U GRO Capital Launches SME Lending Operations 

U GRO Capital, small business lending platform listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, launched its operations in Karnataka.

Opening their Bengaluru office is part of U GRO Capital’s strategy to disburse loans between INR 10 lakhs & 5 crores to small businesses operating in 8 identified sectors.

Founded by Mr. Shachindra Nath, a financial services veteran, U GRO Capital aims to create highly customized customer journeys by building sector specific products, assessment frameworks & distribution networks.

U GRO Capital has developed a truly next generation, big data driven lending platform which leverages digital capabilities across the value chain – customer acquisition, credit underwriting & post-disbursal monitoring.

In the initial phase, U GRO Capital will have 9 branches in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Jaipur & Mumbai, which will overlap with large SME clusters. The company has evaluated 1,300 channel partners (basis multiple parameters like portfolio performance, technology readiness), of which the company has narrowed down on approximately130 partners.

With relation to Avantha Power (Jhabua) an Rs. 100 crore settlement for PFC got stalled after one of the operational creditors took the asset to NCLT.

[Nasheman news] NEW DELHI:

Lenders will cite one day default clause under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) to defend their action against erring promoters taken to insolvency under the now defunct February 12, 2018 circular of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Sources said promoters of about half a dozen stressed power entities referred to National Company Law Tribunal have approached the bankruptcy court to quash insolvency proceedings against them as it has become non-maintainable following the Supreme Court order declaring the RBI circular ultra vires.

But banker’s are confident that stressed assets referred to NCLT will continue to face bankruptcy proceedings as IBC clearly states such referral even if there is one day delay or default by any entity in meeting its loan commitments.

“There is no question that stressed assets referred to NCLT will come out from there following the apex court’s ruling. These assets continue to remain stressed and lenders are sure that resolution under IBC framework would work best for all stakeholders,” said chairman and managing director of a leading state-owned financial institution asking not to be named.

“If need be, lenders would also file an affidavit with NCLT to continue the bankruptcy proceedings in the case of companies that faced such action over the earlier RBI circular,” he added.

Five stressed power producers, including 3,600 MW KSK Mahanadi Power Co. Ltd., 1920 MW Lanco Amarkantak Power Ltd., 600 MW Avantha Power (Jhabua), 1350 MW Rattan India Nashik Power Ltd. (formerly Indiabulls) and 1,350 MW Rattan India Power (Amravati project) are preparing to oppose insolvency proceedings as lenders filed petitions against them as per February 12 RBI circular. The projects owe about Rs. 50,000 crore to banks.

Lanco Amarkantak has sought time from the NCLT to submit documents that suggests that Axis Bank had initiated insolvency proceedings against it under the now-defunct RBI circular. KSK Mahanadi and Avantha Power have also cited the apex court order in earlier NCLT hearing. The other projects are also thinking of taking up the matter in the court.

The February 12 RBI circular had also mandated resolution process by lenders even if there was one day delay in repayment by debtors. This stands annulled by Supreme Court. 

However, IBC gives powers to any creditor to take a company to NCLT even if there is one day delay in repayments and the outstanding amount is in excess of Rs. 1 lakh. As this provision stands, lenders want to maintain bankruptcy proceedings against assets that remain in stress.

In all about 70 cases with total bank exposure of about Rs. 4 lakh crore was declared as stressful by the banks post the RBI circular. This included 34 stressed power projects worth 40,000 MW having total bank of close to Rs. 1.8 lakh crore.

Its not that institutions, including PFC did not try to resolve certain power projects, but none of the attempts remained successful. In the case of KSK Mahanadi, Adani Group showed interest but it soon withdrew from the race as lenders were divided on the level of hair cut and UP state regulator sought cut in tariff for the project. 

In case of an Rs. 600 crore one time settlement scheme worked out for Lanco Amravati, the sole investor backed out from the race at the last minute.C

With relation to Avantha Power (Jhabua) an Rs. 100 crore settlement for PFC got stalled after one of the operational creditors took the asset to NCLT.

Bengaluru, April 18 : HAL recommenced flight testing of modified Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT) on Wednesday from its facilities here and the flight test was flawless.
The flight testing of IJT (HJT 36), designed and developed by HAL for the stage-II training of IAF pilots was put on hold after the aircraft had encountered problem in the spin test flights in the year 2016, according to a press release by HAL here on Thursday.
HAL CMD R Madhavan said that ?HAL continued its R&D efforts and undertook modification of IJT LSP4 aircraft based on extensive and comprehensive wind tunnel studies?.
HAL’s research, design and technical teams carried out the modifications required with more challenges ahead, he added.

