RBI Starts New Security Rules For Credit/Debit Cards

The new rules for credit/debit cards that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued in January, will come into force on Monday. The new rules will increase security by reducing frauds. Also, they will boost convenience of the user and security of transactions.

RBI rules for credit/debit cards

According to new rules,only domestic card transactions at ATMs and PoS terminals will be allowed at the time of issuance/reissuance of card. For international transactions, online transactions, card-not-present transactions and contactless transactions, the card holders will have to separately set up services on their cards.

These rules will come into force on March 16 and will be applicable to both the old and new cards. Old card holders have time to decide whether they need all services. Presently these services are provided with all cards but after the new rules, customers would have to ask for the services.

Also, the RBI directed the banks to allow mobile baking and net banking service to enable limit and enable and disable service 24×7. As soon as a customer makes changes in his/her credit/debit card service, his/her bank will notify him/her through SMS/email.

The cardholders will have the facility to switch on/off and set/modify transaction limits for all types of transactions – domestic and international, at PoS/ATMs/online transactions/contactless transactions etc.

Prepaid cards and those used at mass transit system are kept free from the ambit of new credit/debit card rules. These cards will continue to get the services they have.

Source: https://bit.ly/3b3mqJN

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Bill Gates Quits From Microsoft To Focus On Philanthropy

Microsoft announced that its co-founder Bill Gates has left its board of directors. The 64-year-old Gates has already stopped his activities in day-to-day operations of the company for more than a decade. But on Friday, he officially resigned from Microsoft to devote more time to philanthropy.

Bill Gates doing philanthropy

Gates and his wife, Melinda has launched a foundation. And he wants to devote more time to the philanthropy work. He was in the board of directors of Microsoft until early in 2014 but now he has completely discharged himself of his duties.

In 2000, Gates relinquished the post of CEO in the favor of Steve Balmer to find more time for his charitable foundation. In 2014, when Satya Nadella became third CEO of Microsoft, Gates resigned from the post of chairman.

Life of Bill Gates

Grew up in Seattle with two sisters, William H. Gates was regularly listed among the world’s richest people.His father William was an attorney and his mother Mary was a schoolteacher. Also, she was a chairwoman of United Way International.

Gates founded Microsoft with Paul Allen, who was also his childhood friend, in 1975 but he began programming at the age of 13. One anecdote about Gates is that he tinkered a computer program in school to put himself him classes meant for girls. But he dropped out of Harvard to start Microsoft.

Soon Microsoft became the world’s top software company as the personal computer market grew. Finally, he turned his attention from computers to philanthropy and humanitarian work and launched a foundation for this job.

Source: https://bit.ly/2TQflGA

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SBI Cards IPO Allotment And Refund To Be Done On March 13 And March 12 Respectively

The SBI Cards and Payments Services IPO will soon start allotment of shares to applicants. According to the prospect filed by the company, the successful applicants will receive their shares in the demat accounts by March 13.

The refund process will start soon

The company will start allotting shares on 13 March and at the same time, it will initiate the refund process for the investors that won’t get shares. The refund process will start on 12 March.

The IPO was hugely popular

SBI invited bids for its IPO between March 2 and 5 and it received a huge response from the investors. Its share was subscribed 26.54 times. State Bank of India (SBI) is the largest lender of the country and its credit arm aims to raise around Rs. 10,350 crore through the IPO.

The investors are closely watching the IPO that is expected to get listed on March 16. The bidders can visit the portal link Intime India to check the subscription status. They will need using their Permanent Account Numbers (PAN) or application number of client ID to check the status of their subscription.

Source: https://bit.ly/2wS1Ixo

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India Suspends All Visas For A Month Over Coronavirus Scare

The government suspends all Indian visas in the wake of spread of coronavirus spread in the country and the World Health Organization declaring it a pandemic. All existing visas — except diplomatic, official, UN/International organisations, employment and project visas — will be suspended till April 15.

The visa suspension will come into effect from 1200 GMT on 13th March 2020 at the port of departure. Earlier the visa facility was partially suspended from the COVID-19 nations.

Highlights of the news

• The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. It means that it has affected the globe and infected a large number of people.

• The government communique related to visa suspension reads that visa free travel facility granted to OCI card holders is kept in abeyance till 15 April 2020.

• It also said that all incoming travellers from COVID-19 nations after February 15, would be kept in quarantine for a minimum of 14 days.

• International traffic through land borders will be directed to designated check posts with robust screening facility.

