BT Podcast: EPF interest rate reduced to 8.55%

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Reliance Jio to invest Rs 10,000 crore more in UP

Reliance Industries (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani has revealed that Reliance Jio Infocomm will invest an additional Rs 10,000 crore in Uttar Pradesh over the next three years, and will make available 20 million Jio Phones in the next two months in the state. Ambani was speaking at the UP Investors' Summit where he said that  RIL had already invested Rs 20,000 crore to build digital infrastructure, and created 40,000 direct and indirect jobs, and along with its other businesses such as retail, polyester and petroleum, will create over one lakh job opportunities in the state in the following years

EPF interest rate reduced to 8.55%

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), has lowered the interest rate it pays to subscribers to 8.55% for the year to 31 March. This is  the lowest in five years. The labour ministry-controlled retirement fund manager had paid 8.65% the previous year. The cut was announced after a meeting of the central board of trustees (CBT). The worry is that the move may anger the middle class. The CBT decision will need to be approved by the finance ministry.

No final decision on Air India stake sale yet

The government is still undecided on how much stake in Air India it wants to sell, Minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju has said. Earlier, Jayant Sinha had said that more than 51 percent of Air India's ownership would be transferred to the private sector. The Ministry of Civil Aviation may also call for fresh bids for the disinvestment of state-owned helicopter operator Pawan Hans.

Cabinet nod to new Bill banning unregulated deposit schemes

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has just given its approval to introduce banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2018, in Parliament. This is another step towards making good Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's promise of a comprehensive central legislation to deal with the menace of illicit deposit-taking schemes made in his Budget Speech two years ago. The Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill is likely to be tabled when the Parliament meets again next month for the remaining 23 sittings. It proposes to create three different types of offences - running of unregulated deposit schemes, fraudulent default in regulated deposit schemes, and wrongful inducement in relation to unregulated deposit schemes.

PM Modi announces defence industrial corridor in UP's Bundelkhand region

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated the two-day 'UP Investors Summit', which is in line with the summits held by states like Gujarat (Vibrant Gujarat) and Maharashtra (Magnetic Maharashtra Summit) to attract potential investors. Addressing the gathering at the summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the government would make a defence industrial corridor in the Bundelkhand region to bring development in one of the most backward regions of UP.

PNB fraud: CBI arrests Vipul Ambani, first big arrest in the Rs 11,400 crore scam

The CBI nabbed Vipul Ambani, the president (finance) of Nirav Modi's Fire Star Diamond, on Tuesday in connection with Rs 11,384 crore fraud in Punjab National Bank (PNB). This is the first high profile arrest made in what can be called the biggest corporate scam case in India. Four other senior executives were also arrested by the agency in connection with two FIRs registered by it in the scam, they said.

Bitcoin nearly doubles in value from its lowest level this year

Bitcoin hit a three-week high earlier this week and has surged nearly 100 percent from its lowest level this year, as its recovery continued after South Korea's financial regulator eased its stance on cryptocurrencies, weeks after it considered shutting down digital currency exchanges.

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