Nasheman News : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed separate monetary penalties on lenders — UCO Bank, Axis Bank and Syndicate Bank — over deficiencies in complying with different regulatory norms.

The RBI imposed a penalty of Rs 2 crore each on UCO Bank and Axis Bank for non-compliance with its circular on ‘Collection of Account Payee Cheques – Prohibition on Crediting Proceeds to Third Party Account’ and Master Directions on ‘Frauds – Classification and Reporting by commercial banks and select FIs’.

In addition, a separate penalty of Rs 20 lakh was imposed on Axis Bank for contravention of the directions contained in ‘Master Circular on Detection and Impounding of Counterfeit Notes’ and, the ‘Circular on Sorting of Notes – Installation of Note Sorting Machines’.

In another statement, the RBI said it has imposed a penalty of Rs 1 crore on the government-owned Syndicate Bank for non-compliance with the directions contained in ‘Master Circular on Frauds – Classification and Reporting’ and ‘Circular on Risk Management Systems in Banks’.

Sheela Foam, makers of Sleepwell & market leader in Indian PU Foam industry, has today announced launch of its entry into home comfort segment with Sleepwell Home Comfort Product Range. The new range offers a bouquet of Concept Pillows, Bed sheets with enchanting design themes, Luxurious Comforters, Warm Blankets & Mattress Protectors thus offering consumers a “Total Sleep Solution” all under 1 roof along with its innovative range of mattresses & pillows.

 In line with vision of offering best in class sleep experience, Sleepwell Home Comfort Products would be available across all Sleepwell Outlets in India.

 Sleepwell’s Home Comfort Products are backed by its deep understanding of sleep science, rich experience of over decades, the use of finest quality materials & hi-tech product features. Every product in this range is designed with care & understanding of unique sleep & comfort requirements of individual consumers, to provide best in class comfort & sleeping experience. 

Addressing the press Rakesh Chahar, CEO & Director, Sheela Foam said that with launch of entire range of Home Comfort Products, Sleepwell brand is probably only 1 of its kind in the country that offers the customer a total sleep well solution.

 Naresh Mittal, MD of PMG, the distributor for Sleepwell products in Karnataka said that the launch of these products was a great boost for exclusive Sleepwell dealers & hoped that this will be an imetus for overall growth of the brand.

 Bhushan Pathak, Business Head, Home Comfort Products added that using Sleepwell’s unmatched knowledge of an individual’s sleep & comfort requirements, Sleepwell Home Comfort Products have been thoughtfully designed to enhance the overall sleeping experience of the consumers. These not only uplift the decor of the bedroom but also offer a blissful sleeping experience along with our mattress. 

The brand’s strength is not just dependent on its range of futuristic offerings for Mattress, Home Comfort Products & Furniture Cushioning applications, but is also a result of trust & security that its customers have invested in Sleepwell over last 5 decades. Sleepwell plans to introduce exciting themes, designs, colors & materials every quarter or season, depending on the product. The product offering is differentiated in the market by using finest quality in reactive prints, zero shrinkage combed cotton, softest & warmest materials & rich design & finish & scientifically designed products. 

Inspired by nature & science to offer health & hygiene, all sleepwell products are treated with unique Neem Fresche Technology that keeps the products fresh & safe by preventing breeding of dust mites, bacteria, fungi & it also eliminates bad odour. 

Sleepwell is a flagship brand of Sheela Group, India’s leading manufacturer of Polyurethane foam & an ISO 9001 certified company. It has 12 state of art manufacturing units, a strong support of over 100 plus distributors & over 6500 dealers in India. Sheela Group is a market leader in Indian P.U. Foam industry. 

Being one of Asia’s biggest Polyurethane Foam Manufacturer, it has over 4 & a half decade of extensive experience of making quality products backed by their state-of-the-art Research & Development labs.  

The revenue department will put in place within two years a mechanism to ensure that all returns are processed within 24 hours and refunds issued simultaneously, an official said.

The government has already sanctioned Rs 4,200 crore last month for upgradation of information technology infrastructure of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) for processing returns, refunds, faceless scrutiny and verification.

Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey said currently refunds are processed online in an automated manner. In the current year, refunds to the tune of Rs 1.50 lakh crore have been given directly in bank accounts.

Now the system is being further upgraded so that refunds can be received within 24 hours.

