G-20 finance leaders eye ways to support pandemic recovery

Friday February 18, 2022

Countries must avoid tensions and cooperate to support a recovery from the pandemic as it lingers in many parts of

G-20 finance leaders eye ways to support pandemic recovery

Countries must avoid tensions and cooperate to support a recovery from the pandemic as it lingers in many parts of the world, Indonesian President Joko Widodo told a gathering of top financial leaders of the world's largest economies on feb 17 .

The G-20 financial gathering comes as many economies are treading a precarious path between raising costs of borrowing to cool inflation and helping to support recoveries from the pandemic.

Worries over the potential conflict in Ukraine are an added unwelcome source of uncertainty, Widodo said, warning against antagonisms at this time.

Officials were attending the meetings both in-person and online, given troubles with travel and quarantines due to outbreaks, mostly of the omicron variant of coronavirus, that are plaguing many countries.

Host Indonesia is among many countries in Southeast Asia that have endured severe waves of infections, though vaccinations have helped quell the worst of outbreaks. The fourth most populous nation with 274 million people, it has reported nearly 5 million cases and 145,622 deaths. In the past month, 690,518 new cases have been reported.

Indonesia is the world's 10th largest economy and is located in the fastest-growing region — at least before the pandemic swept the world, disrupting business and travel while killing nearly 6 million people.

Surging prices for food and energy are among the challenges the financial leaders confront as they discuss how to best nurture a global economic recovery, Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati told G-20 participants.

The International Monetary Fund has forecast that world economic growth will slow to 4.4 per cent in 2022 from 5.9 per cent in 2021, following a 3.3 per cent contraction in 2020.

The US Federal Reserve is pulling back on massive support for markets and businesses, preparing to raise interest rates as soon as next month to cool inflation that jumped to 7.5 per cent in January — the highest rate in 40 years.

I-T department raids premises of former NSE MD Chitra Ramkrishna, colleague in Mumbai, Chennai

Friday February 18, 2022

Troubles grew for Chitra Ramkrishna, former MD of the NSE, and Anand Subramanian, her colleague, as the Income Tax

I-T department raids premises of former NSE MD Chitra Ramkrishna, colleague in Mumbai, Chennai

Troubles grew for Chitra Ramkrishna, former MD of the NSE, and Anand Subramanian, her colleague, as the Income Tax department raided their premises in Mumbai and Chennai .

Ramkrishna has been in the eye of a storm ever since Sebi on February 11 show-caused her and her former advisor for sharing sensitive information on the exchange with an unknown person.

Ramkrishna described the unknown person as a yogi dwelling in the Himalayan ranges. The information was shared over her official email and the unknown person responded likewise with her.

Sebi said the hiring of Subramanian on an incommensurately large salary of over one crore from a subsidiary of Balmer Laurie where he last drew Rs 15 lakh was allegedly at the instance of the yogi.

Apart from this, the order said Ramkrishna had shared certain internal confidential information, including financial and business plans of NSE, dividend scenario and financial results, with the yogi and even consulted him over the performance appraisals of the exchange's employees.

Ramkrishna was MD and CEO of NSE from April 2013 to December 2016.

Sebi levied a fine of Rs 3 crore on Ramkrishna, Rs 2 crore each on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Subramanian, former NSE MD and CEO Ravi Narain, and Rs 6 lakh on V R Narasimhan, who was the chief regulatory officer and compliance officer.

Ramkrishna and Subramanian have been restrained from associating with any market infrastructure institution or any intermediary registered with Sebi for three years, while the same for Narain is two years.

Sebi also directed NSE to forfeit the excess leave encashment of Rs 1.54 crore and the deferred bonus of Rs 2.83 crore, of Ramkrishna.

In addition, Sebi barred NSE from launching any new product for six months.

Nepal to become first country to deploy India's UPI platform

Friday February 18, 2022

Nepal will be the first country to adopt India's UPI system, which will play a pivotal role in transforming the digital economy

Nepal to become first country to deploy India's UPI platform

Nepal will be the first country to adopt India's UPI system, which will play a pivotal role in transforming the digital economy of the neighbouring country, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) said on Feb 17 .

NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the international arm of NPCI, has joined hands with Gateway Payments Service (GPS) and Manam Infotech to provide the services in Nepal.

GPS is the authorised payment system operator in Nepal and Manam Infotech will deploy Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in that country.

The collaboration will serve the larger digital public good in Nepal and bolster interoperable real-time person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions in the neighbouring country .

This collaboration will enable the last-mile consumers in Nepal to reap the benefits of an open interoperable payments system driving immediate payment transfers between bank accounts and merchant payments in real-time.

It will also enable the way forward for real-time cross-border P2P remittances between Nepal and India, NPCI said.

UPI's real-time payment infrastructure will help catalyze the process of financial inclusion in Nepal and will also create more opportunities for businesses, NPCI said.

It will help modernize Nepal's digital payment infrastructure and bring the convenience of digital payments to citizens of Nepal.

UPI is amongst the most successful real-time payments (RTP) systems globally, providing – simplicity, safety, and security in P2P and P2M transactions in India.

Nepal has a population of about 30 million (3 crore) with around 45 per cent banked.

Mobile penetration of over 135 per cent with 65 per cent of the population using smartphones provides a bedrock for seamless replication of the digital revolution in India to be replicated in Nepal, NPCI said.

Over the next few months, all three companies will work closely together to deploy UPI in Nepal along with all the functionalities and features presently available in India.

Former India midfielder and East Bengal legend Surajit Sengupta dies

Friday February 18, 2022

Former India midfielder and East Bengal legend Surajit Sengupta, who mesmerized Kolkata Maidan with his dribbling

Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor gets bail in Rs 300 crore fraud case

Thursday February 17, 2022

A special PMLA court in Mumbai on February 16 granted bail

Another legend gone: Singer-composer Bappi Lahiri dies at 69

Thursday February 17, 2022

Singer-composer Bappi Lahiri, who popularised disco music in India in the 80s and 90s, has died following multiple

Actor Deep Sidhu, accused in Red Fort violence on Republic Day, dies in road accident

Thursday February 17, 2022

Punjabi actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu, who had been named in connection with the violence at Red Fort in

Chandiwal Commission asks Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik to appear before it on February 17

Thursday February 17, 2022

The Chandiwal Commission, probing the corruption allegations against former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh, has asked

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G-20 finance leaders eye ways to support pandemic recovery

G-20 finance leaders eye ways to support pandemic recovery

I-T department raids premises of former NSE MD Chitra Ramkrishna, colleague in Mumbai, Chennai

I-T department raids premises of former NSE MD Chitra Ramkrishna, colleague in Mumbai, Chennai

Nepal to become first country to deploy India's UPI platform

Nepal to become first country to deploy India's UPI platform

Former India midfielder and East Bengal legend Surajit Sengupta dies

Former India midfielder and East Bengal legend Surajit Sengupta dies

Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor gets bail in Rs 300 crore fraud case

Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor gets bail in Rs 300 crore fraud case

Another legend gone: Singer-composer Bappi Lahiri dies at 69

Another legend gone: Singer-composer Bappi Lahiri dies at 69

Actor Deep Sidhu, accused in Red Fort violence on Republic Day, dies in road accident

Actor Deep Sidhu, accused in Red Fort violence on Republic Day, dies in road accident

Chandiwal Commission asks Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik to appear before it on February 17

Chandiwal Commission asks Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik to appear before it on February 17

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