Suresh Prabhu said he had asked the civil aviation secretary to take necessary steps to protect passenger rights and safety.

Cash-starved Jet Airways is grappling with a debt burden of $1.2 billion

The government said on Tuesday that it had directed the secretary of Ministry of Civil Aviation to review the issues related to Jet Airways. In a tweet on Tuesday morning, Union Minister Suresh Prabhu said that Pradeep Singh Kharola will review the issues ailing the airline, especially increasing fares and flight cancellations. The statement from the government comes at a time the cash-starved carrier is grappling with a debt burden of $1.2 billion, and owes vast sums to lessors, suppliers, pilots and oil companies.

He further said that Mr Kharola had been asked to “take necessary steps to protect passenger rights and safety” and work with the stakeholders for their well-being.Directed Secretary to review issues related to Jet Airways, especially increasing fares, flight cancellations etc. Asked him to take necessary steps to protect passenger rights and safety; and to work with all stakeholders for their well being.

The airline is operating with less than 10 planes, news agency Press Trust of India reported.

Jet Airways has been losing planes in recent weeks as lessors scramble to de-register and take back their aircraft, even as Jet’s lenders have sought expressions of interest in the carrier from potential investors. It has also suspended its international operations for the time being.

Jet has been struggling after failing to receive a stop-gap loan of Rs. 1,500 crore from its lenders as part of a rescue deal agreed in late March.

Lenders, led by the State Bank of India (SBI), want a new investor to buy a stake of up to 75 per cent in Jet and initial expressions of interest were submitted last week.

Shares in Jet Airways dropped as much as 4.43 per cent on Tuesday, underperforming a broader market that scaled new record highs.

Indigenously developed by the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), the Nirbhay missile can carry warheads of up to 300 kg, the sources added.

It can travel with a turbofan or turbojet engine and is guided by a highly advanced inertial navigation system.

India successfully test fired a sub-sonic cruise missile Nirbhay off the Odisha coast on Monday.

The 1,000-km range missile was fired for a shorter range from a launch pad from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Balasore district, said informed sources.

Indigenously developed by the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), the Nirbhay missile can carry warheads of up to 300 kg, the sources added.

It can travel with a turbofan or turbojet engine and is guided by a highly advanced inertial navigation system.

The last successful test launch of the missile took place in November 2017.

By: Faizan Rizwan

 FCA India’s Retail Distribution Network Expands

 FCA India, the manufacturer of the award-winning Jeep Compass today announced that its retail network has expanded to 82 points of sale across 70 Indian towns & cities. This includes FCA all-brand showrooms that sell Jeep, Fiat & Abarth vehicles in major Indian cities & Jeep Connect showrooms, which are premium retail outlets that cover the customer base in satellite cities & towns.  

With this expansion, FCA has 4 all-brand showrooms in Bengaluru. MPS Motors Pvt. Ltd., has opened 2 showrooms, 1 located in GR Grand Plaza, JP Nagar Phase 6, Kanakapura Main Road, Bengaluru & the 2^ndnear Electronic City, Luvkusha Nagar, Hosur Road. The other 2 existing showrooms of KHT Agencies Pvt. Ltd. are located in Koramangala & Yeshwantpur. FCA has 7 all-brand showrooms now in Karnataka, including presence in Hubli, Mysore & Belgaum. 

  A new FCA all-brand showroom, MVR Auto is now open at Caranzelan, Panjim, Goa. 

2 new Jeep Connect showrooms are now open, one, Nidhi Kamal Company located near the Parbatpura Bypass, in Ajmer, Rajasthan & the 2^nd WSL Automobiles Pvt. Ltd. in Bahadurgarh, Rajpyra Road, Patiala, Punjab. Jeep Connect is a network expansion strategy to take the Jeep® & Mopar® premium brand experience closer to customers’ homes, which may be located far away from the hubs of big cities.

 Jeep Connect outlets offer sales as well as service & are already open in Pune, Rohtak, Ahmedabad, Muvthpuzha, Panipat, Bilaspur & Warangal. 

Besides expanding the retail network, FCA India has been working towards adding to its after-sales presence across the country. The Company now has 84 Mopar workshops which are equipped with trained technicians to provide service & care to Jeep, Fiat & Abarth customers.

 FCA produces the Made-in-India Jeep Compass in their Ranjangaon joint venture manufacturing facility near Pune city. The same plant also produces Fiat &  Abarth carlines.

Washington, Apr 9 : India topped the chart in remittance recipients as the Indian diaspora have sent 79 billion dollars back home in 2018, the World Bank has said.