When asked about the timeline for implementing 24-hour refund, Pandey told media “We will try to do it as soon as possible, within the same time frame as faceless assessment, within two years”.

While presenting the 2019-20 interim Budget, temporary Finance Minister Piyush Goyal had said the Income Tax Department now functions online and returns, assessments, refunds and queries are all undertaken online.

“Last year, 99.54 per cent of income-tax returns were accepted as they were filed. Our government has now approved a path breaking, technology intensive project to transform the I-T Department into more assessee-friendly one. All returns will be processed in 24 hours and refunds issued simultaneously,” Goyal said.

The minister said within next two years, almost all verification and assessment of returns selected for scrutiny will be done electronically through anonymised back office, manned by tax experts and officials, without any personal interface between taxpayers and tax officers.

Anonymous returns scrutiny through back office, Pandey said “will also bring in transparency and minimise any subjectivity or human interface”.

Agencies

C All is set for the launch of India’s 40th communication satellite GSAT-31 early on Wednesday by an Ariane 5 rocket belonging to Arianespace, said the European space agency.

In a statement, Arianespace said the launch will be the first of the planned 12 missions in 2019 using its heavy-lift Ariane 5, medium-lift Soyuz and lightweight Vega rockets.

The Ariane 5 rocket will carry two satellites – Saudi Geostationary Satellite 1/Hellas Sat 4 and the GSAT-31.

According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the 2,535-kg GSAT-31 is the 40th communication satellite and would augment the Ku-band transponder capacity in geostationary orbit.

The ISRO said GSAT-31, with a mission life of 15 years, will be used for supporting VSAT networks, television uplinks, digital satellite news gathering, DTH television services, cellular backhaul connectivity and more.

The two Ku-band beacon downlink signals are transmitted by the satellite for ground tracking purpose, it said.

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Nasheman News :Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan called the Interim Budget 2019-20 the “second surgical strike” by the NDA government and said the opposition leaders looked “despondent”.

“The first surgical strike occurred on the border. Jawans fought it with bullets. Here, we will fight with ballots. People will decide that the NDA wins 400 seats. Narendra Modiji will be the Prime Minister (again),” he told reporters outside Parliament.

“Has anybody ever thought of such a big step for farmers?” he asked.

Equating the Budget with cricket, Paswan said it was “a sixer” and the opposition would not be able “to find the ball” until the Lok Sabha elections. 

Nasheman News : Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said the government has provided Rs 1,330 crore for the protection and empowerment of women, an increase of Rs 174 crore from last year.

“An amount of Rs 1,330 crore has been provided for 2019-20,” Goyal said while presenting the Interim Budget it in the Lok Sabha.

“While taking several welfare initiatives for women, the emphasis of the government has been to move from ‘women’s development’ to ‘women-led development’ during the last four and a half years.”

Goyal said that more than 70 per cent of the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana were women who were getting affordable and collateral-free loans to start their own businesses.

The Minister also added that maternity leave of 26 weeks have provided financial support to women while empowering them to participate in work.

He noted that the government embarked upon the Ujjawala Yojana to deliver eight crore free LPG connections and six crore connections have already been provided while the remaining will be given by next year.

Nasheman News : The government on Friday announced a budget of Rs 38,572 crore for its National Education Mission which comprises the Centrally sponsored schemes for education under which it allocates funds to the states and union territories.

The budget amount is an increase from last year’s Rs 32,334 crore. 

Most part of this entire amount — Rs 36,472.40 crore — is for school education for students from pre-primary to class 12. 

This amount is meant to be allocated for schemes which include Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan — formed with the merger of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan last year — and teacher training. 

A part of this budget component, that is, Rs 2,100 crore, is meant for higher education, which will go towards the Ministry of Human Resource Development’s Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan or RUSA. 

Nasheman News :Addressing the distress in the agrarian sector, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday announced a scheme to provide direct income support of Rs 6,000 to farmers with a land holding up to two hectares, which would benefit about 12 crore people.

He also announced expansion of the interest subvention for loans taken under Kisan Credit Card to farmers involved in animal husbandry and fishing. 

Presenting the Interim Budget for 2019-20 in the Lok Sabha, he said the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) will be effective from December 1, 2018. 

“Under this scheme, direct income support of Rs 6,000 every year will be given to farmers who have a land holding of up to two hectares,” he said.

“This income support will be transferred directly into the bank accounts of the farmers in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 each.” The scheme will be funded 100 per cent by the central government, he added.

