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EGYPT PLANE HIJACKER IS FINALLY ARRESTED
Unconfirmed the suspected photo.
The Egypt plane Hijacker Seif Eldin Mustafa is finally arrested and the stand off is over at Larnaca Airport.MFA holding press conference on the subject.
The hijacker has emerged from the aircraft with his hands held up, Cyprus TV reports. According to the Foreign Ministry’s Twitter account, the stand-off is over and the man has been arrested.
Its over. The #hijacker arrested. #LarnacaAirport # Egyptair
The Civil Aviation Ministry said that the pilot of the Egypt domestic air plane, Omar Al-Gammal, told the authorities he was threatened by a passenger with a suicide belt but later emerged that information regarding explosives turned out to be false.
Egypt Air flight MS181 was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus by a passenger on board named as Seif Eldin. There are still seven hostages inside the aircraft, while it is believed that Eldin has asked for female prisoners in Egypt to be released.
An official from the Cyprus Foreign Ministry says the hijacking incident does not appear to be related to terrorism, but the official added that the hijacker, who has been named as Seif Eldin Mustafa does appear to be unstable. The ministry added that negotiations are continuing.
Banking sector needs a T N Seshan!’
‘Today, three areas give banks a big headache — steel, power, infrastructure.’
‘Three Cs are very critical in lending — character, capacity and collateral of the borrower.’
R Vaidyanathan, professor of finance and control at the Indian Institute of Management- Bangalore, feels, “The situation in the banking sector was worse in the late eighties and early nineties.”
Professor Vaidyanathan has been on the IIM-B faculty for 34 years teaching corporate finance, investments, risk management, insurance, pensions and financial markets.
He has also been a consultant to Hindustan Unilever, Life Insurance Corporation, ITC, BPL, the World Bank, Goldman Sachs, the Shriram Group, the Dalmia Group, the finance ministry, IDBI among others.
Professor Vaidyanathan, bottom, left, tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com about bad loans, NPAs and the future of public sector banks.
Public sector banks that were making profits till the last quarter are suddenly in the red. What is the reason behind this?
We have seen situations far worse than this, in the late eighties and the early nineties. During this period, banks were in an expansion mode with one branch opening almost every day with plenty of fanfare.
Banks had difficulty in funding and the nature of lending was also different in those days. For example, for every Rs 100, roughly Rs 40 used to go to government security and 40 per cent of the remaining Rs 60 (which is Rs 24) had to be lent only to the priority sector consisting agriculture, small industries and exports.
In the case of agriculture also, 50 per cent had to go to the small farmers and banks could charge only 6-and-a-half per cent interest. To small industries also, banks were supposed to lend only at 8-and-a half to 10 per cent interest.
When it came to lending to exporters, banks could, however, charge the normal rate of of 11 to 12 per cent interest.
A hierarchy was followed while lending the remaining Rs 36, which went to sectors like steel, atomic energy, coal, infrastructure, etc. Only in the end, they could lend to Hindustan Lever or Britannia!
The gap between the two — weighted average lending and weighted average borrowing — is the margin for the banks. At one point of time in the ’90s, it came up to one per cent for most of the banks.
Many committees were formed to look into the issue and the percentage came down from 40 per cent to 24 to 25 per cent. Branch expansions also slowed down.
In 2002, huge amount of VRS (voluntary retirement scheme) was given to bank employees and nearly 150,000 bank employees left.
Today, the problem is banks do not have significant amount for fund rotation.
Has the 2008 economic crisis and the subsequent slowdown in the economy resulted in this situation?
2008 was more of a global crisis. Today, there are three areas that give banks a big headache — steel, power and infrastructure. The steel sector is more or less in a better position today, with the government imposing import duty etc — domestic steel is picking up.
In the case of energy, gas prices have significantly fallen and the energy sector is also recovering.
We know that a large number of projects were stuck in infrastructure for various reasons. Now, many infrastructure projects like roads, ports, etc are getting released because of the faster decision making process. This can be helpful to the banks.
Will this result in the entry of global players in the banking sector?
That is what I want to stress: The crisis should not be overblown to create a situation for people clamouring for global players to enter India. This is very important.
Many of the global banks are also in crisis and they are very eager to get a foothold in the Indian market.
Because of the size of the market?
Because of the size of the market and also, they would not like to start from scratch. They would like to swallow some big banks here, which I think we should not encourage.
In the process of making a hue and cry about non-performing assets and bad loans, we are making it look as if our banks are not capable enough to run.
You should remember that most of the independent directors of these banks are political appointees like retired MPs, MLAs and sidekicks of political parties. This reduces the professional capability of banks.
They influence providing credit to parties who should not be provided any such fund. They also influence writing off loans which should not be written off.
What banks need now are professionals to run them.
Will it be possible? With the kind of nexus that exists between capitalists and politicians, is it not a big decision for any government to take?
