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AN E-WEEKLY FROM THE WESTERN INDIA REGIONAL COUNCIL OF THE INSTITUTE OF COMPANY SECRETARIES OF INDIA
he Reserve Bank on Thursday favoured liberalisation of bank licensing policies which otherwise could hinder entrance of new players and have an adverse impact on the economy and consumers. Regulators need to ensure that their regulatory stance does not create barriers to the entry or exit of institutions or result in unwarranted costs to the economy and consumers, the RBI said in its annual Trends and Progress of banking in 2012-13 report. Instead regulation should impose restrictions on institutions is such a way that it does not cause a moral hazard problem, the report said. The central bank is in the process of issuing new banking licenses. It has received as many as 26 applications for bank licences on the close on July 1. The RBI is likely to issue new banking licences in January 2014. The RBI said one of it's discussion papers favours 'continuous authorisations' of new banks and explores the possibility of converting large urban co-operative banks into commercials banks to im-

22 NOVEMBER 2013 Volume 2, Issue 46 Powered by

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RBI for easing regulatory moral hazards,

T

worried about banks asset quality

KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Low credit growth slowed bk balance sheet growth 2012-13 PSU banks' share rising but asset concentration still low PSU bks need extra 4.15 trln rupee capital till Mar 2018 Need to cut gilt invest needs of banks in calibrated way New norms may allow banks to accrue provisioning buffer part dynamism to the banking system. "However, this is not to undermine the need for ensuring sufficiently stringent entry norms to prevent the entry of banks of questionable soundness or competence, since their proliferations could undermine public confidence of the overall integrity of the banking system," the RBI said. Tata Group and firms controlled by billionaires Anil Ambani and Kumar Mangalam Birla are among those which applied for bank licences. Among public sector units, India Post, LIC Fome Finance and IFCI have submitted applications. Microfinance institutions such as Bandhan Financial Services and Janalakshmi Financial, too, have expressed their intention to set up banks. The RBI had issued guidelines for new banks on February 22 and came out with clarifications in the first week of June. In the past 20 years, the RBI has issued licence to 12 banks in the private sector in two phases. Ten banks were licensed on the basis of guidelines issued in January 1993 and two in the second phase. The guidelines were revised in January 2001 based on the experience gained from the functioning of these banks and fresh applications were invited. Asset quality The central bank said that the stress on banks' asset quality remains a major challenge inthe short-term and issues concerning the same will get priority attention of the RBI. A rise in the banks' asset impairment coupled with a dip in profitabilitywas seen in the period under consideration, as adverse international economicdevelopments combined with the loss of growth momentum in the domesticeconomy posed challenges to the banking sector.
SOURCE: Free Press Journal

SC bars Sahara from selling

he Supreme Court on Thursday barred Sahara group from selling or parting with any of its properties and restrained the group's head Subrata Roy Sahara and three group company directors from leaving India. The apex court's fiat followed Sahara's failure to comply with the October 28 orders that had asked it to furnish original title deeds of unencumbered properties worth at least Rs.200 bn to SEBI within three weeks to enable the market regulator to examine whether the properties can be kept with a bank as security for the debentures money. Sahara had submitted it 106 acre Versova, Mumbai property, claiming it to be worth 190 bln rupees, and another set of properties worth another Rs.10 bn. SEBI, however, said the valuation report of the properties was not of the land but its "investment values".

property, Roy from leaving India

Though Sahara counsel claimed that Varsova was a prime property near the sea in the property-starved city, SEBI said that, as per the valuation report submitted by Sahara, the land could potentially be worth Rs,190 bn if a township, flats and villas are developed and sold by 2021. This was in violation of the apex court's Oct 28 order asking the Sahara group to deposit title deeds of properties worth 200 bln rupees, SEBI said. To top it up, SEBI counsel told the court that Sahara did not disclose to the court that the land fell in a "no development zone" as per a Ministry of Environment and Forests notification and that is why it was lying idle for years. SEBI said the land was worth only Rs.1.18 bn as per the documents.
SOURCE: Free Press Journal

eeking investment in infrastructure and capital markets, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today emphasised that India is a safe destination with a potential of 8 per cent growth and providing comparable returns. "The macro-economic fundamentals and the micro-economic fundamentals make India an attractive and safe investment destination," he said while addressing the second South Asian Diaspora convention here. The government, Chidambaram said, has taken a number of measures to stabilise the economy and give greater confidence to investors. "India can offer to the investor a variety of investment opportunities. There are Government securities and corporate bonds. There are mutual funds and Infrastructure Development Funds. We can offer equity in our public sector enter-

