BT Podcast: Digital transactions cross 1 billion, SBI's windfall gain

Download BT Podcast

SBI collects exorbitant minimum balance penalty
Country's largest bank SBI made a  windfall gain of Rs1,771.67 crore, more than its second quarter profit, from customers for non-maintenance of monthly average balance in savings accounts in eight months of 2017-18, finance ministry data has shown. The amount collected by SBI for non-maintenance of minimum balance exceeds the bank's July-September quarter net profit of Rs 1,581.55 crore.

Digital transactions cross the 1 billion mark
Digital transactions rose 6.05% to 1.06 billion in December from 997.1 million in November, according to provisional data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This is the first time that the transaction volume has crossed the 1 billion mark. The value of these transactions was also the second highest in a month in the last one year. Transactions worth about Rs125.51 trillion were carried out in December through modes of payment like credit and debit cards, the unified payments interface (UPI), unstructured supplementary service data (USSD), prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) and internet banking.

India's GDP growth to slip below 7% this fiscal, say experts
Experts have pointed out that India's economic growth is likely to be below 7 percent this fiscal. This is due to  GST disruption and the impact of demonetisation. Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said the GDP growth would be around 6.2 per cent to 6.3 per cent for the current fiscal. Sugata Bhattacharya, chief economist at Axis Bank, said the Gross Value Added (GVA) would be 6.6-6.8 per cent for the current fiscal. The Reserve Bank of India has retained its economic growth projection for 2017-18 at 6.7% and says the risks are evenly balanced.

NASSCOM concerned about proposed H1-B visa amendments
In the wake of US mulling over new rules to prevent H1-B visa extensions industry body NASSCOM has raised its concerns. It said the proposed US bill is full of 'onerous conditions' and that any such move would be detrimental to both India and US. This is being seen as part of US President Donald Trump's 'Buy American, Hire American' campaign that seeks to bring back jobs to the country. According to Nasscom, Indian IT industry's trade body, around 71per cent of these H-1B visas are garnered by Indian nationals.

Govt to infuse money in 6 weak PSU banks
The finance ministry has approved the proposal for the infusion of Rs 7,577 crore in 6 weak public sector banks (PSBs) as part of the recapitalisation plan to bolster the capital adequacy ratio. All these banks, which got capital support, are under prompt corrective action of the Reserve Bank of India. These 6 banks are UCO Bank, Central Bank of India, Bank of India, IDBI Bank, Bank of Maharashtra and Dena Bank.

Myntra to invest in technology, expand into Silicon Valley
Flipkart-owned Myntra is looking to invest more in technology this year with plans to hire an executive to head a team of data scientists in the US. Myntra already has an office in Silicon Valley since 2013 when it acquired start-up Fitiquette. They intend to ramp up their technology hiring. This push into Silicon Valley is part of a bigger plan to integrate technologies such as AI and machine learning through all of its business processes.

New Rs 10 note to be out soon
Hold your breath for the new Rs 10 note which will be issued soon by the Reserve Bank of India. It last received a design change in 2005. The new design has received a go-ahead from the government. The new note will have chocolate brown as its base colour and will bear the picture of the Sun Temple in Konark.

Download BT Podcast