RBI starts meeting major players in P2P lending

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After releasing a consultation paper on peer-to-peer (P2P) lending last week, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has started meeting some leading players in the sector. The founder of a leading P2P lending platform, who met officials of RBI’s Department of Non-Banking Regulation on Wednesday, told FE on the condition of anonymity that the central bank is gearing up to come out with final guidelines for P2P lending platforms by the end of the current calendar year.

He also said that money laundering and interest rate are two of the main areas that the RBI is focusing on while framing the final guidelines for the sector. “It seems RBI is keen on capping the rate interest that a P2P lender can charge at the same level as that for non- banking finance company micro finance institutions (NBFC MFIs),” he said.

As per current RBI regulations, the maximum rate of interest that an NBFC MFI can charge is the lower of 10% more than its cost of funds and 2.75 times of the base rate of the top five commercial banks.

“While money laundering shouldn’t have been a big concern, given that draft guidelines have mandated that all transfer of funds happen directly from the lender’s bank account to that of the borrower, the unearthing of a few ponzi schemes in the P2P sector in China seem to have made the RBI more cautious,” the P2P lending platform’s founder added.

Post May 31, which is the deadline set by RBI for suggestions and comments on the regulations, it will work on the final guidelines and seems keen on releasing them by the end of the year, he added.

According to P2P Finance Association, the global P2P market almost doubled last year and has crossed the £5 billion mark.

“Although nascent in India and not significant in value yet, the potential benefits that P2P lending promises to various stakeholders and its associated risks to the financial system are too important to be ignored. The Reserve Bank has therefore found it necessary to put out this discussion paper to elicit public opinion and views of the various stakeholders on the future course of action having regard to the current legal and regulatory framework in place to regulate the business of financial intermediation,” RBI noted in the consultation paper.

It has also proposed a minimum capital requirement of R2 crore for P2P NBFCs and is intent on restricting such entities to just companies, thereby barring proprietorships, partnerships and LLPs.

Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/article/industry/banking-finance/rbi-starts-meeting-major-players-in-p2p-lending/248758/

Sumitomo likely to acquire 44% stake in Excel Crop Care

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Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo is at an advanced stage of negotiations to acquire a substantial equity stake in Excel Crop CareBSE -0.87 % , a Mumbai-headquartered listed company. The proposed deal could pave the way for the Japanese group to own about 44% shares of the pesticides and agrochemicals company for a total consideration ofRs 1,200-1,300 crore.

Sumitomo plans to buy out stake of Excel promoters — the Shroff family — holding 24.7% equity as well as two financial investors together owning close to 19% of the shares. ET’s email to Dipesh Shroff, managing director of Excel Crop Care, and Sumitomo Chemical went unanswered.

There have been several rounds of talks between officials of Sumitomo Chemical and the Excel management, and indications are that the deal may be signed in June. Nufarm, the Australian crop protection and specialist seeds company, owns more than 14% and is likely to retain its strategic stake in Excel Crop Care.

According to a report by Avendus Capital, global players are looking at India to increase their market share, add to their product portfolio , and strengthen their supply base in specialty and agrochemicals. “The Indian agrochemicals market is expected to grow rapidly (about 12% CAGR over 2014-19) with increase in farmer awareness, improvement in rural income and increase in pressure for improving productivity,” said Preet Mohan Singh, executive director, Avendus Capital.

The Shroffs are also the promoters of Excel Industries, a specialty chemicals company, and co-promoters of Aimco Pesticides in which they control a little over 25%. Before entering into any agreement with Sumitomo, the Shroffs are expected to conclude the inter se transfer of their holding to the other promoter family of Aimco. Excel Crop Care has 1.13% equity interest in Excel Industries.

Besides Shroffs, the other two shareholders of Excel Crop Care who may sell their shares to Sumitomo are Ratnabali Capital Markets (holding 14.99%) and Ratnabali Investments (3.95%). Among the institutional shareholders of Excel Crop Care are Life Insurance Corporation (6.58%) and DSP Blackrock (1.92%).