Goyal said farm returns have reduced due to the declining prices of agriculture commodities in the international markets and a fall in food inflation in India in the last two years relative to the non-food sector.

“Small and fragmented land holdings on account of repeated division has also contributed in the decline in the income of the farmer families. Hence, there is need to provide structured income support to poor farmer families in the country for procuring inputs such as seeds, fertilisers, equipment, labour and to meet other needs,” he said.

Goyal said the scheme will be effective from December 2018 and the first instalment for the period up to March 31 this year will be disbursed soon. 

The government will incur an annual expenditure of Rs 75,000 crore in 2019-20 while it has allocated Rs 20,000 crore in the revised estimates of the current year.

He also reiterated the government’s “historic” decision to provide Minimum Support Price (MSP) for 22 crops with 50 per cent profit over the input cost in order to double farm income. Agriculture continues to be the main driver of the rural economy, he said.

Saying an increase in farm loans to Rs 11.68 lakh crore in 2018-19, the minister said the allocation for interest subvention on farm loans has been doubled in order to provide farmers with affordable loans.

Moreover, the benefit of two per cent interest subvention will be provided to the farmers pursuing activities of animal husbandry and fishery who avail of a loan through the Kisan Credit Card (KCC), the minister said. 

“Further, in case of timely repayment of loan, they will get three per cent additional interest subvention,” he said.

He also said that the government has decided to provide benefit of three per cent interest subvention for disaster affected farmers for the entire period of reschedulement — from the earlier period of one year– besides interest subvention of 2 per cent.

Goyal said Rs 1.7 lakh crore has been allocated in order to bring food at affordable rates to families belonging to the poor and middle class.

“We ensured that everyone gets food and nobody goes to sleep without food,” he said. 

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has been provided Rs 60,000 crore in 2019-20 and more funds will be poured in if required, he said.

Saying the government seeks to break the urban-rural divide in the country, Rs 19,000 crore has been allocated to the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana as against Rs 15,500 crore in the previous budget, Goyal said.

Out of the total 17.84 lakh habitations in the country, 15.80 lakh were provided with pucca roads and the remaining work will be done soon, he said.

Goyal also announced a ‘Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog’ to upscale sustainable genetic upgradation of cow resources and to enhance production and productivity of cows. 

“The Aayog will look after effective implementation of laws and welfare schemes for cows. The government will not hesitate in allocating funds for the respect of “Gomata”.

Goyal also announced a separate Department for Fisheries.

Nasheman News : Various schemes to the tune of Rs 150 crore to benefit the diaspora community of the state were announced in the Kerala Budget 2019-20 here on Thursday.

Presenting the budget in the Assembly Finance Minister Thomas Isaac said the biggest allocation of Rs 81 crore was for the various programmes of the Loka Kerala Sabha (LKS) .

He said that starting in the new fiscal, the bodies of Keralites who die in various Middle East countries will be brought free to their homes.

The LKS was formed in 2018 by the Pinarayi Vijayan government when 351 members, including 141 legislators, parliament members from the state and some 130 selected representatives of Kerala-based organisations from within and outside the country, got under one roof to discuss the issues of the Kerala diaspora.

“Rs 25 crore has been set aside for the Santhwanam Scheme wherein the returned diaspora member who earn less than a lakh annually will be given assistance in case of emergencies. 

“Rs 15 crore has been set aside to provide for interest and capital subsidies to be given to those returned diaspora members who begin independent ventures. 

“Rs 5 crore has been set aside to meet the expenses of various diaspora festivals to be held outside India,” said Isaac in his speech.

The Minister announced a ‘Pravasi Dividend Pension Scheme’ that will provide a regular monthly pension of Rs 2,000 to all Non-Resident Keralites (NRK) on a onetime payment of Rs 5 lakh.

The monthly pension payment will begin after five years of joining the scheme and those who wish to avail a higher pension could pay in multiples of Rs five lakhs.

Issac also set aside Rs 15 crore for rehabilitation programmes of returned diaspora and another Rs 9 crore for the NRK Welfare Fund.

According to a study there are 2.1 million migrants from Kerala across the world whose estimated total annual remittances to the state have been found to be Rs 85,092 crore.

Of these close to 90 per cent are in various Middle East countries.

It has also been estimated that there are around one million NRK who have returned to the state.