India has left behind China (67 billion dollars), Mexico (36 billion dollars), the Philippines (34 billion dollars) and Egypt (29 billion dollars), the World Bank said in its latest Migration and Development Brief report on Monday.

According to the report, remittances grew by more than 14 per cent in India, where a flooding disaster in Kerala likely boosted the financial help that migrants sent to families.

In Pakistan, remittance growth was moderate 7 per cent, due to significant declines in inflows from Saudi Arabia, its largest remittance source. In Bangladesh, remittances showed a brisk uptick in 2018 with 15 per cent.

The Bank estimates that officially recorded annual remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries reached 529 billion dollars in 2018, an increase of 9.6 per cent over the previous record high of 483 billion dollars in 2017.

Global remittances, which include flows to high-income countries, reached 689 billion dollars in 2018, up from 633 billion dollars in 2017.

The report said in 2019, remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries are expected to reach 550 billion dollars, to become their largest source of external financing.

Dilip Ratha, lead author of the Brief and head of KNOMAD, said, ?Remittances are on track to become the largest source of external financing in developing countries. The high costs of money transfers reduce the benefits of migration. Renegotiating exclusive partnerships and letting new players operate through national post offices, banks, and telecommunications companies will increase competition and lower remittance prices.?

 By: Faizan Rizwan & Shaheen Raaj

FCA India Makes the Sport Trim

The FCA India, manufacturer of the award-winning Jeep Compass, recently announced the start-of-sale of the “Sport Plus” derivative in its aspirational portfolio. The Jeep Compass, which has been witnessing great demand particularly for its top-end trim will now have a more desirable entry-level offering in the Sport Plus variant. 

The new Jeep Compass Sport Plus, at INR 15.99 lakh (ex-Delhi), comes with additional new features as standard, such as 16-inch sporty alloys, dual-zone auto air-conditioning (climate control), rear parking sensors & black roof rails, in addition to the 21 key features, including the Electric Parking Brake, Disc Brakes on all 4 wheels & the sophisticated Frequency Selective Damping, which also come standard across the entire Jeep Compass range.

 The Jeep Compass Sport Plus comes in front-wheel drive (FWD) in 2 powerful, refined & proven powertrain options, a 173 PS, 350 Nm, 2.0-litre Multijet Turbo Diesel with a 6-speed manual transmission that can deliver a fuel efficiency of 17.1 kmpl & a 162 PS, 250 Nm, 1.4-litre MultiAir Turbo Petrol with a 6-speed manual transmission that can deliver a fuel efficiency of 14.1 kmpl.

 Summary of the 21 Standard Features available across Jeep® Compass range & also in the Sport Plus Package: Iconic Jeep exterior styling, The Jeep Compass Sport Plus, like every other Jeep SUV continues the tradition of sporting the iconic Jeep seven-slot front grille, trapezoidal wheel arches and 5 spoke alloy wheels.

High-strength steel body – Fully galvanized & laden with laser-welded roof & doors, the Jeep Compass is the only vehicle in India that is made with this technology, which keeps the build robust & durable.

 Safety and Security – This has been the hallmark of the Jeep Compass is in abundance with over 50 active & passive safety & security features. The Jeep Compass has won a 5 star rating in both the Australia NCAP & Euro NCAP tests. Intuitive Ergonomics, The sporty & sophisticated passenger cabin of the Jeep Compass gives occupants an effortless access to buttons & functions at their fingertips. The cabin is replete with premium soft-touch materials & accentuated with piano black & chrome finished touches. Subtle elements like the “Shark Fin” air-con bezels, chrome accents in the sporty steering wheel, stitched contoured seats & an overall athletic but premium ambience makes the journey a pleasure for occupants. 

Exceptionally silent Passenger Cabin, Occupants can enjoy a peaceful ride in the well-insulated passenger cabin, keeping away tyre & traffic noise & also feedback from the powerful turbo-diesel engine. The 28 Acoustic Baffle Plate technology in & around the passenger cabin ensures the ambient noise is cut off when an occupant is taking a phone call on the go, in sync with the innovative Jeep UConnect infotainment system which is equipped with Apple Car Play & Android Auto. 

Frequency Selective Damping Suspension, Jeep’s brilliant Frequency Selective Damping (FSD) suspension mechanically adjusts the damping based on road conditions & driver inputs. FSD acts as a hydraulic amplifier that delays the build-up of pressure in the strut making the damping more effective than usual & provides more stability during cornering & braking, while ensuring more comfort on bad roads. 