• India has a total of 67 confirmed coronavirus cases. Fresh cases are reported from Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Kerala and Karnataka.

• The Maharashtra government has banned ticket sale for IPL 2020 opening match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings in the wake of rising coronavirus cases.

• Health being on the State List, every state is asked to take whatever measure it can take to contain the spread of coronavirus infection.

Source: https://bit.ly/3aPXq8w

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Donald Trump Puts Travel Ban On 26 European Nations But Keeps UK And Ireland Out

Under the mounting pressure to control coronavirus, President Donald Trump imposed travel restrictions on 26 European countries for a month. People from the said countries are banned from traveling to US for the said period.

US bans travel from Europe

The president took the dramatic step to address the health and economic shocks to Americans and to respond to the criticism that he hadn’t taken serious attempts to contain coronavirus spread in America. But he kept the UK and Ireland free from the travel order. Also, the travel advisor doesn’t apply to US citizens coming home.

Trump announced economic steps

To cushion the blow to American business that is already down with a sudden loss of consumer demand, the president said that trade won’t be affected by the travel restriction. He said in a tweet that the restrictions stopped people and not goods. But US stock futures slid further to more than 4% as the president made the announcement.

Trump looking for re-election

Trump’s re-election on November 3 depends largely on how well he responds to coronavirus crisis. It has enveloped his presidency. He used his Oval Office for the speech but he wasn’t comfortable in the setting. He read his speech in a hurried manner and sometimes spoke without mike. But he failed to mention the important issues like accelerating the production and availability of testing kits and facial masks.

Source: https://bit.ly/3cVrd1m

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Rana Kapoor Has Properties Worth Rs. 1,000 Crore In Delhi

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) prevented the Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor from selling three Delhi properties worth Rs. 1,000 crore. He was about to shift his base outside the country.

According to sources, ED was tipped off about Rana Kapoor planning to shift to the US, the UK or France after selling his properties in Delhi and Mumbai. He didn’t want to leave any asset in India before leaving.

Rana Kapoor’s properties

The properties at 40, Amrita Shergill Marg, 18 Kautilya Marg in Chanakya Puri and the Diplomatic Enclave on Sardar Patel Marg are linked to Bindu Kapoor wife of Rana Kapoor. Bindu Kapoor is also under the scanner over suspicious transactions by former Yes Bank boss. The officials said that Rana Kapoor was in touch with top realtors in capital to sell the properties.

The luxurious bunglow at 40, Amrita Shergill Marg, a prime location in Lutyens’ Delhi was bought in the name of her company Bliss Abode Ltd. while the other two properties belong to Bliss Villa (Delhi) Private Ltd.

The Amrita Shegillbunglow was bought from Avantha Realty. The company belonged to Gautam Thapar that had borrowed money from Yes Bank. According to sources, Bindu Kapoor got this property on account of loan default by Avantha Realty.

Bliss Villa (Delhi) Pvt. Ltd. that owns The Chanakya Puri property is classified as non-government company and is registered at the Registrar of Companies, Delhi.The third property in Diplomatic Enclave on Sardar Patel Marg is also a prime property.

Source: https://bit.ly/2ve4gFV

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Daughter Of Yes Bank Founder Arrested At Mumbai Airport

Roshni Kapoor, daughter of Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor, was apprehended at the Mumbai airport while she’s boarding a flight to London. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has already issued a lookout notice against her and other family members of Rana Kapoor.

Rana Kapoor arrested

On Sunday, the Yes Bank founder was arrested and sent to the custody of ED till March 11 by a Mumbai court. He was arrested on the charges of money laundering after hours of investigation and searches at the residents of his daughters – Roshni Kapoor, Rakhee Kapoor Tandon, and Radha Kapoor – inDelhi and Mumbai.

Allegations on Rana Kapoor

In the court, the ED lawyer Sunil Gonsalves alleged that Yes Bank had bought debentures of Dewan Housing and Finance Ltd. worth Rs. 3,700 crore. Dewan Housing had granted a loan of Rs. 600 crore to Doit, a company owned by daughters of Rana Kapoor.

The lawyer further alleged that crime of Yes Bank was amounted to Rs. 4,300 crore. Also, that Rana Kapoor had refused to cooperate with the investigation.

Rana Kapoor denied allegations

Zain Shroff, lawyer of Rana Kapoor, argued in the court that Kapoor was made a scapegoat due to public outrage against Yes Bank after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) took action against the bank.

