The World Bank has approved $722 million<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-receives-500-from-qatar-231719"> loan for Pakistan</a> that will largely be used for improving civic and public transport facilities in Karachi, according to a media report.

Out of the approved amount, $652 million will be used for the development of Karachi, while the rest $70 million will be used for improving tourism services in the country's northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region, The Express Tribune reported on Saturday.

The board of directors of the World Bank approved the<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-signs-375-million-syndicated-loan-with-uae-banks-231580"> loan </a>on Thursday.

The projects in Karachi will focus on urban management, public transport, safe water and sanitation to enhance its liveability and competitiveness, the World Bank said in its statement.

The projects have been approved in light of the findings of the Karachi Transformative Strategy which estimated that infrastructure needed spending worth $9-10 billion over a period of next 10 years for the city to develop.

The study noted that compared to huge financing needs, the city was not generating enough resources to meet these requirements, the report said.

The World Bank has approved $722 million loan for Pakistan that will largely be used for improving civic and public transport facilities in Karachi, according to a media report.

The World Bank has approved $722 million loan for Pakistan that will largely be used for improving civic and public transport facilities in Karachi, according to a media report. Out of the approved amount, $652 million will be used for the development of Karachi, while the rest $70 million will be used for improving tourism services in the country's northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region, The Express Tribune reported on Saturday. The board of directors of the World Bank approved the loan on Thursday. The projects in Karachi will focus on urban management, public transport, safe water and sanitation to enhance its liveability and competitiveness, the World Bank said in its statement. The projects have been approved in light of the findings of the Karachi Transformative Strategy which estimated that infrastructure needed spending worth $9-10 billion over a period of next 10 years for the city to develop. The study noted that compared to huge financing needs, the city was not generating enough resources to meet these requirements, the report said.

World bank grants $722 million loan for Pakistan to improve civic facilities

Pakistan signed a $375 million syndicated loan with banks in the United Arab Emirates in June made up of conventional and Islamic banking tranches, the Pakistani government said on Saturday.

The tranches were fully subscribed by a syndicate of leading UAE banks, the government statement said.&nbsp;

Emirates NBD Capital Limited was global coordinator. The transaction was anchored and arranged by Commercial Bank of Dubai, Emirates NBD Bank, Noor Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Mashreqbank and Sharjah Islamic Bank.

Pakistan signed a $375 million syndicated loan with banks in the United Arab Emirates in June made up of conventional and Islamic banking tranches, the Pakistani government said on Saturday.

Pakistan signed a $375 million syndicated loan with banks in the United Arab Emirates in June made up of conventional and Islamic banking tranches, the Pakistani government said on Saturday. The tranches were fully subscribed by a syndicate of leading UAE banks, the government statement said. Emirates NBD Capital Limited was global coordinator. The transaction was anchored and arranged by Commercial Bank of Dubai, Emirates NBD Bank, Noor Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Mashreqbank and Sharjah Islamic Bank.

Pakistan signs $375 million syndicated loan with UAE banks

Sri Lanka is seeking a loan of nearly US $1 billion from China for energy and highways as the island recovers from the devastating Easter Sunday bombings, the finance ministry said Thursday.

Talks are underway with China's Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to raise the new loan in addition to the US $1.2 billion obtained from international agencies this year, the ministry said.

"We have been discussing with the AIIB to obtain nearly an additional US $1,000 million for further development of the Power and Highway sectors," the ministry quoted Finance minister Mangala Samaraweera.

Sri Lanka's former government borrowed heavily to rollout ports, highways and railroads, but several ambitious infrastructure projects ended up as white elephants and left the country facing a mountain of debt -- mainly to China.&nbsp;

Unable to service its loans, the government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe leased a Chinese-built port at Hambantota to a Beijing company for US $1.12 billion in 2017.

Samaraweera said the country was able to maintain economic stability despite the April 21 attacks that killed at least 258 people at three churches and three luxury hotels.&nbsp;

The government expects tourism to decline 30 per cent this year as a result of the suicide bombings. The loss of revenue has been estimated at US $1.5 billion.&nbsp;

The minister's remarks came as the census department said the country's economic growth in the first quarter of this year was 3.7 per cent -- better than the 3.5 per cent forecast by the authorities.&nbsp;

That compares to 1.79 per cent in the final quarter of 2018 and 4.02 per cent a year earlier.&nbsp;

Last month, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka cut its main lending rate by 50 basis points to 8.5 per cent to encourage borrowing and mitigate any fallout from the bombings.

Forty-five foreigners were among the dead from the April 21 suicide attacks and nearly 500 people were wounded.

The government has begun subsidising loans to hotels which were already suffering a declining in foreign guests following last year's political crisis.

The country had plunged into turmoil in October when President Maithripala Sirisena sacked his Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and called fresh elections.

However, the Supreme Court held that the president's actions were illegal and restored the status quo. But, three international credit rating agencies downgraded the country's debt making it more expensive to borrow abroad.

Official figures show that Sri Lanka will have to repay a record US $5.9 billion in foreign loans in 2019. Officials say about two-thirds of it has already been paid.&nbsp;

Sri Lanka is seeking a loan of nearly US $1 billion from China for energy and highways as the island recovers from the devastating Easter Sunday bombings, the finance ministry said Thursday.

Sri Lanka is seeking a loan of nearly US $1 billion from China for energy and highways as the island recovers from the devastating Easter Sunday bombings, the finance ministry said Thursday. Talks are underway with China's Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to raise the new loan in addition to the US $1.2 billion obtained from international agencies this year, the ministry said. "We have been discussing with the AIIB to obtain nearly an additional US $1,000 million for further development of the Power and Highway sectors," the ministry quoted Finance minister Mangala Samaraweera. Sri Lanka's former government borrowed heavily to rollout ports, highways and railroads, but several ambitious infrastructure projects ended up as white elephants and left the country facing a mountain of debt -- mainly to China. Unable to service its loans, the government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe leased a Chinese-built port at Hambantota to a Beijing company for US $1.12 billion in 2017. Samaraweera said the country was able to maintain economic stability despite the April 21 attacks that killed at least 258 people at three churches and three luxury hotels. The government expects tourism to decline 30 per cent this year as a result of the suicide bombings. The loss of revenue has been estimated at US $1.5 billion. The minister's remarks came as the census department said the country's economic growth in the first quarter of this year was 3.7 per cent -- better than the 3.5 per cent forecast by the authorities. That compares to 1.79 per cent in the final quarter of 2018 and 4.02 per cent a year earlier. Last month, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka cut its main lending rate by 50 basis points to 8.5 per cent to encourage borrowing and mitigate any fallout from the bombings. Forty-five foreigners were among the dead from the April 21 suicide attacks and nearly 500 people were wounded. The government has begun subsidising loans to hotels which were already suffering a declining in foreign guests following last year's political crisis. The country had plunged into turmoil in October when President Maithripala Sirisena sacked his Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and called fresh elections. However, the Supreme Court held that the president's actions were illegal and restored the status quo. But, three international credit rating agencies downgraded the country's debt making it more expensive to borrow abroad. Official figures show that Sri Lanka will have to repay a record US $5.9 billion in foreign loans in 2019. Officials say about two-thirds of it has already been paid.

Sri Lanka in talks with China for $1 billion loan

In a move that may lead to lower home, auto and other loan EMIs, the<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/reserve-bank-cuts-rates-lowers-gdp-growth-forecast-to-7-in-fy20-224861"> RBI Thursday cut interest rates for the third time this year</a> by 25 basis points to their lowest level in nine years and signalled more easing as it looked to support an economy growing at the slowest pace since the BJP first came to power in 2014.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut the repo rate to 5.75 per cent and reverse repo rate to 5.50 per cent and expected banks to transmit these to home, auto and other loan borrowers faster.

With all the six members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voting unanimously for a rate cut and switching of its stance to "accommodative" from neutral, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the shift in the stance meant that an increase in interest rates is "off the table."