Electronically aided dynamics, The Jeep Compass has the usual electronics which aid the driver in varied driving conditions as standard & these are, Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD), Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Traction Control System (TCS), Hill Start Assist (HSA) & Electronic Rollover Mitigation (ERM). In addition to these, a few more features that are brilliantly engineered into the intuitive dynamics of the Jeep Compass are: Dynamic Steering Torque Steering (DST), The Electric Steering Wheel in the Jeep Compass is equipped with DST, which has sensors that intuitively pick the driver’s steering inputs & induces enough torque when the steering is being turned, irrespective of speeds. The DST works in sync with the ESC to ensure safety on all kinds of road surfaces. Electronic Brake Prefill, This technology ensures the vehicle suspension’s changing yaw setting, sharp steering input, quick camber & speed variations are kept in check by short, unnoticeably quick, automated bursts of brake pad engagement with the discs. This ensures stability & high speeds & unpredictable highway driving conditions. 

Rain Brake Support, This technology ensures electronically enabled engagement of the brake pads with the discs when the sensors sense continuous deposits of water on the disc (brakes). This pad engagement is quick but not intrusive, only to make sure the disc remains dry at all times. The Jeep Compass Sport Plus will be available for sale at all FCA India’s 82 sales & service outlets present across the length & the breadth of India. 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday cut its repo rate or the rate at which it lends to banks, by 25 basis points to 6 per cent bringing interest rate to the lowest level in one year on softening inflation.

This is the second consecutive rate cut from RBI under new chief Shaktikanta Das, after a surprise rate cut in February.

The central bank, however, kept monetary policy stance at ‘neutral’.

In the second policy review under Governor Shaktikanta Das, the six-member Monetary Policy Committee voted 4:2 in favour of the rate cut.

The benchmark interest rate was cut by 0.25 per cent to 6 per cent, a move that will result in lower cost of borrowing for the banks that are expected to transmit the same to individuals and corporates.

The RBI had on February 7, in its sixth bi-monthly policy statement for 2018-19, reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points from 6.5 per cent to 6.25 points.

The apex bank had also changed the policy stance to “neutral” from existing “calibrated tightening”.

Earlier, the Monetary Policy Committee had changed its stance to calibrated tightening in the meeting held in October 2018.

Last time the repo rate stood at 6 per cent was in April 2018.

The rate cut is in consonance of achieving the medium-term objective of maintaining inflation at the 4 per cent level while supporting growth, RBI said in a statement.

Agencies

New Delhi (Agencies): WhatsApp has rolled out new privacy settings, which includes an invite system for groups. The new features give users more control over which groups they want to join.

Users will now need to approve whether they are interested in joining a group on WhatsApp to which they have been invited.

The new invite system means that users can choose to be added to only groups for which an invite has been sent by their contact. The user will have the option of approving whether to join a group or not, which was not the case before.

A group invite will be sent through private chat and users will have three days to accept it. After three days, the invite expires. The invite will have details like the group name, its description and other group members.

To enable the feature, users can head to the Settings menu in WhatsApp and then tap Account > Privacy > Groups. There are three options to choose from: “Nobody,” “My Contacts,” or “Everyone.”

If a user selects “Nobody”, then they will need to approve before being added into any group. With the “My Contacts” option, only contacts in the user’s address book can add them to groups.

The new privacy settings have started rolling out to some users and will be more widely available in the coming weeks. Users will need to update their WhatsApp app to the latest version to access this feature.

The invite system was long-awaited as users will now be able to decline being added to groups they do not wish to join. The feature will also help curb the spread of misinformation on the platform, especially fake news that is targeted to a large number of people at once through groups.

Fact-checking service to fight fake news added

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, to curb the spread of misinformation, WhatsApp on Tuesday launched a fact-checking service in India.

According to Reuters, the internet-based instant messaging platform in a press release said that it has tied up with Indian startup Proto and two other organisations, Dig Deeper Media and Meedan, for the service called Checkpoint Tipline.

Users can send messages, including images, video and text in English, Hindi, Telugu, Bengali and Malayalam. The tip line will classify the messages as true, false, misleading or disputing. The number is 919643000888.

This initiative is one of those few taken by WhatsApp, ahead of the elections, which will be held from April 11 to May 19. Earlier, the platform was in news when it tried its best to stop spread of misinformation. It had imposed a limit of five on the number of times a message could be forwarded on WhatsApp.

WhatsApp owner Facebook on Monday had announced that it had removed more than 1,000 pages from India and Pakistan that it claimed were displaying ‘coordinated inauthentic behaviour’. Several pro-Bharatiya Janata Party and pro-Congress pages too were removed in the process, it claimed.