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VOL NO. 06-2019

September 2019

VOL NO. 02-2020

March 2020

Oriental Bank of Commerce bagged Laurels in the EASE-Annual Report-2019-20

On February 26th, 2020, the Finance Minister

Smt. Nirmala Sitaraman launched Enhanced

Access and Service Excellence (EASE 3.0). It

was launched along with the annual report

of EASE 2.0 at a function organized by

Indian Banks’ Association. Public Sector

Banks EASE 2.0 agenda was common

reforms agenda for PSBs aimed at

institutionalizing clean and smart Banking.

EASE 2.0 works on 6 points Agenda and the

Index provided and objective comparative

evaluation showing where each PSB stands

vis-à-vis benchmarks and peers on the

reform agenda.

Performance of the Oreintal Bank-EASE 2.0

Oriental Bank stood at the top in the

category of Improvement from the

March-2019 baseline.

Oriental Bank stood at the top in the

category of Credit Off-take.

Oriental Bank stood at the top of the in

the category of Udyamimitra for MSMEs.

Oriental Bank stood at the third in the

category of Governance and HR policies.

RBI Keeps the Repo Rate Unchanged

On the basis of an assessment of the current

and evolving macroeconomic situation, the

Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at its

meeting dated February 6, 2020 decided

To keep the policy repo rate under the

liquidity adjustment facility (LAF)

unchanged at 5.15 per cent.

To continue with the accommodative

stance as long as it is necessary to revive

growth, while ensuring that inflation

remains within the target.

GoI has decided to rename Parvasi Bhartiya Kendra

The Government of India has decided to rename the Parvasi Bhartiya Kendra, a cultural center that aimed to connect with the Indian Diaspora prevailing in the country, as the Sushma Swaraj Bhawan in the honor of the late Sushma Swaraj, the former External Affairs Minister of the Government of India.

Key Points:

The decision to rename the center after the honorable minister was made by the Government of India on 12th February 2020 and the announcement was made on 14th February, 68th birth anniversary of Late Sushma Swaraj. Sushma Swaraj was very empathetic towards Indians who suffered any kind of distress globally. Hence this made the GoI rename the institute believing in the same cause of helping the people of the country who are suffering anywhere in life. The renowned institution Foreign Service Institute where diplomats are trained has also been renamed the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service. Swaraj brought forcefulness in Indian diplomacy and made the issue of connecting with Indian diaspora, a central focus of the country’s foreign policy priorities. She was known for helping Indians stuck abroad and was available on Twitter to those in need. Swaraj even became popular in Pakistan for her response to people wanting to get visas for medical treatment in India.

RBI to sync its accounting year with

government’s fiscal year from 2020 – 21

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will synchronize its financial accounting year with the Central Government. The decision was taken in a meeting held among the members of the central board of the RBI.

The alignment will come in effect from this year, aligning the bank’s accounting year of June – July with the government’s April – March. The RBI used to follow the accounting year of January – December before switching to July – June in March 1940. For this year the RBI will prepare a truncated balanced sheet for nine months from July to March and from next year the RBI will commence its operations like the government from April – March. The move will bring greater cohesiveness in the projections of monetary policy and reports published by the RBI (based on fiscal year).

Indians emerge as fastest growing

nationality for UK student visa

applications

Indians have emerged as the fastest growing nationality for student visa applications to the UK, as per the new official statistics released. The UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that over 37,500 Indian students received a Tier 4 (Study) visa in 2019, which marks a 93% increase over the previous year and the largest number of visas issued in the Tier 4 category to Indians over the last eight years. Indian professionals also held on to their global lead in the Tier 2 skilled visa category for the UK, with over 57,000 visas granted to Indian workers last year – accounting for over 50 per cent of all such visas. The introduction of a new Graduate Visa route, launched recently for the 2020-21 intake of international students, is likely to have a further impact on this upward trend from India, with its two-year post-study work option. “This phenomenal increase in student visa numbers is testament both to the UK’s world leading education system and to the exceptional talents of Indian students," said Jan Thompson, Acting High Commissioner to India.

Britain’s exit from the EU will end the current free movement of people from within the economic bloc at the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31 this year, bringing EU and non-EU migrants under one system. “We are ending free movement and will introduce an Immigration Bill to bring in a firm and fair points-based system that will attract the high-skilled workers we need to contribute to our economy, our communities and our public services," the Home Office has said. "We intend to create a high wage, high-skill, high productivity economy," it said in its policy document for the new points-based system, which the Prime Minister Boris Johnson led government hopes will ultimately bring down overall migration into the UK.

Visa says OTP not needed for ‘routine’ transactions

Global card network provider Visa aims to

phase out the two factor authentication

(2FA) process on routine card transactions

during digital checkouts and replace the

scrutiny layer with a risk based prompt,

where transactions deemed unusual or risky

by banks would be vetted through a One

Time Password (OTP) check. For this, Visa

plans to hold discussions with domestic

regulators, and its banking partners on how

over time the 2FA norms can be relaxed and

brought in line with global best practices.