I agree with you. But from whatever signal I get, it appears this government is appointing more professionals like chartered accountants, lawyers, company secretaries, etc.
Do you consider the current situation of the public sector banks worrying?
I would not say that. It is not beyond redemption. We can easily rectify these problems.
Some people say privatisation is the answer, some say downsizing. Some want merger. What is the solution?
Privatisation, definitely, is not the answer. Our PSBs are much better than the private banks.
If you look at the data, you will see that private sector banks have also suffered a lot in NPA (non performing assets), in fact more than the public sector banks.
But lending has increased significantly for them, by 20 per cent, while lending has come down in PSBs. The status of private sector banks like ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank are unknown to the ministry also.
Some time back, they opened so many private sector banks with so much fanfare. Where are they? So many of them got merged with PSBs eventually. It is not that all private sector banks have done great.
No, they should not use this as an excuse to privatise them (banks).
Downsizing mainly means reducing the number of employees, which they did through VRS. Now there is no massive recruitment also.
There is a talk about merging 27 PSBs to make them six. Is this a right move?
Not at all. Different banks have different strengths and it is not an easy task.
Do you feel the RBI’s asset quality review asking PSU banks to clean balance sheets and declare all NPAs that led to them coming into the red?
At that time, the All India Bank Officers Confederation had said such a decision would put all PSU banks in the red.
You are correct. The RBI should act with sobriety. The RBI’s decision to suddenly pounce on them is not right. Every bank board has a representative from the RBI and the finance ministry. What were they doing till now? How can they wake up one day and come up with such a decision?
There is no sarvaroga nivarini (cure all) for banks. Each bank has to be tackled differently. You have to be cautious in adopting some of the Western standards blindly like the Basel norms, which is more applicable to European banks than here.
In India, it is both rule-based and relationship-based. Here, we have the smallest farmer to the richest industrialist as bank customers.
Three Cs are very critical in lending — character, capacity and collateral of the borrower.
Everybody is not a wilful defaulter and there are honest business people too. Those who are in exports or infrastructure are finding it difficult to pay back the loans.
Even the IT companies are in the doldrums compared to what they were five years ago because the global economy has not picked up.
Ideally, the government should look at the other problems the PSBs face now. Now they have mostly people in the 55 plus age group in top positions who are going to retire in the next 5, 6 years. And there are not enough people in the 35 to 50 age group while they have many in their 20s. This is going to be a huge challenge for the banks.
After most of the PSBs declared their results, many started ringing alarm bells…
I don’t think there is any need to ring alarm bells. The situation was worse in the late eighties and early nineties and we overcame that. It is not as alarming as it is made out to be!
We are not a banana republic and we have excellent people working in the banking industry.
We Indians have this habit to whip ourselves and we derive pleasure in doing that!
There is no need to push the panic button. The government should strengthen the coordination mechanism between the Enforcement Directorate, income tax department, CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation, SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India and RBI.
There should be swift and severe punishment for defaulters — we should put them in jail for 50, 60 years. Even the cases of 1990 are still pending. If you punish a few, things will fall in place.
We don’t need any new law for all this. Like how the election process in India changed with the arrival of one T N Seshan.
He didn’t create any new law, used the old ones to instil fear in the minds of politicians. And how things changed in India!
So you feel another T N Seshan is needed to set right the banking sector?
Yes, we need another T N Seshan.
Views Personal
Shobha Warrier / Rediff.com in Chennai
______________________
R.VAIDYANATHAN
PROFESSOR OF FINANCE
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
BANNERGHATTA ROAD
BANGALORE
The hills buzz to the tune of JK Tyre Arunachal Festival of Speed
The hills buzz to the tune of JK Tyre Arunachal Festival of Speed
Dirang, 29th March 2016: The picturesque Dirang Valley in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, hemmed by towering mountains and breathtaking vistas, is the setting for the third JK Tyre Arunachal Festival of Speed. This magnificent amphitheatre of nature reverberated to the glorious sound of highly-tuned rally cars driven by some of India’s top drivers. The 3rd JK Tyre Arunachal Festival of Speed is a great opportunity for the drivers from the North East region to showcase their talent as they rub shoulders with some of the best rally drivers in the country.
The USP of the JK Tyre Arunachal Festival of Speed, organised by the Motorsports Club of Arunachal, is that it combines three forms of off-road racing and rallying comprising Autocross, Rally Sprint over a distance of 5 km and a 5-km Hill Climb on a single platform. The Rally Sprint, is a single stage rally, will be held in the adjoining Sangti Valley, while the Hill Climb will take place at the Rungja Apple and Kiwi farm.