Excel Crop Care’s consolidated net profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 was Rs 7.6 crore as against Rs 1.7 crore in the year ago period, on total income of Rs 188.6 crore (Rs 205.6 crore). The Excel Crop Care stock has been trading at around Rs 1,109, against 52-week high and low of Rs 1,247 and Rs 750, respectively.

M&A activities in sectors like agro and specialty chemicals is expected to pick up, said Avendus, adding that the stride towards food security will also increase the significance of agrochemicals. An estimated 85% of India’s crop loss (worth close to $20 billion) is caused by pest infestation, disease and weeds and is prevented by the use of agrochemicals.

India exports agrochemicals to countries like the us , France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Brazil, Colombia, China, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/52392474.cms

Commercial realty witnesses rising interest from private equity funds

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The commercial real estate sector is witnessing increased interest from private equity funds, with several large institutions focusing on completed and leased commercial assets for investment.

In 2015, private equity real estate firms deployed more than $5 billion in Indian real estate companies and projects — the highest since the financial crisis of 2008 — through 90 deals, according to research from Venture Intelligence. Large investors and established developers also created several joint venture platforms in the past year, it said in a report.

Of the investment made, commercial projects accounted for 10%, it said. “Most of the private equity funds that India is receiving is from sovereign funds and pension funds,” said Sanjay Dutt, managing director, India, at realty consultants Cushman & Wakefield. “These funds prefer to invest in safer assets and have the potential to make long-term investments.” Completed leased commercial assets are seen as the best bet for these investors.

 

They have also been actively getting into tie-ups with builders to make investments in India. In one of such arrangements, Tata Group’s real estate and infrastructure development arm, Tata Realty & Infrastructure, partnered with Standard Chartered Private Equity to create a Rs 3,000 crore investment platform. While Goldman Sachs and Bengaluru-based property developer Nitesh Estates formed a $250 million fund to invest in income producing commercial real estate assets in India, APG and Xander also launched a $300 million India office venture.

Similarly, US private equity giant Blackstone formed a special purpose vehicle with Embassy Property Developers, while sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authorities agreed to back real estate firm RMZ to buy commercial assets.

“The world economy is unstable and risk appetite among investors is going down. Funds want to invest in income-generating assets as they are looking for safe and long-term investment,” said Raj Menda, corporate chairman at RMZ. The company is further looking to raise $600 million to invest in income-generating assets.

From the REIT perspective, private equity funds that are planning to launch REITs are seeking to build a portfolio of commercial assets.

“Commercial platform is extremely important as office assets cannot survive merely on leverage (borrowed) money. Equity money is extremely important to increase quality of commercial assets and long-term success of real estate investment trust,” said Rajeev Bairathi, executive director of capital transactions group at Knight Frank India.

Meanwhile, better market outlook is prompting Milestone Capital to look at introducing a domestic commercial fund this year to deploy rent-earning pre-leased assets, of around Rs 1,000 crore.

“Assets are available at attractive valuations. With interest rates in a low range, higher capital appreciation is possible. We are already evaluating a few deals for investment,” said Rubi Arya, executive vice chairman of Milestone Capital Advisors.Milestone Capital is working also on exits worth Rs 700 crore, including Rs 500 crore from commercial assets in the next one year in the backdrop of a recovering office property market.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/52368876.cms

Tax grievances: IT dept launches ‘e-nivaran’ for speedy grievance redressal

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CBDTThe Income Tax department has launched a special electronic grievance redressal system called ‘e-nivaran’ in order to fast track taxpayer grievances and ensure early resolution of their complaints.

A separate and dedicated window for grievance redressal has been launched recently in the Income Tax Business Application (ITBA), the new smart electronic platform for the regular operations of the department.

The facility is called ‘e-nivaran’ (electronic solution) and acts to integrate all online and physical complaints gathered by the department at this platform which will be monitored by the Assessing Officer of the case upto the supervisory officers in a paperless environment.