He wanted banks to expedite the transmission of the current reduction in rates as well as similar ones that happened in February and April.

In three back-to-back bi-monthly monetary policies, the RBI has lowered interest rates by 75 basis points (0.75 percentage point).

With India's GDP growth slipping to a five-year low of 5.8 per cent in the January-March quarter - the first instance of growth falling below China's in last few quarters, the RBI lowered its growth forecast for the economy to 7 per cent from the April view of 7.2 per cent for the 2019-20 April-March fiscal year. 
"Growth impulses have weakened significantly," the RBI said in the monetary policy statement.

The reduction in interest rate will help boost credit growth, helping arrest the slowdown in the economy ahead of the new Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presenting Modi-2.0 government's first budget next month that is widely expected to announce measures to generate jobs and revive the economy.

While inflation remained below its medium-term target to give "scope" to the MPC "to accommodate growth concerns by supporting efforts to boost aggregate demand", the RBI marginally raised its retail inflation outlook for the first half of 2019-20 to a range of 3-3.1 per cent from 2.9-3 per cent that it had outlined in last monetary policy in April, due to a broad-based pickup in food prices.

It, however, slightly trimmed its inflation outlook for the second half of the year to 3.4-3.7 per cent from its earlier projection of 3.5-3.8 per cent.

"The headline inflation trajectory remains below the target mandated to the MPC even after taking into account the expected transmission of the past two policy rate cuts. Hence, there is scope for the MPC to accommodate growth concerns by supporting efforts to boost aggregate demand, and in particular, reinvigorate private investment activity, while remaining consistent with its flexible inflation targeting mandate," the MPC said.

RBI's medium-term inflation target is 4 per cent.

"A sharp slowdown in investment activity along with a continuing moderation in private consumption growth is a matter of concern," it said.

With the 0.25 percentage point cut Thursday, the repo rate, at which the central bank lends to the system, comes down to 5.75 per cent, as was widely expected. Earlier, the repo rate was at 5.75 per cent in July 2010.

Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 5.50 per cent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.0 per cent.

MPC noted that political stability, high capacity utilisation, buoyant stock markets, an uptick in business expectations in the second quarter and financial flows are positive from a growth perspective.

It made its disappointment clear at the transmission of rate cuts, saying the weighted average lending rate has gone down by only 0.21 per cent, while the same for older loans has increased 0.04 per cent, as against policy rate cuts of 0.50 percentage point.

The central bank also announced doing away with charges on fund transfers through RTGS and NEFT routes to boost digital transactions and asked banks to pass on the benefits to customers.

In a move that may lead to lower home, auto and other loan EMIs, the RBI Thursday cut interest rates for the third time this year by 25 basis points to their lowest level in nine years and signalled more easing as it looked to support an economy growing at the slowest pace since the BJP first came to power in 2014.

In a move that may lead to lower home, auto and other loan EMIs, the RBI Thursday cut interest rates for the third time this year by 25 basis points to their lowest level in nine years and signalled more easing as it looked to support an economy growing at the slowest pace since the BJP first came to power in 2014. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut the repo rate to 5.75 per cent and reverse repo rate to 5.50 per cent and expected banks to transmit these to home, auto and other loan borrowers faster. With all the six members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voting unanimously for a rate cut and switching of its stance to "accommodative" from neutral, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the shift in the stance meant that an increase in interest rates is "off the table." He wanted banks to expedite the transmission of the current reduction in rates as well as similar ones that happened in February and April. In three back-to-back bi-monthly monetary policies, the RBI has lowered interest rates by 75 basis points (0.75 percentage point). With India's GDP growth slipping to a five-year low of 5.8 per cent in the January-March quarter - the first instance of growth falling below China's in last few quarters, the RBI lowered its growth forecast for the economy to 7 per cent from the April view of 7.2 per cent for the 2019-20 April-March fiscal year. "Growth impulses have weakened significantly," the RBI said in the monetary policy statement. The reduction in interest rate will help boost credit growth, helping arrest the slowdown in the economy ahead of the new Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presenting Modi-2.0 government's first budget next month that is widely expected to announce measures to generate jobs and revive the economy. While inflation remained below its medium-term target to give "scope" to the MPC "to accommodate growth concerns by supporting efforts to boost aggregate demand", the RBI marginally raised its retail inflation outlook for the first half of 2019-20 to a range of 3-3.1 per cent from 2.9-3 per cent that it had outlined in last monetary policy in April, due to a broad-based pickup in food prices. It, however, slightly trimmed its inflation outlook for the second half of the year to 3.4-3.7 per cent from its earlier projection of 3.5-3.8 per cent. "The headline inflation trajectory remains below the target mandated to the MPC even after taking into account the expected transmission of the past two policy rate cuts. Hence, there is scope for the MPC to accommodate growth concerns by supporting efforts to boost aggregate demand, and in particular, reinvigorate private investment activity, while remaining consistent with its flexible inflation targeting mandate," the MPC said. RBI's medium-term inflation target is 4 per cent. "A sharp slowdown in investment activity along with a continuing moderation in private consumption growth is a matter of concern," it said. With the 0.25 percentage point cut Thursday, the repo rate, at which the central bank lends to the system, comes down to 5.75 per cent, as was widely expected. Earlier, the repo rate was at 5.75 per cent in July 2010. Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 5.50 per cent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.0 per cent. MPC noted that political stability, high capacity utilisation, buoyant stock markets, an uptick in business expectations in the second quarter and financial flows are positive from a growth perspective. It made its disappointment clear at the transmission of rate cuts, saying the weighted average lending rate has gone down by only 0.21 per cent, while the same for older loans has increased 0.04 per cent, as against policy rate cuts of 0.50 percentage point. The central bank also announced doing away with charges on fund transfers through RTGS and NEFT routes to boost digital transactions and asked banks to pass on the benefits to customers.

RBI cuts interest rates to 9-year low, expects banks to quickly lower home, auto loan EMIs

The<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/imf-agrees-to-6-billion-bailout-for-pakistan-but-wants-action-on-terror-funding-218179"> International Monetary Fund</a> Tuesday released a long-delayed loan instalment to Sri Lanka, providing financial relief to a government still reeling from the Easter Sunday bombings that claimed 258 lives.

The Washington-based lender said it was releasing $164.1 million to Sri Lanka under a three-year $1.5 billion bailouts that were suspended in October during a power struggle between the president and the prime minister.

With the status quo restored, the administration has been able to present a "well-targeted 2019 budget, rebuilding reserves, while maintaining a prudent monetary policy", said IMF deputy managing director Mitsuhiro Furusawa.

The power struggle was resolved after the Supreme Court ruled that <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/leave-my-country-alone-sri-lankan-president-sirisena-tells-islamic-state-215011">President Maithripala Sirisena</a> violated the constitution by sacking Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's government.

The loan programme, begun in June 2016, would be extended by a further year, the IMF said.

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Sri Lanka estimates that it will lose about $1.5 million in revenue this year as a result of a sharp dip in tourist arrivals following the April 21 suicide bombings.

The bombings, blamed on a local jihadi group, targeted three Christian churches and three luxury hotels.

During the political crisis in the final quarter of 2018, three international credit rating agencies downgraded the country's debt making it more expensive to borrow abroad.

Official figures show that Sri Lanka will have to repay a record $5.9 billion in foreign loans in 2019.

The IMF also renewed its call to the Sri Lankan government to restructure the loss-making national carrier Sri Lankan Airlines, which has accumulated losses and debts of over $2 billion.

The government has failed to privatise the airline, but the president has revived attempts to find a partner who could inject new capital to keep the airline afloat.&nbsp;

The International Monetary Fund Tuesday released a long-delayed loan instalment to Sri Lanka, providing financial relief to a government still reeling from the Easter Sunday bombings that claimed 258 lives.