GoI launched SPICe+ to boost Ease of Doing Business in India

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs launched the SPICe+ an e – platform on 24th February, to improve the Ease of Doing Business in India. The SPICe+ is an advanced tool that will perform 10 services of various ministries and departments in one place.

KEY POINTS:

The SPICe+ stands for Simplified Proforma for Incorporating Company Electronically Plus, it is an easy electronic form filled in order to incorporate a company. The aim of the SPICe+ is to ease the process of starting a business in India. Earlier a person had to visit various ministries in order to get all the permissions but with this e – platform they can complete various processes in one place. The need to launch such a method was to upgrade India’s position, currently at 63, in the Ease of Doing Business Ranking published by the World Bank. The platform will provide help in various areas like allotment of company name, registration of a company, allotment of Director Identification Number, Permanent Account Number, Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number, Employee Provident Fund Organization and Goods and Services Tax Identification Number, opening company’s bank account etc.

They will also be authorised to develop new payment methods, standards and technologies, monitor related issues in the country and internationally and take care of developmental objectives, such as enhancement of awareness about the payment systems.

Banks to get 5-year CRR relief for lending to auto, housing, MSMEs

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) notified that banks would not be required to maintain the cash reserve ratio (CRR) for five years on their deposits for an amount equivalent to loans given to the MSME (micro, small, and medium enterprises), housing and vehicles sectors between January 31 and July 31. Banks currently maintain 4 per cent on their deposits as CRR. In the monetary policy, however, the RBI said it would allow relaxations on this for loans given to the three productive sectors as they could have “multiplier effects to support growth impulses”. Therefore, banks were told that they could carve out an amount equivalent to what they lent to these three sectors in the six months from their total deposit base, and go for five years without maintaining the CRR on that amount. This, along with long-term repo operation (LTRO) can bring down cost of funds for banks, without lowering deposit rates.

100% FDI in Insurance Intermediaries

The Department for Promotion of Industry

and Internal Trade (DPIIT) operating under

Ministry of Commerce and Trade has

amended the FDI (Foreign Direct

Investment) Policy on Insurance sector and

has allowed 100% FDI through automatic

route for Intermediaries, Insurance

Intermediaries, Insurance Brokers, re

Insurance brokers, Insurance Consultant,

Corporate Agents, surveyors, Loss Assessor,

third party administrator,and such other

entities, as may be notified by IRDA.

The 100% FDI in Insurance Sector was

announced by Finance Minister Nirmala

Sitaraman in the Budget 2020-21. With this

move, the foreign companies shall easily

buy stakes in Indian Insurance

Intermediaries.

“Namaste Trump” the Sequel of “Howdy Modi”

American President Donald Trump and his

family visited India from February 24 to 25

at the invitation of Prime Minister Sri

Narendra Modi. He visited Ahmedabad,

Agra and New Delhi. During his stay, he

addressed a massive rally in Ahmedabad

along with Sri Narendra Modi, visited Agra

and held official meetings in New Delhi.

The American President Donald Trump was

feted at the world's largest cricket stadium

in the "Namaste Trump" event in

Ahmedabad and was cheered by tens of

thousands of people.

During tour, India and the US finalised

defence deals worth USD 3 billion under

which 30 military helicopters will be

procured from two American defence

majors for the Indian armed forces.

After his return from India "Sri Narendra

Modi is a great gentleman,great leader. It's

an incredible country."

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RBI's new motto 'cash is king, but digital is

divine'

With 'cash is king, but digital is divine' motto, the Reserve Bank endeavours to make digital payments a divine experience for the users after being buoyed by over ₹ 3.5 lakh crore reduction in the notes in circulation (NIC) post demonetisation. Overall, the digital payments in the country have witnessed a growth (CAGR) of 61 per cent and 19 per cent in terms of volume and value, respectively over the past five years, demonstrating a steep shift towards digital payments. "Speed, convenience and competition are shaping the future of payments. RBI endeavour is to make digital (payments) a divine experience to the users – Cash is King, but Digital is Divine," the study said. India's growing use of retail digital payments, along with the radical reconstruction of its cash economy, indicates a shift in its relationship with cash. This is evidenced by the steep growth observed in the retail digital payments. Increasing acceptance and convenience of digital payments vis-à-vis cash is also reflected in decrease in average value per digital payment transaction," the RBI said.

Forex reserves up by $29 million to record

$476.12 billion

India’s foreign exchange reserves up by USD 29 million to a fresh lifetime high of USD 476.122 billion in the week to February 21, aided by an increase in the value of gold holdings, Reserve Bank data showed on 28.02.2020. The forex kitty had zoomed by USD 3 billion to USD 476.092 billion in the previous reporting week. Foreign currency assets, a major component of the overall reserves, fell by USD 490 million to USD 441.458 billion in the reporting week, ending a multi-week surge.

Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves. The value of the gold reserves rose for the second consecutive week, climbing USD 539 million to USD 29.662 billion, as per the report released. The special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) dipped by USD 4 million to USD 1.426 billion. The country’s reserve position with the Fund also declined by USD 15 million to USD 3.575 billion, the data showed.

