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Aye Finance gears up for aggressive pan India expansion

Loknath Das

Aye Finance, CapitalG backed fintech lender, has announced plans for aggressive Pan-India expansion in the current fiscal. After a successful year which saw Aye reaching a milestone AUM figure of INR 1000 crores, the fintech lender will be opening 67 new branches to service the credit needs of a larger number of Indian micro enterprises. Aye has been rapidly expanding its footprint and in this round Aye is entering the new states/UT of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh along with strengthening its branch presence in the…

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Piramal sells entire 10% stake in Shriram Transport for ₹2,300 crore

Loknath Das

New Delhi: Ajay Piramal-controlled Piramal Enterprises Ltd on Monday sold its entire stake of about 10% stake in commercial vehicle financier Shriram Transport Finance Co Ltd., citing a “broader strategy” to leverage opportunities for growth in its financial services business. As of 31 March, Piramal held 22.6 million shares in Shriram Transport, which specialises in financing second-hand trucks, representing a 9.96% stake. The stake sale will fetch Piramal approximately ₹2,300 crore, based on the closing price of the stock on Monday. “Earlier this year in April 2019, Piramal Enterprises Ltd. had announced…

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Draft norms for ‘on-tap’ licensing of small finance banks by August end

Loknath Das

On-tap licensing is a time-efficient feature that will allow parties to obtain the licence on-demand basis and eligible parties won’t have to wait. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will issue draft guidelines for ‘on-tap’ licensing of Small Finance Banks (SFB) by the end of August 2019 with a view to enhance supply of credit to small borrowers and encourage competition. On-tap licensing is a time-efficient feature that will allow parties to obtain the licence on-demand basis and eligible parties won’t have to wait. In September 2015, the RBI had…

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Finance Ministry starts groundwork for fresh banking mergers

Loknath Das

NEW DELHI: The next wave of bank consolidation is planned during the October-December quarter of the current fiscal with the Finance Ministry starting to seek information from PSBs on possible targets for amalgamation/mergers and acquisitions with justification on how such an initiative will synergise operations and strengthen the bank. Government sources said that heads of all public sector banks (PSBs) have been asked to be ready with their consolidation plan so that it could be placed before the alternative mechanism (AM) of the new government as soon as it is…

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5 Items You Need for Summer Travel

Loknath Das

With summer just around the corner, you’re probably wanting to go and spend sometime outdoors. Winter’s departure is long overdue, and you may have even forgotten about some of the summer essentials you’ll need for even the most basic day travel — sunglasses, for example, which are so easy to forget about but their absence can turn even a stroll through the park into a nightmare. You’ll find a list of some of our favorite summer essentials, from the previously mentioned sunglasses to other items that will give you comfort…

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Finance ministry reworking strategic sale procedure for CPSEs

Loknath Das

The finance ministry is reworking strategic sale procedure to ensure outright sale of CPSEs within 4 months of issuance of documents to potential investors, a move aimed at ensuring speedier conclusion of the entire process, an official said. However, for CPSEs like Air India, which are relatively bigger in size, the timeline for completion of strategic sale is likely to be fixed at 6 months from the date of issuance of Preliminary Information Memorandum (PIM) about the company. Currently, there is no set timeline for concluding strategic sale of a state-owned company and…

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Education Policy For Alienated America

Loknath Das

President Donald Trump speaks to the “Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit,” Wednesday, April 24, 2019, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) ASSOCIATED PRESS Tim Carney begins his fascinating and challenging book Alienated America with Donald Trump’s campaign-launch pronouncement that, “Sadly, the American Dream is dead.” Carney marshals a wealth of evidence, both systematic and impressionistic, that confirms that for many Americans, this is unfortunately true. But why? “I think the answer is this,” he writes, “strong communities have crumbled, and much of America has been left abandoned, without the web of human…

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Love for education, brick-by-brick

Loknath Das

Biswanath Naru with students of his school, Nandipur Swami Vivekananda Vidyamandir in Dum Dum Park shortly after its inauguration in January.Sanat Kr Sinha Biswanath Naru sells fish for a living, but it has been 45 years that the college dropout is mastermoshai to several children of a lesser god. When the mastermoshai (teacher) began to pursue his second calling in life, all he could provide the poor children of Dum Dum Park was an apology for a roof over their head, a mat to sit on and free education. As the students of Nandipur…

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Austin Adventures: A Passion For Family Travel

Loknath Das

v The Austins. From left, Kasey, Dan, Andy and Carol AUSTIN ADVENTURES Dan Austin has a passion for family travel. That’s true not only of the trips he’s been offering for over two decades at Austin Adventures but in the very company he’s created. It’s a bona fide family business with his wife and two grown children, born from his adventures with them along the way. Austin Adventures takes people on hiking, biking and multisport adventures around the world, in South and Central America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. They were once known…

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U.S.’s Lighthizer, Mnuchin to travel to China for trade talks: White House

Loknath Das

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will travel to Beijing for the latest round of high-level trade talks scheduled to start on March 28, the White House said in a statement on Saturday. The United States also will receive a Chinese trade delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He for meetings in Washington that are set to begin on April 3, the White House said. President Donald Trump said on Friday the negotiations with China were progressing and a final agreement seemed…

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