Amid market woes, FM promotes India as investment destination

prises that are under the disinvestment programme. "There is a clutch of projects in the oil and gas sector that will welcome strategic investors. Shortly, we will offer a public sector ETF that will allow you to buy units backed by underlying equity shares," he said at the convention attended by over 1000 delegates. Referring to growth, Chidambaram said India has a potential growth rate of 8 per cent and above and during the 20 year period between 1991-2011, the average growth rate was 7 per cent. Noting that the key to sustaining high growth rate is investment, the Minister said the government will endeavour to contain fiscal deficit to below 3 per cent of the GDP, safely finance the Current Account Deficit and keep inflation under 5%.
SOURCE: Free Press Journal

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he country's largest software services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has said it expects to give out offers to hire 25,000 people via campus hiring next year by February. "As far as our trainee or campus hiring is concerned you are aware that we do it from seventh semester onwards, and we have started that exercise- we have said that we will be giving offers to 25,000 people/students,the process is already on," TCS EVP & Global Head, Human Resources Ajoy Mukherjee told reporters here. "We will be completing that exercise in January or early February, at this stage we are going to various institutes and doing our campus hiring," he added. It is expected that students will come on board by July. The TCS HR head said: "As far as this year is concerned- initially when we started with we said we will be doing with 45,000 as the total hiring which includes trainees...., then we revised and said that we will do 5,000 more- so totally we said that we will be 50,000, that's what we did at the end of the last quarter." "As far as hiring target is concerned it is 50,000 and we are pretty much on track as far as that number goes and we will do the review again to see that we should increase it or not," he added. Stating that off campus placement would be primarily for freshers, Mukherjee said "....given the environment today where the number of organisations that are visiting various campuses have come down, and the offers are not too many- so can we look at a way where in if we are not visiting but there can be bright candidates who have not got an opportunity. That is what we are looking at."
SOURCE: PTI

TCS to give out campus offers to 25,000 people by February next year

osses, please note! Allowing your employees to have fun at work may encourage them to stick around for longer, a new study suggests. Within the hospitality industry, manager support for fun is instrumental in reducing employee turnover - the rate at which a company gains and loses employees - particularly for younger employees, researchers said. However, manager support for fun also reduces employee productivity, which can negatively impact sales performance. "High employee turnover is consistently quoted as being one of the problems that keeps managers up at night because if you're involved with recruiting and training constantly, then you can't focus on effectively managing your existing staff and providing a high-quality service experience," said Michael J Tews, assistant professor of hospitality management, Penn State. The team - which included researchers at Penn State, Loyola University of Maryland and Ohio State University - surveyed 195 restaurant servers from a casual-theme restaurant chain in the US. The survey included items related to different aspects of fun at work, including "fun activities" and "manager support for fun." The researchers then compared the survey responses to sales performance and turnover data. In the survey, questions related to "fun activities" focused on social events, such as holiday parties and picnics; teambuilding activities, such as company-

Fun at work promotes

employee retention: Study

sponsored athletic teams; competitions, such as sales contests; public celebrations of work achievements; and recognition of personal milestones, such as birthdays and weddings. The research yielded three key findings. First, manager support for fun lowers employee turnover, particularly among younger employees. Second, fun activities increase sales performance, particularly among older employees. Third, manager support for fun lowers sales performance irrespective of age. "The question becomes, is the productivity loss associated with manager support for fun worth the significant reduction in employee turnover?" Tews said. "We think if you have both manager support for fun and fun activities, the dip you see in productivity as a result of manager support for fun may be cancelled out by the increase in productivity you see as a result of fun activities. In this scenario, you also see the greatest reduction in employee turnover," Tews said. "The take-home message is that fun can work, but it's not a panacea," Tews said. The study appears in Cornell Hospitality Quarterly.
SOURCE: PTI