RBI took control of Yes Bank placed it under a moratorium. Also, it put a withdrawal limit of Rs. 50,000 on Yes Bank. RBI is working the revival of Yes Bank. In the meantime, SBI said that it would buy a 49% stake in the beleaguered bank.

Source: https://bit.ly/2Izs8H8

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Lookout Noticed Issued Against Yes Bank Founder Rana Kapoor

On Friday, Enforcement Directorate searched the Mumbai house of Yes bank founder Rana Kapoor. Also, the agency launched a money laundering probe against him. Fearing that Mr. Kapoor and other former directors of the bank could leave the country, the agency issued a lookout notice against them.

Restructuring Yes bank management

The Reserve Bank of India took over board of the bank for 30 days to restructure its finances. Also, it put a cap of Rs. 50,000 on withdrawal for Yes bank customers. The finance ministry said in its notification that the withdrawal cap will remain effective till April 3. RBI has appointed former SBI CFO Prashant Kumar as administrator of the beleaguered Yes Bank.

Union Finance Minister listed malpractices

Nirmala Sitharaman said that malpractices by top leadership of the bank were among the top reasons for centre’s decision to restructure the management of the bank. Ms. Sitharaman, in a press conference, said that RBI had been monitoring Yes bank since 2017.

The RBI noticed serious governance issues with Yes bank. There was a culture of weak compliance. Also, there were wrong asset classifications together with risky credit decisions. Ms. Sitharaman said that RBI started getting clear indications about the said issues before it decided to restructure the Yes bank board.

Investigation in Yes bank

Law enforcement agencies didn’t rule out malpractices by top leadership. A member even resigned after CBI put pressure. Mr. Rana Kapoor was ordered to step down after his request for extension of his term was turned down by the RBI.

Source: https://bit.ly/39BItqo

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Global Sensex Tanks Amid Fear Of Coronavirus Spread

On Friday, domestic stock markets witnessed sharp loss in early trade sell off amid fear of recession due to spread of coronavirus pandemic. RBI’s action of saving the beleaguered Yes Bank and possible ramifications of that action further dented the Dalal Street sentiments.

Global Sensex Fear

Here’re 7 big things about stock market

  1. The S&P BSE Sensex index hit 37,011.09 points that was 1459.52 points down. And the NSE Nifty benchmark dropped to 441.60 points that was 10,827.40 points down. But the market trimmed some of the losses in the day.
  2. Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, SBI, Tata Steel and Zee Entertainment were the top losers. They traded between 5.16% and 25%.
  3. Yes Bank shares were trading at Rs. 17 that was 51% down after RBI suspended the Yes Bank board for 30 days. Also, it imposed a withdrawal limit of 50,000 on account holders till April 3.
  4. All the 11 sectors on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) including state-run banks, automobile and metal stocks were the worst hit.
  5. Panic selling was also visible in the broader markets. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were down by 2.3% and 1.9% respectively.
  6. For the first time since 2018, rupee weakened past the 74-per-dollar mark due to plunge in equity markets.
  7. In the US, Wall Street tumbled overnight with shares of banks and travel companies taking a huge hit.

Source: https://bit.ly/39zR0dI

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India Becomes 5th Largest Economy Of The World

IMF’s October World Economic Outlook places India as the world’s fifth largest economy. The data says that according to the nominal GDP, India ranking is ahead than that of France and the UK.

IMF ranks India as 5th largest economy

The data shows that India’s GDP had been among the highest in the last decade. India achieved an annual growth of 6-7%. 2016 McKinsey Global Institute report gave many reasons for this growth. It said that urbanization and technologies improved efficiency and productivity. But the country’s real GDP was forecast to slow due to credit weakness.

Indian economy on the rise

In 2010, India was placed at 9th place behind countries like Brazil and Italy. But the country witnessed a dramatic rise in the last two and a half decade. The country’s nominal GDP has jumped more than 700% since 1995.

Challenges ahead for Indian economy

The country has many challenges to face despite showing strong potential to high growth. The World Bank report says that access to development and new opportunities has been uneven in the country.

According to UN, one-quarter of world’s poor live in India; only 39% of Indian population has access to sanitation facilities and nearly half of the Indians still defecate in the open.

Milestones achieved

The country achieved significant milestones in poverty reduction that is highest in the world. Today 160 million fewer people live in extreme poverty in 2000 compared to 2015. Also, the country is looking for more ways to ensure sustainable and inclusive future growth.

Source: https://bit.ly/3931YrK

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