On the first day, life in Dirang town came to standstill as all roads led to the Lopon Stadium for the Auto Cross. With close to 2500 people in attendance the driver put a fascinating display of speed and car control on the twisty track. But the loudest cheer went to the drivers from the region led by the 2002 Raid de Himalaya winner, Lima Jamir of Nagaland.
This year, the competition level of the JK Tyre Arunachal Festival of Speed has gone up with the participation of some of the top rallying talent in the country. Nine-time Raid de Himalaya winner, Suresh Rana, national rally champion in the Group N 2000 class, Rahul Kantraj, 1600cc national rally champion, Karna Kudur, former Asia Pacific Rally Champion in the two-wheel drive class, Sanjay Takle and ace tuner and much experienced rally driver, Philippos Matthai are some of the marquee names taking part in the 3rd JK Tyre Festival of Speed.
The winners of the 3rd JK Tyre Arunachal Festival of Speed will be decided on the basis of the combined points from the three events. All participants will get three runs in the Auto Cross and the Rally Sprint to set the best time. The fastest to the clock out of the three runs will be taken into account for deciding the winners of each individual event. For the Hill Climb, the drivers will get just one attempt to set their best times.
The ceremonial flag off from the 3rd JK Tyre Arunachal Festival of Speed was done by Brigadier Shailender Singh, Brigade Commander of the 315 Infantry Brigade that guards the country’s border with China.
My mother’s advice, Naresh
Virat Kohli, the style icon makes a Wrogn move in Hyderabad
Virat Kohli, the style icon makes a Wrogn move in Hyderabad
Anjana Reddy with equity participation by Sachin Tendulkar and co-owned by Virat Kohli launched, its first standalone store for its flagship brand Wrogn in Hyderabad
March 29, 2016, Hyderabad / New Delhi: Universal Sportsbiz Pvt Ltd (USPL), the celebrity fashion lines company founded by Anjana Reddy with equity participation by Sachin Tendulkar and co-owned by Virat Kohli launched, its first standalone store for its flagship brand Wrogn at Forum Sujana Mall, Kukatpally, Hyderabad. Expanding its footprint across India, the launch of the brand’s first store marks its emerging foothold in Hyderabad.
Hyderabad, the city of Nawabs is a very important market for Wrogn in terms of brand positioning and sales. The modern retail penetration for brick and mortar retail stands at 9% with a space occupancy of 5 million sq ft and a growth rate of 14.5% allowing the brand to an exposed space of a large target market. The brand intends to continue investing in this region through innovative business strategies to mark its dominance in the retail market, which is set to grow rapidly in the next 3-5 years.
Anjana Reddy, Founder and CEO of USPL said that, ‘’Wrogn as a growing brand has seen great success in the brick and mortar format in Shoppers Stop in over 30 cities. Furthermore, the brand has decided to launch a EBO in Hyderabad because the city has seen positive absolute numbers and great brand following. I am sure in times to come Hyderabad will accommodate more counters as we strive to provide our customers with superior merchandise and an overall international brand experience.”
India’s test cricket captain and one of the biggest sports celebrity icons, Virat Kohli will soon be visiting the city of Hyderabad to meet his exciting fans. Commenting on this joyous occasion of his brand’s store launch, Virat added, “Unconventional, trendy and full of life – we look forward to engaging our consumer’s fashion sense with an individualistic style statement and exclusive offerings that is synonymous with Wrogn. I am certain that our store will be warmly welcomed by the people of Hyderabad”
The Wrogn store promises to provide customers a one-stop shop for swanky styles at affordable prices. Spread across 1,000 square feet, the store offers more than 250 designs and a glimpse into its latest and trendy Spring / Summer 2016 collection which comprises of semi-formal shirts, t-shirts, trousers and denims, etc and is available at a price range of INR 999 and upwards.
Store Address: WROGN, Forum Sujana Mall, Unit No. 101, first floor, Plot No. S-16, Survey No. 1009, Opposite Malaysian Township, KPHB-6th Phase, Kukatpally, Hyderabad – Telangana 500072
About WROGN
WROGN (pronounced wrong), launched in October 2014, is a breakaway youth fashion brand which is inspired by the distinctive sense of style and the enormous youth appeal of cricketing genius, Virat Kohli. WROGN is an extension of his bold and dynamic personality, which is expressed in each piece of clothing. WROGN is targeted towards open minded and progressive young men, who like to make their own choices in life. The brand is experimental in its ethos and product philosophy. WROGN is one of the highest selling fashion brands on fashion portal Myntra and is available in prominent Shoppers Stop locations. For more details, log ontohttp://www.wrogn.in/
Libya’s plan to create a gold-backed currency
Hillary Emails show UK, French, Egyptian special forces were secretly in Libya providing arms to “protestors”
Newly disclosed emails show that Libya’s plan to create a gold-backed currency to compete with the euro and dollar was a motive for NATO’s intervention.
FOREIGNPOLICYJOURNAL.COM
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