The International Monetary Fund Tuesday released a long-delayed loan instalment to Sri Lanka, providing financial relief to a government still reeling from the Easter Sunday bombings that claimed 258 lives. The Washington-based lender said it was releasing $164.1 million to Sri Lanka under a three-year $1.5 billion bailouts that were suspended in October during a power struggle between the president and the prime minister. With the status quo restored, the administration has been able to present a "well-targeted 2019 budget, rebuilding reserves, while maintaining a prudent monetary policy", said IMF deputy managing director Mitsuhiro Furusawa. The power struggle was resolved after the Supreme Court ruled that President Maithripala Sirisena violated the constitution by sacking Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's government. The loan programme, begun in June 2016, would be extended by a further year, the IMF said. × Sri Lanka estimates that it will lose about $1.5 million in revenue this year as a result of a sharp dip in tourist arrivals following the April 21 suicide bombings. The bombings, blamed on a local jihadi group, targeted three Christian churches and three luxury hotels. During the political crisis in the final quarter of 2018, three international credit rating agencies downgraded the country's debt making it more expensive to borrow abroad. Official figures show that Sri Lanka will have to repay a record $5.9 billion in foreign loans in 2019. The IMF also renewed its call to the Sri Lankan government to restructure the loss-making national carrier Sri Lankan Airlines, which has accumulated losses and debts of over $2 billion. The government has failed to privatise the airline, but the president has revived attempts to find a partner who could inject new capital to keep the airline afloat.

IMF provides financial relief to Sri Lanka, releases long-delayed cash

After repeated nudging by the Reserve Bank, the nation's largest lender State Bank Tuesday followed its smaller peers to lower the lending rates by a nominal 5 basis points across all tenors, effective April 10-- its first such action since November 2017.

The new one-year marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) is down to 8.50 per cent now from 8.55 per cent earlier, the bank said in a statement. 
This is the first reduction in MCLR by SBI, which controls and sets the pricing in the system, in over 17 months. The last time it had reduced the MCLR was in November 2017-- by 5 basis points.

The bank has also re-priced home loans up to Rs 30 lakh by 10 bps. Accordingly, interest rate on housing loans of such ticket size will now be in the range of 8.60-8.90 per cent now, down from 8.70-9 per cent.

The reduction in lending rate by the bank follows a 25 basis points cut in repo rate by the RBI in its first monetary policy review announced last week. In the February policy review also, the monetary authority had lowered the key rates by a similar quantum.

In a 4:2 majority vote, the central bank had cut repo rate to 6 per cent from 6.25 per cent earlier, citing the need to support growth that has been sluggish since many months.

It can be noted that banks have been lagging in passing on the RBI rate cuts to borrowers, citing higher credit cost due to the massive NPA piles and the resultant churn in their margins.

In February, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das had discussed with bankers the delay in transmission of policy rates. At a post-policy presser last week also, Das had complained of banks not cutting their rates, thus preventing effective transmission.

"After the last meeting I had held with banks, some of them have marginally (up to 5-10 bps) cut their MCLR, but they need to do more," he had said.

SBI is the third state-run lender to lower the lending rates after Indian Overseas Bank Tuesday and Bank of Maharashtra which also lowered their loan prices by 5 bps on loan tenors of one year and above, effective April 10.

While IOB said it has cut MCLR for one year loans to 8.65 per cent from 8.70 per cent earlier, BoM had on April 5, a day after the RBI action, had cut MCLR rates by 5 basis points across various tenors.

The Pune-based BoM had reduced its one-year lending to 8.70 per cent from 8.75 per cent.

Last month SBI was first to link its short-term loans and large savings deposits rates to the repo rate from May 1. For balances up to Rs 1 lakh, the savings bank rates would be 3.50 per cent, while for balances above Rs 1 lakh effective rate would be 3.25 per cent.

The bank had linked all cash credit accounts and overdrafts with limits above Rs 1 lakh to the repo rate plus a spread of 2.25 per cent.

"The benefit of the 25 bps repo rate cut by the RBI last week will get passed on in its entirety to such cash credit/overdraft customers from May 1 following this rate cut," the bank said in a statement.

The SBI counter gained 0.75 per cent at Rs 315.15 on the BSE, against a 0.62 rally in the benchmark.&nbsp;

After repeated nudging by the Reserve Bank, the nation's largest lender State Bank Tuesday followed its smaller peers to lower the lending rates by a nominal 5 basis points across all tenors, effective April 10-- its first such action since November 2017.

After repeated nudging by the Reserve Bank, the nation's largest lender State Bank Tuesday followed its smaller peers to lower the lending rates by a nominal 5 basis points across all tenors, effective April 10-- its first such action since November 2017. The new one-year marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) is down to 8.50 per cent now from 8.55 per cent earlier, the bank said in a statement. This is the first reduction in MCLR by SBI, which controls and sets the pricing in the system, in over 17 months. The last time it had reduced the MCLR was in November 2017-- by 5 basis points. The bank has also re-priced home loans up to Rs 30 lakh by 10 bps. Accordingly, interest rate on housing loans of such ticket size will now be in the range of 8.60-8.90 per cent now, down from 8.70-9 per cent. The reduction in lending rate by the bank follows a 25 basis points cut in repo rate by the RBI in its first monetary policy review announced last week. In the February policy review also, the monetary authority had lowered the key rates by a similar quantum. In a 4:2 majority vote, the central bank had cut repo rate to 6 per cent from 6.25 per cent earlier, citing the need to support growth that has been sluggish since many months. It can be noted that banks have been lagging in passing on the RBI rate cuts to borrowers, citing higher credit cost due to the massive NPA piles and the resultant churn in their margins. In February, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das had discussed with bankers the delay in transmission of policy rates. At a post-policy presser last week also, Das had complained of banks not cutting their rates, thus preventing effective transmission. "After the last meeting I had held with banks, some of them have marginally (up to 5-10 bps) cut their MCLR, but they need to do more," he had said. SBI is the third state-run lender to lower the lending rates after Indian Overseas Bank Tuesday and Bank of Maharashtra which also lowered their loan prices by 5 bps on loan tenors of one year and above, effective April 10. While IOB said it has cut MCLR for one year loans to 8.65 per cent from 8.70 per cent earlier, BoM had on April 5, a day after the RBI action, had cut MCLR rates by 5 basis points across various tenors. The Pune-based BoM had reduced its one-year lending to 8.70 per cent from 8.75 per cent. Last month SBI was first to link its short-term loans and large savings deposits rates to the repo rate from May 1. For balances up to Rs 1 lakh, the savings bank rates would be 3.50 per cent, while for balances above Rs 1 lakh effective rate would be 3.25 per cent. The bank had linked all cash credit accounts and overdrafts with limits above Rs 1 lakh to the repo rate plus a spread of 2.25 per cent. "The benefit of the 25 bps repo rate cut by the RBI last week will get passed on in its entirety to such cash credit/overdraft customers from May 1 following this rate cut," the bank said in a statement. The SBI counter gained 0.75 per cent at Rs 315.15 on the BSE, against a 0.62 rally in the benchmark.

Following smaller peers, SBI cuts loan rates by marginal 5 bps

China on Friday skirted a direct response if it would provide a bailout loan to its all-weather ally Pakistan to tide over the&nbsp;present balance of payment of crisis.&nbsp;

Pakistan's Finance Minister Asad Umar on Thursday told reporters in Islamabad that after the support from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, an economic support package had been finalised with China and the government was expecting financial assistance from Beijing within next few days.&nbsp;

When asked for her reaction to Asad's comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing that she has no specific information on the loan.

"As you know, China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners. China has always provided support and assistance to Pakistan's economic and social development within its capacity. We support Pakistan in taking active measures to cope with and tide over the immediate and temporary difficulties," she said.

"As for the specific issues you mentioned, I don't have the relevant information," Hua said.

