Business News

President Droupadi Murmu is set to confer the prestigious Bharat Ratna upon five distinguished personalities, including two former Prime Ministers posthumously and veteran BJP leader L.K. Advani, on Saturday.The ceremony is scheduled to take place at 11 am at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.Among the recipients, former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani will be the only living awardee, while the other four -- ex-Prime Ministers Chaudhary Charan Singh and P.V. Narasimha Rao, eminent agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan, and former Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur -- will be honored posthumously.Taking to the social media platform, PM Modi expressed his joy over the announcement of Bharat Ratna for former Union Minister, Shri LK Advani, highlighting his monumental contribution to India's development."I am very happy to share that Shri LK Advani Ji will be conferred the Bharat Ratna. I also spoke to him and congratulated him on being conferred this honor. One of the most respected statesmen of our times, his contribution to the development of India is monumental. His life journey, from grassroots work to serving as our Deputy Prime Minister, exemplifies dedication and service to the nation. He distinguished himself as our Home Minister and I&B Minister as well. His parliamentary interventions have always been exemplary, full of rich insights," PM posted on X.Born in Karachi, present-day Pakistan, on November 8, 1927, Advani served as the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party for the longest period since its inception in 1980.With a parliamentary career spanning nearly three decades, he held key positions including Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in the cabinet of Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1999-2004).Advani is widely recognized for his intellectual acumen, unwavering principles, and steadfast support for the idea of a strong and prosperous India. His dedication to public service and his significant contributions to various spheres of governance have earned him widespread admiration and respect.— narendramodi (@narendramodi) Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his delight on social media platform X, announcing the prestigious honor for the late PV Narasimha Rao. He highlighted Rao's distinguished service to the nation in various capacities, including his visionary leadership that contributed significantly to India's economic advancement and growth. — narendramodi (@narendramodi) PM Modi also praised Chaudhary Charan Singh for his dedication to farmers' rights and welfare, emphasizing his incomparable contributions to the country.— narendramodi (@narendramodi) PM Modi acknowledged the significant role of agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan in India's agriculture and farmers' welfare. He lauded Swaminathan's pivotal role in achieving self-reliance in agriculture and his efforts towards modernizing Indian agriculture."It is a matter of immense joy that the Government of India is conferring the Bharat Ratna on M.S. Swaminathan Ji, in recognition of his monumental contributions to our nation in agriculture and farmers' welfare. He played a pivotal role in helping India achieve self-reliance in agriculture during challenging times and made outstanding efforts towards modernising Indian agriculture," the Prime Minister said.— narendramodi (@narendramodi) The conferment of Bharat Ratna upon these esteemed personalities reflects their exceptional contributions to the nation and their enduring legacies in various fields, marking a moment of pride and honor for the entire nation.

New Delhi: Banks are looking to put in place standardised rules so that heirs of those who have taken gold loans can repay the debt and reclaim family jewellery in the event of the borrower's death. A key element of the plan involves asking borrowers to provide a letter authorising who can do so in the event of their death, said people with knowledge of the matter. Current practices vary in such situations and often give rise to various legal challenges, which meant the lender would auction off the pledged gold, they said.108884782 Legal Issues Putting rules in place would allow families to legally assume loan service obligations to secure the underlying gold, given the sentimental value typically attached to ornaments belonging to close relatives."Earlier this month, in a meeting, this issue was discussed, and there was a consensus that authorisation letters can be sought from borrowers," said one of the executives. "Banks will also explore a standardised format to avoid legal hassles."Some state-run banks have already started to offer this option but there are operational issues due to lack of a legal framework.The loan against gold segment is one of the fastest-growing categories for lenders. As of January 26, 2024, outstanding loans against gold jewellery were up 17.4% from a year earlier to Rs 1.02 lakh crore.Last year, a committee headed by former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor BP Kanungo suggested that in case a borrower dies, a notice should be sent to the nominee or legal heir to check if they want to settle the outstanding amount. Their response should be on record in case the pledged gold is auctioned, the Review of Customer Service Standards in RBI Regulated Entities panel had suggested.Leading gold financing firm Muthoot Finance told ET that, on the basis of the Kanungo committee recommendation, the company is in the process of initiating a nomination procedure for its customers. Manappuram Finance did not respond to ET's queries. The second bank executive said that a number of legal issues have arisen in cases where the borrower died. At times, family members who weren't legal heirs wanted to repay the loan and reclaim the jewellery."In most such cases, banks used to auction the gold loan pledged to recover their amount. This new facility of an authorisation letter will resolve such issues," he added. "There is a sentimental value attached to gold jewellery, and we hope that borrowers will use this facility, giving (their families) a chance to reclaim their assets."In February, the finance ministry wrote to all public sector banks, asking them to review gold loan processes amid fears about risky debt, given the rally in the price of the metal.Gold prices reached an all-time high earlier this week, surpassing the $2,200 mark, as the market expects the US Federal Reserve to begin its rate-cutting cycle in June.As per RBI norms, banks or gold loan finance firms can provide only 75% of the value of the jewellery. A recent report by rating agency Crisil noted that banks have sharpened their focus on non-agricultural gold loans for personal use, particularly in the Rs 3 lakh and above bracket, over the past three years. "The market share of gold-loan NBFCs (non-banking finance companies) has been resilient at over 60% between March 2021 to September 2023, despite strong competition from banks," it had said, adding that banks have focused on borrowers seeking bigger loans and competitive interest rates.

New Delhi: The government on Friday said restrictions on import of solar modules will be reimposed from April 1, a measure aimed at fostering local capacity.It had earlier exempted solar projects commissioned by March 31, 2024, from the mandatory requirement of procuring solar modules from the approved list of models and manufacturers (ALMM) for 2023-24.The mandate, introduced in 2021, required solar project developers to buy modules from the approved list as a non-tariff barrier to boost domestic manufacturing.The government is bringing back the order as it is of the view that domestic capacities had come up and needed to be supported, said people familiar with the matter.In February, the government had said that while the ALMM restriction would restart from April 1, open access and captive consumption projects would be exempt. Exemption was also provided to projects in the advanced stage of construction which had opened a line of credit or placed orders for modules for import before March-end.However, the order was withheld, and the latest order on reimposition of the restriction did not mention any of these exemptions.India's cumulative solar module manufacturing capacity reached 64.5 GW, and solar cell manufacturing capacity totalled 5.8 GW, as of December 2023, according to Mercom India Research.Module manufacturing capacity is projected to surpass 150 GW, and cell capacity is expected to reach 75 GW by 2026, as per the research firm.