The facility is called ‘e-nivaran’ (electronic solution) and acts to integrate all online and physical complaints gathered by the department at this platform which will be monitored by the Assessing Officer of the case up to the supervisory officers in a paperless environment.

“The new system is called unified grievance management system and is acronymed ‘e-nivaran’. The system not only records the origin of the grievance on the electronic platform it works on, but it also keeps tracking it till it reaches its logical conclusion for final resolution,” a senior IT official said.

The e-portal will also ensure that grievances related to any section or domain of the tax department are transferred quickly to the department concerned like that of refunds issue or any other IT matter concerning an assessee.

The decision to launch ‘e-nivaran’, the official said, was taken in view of Prime Minister Narendra Modi few months back asking the IT department to pull up its socks and ensure that taxpayers grievances are resolved in the shortest possible time.

Modi had also asked all such departments which have a public interface to reduce this time to one month from the existing two months time.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the policy-making body of the department, has recently also created a new structure in the department to deal with these issues called the Taxpayer Services unit.

Allotting high priority to this issue, the CBDT had also brought a new mechanism where top officers of the department have been allotted a specific quota of complaints to monitor and track, from their origin to successful resolution.

Source: http://indianexpress.com/article/business/business-others/tax-grievances-it-dept-to-ensure-e-nivaran-2805360/

India moots framework for SME sector cooperation in BRICS

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India is working on a mechanism to boost cooperation amongst small and medium enterprises in the five-nation BRICS to promote joint ventures and share expertise on strengthening the sector.

New Delhi, which holds the Presidency of the BRICS this year, is drafting a framework for a joint growth strategy for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the region. “The framework for cooperation amongst MSMEs, which will identify the relative strengths of each country and also possible areas of joint ventures, will be discussed at the next meeting of officials in June and hopefully finalised at the BRICS ministerial meet in October,” a government official told BusinessLine . MSMEs in Brazil, for instance, are highly successful in participating in government procurements, he said, adding that they “capture almost 90 per cent of the business. Other countries could draw from Brazil’s legislative frameworks and other policy initiatives to help their small industry also get a chunk of government business.”

The BRICS grouping of five emerging economies — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — together account for a GDP of over $16 trillion, which is about half that of the seven major advanced economies. More than 40 per cent of the BRICS economies are driven by the MSME sector, according to government estimates.

The Commerce and Industry Ministry is also holding discussions with the industry to give a final shape to its proposal of putting in place a BRICS portal for addressing non-tariff measures (NTMs) that hamper trade between the BRICS.

Exporters’ body FIEO is one of the industry bodies giving inputs for the proposed portal.

“One of the biggest problems faced by exporters in the five countries is the lack of knowledge on various non-tariff measures (NTMs), such as new standards or specifications. Most of the times they get to know about the NTMs only when their goods are rejected. If this issue is addressed, it will serve as a big incentive for industry in the five nations to trade with each other,” said Ajay Sahai of FIEO.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/india-moots-framework-for-sme-sector-cooperation-in-brics/article8617609.ece

World’s largest rooftop solar power plant inaugurated in Punjab

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World’s largest single rooftop solar power plant of 11.5 Mw capacity was inaugurated in Beas near Amritsar in Punjab on Tuesday. Spread at a single rooftop stretch of 42 acre at Dera Baba Jaimal, the project was synchronized earlier this year.

According to Wikipedia,the Mandalay Bay Resort Convention Centre, Las Vegas in the United States is next biggest solar photovoltic power station in the world having 6.4 megawatts (Mw) capacity. The EPC contractors for the project were Tata Power Solar and Larsen and Toubro.

In addition to single largest rooftop solar power plant, seven rooftop solar power plants of 8Mw capacity were also inaugurated in Beas Dera campus making this place the highest single campus generating solar power of 19.5 Mw at multiple rooftops in the country, informed a senior official from Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA ).