Pakistan has received $1 billion each from Saudi Arabia and the UAE as part of the bailout package by the two Gulf nations to help shore up Islamabad's dwindling foreign currency reserves.

The kingdom has already deposited $2 billion, in two tranche, in the State Bank of Pakistan.

Earlier, reports said that China has agreed to provide $2 billion after prolonged talks between the two countries.

Pakistan is nearly broke with the drying up of foreign cash reserves and mounting external debt.

To stave off the crisis, Islamabad has turned to Saudi Arabia and its greatest ally China. Prime Minister Imran Khan last year travelled to Riyadh and Beijing to seek loans. While Khan managed to secure a loan of $6 billion from Riyadh, it is not known if China has made any commitment to Pakistan after publicly vowing to help the country "tide over" the crisis.

Beijing on earlier occasions had issue loans to Pakistan, a scenario, experts fear, might compromise Islamabad's sovereignty.

According to the SBP, Pakistan's foreign currency reserves dropped to a 57-month low of $6.63 billion as of January 18, 2019. With these reserves, Pakistan can hardly cover one-and-a-half-month of imports. The reserves have continued to drop for the last two years due to the country's high foreign expenditure and low income, which is better known as the current account deficit.

The deficit was recorded at $8 billion in the first half (July-December) of the current fiscal year 2018-19, which was slightly lower than $8.4 billion in the same period of previous year.

This assistance has improved Pakistan's position in terms of import payments and debt repayment in the short term.

Pakistan has also sought a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which wants Islamabad to disclose the financial details of the Beijing-funded China-Pakistan Economic Corridor for providing the assistance.

Experts say that the Chinese have pushed Pakistan into heavy debt through the CPEC, a charge denied by Beijing.

Umar earlier said that Pakistan faced a total of USD 27 billion deficit which include USD nine billion debt repayment for this year.&nbsp;

China on Friday skirted a direct response if it would provide a bailout loan to its all-weather ally Pakistan to tide over the present balance of payment of crisis.

China on Friday skirted a direct response if it would provide a bailout loan to its all-weather ally Pakistan to tide over the present balance of payment of crisis. Pakistan's Finance Minister Asad Umar on Thursday told reporters in Islamabad that after the support from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, an economic support package had been finalised with China and the government was expecting financial assistance from Beijing within next few days. When asked for her reaction to Asad's comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing that she has no specific information on the loan. "As you know, China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners. China has always provided support and assistance to Pakistan's economic and social development within its capacity. We support Pakistan in taking active measures to cope with and tide over the immediate and temporary difficulties," she said. "As for the specific issues you mentioned, I don't have the relevant information," Hua said. Pakistan has received $1 billion each from Saudi Arabia and the UAE as part of the bailout package by the two Gulf nations to help shore up Islamabad's dwindling foreign currency reserves. The kingdom has already deposited $2 billion, in two tranche, in the State Bank of Pakistan. Earlier, reports said that China has agreed to provide $2 billion after prolonged talks between the two countries. Pakistan is nearly broke with the drying up of foreign cash reserves and mounting external debt. To stave off the crisis, Islamabad has turned to Saudi Arabia and its greatest ally China. Prime Minister Imran Khan last year travelled to Riyadh and Beijing to seek loans. While Khan managed to secure a loan of $6 billion from Riyadh, it is not known if China has made any commitment to Pakistan after publicly vowing to help the country "tide over" the crisis. Beijing on earlier occasions had issue loans to Pakistan, a scenario, experts fear, might compromise Islamabad's sovereignty. According to the SBP, Pakistan's foreign currency reserves dropped to a 57-month low of $6.63 billion as of January 18, 2019. With these reserves, Pakistan can hardly cover one-and-a-half-month of imports. The reserves have continued to drop for the last two years due to the country's high foreign expenditure and low income, which is better known as the current account deficit. The deficit was recorded at $8 billion in the first half (July-December) of the current fiscal year 2018-19, which was slightly lower than $8.4 billion in the same period of previous year. This assistance has improved Pakistan's position in terms of import payments and debt repayment in the short term. Pakistan has also sought a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which wants Islamabad to disclose the financial details of the Beijing-funded China-Pakistan Economic Corridor for providing the assistance. Experts say that the Chinese have pushed Pakistan into heavy debt through the CPEC, a charge denied by Beijing. Umar earlier said that Pakistan faced a total of USD 27 billion deficit which include USD nine billion debt repayment for this year.

China evades direct response on loan to Pakistan

Bank of China, the country's fourth-biggest lender by assets, has offered a loan of $300 million to Sri Lanka which can be raised to $1 billion, a source in Colombo with direct knowledge of the matter, told Reuters on Tuesday.

The government is considering the offer because of "difficulty in borrowing money after recent ratings downgrades", the source said, declining to be named as the information was not public.

Reuters could not immediately reach Sri Lanka's Ministry of Finance and the Bank of China.

Sri Lanka, an island nation off India's southeastern coast, is struggling to repay its foreign loans, with a record $5.9 billion due this year including $2.6 billion in the first three months alone.

The government is considering the offer because of 'difficulty in borrowing money after recent ratings downgrades', the source said.

Bank of China, the country's fourth-biggest lender by assets, has offered a loan of $300 million to Sri Lanka which can be raised to $1 billion, a source in Colombo with direct knowledge of the matter, told Reuters on Tuesday. The government is considering the offer because of "difficulty in borrowing money after recent ratings downgrades", the source said, declining to be named as the information was not public. Reuters could not immediately reach Sri Lanka's Ministry of Finance and the Bank of China. Sri Lanka, an island nation off India's southeastern coast, is struggling to repay its foreign loans, with a record $5.9 billion due this year including $2.6 billion in the first three months alone.

Bank of China offers Sri Lanka $300 million loan, option to raise to $1 billion: Report

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Thursday said Rs 80,000 crore has been recovered by creditors in 66 cases resolved by NCLT and around Rs 70,000 crore more is likely to be realised by March-end.

Accusing the Congress of leaving behind a legacy of an "anachronic system" of resolving commercial insolvency, Jaitley said the NDA government acted swiftly to recover the non-performing loans and legislated the insolvency and bankruptcy code (IBC).

He said National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had started receiving corporate insolvency cases by the end of 2016 and so far 1,322 cases have been admitted by it. A total of 4,452 cases have been disposed at a pre-admission stage and 66 have been resolved after adjudication. 260 cases have been ordered for liquidation.

"In 66 resolution cases, the realisation by creditors was around Rs 80,000 crore... Some of the big 12 cases such as Bhushan Power and Steel and Essar Steel India are in advanced stages of resolution and are likely to be resolved in this financial year in which realisation is expected to be around Rs 70,000 crore," Jaitley said.

In a Facebook post titled 'Two years of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code', Jaitley said NCLT has become a trusted forum of high credibility.&nbsp; 
"Those who drive the companies to insolvency, exit from management. The selection of new management has been an honest and transparent process. There has been no political or governmental interference in the cases," he added.

As per the NCLT database, in 4,452 cases disposed at a pre-admission stage, the amount apparently settled was around Rs 2.02 lakh crore, the minister added.

Jaitley said the increase in conversion of NPAs into standard accounts and decline in new accounts falling in NPA category show a definite improvement in the lending and borrowing behaviour.

"The early harvest through the IBC process has been extremely satisfactory. It has changed the debtor-creditor relationship. The creditor no longer chases the debtor. In fact, it is otherwise," the minister said.

Jaitley said the Congress government had enacted the Sick Industrial Companies Act (SICA) during the 1980s for rehabilitation of sick companies. This applied to companies whose net worth had become negative.&nbsp;

"The law proved to be an utter failure. Law carried out rehabilitation, several sick companies got a protective iron curtain against creditors," he said. 
Besides, the Debt Recovery Tribunal was created to enable banks to recover every due diligently, but these have not proved to be a highly efficient mechanism for recovering debt, he added.&nbsp;

"For non-corporate insolvencies the Provincial Insolvency Act was applicable. This was a rusted piece of legislation, ineffective and had faded away because of disuse," Jaitley added.