India's leading staffing firms have generated over 5 million jobs in the last 10 years, according to Indian Staffing Federation (ISF). ISF is an apex body of flexi-staffing industry in India. "The flexible staffing industry has now and again proven itself as one of the key pillars necessary to sustain and accelerate

Staffing firms create over 5 million jobs in last 10 years: Indian Staffing Federation
the growth of the Indian economy," ISF Vice President Rituparna Chakraborty said. Flexible staffing is making its way into the formal sector. Out of two crore flexi-staff in India, only 13 lakh are being covered under the organised sector. According to a study conducted by National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), employment rates have fallen slightly for both men and women, but it has been somewhat sharper for women, falling to 22 per cent in FY'12 from 29 per cent in FY'05. This ambiguity in the Indian labour market has increased the demand for flexi-staffing industry, ISF added.
SOURCE: PTI

arket regulator Sebi today finalised 75 applicants for the officer level job as part of its plan to beef up its headcount for faster and more effective execution of newly granted powers. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said that these "appointments are subject to satisfying the age limit, educational qualification along with minimum marks (as required) and other eligibility criteria." Sebi has embarked upon a major recruitment drive to carry out its newly granted powers and expanded role to regulate various segments of capital markets, while safeguarding the interest of investors from fraudsters and other manipulators Earlier, Sebi has short-listed only 247 candidates for a personal interview from the several thousands of applicants that appeared for a written test held in September. However, only 75 got selected for the post. The job call for 75 officers, who would be offered an annual pay package of about Rs 11 lakh, generated huge demand and nearly one lakh applications were received by Sebi from the interested candidates. In the first phase of this hiring drive, Sebi plans to hire 75 officers, while the regulator plans to conduct more recruitment exercises going ahead. Sebi is looking to increase its headcount from about 600 currently to close to 1,000. The recruitment drive began soon after the government decided to grant greater execution powers and a larger oversight role against potential investment fraud that would require Sebi to have a much larger workforce. Besides, the capital market regulator is opening local offices on a pan-India basis for enhanced investor awareness and services that require additional manpower. An independent consultant recently suggested Sebi increase its workforce to about 1,000 employees in order to meet future manpower requirements to take full ownership of regulatory oversight of all investment schemes besides staff requirement in regional offices as well as local offices. The staff strength also needs to be enhanced to meet its future role and functions, said the consultant which was hired to suggest ways for an overhaul of Sebi's role, vision and functions.
SOURCE: PTI

Sebi to increase headcount; finalises 75 applicants for officer level job

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The move will entail that pan-India reserve price for spectrum in the 1,800 Mhz bandwidth per Mhz stands at Rs 17.20 bln, up from Rs 14.96 bln as suggested by TRAI

Spectrum auction: EGoM slightly hikes reserve price

RINGS THE CHANGES
G EGoM OKs telecom panel proposals on
1,800 Mhz, 900 Mhz band

he Empowered Group of Ministers on spectrum endorsed the Telecom Commission's proposal on reserve price for the 1,800 Mhz and 900 Mhz GSM bandwidth, making the reserve price slightly more expensive from what the sector regulator had recommended. Telecom Commission on Nov 6 had proposed up to 25% hike in the Telecom Regulatory Authority of Indiarecommended spectrum reserve price in 1,800 Mhz and 900 Mhz bandwidth. The decision by the ministerial panel headed by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram will entail that the pan-India reserve price for spectrum in the 1,800 Mhz bandwidth per Mhz stands at 17.20 bln rupees, up from 14.96 bln rupees recommended by TRAI on Sep 9. The ministers' group endorsed both TRAI's and Telecom Commission's proposal that there should be no reservation for the 900 Mhz band, entailing that operators such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone India will have to vacate their 900 Mhz spectrum when their licences in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata expire in November 2014.

