Top headlines: Cayman grey tag may hurt FPI, Telcos bid in spectrum auction

Cayman Islands’ grey list tag may hurt FPI investments into India

The Cayman Islands, one of India’s richest routes for foreign investments, has been put on the grey list of countries/regions for increased monitoring by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental body that sets anti-money laundering standards. It is also the third-most preferred source of foreign direct investments into India, based on the data for the first half of FY21. Read more

Sebi plans change in norms to trim promoters’ sway on independent directors

The market regulator suggested a “dual approval” process for the appointment and removal of independent directors. At present, an independent director can be appointed or removed by way of an ordinary resolution, where all shareholders, including promoters, are allowed to cast their vote. Read more

Spectrum auction: Telcos place bids worth Rs 77,000 crore on Day 1

Coming five years after the 2016 auctions, the much-awaited 4G spectrum bidding, where Reliance Jio emerged as the most active participant, has assured the government revenues of more than Rs 77,000 crore in four rounds on day one itself. Read more

Mumbai ‘cyberattack’ puts focus on the need for greater security

According to a New York Times report, a Chinese government-backed cyber hack was behind the Mumbai power outage, which was meant to send a message to the Indian government at the height of tension between the two countries in Ladakh. Read more

From instant noodles to honey, Marico develops an appetite for foods

Best known for its Parachute coconut oil and Saffola edible oil, Marico is eyeing a broader play in foods. Saffola is the brand that will champion its foods play and has already seen five quarters of double-digit growth, pushing the company to set ambitious targets in foods. Read more

Economy reviving, but renewed surge of Covid-19 infections poses risk: RBI

India’s economic activity is gaining steam, but considerable uncertainty surrounds the outlook owing to the renewed surge in coronavirus infections, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its State of the Economy report on Monday. Read more

Real estate fund managers float schemes for construction finance

Property fund management arms of Motilal Oswal, Indiabulls, and others are launching funds/schemes to lend construction finance to real estate developers. With non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) almost stopping new lending and banks becoming selective, there has been a huge gap in construction finance over the past two years, fund managers said. Read more

UPI registers 2.29 billion transactions worth Rs 4.25 trillion in Feb

Unified Payment Interface (UPI), the flagship payments platform of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), recorded 2.29 billion transactions worth Rs 4.25 trillion in February. Sequentially, the transactions dipped 0.42 per cent by volume and 1.39 per cent by value over January because of the fewer number of days in February.

However, year-on-year, the transactions were up 73 per cent by volume and more than 90 per cent by value. Read more

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