He said, between 2008 and 2014, banks lent indiscriminately and this lead to a very high percentage of NPAs which was highlighted by the Asset Quality Reviews of the RBI.&nbsp;

"This led to a prompt action by the government... The IBC was approved by both Houses of Parliament in May, 2016. This was the quickest economic legislative change that I have seen being made by Parliament," Jaitley said.&nbsp;

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Thursday said Rs 80,000 crore has been recovered by creditors in 66 cases resolved by NCLT and around Rs 70,000 crore more is likely to be realised by March-end.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Thursday said Rs 80,000 crore has been recovered by creditors in 66 cases resolved by NCLT and around Rs 70,000 crore more is likely to be realised by March-end. Accusing the Congress of leaving behind a legacy of an "anachronic system" of resolving commercial insolvency, Jaitley said the NDA government acted swiftly to recover the non-performing loans and legislated the insolvency and bankruptcy code (IBC). He said National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had started receiving corporate insolvency cases by the end of 2016 and so far 1,322 cases have been admitted by it. A total of 4,452 cases have been disposed at a pre-admission stage and 66 have been resolved after adjudication. 260 cases have been ordered for liquidation. "In 66 resolution cases, the realisation by creditors was around Rs 80,000 crore... Some of the big 12 cases such as Bhushan Power and Steel and Essar Steel India are in advanced stages of resolution and are likely to be resolved in this financial year in which realisation is expected to be around Rs 70,000 crore," Jaitley said. In a Facebook post titled 'Two years of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code', Jaitley said NCLT has become a trusted forum of high credibility. "Those who drive the companies to insolvency, exit from management. The selection of new management has been an honest and transparent process. There has been no political or governmental interference in the cases," he added. As per the NCLT database, in 4,452 cases disposed at a pre-admission stage, the amount apparently settled was around Rs 2.02 lakh crore, the minister added. Jaitley said the increase in conversion of NPAs into standard accounts and decline in new accounts falling in NPA category show a definite improvement in the lending and borrowing behaviour. "The early harvest through the IBC process has been extremely satisfactory. It has changed the debtor-creditor relationship. The creditor no longer chases the debtor. In fact, it is otherwise," the minister said. Jaitley said the Congress government had enacted the Sick Industrial Companies Act (SICA) during the 1980s for rehabilitation of sick companies. This applied to companies whose net worth had become negative. "The law proved to be an utter failure. Law carried out rehabilitation, several sick companies got a protective iron curtain against creditors," he said. Besides, the Debt Recovery Tribunal was created to enable banks to recover every due diligently, but these have not proved to be a highly efficient mechanism for recovering debt, he added. "For non-corporate insolvencies the Provincial Insolvency Act was applicable. This was a rusted piece of legislation, ineffective and had faded away because of disuse," Jaitley added. He said, between 2008 and 2014, banks lent indiscriminately and this lead to a very high percentage of NPAs which was highlighted by the Asset Quality Reviews of the RBI. "This led to a prompt action by the government... The IBC was approved by both Houses of Parliament in May, 2016. This was the quickest economic legislative change that I have seen being made by Parliament," Jaitley said.

Banks likely to recover bad loans worth 70,000 crore rupees by March-end: Arun Jaitley

The government is considering an additional soft loan of Rs 7,400 crore to sugar mills for <a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/india-plans-to-export-two-million-tonnes-of-sugar-to-china-from-next-year-176213">creating ethanol capacity </a>under a recently launched scheme, according to sources.

The food ministry is also considering tweaking the scheme to ensure that non-molasses-based distilleries are also able to avail soft loans under the scheme launched in June for expansion and setting up of new ethanol plants.

Under the scheme, the government had announced a soft loan of Rs 4,400 crore and provided an interest subvention of Rs 1,332 crore to mills over a period of five years, including a moratorium period of one year.

However, the ministry has received 282 applications seeking Rs 13,400 crore soft loans. Out of this, 114 applications for a loan amount of Rs 6,000 crore has been approved, the sources said.

Sources further said the ministry is planning to seek a Cabinet approval for the balance 168 applications and sanction an additional soft loan of Rs 7,400 crore.

The subsidy burden would be Rs 1,600 crore for the balance loan amount, they added.

A proposal is being prepared to seek approval for an additional soft loan under the scheme as well as amend the rules to allow even grain-based distilleries take the benefits, the sources added.

Currently, molasses-based distilleries are allowed under the scheme. The entry of standard distilleries will help diversion of more cane during the surplus season.

Ethanol extracted from sugarcane will be used for blending in petrol and will provide cane farmers with a remunerative price for their crop. Ethanol doping in petrol will also help the country cut its oil imports.

India, the world's second-biggest producer, is likely to produce 31.5 million tonnes (MT) of sugar in the 2018-19 marketing year, slightly lower than 32.5 MT last year, according to industry body ISMA's forecast.

The government is considering an additional soft loan of Rs 7,400 crore to sugar mills for creating ethanol capacity under a recently launched scheme, according to sources.

The government is considering an additional soft loan of Rs 7,400 crore to sugar mills for creating ethanol capacity under a recently launched scheme, according to sources. The food ministry is also considering tweaking the scheme to ensure that non-molasses-based distilleries are also able to avail soft loans under the scheme launched in June for expansion and setting up of new ethanol plants. Under the scheme, the government had announced a soft loan of Rs 4,400 crore and provided an interest subvention of Rs 1,332 crore to mills over a period of five years, including a moratorium period of one year. However, the ministry has received 282 applications seeking Rs 13,400 crore soft loans. Out of this, 114 applications for a loan amount of Rs 6,000 crore has been approved, the sources said. Sources further said the ministry is planning to seek a Cabinet approval for the balance 168 applications and sanction an additional soft loan of Rs 7,400 crore. The subsidy burden would be Rs 1,600 crore for the balance loan amount, they added. A proposal is being prepared to seek approval for an additional soft loan under the scheme as well as amend the rules to allow even grain-based distilleries take the benefits, the sources added. Currently, molasses-based distilleries are allowed under the scheme. The entry of standard distilleries will help diversion of more cane during the surplus season. Ethanol extracted from sugarcane will be used for blending in petrol and will provide cane farmers with a remunerative price for their crop. Ethanol doping in petrol will also help the country cut its oil imports. India, the world's second-biggest producer, is likely to produce 31.5 million tonnes (MT) of sugar in the 2018-19 marketing year, slightly lower than 32.5 MT last year, according to industry body ISMA's forecast.

Government mulls additional soft loan of Rs 7,400 crore to mills for ethanol expansion

Pakistan expects to obtain fresh Chinese loans worth $1-2 billion to help it avert a balance of payments crisis, Pakistani government sources said, in another sign of Islamabad's growing reliance on Beijing for financial support. 
 
Lending to Pakistan by China and its banks is on track to hit $5 billion in the fiscal year ending in June, according to recent disclosures by officials and Pakistan finance ministry data reviewed by Reuters.

The ramp up in China's lending comes as the United States is cutting aid to Pakistan following a fracture in relations between the on-off allies. In February, Washington led efforts that saw Pakistan placed on a global terror financing watchlist, drawing anger in Islamabad amid fears it will hurt the economy. 
 
The new Chinese loans that are being negotiated will help bolster Pakistan's rapidly-depleting foreign currency reserves, which tumbled to $10.3 billion last week from $16.4 billion in May 2017. 
 
The talks come only weeks after a group of Chinese commercial banks lent $1 billion to Pakistan's government in April.

<iframe frameborder="0" height="1" id="google_ads_iframe_/1068322/NDTV_News_ROS_Native_Outstream_0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" name="google_ads_iframe_/1068322/NDTV_News_ROS_Native_Outstream_0" scrolling="no" srcdoc="" title="3rd party ad content" width="1"></iframe>The reserves decline and a sharp widening of Pakistan's current account deficit have prompted many financial analysts to predict that after the general election, likely in July, Islamabad will need its second International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout since 2013. The last IMF assistance package was worth $6.7 billion. 
 
