mr. Deepak Parekh, as its director. They raised concerns about his age and his being director of eight other companies, thus questioning his personal commitment and focus, on the management functions of HDFC. What could possibly be the reason of this activism? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
Jet Airways, India’s second largest airline by market share is financially bankrupt and the obvious is spilling out. Why is it that its business is facing murky waters? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
The revelations of the latest Reserve Bank survey on consumer confidence in India, do not support the government’s contentions and point to an opposite direction. In the survey, which is conducted in the six metro cities viz. Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai, more than half the respondents said that they do not expect any improvement in their income, their employment prospects and their general economic condition in the next twelve months. The question here arises, where is this all heading to? Mr Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter in the video.
With India’s plea to the USA to roll back the tariffs having fallen on deaf ears, it proposed the next best option viz. quantitative restrictions by USA on imports of Indian steel and aluminium products. Is it a wise move for a developing country like India? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW News Network shares his insights on the matter.
Considering the constant hike in prices, is the hike in the interest rates in response to the surging consumer inflation or are there other factors involved? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
The ICICI bank was involved in deliberate window dressing its accounts. The ICICI bank used a secret software called SYMBOLS, which was used to backdate transactions and avoid the declaration of a loan as bad. The ICICI management under Chanda Kochhar concealed thousands of crores of loss by way of bad loan aided by complicit auditors. Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor, HW Business and Finance take on the matter in the video.
The $2 Billion PNB scam by Nirav Modi was an example how bankers can collude in perpetrating a massive fraud. While Nirav Modi successfully managed to flee outside the country, the Income Tax Department and Enforcement Directorate started attaching his property to recover the losses. The agencies estimated that the value of assets of Nirav Modi was more than or equal to the $2 Billion Fraud. However, as per the latest information, the value of seized assets is just about half of it. Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the overvaluation of Nirav Modi's assets by investigative agencies.
While it has been a routine and traditional business practice in India, to illegally remit money abroad and evade taxes, despite very stringent provisions of penalty and prosecution under FEMA and the Income Tax Act, why is it becoming such a regular practice? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter
The Ponzi schemes proliferate and dupe the public, because of the negligence of authorities in their vigilance and enforcement. The existent laws and regulations are sufficiently armed to prohibit, penalize and punish all those who collect public deposits in violation of these laws. Are the new laws wholly unwarranted?
While the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Mumbai, recently unearthed a Rs. 3000 crore hawala scam, perpetrated by the Mumbai diamond traders, and while we know it is all out there, is this kind of business justified? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his take on the matter in the video.
While our stock markets may be the best performer in Asia this year, but a majority of investors in it, have burnt their fingers and foreign investors have been selling and exiting from them, in large number. The markets may be up, but so are the losses incurred by the public, why is it that it is becoming nothing but a joke? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW News Networks shares his insights on the matter in the video.
While a host of instances involving mere non filing/delayed filing of routine returns and forms, the law provides for criminal prosecution of company directors and its key officers. They are minor civil offences, often not deliberate and deserve a minor punishment by way of levy of fine. The Act, however, comes down heavy handed on such violations and for a minor civil violation, it seeks to impose a criminal punishment on the company director. How fair are those punishments and penalties? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his take on the matter in the video.
As the case may be, it is the corporates that bribe the government officers, but the question here arises as to aren't the corporates equally responsible for the corruption happening in the country? Mr Sujit Nair, Managing Editor of HW News Network and Mr Akhilesh Bhargava Business Editor of HW Business and Finance share their insights and takes on the matter.
While the Department has found that two of Asaram's front companies own about 49 valuable properties all over the country, wherein over Rs. 100 crores huge been invested, is there a concrete reason why the Income Tax Department continues to investigate other such Benami properties and investments of this criminal and is confident of unearthing many more? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor, of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter.
While the unfortunate saga began for Cairn in 2006, when it restructured its group shareholdings in the UK, and not in India, what is its inside story? Mr. Akhilesh Bhargava, Business Editor of HW Business and Finance shares his insights on the matter in the video.