G TRAI to give recommendations on

800 Mhz auction pricing

G Spectrum auction to take place in Jan G Telecom M&A guidelines not discussed
in EGoM meet today

G No reservation for any operator for 900 Mhz spectrum G No decision taken on spectrum use charge, EGoM to mull more G Hope to get 300-400 bln rupees from spectrum, one-time fee G Want all spectrum in 1800 Mhz band to be auctioned
Reserve price for spectrum in Delhi circle in the 1,800 Mhz will be at 2.18 bln rupees per Mhz, while for Mumbai the reserve price would be at 2.06 bln rupees per Mhz. Base price for Delhi circle in the 900 Mhz bandwidth will be at 3.60 bln rupees per Mhz, while that for the Mumbai circle will be at 3.27 bln rupees. For the 800 Mhz bandwidth, the ministers' panel decided that TRAI's view will be sought in respect to the pricing for the CDMA bandwidth. The sector regulator had recommended that the auction of the 800 Mhz band should not be held as of now because the government is likely to get lower revenues from the sale of the bandwidth, given the currently low demand for CDMA services in the country. "We will inform the Cabinet, because it is the Empowered Group of Ministers. We have the power to decide," Sibal said at the conclusion of today's meeting. Sibal stated that the auction for the 800 Mhz bandwidth will be held separately with the auction for GSM spectrum 1,800 Mhz and 900 Mhz, scheduled to be held earlier in January. The ministerial panel decided that further discussion would be held on the issue of spectrum usage charge

on account of the complexity involved, and would take a decision before the commencement of the auctions. TRAI had recommended that the spectrum usage charges, which is a percentage of the annual adjusted gross revenues of the companies paid to the government, should be levied at uniform 3%. Currently, companies pay spectrum usage charges in the range of 1-8% based on the quantum of spectrum held by them. The Commission had decided that a detailed consultation with the finance ministry will be held before a decision is taken. Any change in the spectrum usage charges could invite litigations from companies as it would lead to changes in the licence conditions. Sibal said the government expects to garner about 300-400 bln rupees from the spectrum sale and from onetime spectrum usage charges. The Finance Ministry has set a target of 400 bln rupees from spectrum revenues in the current financial year 2013-14 (Apr-Mar).
SOURCE: Free Press Journal

he petroleum ministry will seek the Cabinet's approval for providing a floor and ceiling for the price of domestic natural gas under the new gas pricing policy approved by the Cabinet earlier this year, a senior ministry official told Cogencis. "The finance ministry wanted a cap and floor price for gas to prevent domestic prices from being extremely volatile due to global conditions. So that is also a part of our note," the official said. The proposals are a part of the draft Cabinet note in which the petroleum ministry is seeking clarity on whether Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries should be denied any advantage of the new gas price policy till the shortfall from its D6 block in the Krishna Godavari basin is met. The petroleum ministry, in its revised

OIL MIN MAY SEEK CABINET NOD FOR CAP ON GAS PRICE
Cabinet note, has proposed that Reliance Industries submit a bank guarantee until a resolution is reached on the issue. "The company will have to submit bank guarantee each quarter and in case the decision is that the pricing of the KG-D6 should be capped until the operator does not meet the shortfall, then the bank guarantee will be encashed," the official said. In June, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the recommendations of the petroleum ministry, based on the formula given by a panel headed by Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council Chairman C. Rangarajan that favoured a hike in rates. The new policy, named Natural Gas Pricing Guidelines, 2013 that will remain valid for five years, envisages calculating prices of domestically produced natural gas at an average of international hub prices and cost of imported liquefied natural gas, excluding spot liquefied natural gas prices, instead of the present mechanism of market discovery with minor modifications. "We had announced that spot prices would be excluded but then we decided to include that. So we want Cabinet approval for the final pricing formula as well," the official said. An increase in gas prices will significantly boost revenues and profits of upstream companies--especially Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd and Oil India Ltd. It may also lead to an increase in exploration activities and higher production in the long run.
SOURCE: Free PressJournal

fter getting a good response to the double forex swap windows aimed to shore up forex buffer and prop up the rupee, the RBI today allowed banks to utilise the special window till December 31 to borrow forex against their core capital but with riders. The other swap window was to draw in NRI funds through the FCNR-B deposit route. Both the windows till Wednesday had netted in USD 22.5 billion and are to be tapered off on November 30. Under the facility, banks were permitted to borrow from international banks/multilateral agencies up to 100 per cent of their core capital and swap the amount with the Reserve Bank at a concessional rate of 3.5%.
SOURCE: Free PressJournal