Beijing's attempts to prop up Pakistan's economy follow a deepening in political and military ties in the wake of China's pledge to fund badly-needed power and road infrastructure as part of the $57 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) - that passes through Pakistan Occupied Kashmir - a key cog in Beijing's vast Belt and Road initiative. 
 
"I think this month we will get that $1-2 billion," said a senior Pakistan government official, saying the funds will come from Chinese state-run institutions. 
 
A second government official confirmed Pakistan was in "sensitive" talks with Beijing over extra funding for up to $2 billion. 
 
Pakistan finance ministry officials did not respond to a request for comment. 
 
China's finance ministry and central bank, who were faxed questions about the loans, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 
 
Although Pakistan's economic growth has soared to nearly 6 percent, the fastest pace in 13 years, the structural problems with the economy are coming to the fore. It is similar to 2013, when foreign currency reserves dwindled and Pakistan narrowly escaped a full-blown currency crisis. 
 
"The current situation appears to be a replica of what we experienced in 2013, albeit on a slightly larger scale," said Yaseen Anwar, who was the governor of the central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), back in 2013. 
 
The darkening macroeconomic outlook prompted the IMF earlier this month to downgrade its economic growth forecast for Pakistan to 4.7 percent for the next fiscal year ending in June 2019, way below the government's own ambitious target of 6.2 percent. 
 
Over the past nine months Pakistan has enacted a series of measures to combat its ballooning current account deficit, including hiking tariffs on more than 200 luxury items and devaluing its currency by about 10 percent. 
 
In the six months to end of March, Pakistan took bilateral loans worth $1.2 billion from China, according to the Pakistan Finance Ministry document reviewed by Reuters. During this period the government also borrowed about $1.7 billion in commercial loans, mostly from Chinese banks, finance ministry officials added. 
 
In April, Pakistan's central bank borrowed another $1 billion from Chinese commercial banks to buffer its reserves, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Tariq Bajwa told the Financial Times (FT). A spokesman for the central bank told Reuters the FT report was accurate. 
 
The $1-2 billion under discussion would be in addition to that loan. 
So far, all the measures appear to have had a limited impact on Pakistan's economy and foreign exchange reserves continue to plummet. 
 
The collapse of the reserves is mainly due to the central bank's efforts to maintain an artificially strong rupee over the past few years, analysts say. The currency is now trading at about 115.50/116 to the U.S. dollar, down 9.8 percent in last six months after two separate devaluations since December. 
 
In the past three weeks, reserves have declined by $1.2 billion and now stand at two months worth of import cover. 
 
"This new (Chinese) money is a temporary bridge until August or September, when a new government will come into office and the country will likely opt for a new IMF programme," said Saad Hashmey, chief economist at brokerage house Topline Securities. 
Hashmey and several other economists are predicting another currency devaluation by the end of 2018. 
 
Pakistan may also seek help from Saudi Arabia. The Middle Eastern ally loaned $1.5 billion to Pakistan in 2014 to shore up its foreign currency reserves. 
 
The scale of the task facing Pakistan is huge as the current account deficit widened to $14 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, according to SBP data. Dollar-denominated debt repayments in 2018 are also expected to top $5 billion, analysts say. 
 
Part of the problem for Pakistan has been a multi-year consumer boom accompanied by huge imports of Chinese machinery for CPEC projects, which has piled pressure on the current account deficit. More recently, a jump in the oil price has compounded the problem as Pakistan is a fuel importer. 
 
One of the senior Pakistani government officials said the money from China should give the economy breathing space.

He said exports have shot up in the last two months, helped by the devaluation in the rupee, and that should help ease the current account deficit. 
 
However, Pakistan's central bank appears more nervous as oil prices climb, raising its main policy rate by 50 basis point to 6.5 percent on Friday and warning the "the balance-of-payments picture...has further deteriorated".

The new Chinese loans that are being negotiated will help bolster Pakistan's rapidly-depleting foreign currency reserves, which tumbled to $10.3 billion last week from $16.4 billion in May 2017

Pakistan expects to obtain fresh Chinese loans worth $1-2 billion to help it avert a balance of payments crisis, Pakistani government sources said, in another sign of Islamabad's growing reliance on Beijing for financial support. Lending to Pakistan by China and its banks is on track to hit $5 billion in the fiscal year ending in June, according to recent disclosures by officials and Pakistan finance ministry data reviewed by Reuters. The ramp up in China's lending comes as the United States is cutting aid to Pakistan following a fracture in relations between the on-off allies. In February, Washington led efforts that saw Pakistan placed on a global terror financing watchlist, drawing anger in Islamabad amid fears it will hurt the economy. The new Chinese loans that are being negotiated will help bolster Pakistan's rapidly-depleting foreign currency reserves, which tumbled to $10.3 billion last week from $16.4 billion in May 2017. The talks come only weeks after a group of Chinese commercial banks lent $1 billion to Pakistan's government in April. The reserves decline and a sharp widening of Pakistan's current account deficit have prompted many financial analysts to predict that after the general election, likely in July, Islamabad will need its second International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout since 2013. The last IMF assistance package was worth $6.7 billion. Beijing's attempts to prop up Pakistan's economy follow a deepening in political and military ties in the wake of China's pledge to fund badly-needed power and road infrastructure as part of the $57 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) - that passes through Pakistan Occupied Kashmir - a key cog in Beijing's vast Belt and Road initiative. "I think this month we will get that $1-2 billion," said a senior Pakistan government official, saying the funds will come from Chinese state-run institutions. A second government official confirmed Pakistan was in "sensitive" talks with Beijing over extra funding for up to $2 billion. Pakistan finance ministry officials did not respond to a request for comment. China's finance ministry and central bank, who were faxed questions about the loans, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Although Pakistan's economic growth has soared to nearly 6 percent, the fastest pace in 13 years, the structural problems with the economy are coming to the fore. It is similar to 2013, when foreign currency reserves dwindled and Pakistan narrowly escaped a full-blown currency crisis. "The current situation appears to be a replica of what we experienced in 2013, albeit on a slightly larger scale," said Yaseen Anwar, who was the governor of the central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), back in 2013. The darkening macroeconomic outlook prompted the IMF earlier this month to downgrade its economic growth forecast for Pakistan to 4.7 percent for the next fiscal year ending in June 2019, way below the government's own ambitious target of 6.2 percent. Over the past nine months Pakistan has enacted a series of measures to combat its ballooning current account deficit, including hiking tariffs on more than 200 luxury items and devaluing its currency by about 10 percent. In the six months to end of March, Pakistan took bilateral loans worth $1.2 billion from China, according to the Pakistan Finance Ministry document reviewed by Reuters. During this period the government also borrowed about $1.7 billion in commercial loans, mostly from Chinese banks, finance ministry officials added. In April, Pakistan's central bank borrowed another $1 billion from Chinese commercial banks to buffer its reserves, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Tariq Bajwa told the Financial Times (FT). A spokesman for the central bank told Reuters the FT report was accurate. The $1-2 billion under discussion would be in addition to that loan. So far, all the measures appear to have had a limited impact on Pakistan's economy and foreign exchange reserves continue to plummet. The collapse of the reserves is mainly due to the central bank's efforts to maintain an artificially strong rupee over the past few years, analysts say. The currency is now trading at about 115.50/116 to the U.S. dollar, down 9.8 percent in last six months after two separate devaluations since December. In the past three weeks, reserves have declined by $1.2 billion and now stand at two months worth of import cover. "This new (Chinese) money is a temporary bridge until August or September, when a new government will come into office and the country will likely opt for a new IMF programme," said Saad Hashmey, chief economist at brokerage house Topline Securities. Hashmey and several other economists are predicting another currency devaluation by the end of 2018. Pakistan may also seek help from Saudi Arabia. The Middle Eastern ally loaned $1.5 billion to Pakistan in 2014 to shore up its foreign currency reserves. The scale of the task facing Pakistan is huge as the current account deficit widened to $14 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, according to SBP data. Dollar-denominated debt repayments in 2018 are also expected to top $5 billion, analysts say. Part of the problem for Pakistan has been a multi-year consumer boom accompanied by huge imports of Chinese machinery for CPEC projects, which has piled pressure on the current account deficit. More recently, a jump in the oil price has compounded the problem as Pakistan is a fuel importer. One of the senior Pakistani government officials said the money from China should give the economy breathing space. He said exports have shot up in the last two months, helped by the devaluation in the rupee, and that should help ease the current account deficit. However, Pakistan's central bank appears more nervous as oil prices climb, raising its main policy rate by 50 basis point to 6.5 percent on Friday and warning the "the balance-of-payments picture...has further deteriorated".

