#MoneyArth

10 public sector banks to be merged into four Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today announced a big consolidation of public sector banks. 10 public sector banks to be merged into four. Under the scheme of amalgamation, Indian Bank will be merged with Allahabad Bank (anchor bank - Indian Bank); PNB, OBC and United Bank to be merged (PNB will be the anchor bank); Union Bank of India, Andhra Bank, and Corporation Bank to be merged (anchor bank - Union Bank of India); and Canara Bank and Syndicate Bank to be merged (anchor bank - Canara Bank). In place of 27 public sector banks in 2017, now there will be 12 public sector banks after the latest round of consolidation of PSU banks. The finance minister said: We want banks with a strong national presence and enhanced risk appetite.  I ndian Bank to be merged with Allahabad Bank (anchor bank - Indian Bank). Consolidated Indian Bank and Allahabad Bank to be 7th largest public sector bank with CRS 8.08 lakh crore business (...

GDP growth slips to 5% Just around an hour after the Central Statistics Office (CSO) put out growth numbers for the first quarter (Q1) of 2019-20, the chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PM-EAC) issued an appeal: Avoid hand-wringing and spreading negativity. This may be a valid appeal, but it is a difficult ask when, at 5 percent, this Q1 growth is the lowest in twenty-five quarters and growth since Q4 of 2017-18 (8.1 percent) has been dipping lower every quarter. The investment rate slipped from 28.8 percent in Q1 of 2018-19 to 27.9 percent in Q1 of the current fiscal, which is also lower than the 30.2 percent logged in Q4 of the previous fiscal. The last capacity utilization numbers from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are for Q4 of 2018-19 and these show an increase of just 0.2 percentage points (from 75.9 to 76.1). The PMEAC has said constructive criticism and suggestions are welcome. There are many out there and it should persuade the governmen...

How government can put RBI's Rs 1.76 lakh crore windfall to best use The central government received Rs 1.76 lakh crore from the RBI. Ram Singh, Professor, Delhi School of Economics, has expressed his views on how this money can be put to the best use. Dr. Singh ascertains that the transfer of this sum from the central bank to the government can provide a shot in the arm to the finance ministry which had recently announced measures to stimulate the domestic economy. Measures like bank recapitalization, refunding input tax credits to businesses, and clearing outstanding dues of government entities, among others, are aimed at increasing the liquidity in the financial system. Dr. Singh believes, however, that liquidity is not the problem. Low-interest rates have pushed the debt to equity ratio to an all-time low. This has resulted in investment falling below 30% of Gross Domestic Product – the lowest in 15 years. Among his suggestions to make the best use of the a...