RBI extends banks spl forex window till Dec 31 with riders

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Sebi tightens corp disclosure norms, bourses to up vigil

oncerned over large-scale discrepancies in mandatory disclosures by listed firms, Sebi on Monday tightened its regulations in this regard and asked bourses to put in place a stronger mechanism with additional manpower to monitor adequacy and accuracy of such disclosures. The companies would also have to provide the details of their promoters, directors and/or key management personnel who would be held responsible for ensuring compliance with the dis-

FIRMS will have to provide details of their promoters, directors, stock exchanges will publish details on their websites

closure norms, while stock exchanges have been asked to publish these details on their websites in case of defaults. Sebi has also asked the stock exchanges to set up a separate monitoring cell with identified personnel to ensure compliance with the new norms. The stock exchanges, who act as frontline regulator for listed companies, have also been asked to "keep themselves informed of the updates in various media including print and mass media with respect to a listed company." The bourses will scrutinise the disclosures and ensure that no important information has been omitted by the company. It has been often found that key business developments first appear in media

and later in company's regulatory filings. Issuing detailed guidelines on corporate disclosures, which are governed by Listing Agreement signed by the listed firms with the stock exchanges, Sebi said that the stock exchanges would take appropriate actions including levying of fine on the companies in case of non-compliance. The bourses would also submit to Sebi an "Exception Report" in addition to the existing reporting requirements, with the details of companies which do not respond to the clarifications sought by them and/or where the response submitted by the company is not satisfactory. While provisions in existing regulations also require listed companies to

file disclosure reports with stock exchanges about every key information and developments, the new norms have been put in place for more effective implementation and compliance at the end of stock exchanges as well as the companies. "Concerns have been raised that even though listed companies make disclosures to Stock Exchanges within the time frame stipulated under the Listing Agreement; the contents of the disclosures made by such companies are not adequate and accurate. Therefore, investors are unable to take informed investment decisions based on such disclosures," Sebi said.
SOURCE: FREE PRESS JOURNAL

RBI offers Rs 5,000 crore liquidity support to MSEs

he Reserve Bank of India on Monday said it will provide Rs.5,000 crore liquidity support to micro and small enterprises to help them tide over difficulties they might be facing arising out of the economic growth slowdown. The central bank will provide the support through the Small Industrial Development Bank of India (SIDBI) in the form of refinancing of loans. The refinance will be available for direct liquidity support to finance receiv-

Buys Rs 6,156 cr of government bonds through an open market operation auction

ables, including export receivable, to MSEs by SIDBI or for liquidity support to MSEs through selected intermediaries, that is, banks, Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and State Finance Corporations (SFCs), the RBI said. The refinance will be available against receivables, including export receivables, outstanding as on Nov 14, 2013 onwards, it said. The facility will be available at the prevailing 14-day term repo rate for a period of 90 days. During this 90-day period, the amount can be flexibly drawn and repaid. "At the end of the 90-day period, the drawal can also be rolled over," the RBI said. The refinance facility will be available

for a period of one year up to Nov 13, 2014. The utilisation of funds will be governed by the policy approved by the Board of SIDBI, the RBI said. RBI buys gilts The central bank purchased Rs 6,156.74 cr of government bonds through an open market operation auction, less than the notified amount. Last week, RBI Raghuram Rajan had said the RBI planned to purchase Rs 8,000 cr of government bonds through OMOs to improve liquidity. The RBI offered to buy 7.17% 2015 gilts, 7.59% 2016, 7.83% 2018 and 8.20% 2025 gilts in the auction.
SOURCE: Free PressJournal

elecom regulator TRAI has told the government that it cant suggest a price for auction of spectrum in CDMA-band in the stipulated 15 days and the process needs to be started afresh if reserve price for such airwaves is to be set.The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had in September proposed a cut of up to 60% in the minimum auction prices for mobile phone spectrum used by GSM technology players like Airtel and Vodafone, but recommended no auction of 800 MHz spectrum used by CDMA players.
SOURCE: Free Press Journal

Trai for fresh process for CDMA spectrum

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