Lots to lose: Coronavirus threatens Japan's

Olympics 2020

Japanese officials are becoming increasingly

concerned that the country's dream of

hosting the Tokyo 2020 Olympics could be

dealt a fatal blow due to the spread of the

new coronavirus, jolting organisers,

sponsors and media firms who have spent

billions of dollars in the runup to the event.

But Japan's Olympics minister said that

Tokyo's contract with the IOC allows it to

postpone the games until the end of the

year.

"The contract calls for the games to be held

within 2020. That could be interpreted as

allowing a postponement," Seiko Hashimoto

said in response to a legislator's question in

Parliament.

Under the hosting agreement, the right to

cancel the Olympics belongs to the IOC.

Hashimoto said Japan's government and

Tokyo were still committed to hosting the

sporting event, due to begin on July 24.

"We are doing all we can to ensure that the

games go ahead as planned," she told

Parliament. Any halt to the event would be

costly. These are the financial and economic

factors at risk.

Other News

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Senior IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre Debasish Panda as as secretary, department of financial services, in place of Rajiv Kumar.

On February 13, 2020, the International Hockey Federation named the Indian Hockey captain Manpreet Singh as Player of the Year, 2019. Manpreet is the first Indian to win the title. Manpreet Singh is the Indian National Hockey team Captain since 2017.

Sachin Tendulkar won the Laureus World Sports Award for Laureus Sporting Moment 2000-2020.He became the first Indian sportsperson to win a Laureus World Sports Award with his win at the 20th-anniversary edition of the event dubbed as the ‘Oscars of Sport.’ The ‘Master Blaster’ received his award from Australian former skipper Steve Waugh.

Occasions and Occurrences

Holi the festival of colors and Gujiyas which is being celebrated on the full moon day of the Phalgun month as per the Hindu Calender falls this year on 10th March. The festival is celebrated to mark the victory over the evil. According to Bhagvata Purana, King Hiranyakashayp-the king of demonic Asuras, who could neither be killed by a man nor an animal--grew arrogant and demanded that everybody should worship him as God. The king's son, Prahlada, disagreed and chose to remain devoted to Vishnu. Hiranyakashayp was infuriated and subjected his son to cruel punishments. Finally, Holika, the king's sister, tricked him into sitting on a pyre with her. While Holika protected herself with a cloak, Prahlada remained exposed. As the fire blazed, the cloak flew from Holika's body and encased Prahlada, thus saving his life. Later, Vishnu appeared in the avatar of Narsimha, half man and half lion, and killed the king. This is why Holi begins with the Holika bonfire, which marks the end of evil. Oreintal Bank of Commerce wishes all its customer a Happy and colorful Holi.

Interest Rates on NRO Deposits

Maturity Period (Buckets)

less

than ₹2 Cr

≥ ₹2 Cr

& ≤ ₹10 Cr

> ₹10 Cr

w.e.f. 22.11.19

As on 28.02.20

As on 28.02.20

7 days to 14 days 4.50 4.00 4.00

15 days to 30 days 4.50 4.00 4.00

31 days to 45 days 4.50 4.50 4.50

46 days to 90 days 5.25 5.00 5.00

91 days to 179 days 5.50 5.00 5.00

180 days to 269 days 5.75 5.75 5.75

270 days to < 1 year 5.80 5.75 5.75

1 year to < 2 years 6.25 6.00 6.00

2 year to < 3 years 6.25 5.50 5.50

3 years to < 5 year 6.25 5.50 5.50

5 years to 10 years 6.25 5.25 5.25

Interest Rates on Non-Resident (External) Rupee Deposits

Maturity Period (Buckets)

less

than ₹2 Cr

≥ ₹2 Cr

& ≤ ₹10 Cr

> ₹10 Cr

w.e.f. 22.11.19

As on 28.02.20

As on 28.02.20

1 years to < 2 years 6.25 6.00 6.00

2 years to < 3 years 6.25 5.50 5.50

3 years to < 5 years 6.25 5.50 5.50

5 years to 10 years 6.25 5.25 5.25

Interest Rates for FCNR (B) w.e.f. (10.02.2020)

Deposit Period

USD GBP EUR AUD CAD JPY

1 year to < 2 years

2.65 1.21 0.15 1.21 2.53 0.52

2 years to < 3 years

2.66 1.20 0.20 1.15 2.25 0.29

3 years to < 4 years

2.66 1.19 0.23 1.15 2.22 0.29

4 years to < 5 years

2.62 1.19 0.25 1.28 2.20 0.28

5 years only

2.63 1.19 0.26 1.31 2.18 0.28

Other terms and Conditions:

1% penalty shall be levied on premature withdrawal of NRE/NRO Bulk Term Deposits of Rs 2.00 Crore and above.

1% penalty shall be levied on premature withdrawal of NRE/NRO Term Deposit above Rs 15.00 lac.

In case of FCNR/NRE deposit, no interest shall be payable if the deposit has not run for minimum stipulated period, which is present one year as per RBI guidelines.

Important Message As per RBI(Regulator) guidelines, KYC is to be updated once in every Two years for NRIs by submitting:

1. Copy of the Latest Passport 2. Valid VISA 3. Latest Overseas Address

4. FATCA

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