Pakistan seeks economic lifeline with fresh China loans

Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav today was granted bail after getting sentenced to six months in prison by a Delhi court. Yadav is accused in a cheque bounce case.

On December 3, 2017, the actor was sent to Tihar Jail for submitting a false affidavit in the case.

According to reports, seven cases were lodged against the actor. Yadav is liable to pay a sum of Rs 1.60 crore as fine per case. Yadav told media that he respects the court's order and will appeal to reduce the punishment.&nbsp;

"I respect the court's judgement and will appeal in this matter to reduce the punishment," he said.&nbsp;

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Rajpal Yadav cheque bounce case: Delhi's Karkardooma Court sentenced actor Rajpal Yadav to 6 months in prison, later granted bail. There were 7 cases against the actor & has to pay Rs 1.60 cr fine per case. <a href="https://t.co/vaWY6m2msy">pic.twitter.com/vaWY6m2msy</a>
— ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/988362152837775360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Earlier, a case was registered which stated that Rajpal and his wife allegedly failed to repay a loan of Rs 5 crore. As per reports, the actor had taken the loan in the year 2010 from a Delhi-based businessman to fund his directorial debut.

(With inputs from ANI)

Earlier, a case was registered which stated that Rajpal and his wife allegedly failed to repay a loan of Rs 5 crore

Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav today was granted bail after getting sentenced to six months in prison by a Delhi court. Yadav is accused in a cheque bounce case. On December 3, 2017, the actor was sent to Tihar Jail for submitting a false affidavit in the case. According to reports, seven cases were lodged against the actor. Yadav is liable to pay a sum of Rs 1.60 crore as fine per case. Yadav told media that he respects the court's order and will appeal to reduce the punishment. "I respect the court's judgement and will appeal in this matter to reduce the punishment," he said. Rajpal Yadav cheque bounce case: Delhi's Karkardooma Court sentenced actor Rajpal Yadav to 6 months in prison, later granted bail. There were 7 cases against the actor & has to pay Rs 1.60 cr fine per case. pic.twitter.com/vaWY6m2msy — ANI (@ANI) April 23, 2018 × Earlier, a case was registered which stated that Rajpal and his wife allegedly failed to repay a loan of Rs 5 crore. As per reports, the actor had taken the loan in the year 2010 from a Delhi-based businessman to fund his directorial debut. (With inputs from ANI)

Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav sentenced to jail, gets bail later

Tollywood&nbsp;producer-director B. Ashok Kumar committed suicide in his home Alwarthirunagar near Valasaravakkam, on Tuesday, reports confirmed.&nbsp;

Kumar, who was a relative of director-actor Sasikumar, also wrote a suicide note in which he blamed a film financer - Anbu Chezhiya, from Madurai, from whom his production company had been taking loans - for leading him to take the severe step, reports said.&nbsp;

According to reports, an official from the Valasaravakkam police station informed that Kumar committed suicide by hanging in his&nbsp;apartment at Arcot Road in Alwarthirunagar after reportedly being coerced by Chezhiya to pay the loan he had taken&nbsp;seven years ago along with an exorbitant amount of interest.&nbsp;

Chezhiya&nbsp;was allegedly harassing the producer-director and had reportedly&nbsp;threatened to kidnap his family. Kumar&#39;s suicide note reportedly stated&nbsp;there were only two options left for him - either to kill the financier or end his life.&nbsp;

Sasikumar, along with filmmakers Bala, Samuthirakani, Karu Pazhaniappan and Ameer have lodged a complaint with Valasaravakkam police station, reports said.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, Vishal, the President of Tamil Nadu Producers&#39; Council and Secretary of Nadigar Sangam, expressed his condolences and requested the police to take it as a &quot;murder charge&quot;&nbsp;rather than &quot;suicide&quot;.&nbsp;

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Vishal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Vishal</a> voices his concern on the sad demise of Producer <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ashok?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ashok</a>, who succumbed to the pressures of his mafia like financier. <a href="https://t.co/dC6RdUVX1b">pic.twitter.com/dC6RdUVX1b</a>
&mdash; Sreedhar Pillai (@sri50) <a href="https://twitter.com/sri50/status/933148472915533825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Ashok Kumar had co-produced&nbsp;Sasikumar&#39;s films Eesan,&nbsp;Poraali&nbsp;and the yet-to-be-released&nbsp;Kodi Veeran.

Kumar, who was a relative of director-actor Sasikumar, also wrote a suicide note in which he has blamed a film financer - Anbu Chezhiya.

Tollywood producer-director B. Ashok Kumar committed suicide in his home Alwarthirunagar near Valasaravakkam, on Tuesday, reports confirmed. Kumar, who was a relative of director-actor Sasikumar, also wrote a suicide note in which he blamed a film financer - Anbu Chezhiya, from Madurai, from whom his production company had been taking loans - for leading him to take the severe step, reports said. According to reports, an official from the Valasaravakkam police station informed that Kumar committed suicide by hanging in his apartment at Arcot Road in Alwarthirunagar after reportedly being coerced by Chezhiya to pay the loan he had taken seven years ago along with an exorbitant amount of interest. Chezhiya was allegedly harassing the producer-director and had reportedly threatened to kidnap his family. Kumar's suicide note reportedly stated there were only two options left for him - either to kill the financier or end his life. Sasikumar, along with filmmakers Bala, Samuthirakani, Karu Pazhaniappan and Ameer have lodged a complaint with Valasaravakkam police station, reports said. Meanwhile, Vishal, the President of Tamil Nadu Producers' Council and Secretary of Nadigar Sangam, expressed his condolences and requested the police to take it as a "murder charge" rather than "suicide". #Vishal voices his concern on the sad demise of Producer #Ashok, who succumbed to the pressures of his mafia like financier. pic.twitter.com/dC6RdUVX1b — Sreedhar Pillai (@sri50) November 22, 2017 × Ashok Kumar had co-produced Sasikumar's films Eesan, Poraali and the yet-to-be-released Kodi Veeran.

Film producer-director B. Ashok Kumar commits suicide, blames film financier: Reports

Scouting for funds, Air India is in advanced discussions with public sector lender SBI for sale of at least two residential properties that could net nearly Rs 50 crore, airline and banking sources said.

While the government moves ahead with the process for strategic stake sale, the loss-making airline continues to work on the strategy to divest non-core assets.

Saddled with more than Rs 50,000 crore debt, Air India recently sought loans worth over Rs 1,500 crore to meet working capital requirements.

Against the backdrop of the severe financial crunch, the airlines talks with the State Bank of India (SBI) assumes significance in terms of raising additional monetary resources.

The discussions between Air India and SBI are at an advanced stage with respect to sale of two residential properties in South Mumbai, sources told PTI.

While the final contours of the deal are being worked out, an airline source said the sale is expected to fetch around Rs 46 crore.