Punjab is generating 470 Mw of solar power and with projects of 500 Mw in the pipeline, the state would be able to generate solar power of close to 1,000 Mw by the end of FY 2016-17.

New & Renewable Energy Resources Minister of Punjab Bikram Singh Majithia said this project would generate clean and green energy sufficient to power approximately 8,000 homes. He pointed out that GOL has set a target of power generation of 40,000 Mw from different resources of renewable energy to be achieved by 2022 and this project would be a role model to encourage other states to replicate such large rooftops on the building/sheds.

The investment in this sector has steeply gone up from Rs 82 crore in 2012 to nearly Rs 10,000 crore now with an employment potential of 12,500 jobs, he said. Punjab would achieve a target of 2552 MW of renewable energy generation by 2022, he added.

He said Punjab would achieve a target of 2552 MW of renewable energy generation by 2022.Solar projects have been executed on BOO (built-operate-own) basis and PEDA has entered into 25 year power purchase agreements with the private players.

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/world-s-largest-rooftop-solar-power-plant-inaugurated-in-punjab-116051701113_1.html

Income Tax return is not considered filed unless it’s e-verified

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Several taxpayers diligently file their tax returns but forget to e-verify them.

They believe their return filing process is complete once return has been duly submitted to the income tax department.

 

Your income tax (I-T) return submission is not complete unless you’ve ticked off the e-verification with the following steps :

 

Step 1: You have e-filed your tax return

 

Step 2: You have e-verified the return

 

Step 3: Final return processing by the tax department i.e. refund is processed or intimation under Section 143(1) is received.

 

Taxpayers who do not verify end up with incomplete filings. A refund, if any, is not processed in such cases.

 

Returns can be verified either electronically or by sending the physical ITR-V to CPC, Bengaluru. ITR-V is a one-page document, emailed by the I-T department to you; it can also be downloaded from the department’s website. ITR-V must be signed in blue ink and sent via ordinary or speed post to CPC, Bengaluru. You cannot courier the ITR-V. Sending the physical ITR-V involved a lot of problems. With the introduction of electronic verification, your return can now be verified easily and quickly.

 

There are several ways to verify your tax returns. To begin, log in to your e-filing account with your PAN and date of birth. Click on ‘e-File’ from the blue top bar. There is an option under it, ‘e-Verify Return’; select it. Select one of the options listed to e-verify.

 

EVC sent to registered email ID and mobile number

 

This option is available to taxpayers who have a total income of less than R5 lakh and there is no refund. A 10-digit alphanumeric code is sent to their email id and mobile number, registered on the tax department website, which is valid for 72 hours.

 

EVC via Aadhaar OTP

 

If you don’t have a refund, you can also e-verify via an Aadhaar OTP. Your Aadhaar card must be linked to your PAN on the e-filing website. The OTP is sent to your mobile number registered with Aadhaar and is valid for 10 minutes.

 

EVC through net banking

 

Those with an income of over R5 lakh, or with a refund, have to use net banking to e-verify returns. If your bank is authorised, you’ll be able to log in to e-filing through net banking. First, log in to your bank account and look for the e-filing option. When you confirm to e-verify, an EVC will be automatically generated and applied to the return; your e-verification will be complete. Don’t assume the refund will be credited to the net banking account you have used to e-verify. It is credited to the account selected for refund in your tax return, which may be different from the account you used to e-verify.

 

EVC through bank account number

 

You can also verify your tax return through your bank account number by logging in to the income tax department website. Your bank account number must be pre-validated. To validate, you have to select your bank name, enter the bank account number, IFSC and mobile number, and validate it on the income tax department website.

 

The department has issued a circular giving a final chance to taxpayers to put their past tax returns in order. If you had submitted your tax return for the past six years from AY 2009-10 to AY 2014-15, but the return could not be processed for want of ITR-V, you can e-verify it by August 31, 2016. The department shall process such returns by November 30. This will help put your past records in order.