Despite trying to dispose of such assets, so far Air India has managed to sell only four of its flats in Mumbai to SBI for Rs 90 crore.

These properties are located at upmarket Peddar Road in South Mumbai.

The carrier has been in possession of some properties which are lying vacant and unused for a long time. These include parcels of land as well as residential and commercial estate in India and abroad.

Among others, the carrier has leased out almost the entire space at its previous headquarters at Nariman Point to various government agencies.

As per the turnaround/financial restructuring plan approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) back in 2012, Air India is required to monetise its assets and generate Rs 5,000 crore by way of sale, leasing or developing an asset as a joint venture.

Under the plan, the carrier is to get financial assistance to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore over a 10-year period.

Air India is in advanced discussions with public sector lender SBI for sale of at least two residential properties that could net nearly Rs 50 crore.

Scouting for funds, Air India is in advanced discussions with public sector lender SBI for sale of at least two residential properties that could net nearly Rs 50 crore, airline and banking sources said. While the government moves ahead with the process for strategic stake sale, the loss-making airline continues to work on the strategy to divest non-core assets. Saddled with more than Rs 50,000 crore debt, Air India recently sought loans worth over Rs 1,500 crore to meet working capital requirements. Against the backdrop of the severe financial crunch, the airlines talks with the State Bank of India (SBI) assumes significance in terms of raising additional monetary resources. The discussions between Air India and SBI are at an advanced stage with respect to sale of two residential properties in South Mumbai, sources told PTI. While the final contours of the deal are being worked out, an airline source said the sale is expected to fetch around Rs 46 crore. Despite trying to dispose of such assets, so far Air India has managed to sell only four of its flats in Mumbai to SBI for Rs 90 crore. These properties are located at upmarket Peddar Road in South Mumbai. The carrier has been in possession of some properties which are lying vacant and unused for a long time. These include parcels of land as well as residential and commercial estate in India and abroad. Among others, the carrier has leased out almost the entire space at its previous headquarters at Nariman Point to various government agencies. As per the turnaround/financial restructuring plan approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) back in 2012, Air India is required to monetise its assets and generate Rs 5,000 crore by way of sale, leasing or developing an asset as a joint venture. Under the plan, the carrier is to get financial assistance to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore over a 10-year period.

Air India to sell 2 properties to SBI, may fetch Rs 50 crore

The Maharashtra government is all set to roll out its loan waiver scheme on Wednesday. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis will be providing loan waivers to the first set of farmers on October 18. The scheme was announced in June by the state government after days of protest by farmers. The state was hard hit by severe drought since 2012, adversely impacting the cultivators.

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<h5>The government, in order to curb manual manipulations, has devised an online application process. The money will be transferred to their bank accounts after strict regulation.</h5>
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Claiming it to be &ldquo;biggest in history&rdquo; the state government had allotted Rs 34,022 crore for the scheme. However, recent reports say that the chief minister is not sure about the real estimate diverted for the scheme as several amendments were introduced after its announcement.

The farmers will be getting the loan amount from the state government after five months of wait.The government, in order to curb manual manipulations, has devised an online application process. The money will be transferred to their bank accounts after strict regulation.

A similar farm loan waiver scheme was carried out by the Uttar Pradesh government recently. As part of his election promise to waive off farmers&rsquo; loan, the Uttar Pradesh government led by chief minister Yogi Adityanath had announced &ldquo;Krishi Rin Mochan Yojana&rdquo; in April.The state government had diverted Rs 36000 crores for the same.

The scheme aimed at waiving crop loan of small and marginal farmers up to Rs 100,000. The election promise had raised big hopes among the farmers of Uttar Pradesh and was launched in September.&nbsp;However, the implementation of the scheme has left many farmers shocked and infuriated. They feel cheated after receiving amounts as low as Rs 10, 12 or even 1 paisa, 10 paisa, 12 paisa.

Shambhi Nath, a farmer in Barabanki (UP) spent Rs 218 only to receive a loan waiver of Rs 12. In an interview to a Hindi daily, Adityanath said, &ldquo;Farmers of Uttar Pradesh are so self-reliant that they paid the loan all by themselves&rdquo;.

Shambhu Nath had taken a loan of Rs 28,812. Out of which he returned Rs 28, 800 by selling his bull. Therefore he received only the outstanding amount which figured out to Rs 12. A report stated that over 4,814 farmers got loan waivers amounting between Rs 1- 100. About 17,260 farmers received loan amounting Rs 1000 or less than it.

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<h5>The ever-increasing farmers&rsquo; plight cannot be tackled just by introducing loan waivers scheme.</h5>
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Clearing off the farmers&rsquo; outstanding loan amounting to 1 Rs, 10 Rs or few paisa will certainly not benefit any of these farmers.&nbsp;However, it will add up to the figures of beneficiaries from the Yogi government&rsquo;s flagship mission of waiving off farmer&rsquo;s loan.

The ever-increasing farmers&rsquo; plight cannot be tackled just by introducing loan waivers scheme. For a country which suffers from floods and droughts every year,&nbsp;writing off the loan amount is not the ultimate solution.&nbsp;

A well-organised plan is required to be implemented by the collective efforts of Central and State government to improve the root cause of the plight.&nbsp;

The government of India needs to come up with a well-organised loan waivers scheme

The Maharashtra government is all set to roll out its loan waiver scheme on Wednesday. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis will be providing loan waivers to the first set of farmers on October 18. The scheme was announced in June by the state government after days of protest by farmers. The state was hard hit by severe drought since 2012, adversely impacting the cultivators. The government, in order to curb manual manipulations, has devised an online application process. The money will be transferred to their bank accounts after strict regulation. × Claiming it to be “biggest in history” the state government had allotted Rs 34,022 crore for the scheme. However, recent reports say that the chief minister is not sure about the real estimate diverted for the scheme as several amendments were introduced after its announcement. The farmers will be getting the loan amount from the state government after five months of wait.The government, in order to curb manual manipulations, has devised an online application process. The money will be transferred to their bank accounts after strict regulation. A similar farm loan waiver scheme was carried out by the Uttar Pradesh government recently. As part of his election promise to waive off farmers’ loan, the Uttar Pradesh government led by chief minister Yogi Adityanath had announced “Krishi Rin Mochan Yojana” in April.The state government had diverted Rs 36000 crores for the same. The scheme aimed at waiving crop loan of small and marginal farmers up to Rs 100,000. The election promise had raised big hopes among the farmers of Uttar Pradesh and was launched in September. However, the implementation of the scheme has left many farmers shocked and infuriated. They feel cheated after receiving amounts as low as Rs 10, 12 or even 1 paisa, 10 paisa, 12 paisa. Shambhi Nath, a farmer in Barabanki (UP) spent Rs 218 only to receive a loan waiver of Rs 12. In an interview to a Hindi daily, Adityanath said, “Farmers of Uttar Pradesh are so self-reliant that they paid the loan all by themselves”. Shambhu Nath had taken a loan of Rs 28,812. Out of which he returned Rs 28, 800 by selling his bull. Therefore he received only the outstanding amount which figured out to Rs 12. A report stated that over 4,814 farmers got loan waivers amounting between Rs 1- 100. About 17,260 farmers received loan amounting Rs 1000 or less than it. The ever-increasing farmers’ plight cannot be tackled just by introducing loan waivers scheme. × Clearing off the farmers’ outstanding loan amounting to 1 Rs, 10 Rs or few paisa will certainly not benefit any of these farmers. However, it will add up to the figures of beneficiaries from the Yogi government’s flagship mission of waiving off farmer’s loan. The ever-increasing farmers’ plight cannot be tackled just by introducing loan waivers scheme. For a country which suffers from floods and droughts every year, writing off the loan amount is not the ultimate solution. A well-organised plan is required to be implemented by the collective efforts of Central and State government to improve the root cause of the plight.

The inhuman treatment is given to the farmers in the name of loan write-offs

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