June 9 - Tidbits

National:

RBI tells banks to keep 60% liquidity coverage ratio from January 2015 

In a move aimed at creating liquidity buffers in banks, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has mandated the lenders to maintain 60 per cent liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) from January 1, 2015. Also, the central bank suggested a phased manner in which the ratio will have to increase to 100 per cent by January 1, 2019. Equal quantum of increase has been suggested for every year, till 2019 i.e, the liquidity coverage ratio would be on Indian banks from January 1, 2015 and it would be 60% for the entire 2015. Banks will have to raise the level to 70% from January 2016, to 80% from January 2017, to 90% from January 2018 and to 100% from January 2019. 

BrahMos missile successfully test-fired 

BrahMos missile successfully test-fired from India's largest indigenous warship INS Kolkata

India today successfully test-fired the 290 km-range BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missile from the country's largest indigenous warship INS Kolkata off the coast of Karwar in Karnataka. 

INS Kolkata is the first of its class of warships in the country and is undergoing extensive trials before its planned induction into the Navy in July. The missile has also been inducted into the Army and the Air Force and is being readied for firing from a Su-30MKI combat aircraft. 

NABARD reduces rate of refinance to promote agri investment 
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has reduced the rate of interest by 0.2 per cent on its long-term refinance facility to banks to help promote farm sector investments. 
"Rates of refinance will now be 9.5 per cent for five years and above and 9.7 per cent for three to five years period, banks availing more than Rs 500 crore in a single drawl will further be incentivised by 10 basis points," according to a finance ministry statement quoting NABARD Chairman Harsh Kumar Bhanwala. 

Kotak Mahindra Bank sets up ATMs at Mumbai Metro stations 

The private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank  said it has set up a total of 24 ATMs across the 12 stations of the city's newly launched Metro.The Metro services on the 11.4 km-long Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar section started.The bank has installed 2 ATMs at every station. 

CanaraBank - Project Shikhar

Bangalore-based public sector lender Canara Bank aims to transform at least 600 branches to 5-star category by upgrading them to meet international standards. These branches will offer customers all the banking products under one roof and provide greater access to a wide range of services.

International:

Getting India Back On Track:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday  8  June released a book Getting India Back on Track: An Action Agenda For Reform'' edited by Bibek Debroy, Ashley J. Tellis & Reece Trevor. The book has been published by Carnegie Endowment For International Peace. The book’s foreword is written by Ratan N. Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts, who is a member of Carnegie’s board of trustees and it contains insightful essays by eminent academicians and public policy experts.

Rolls-Royce to open luxury car showroom in Cambodia

Fabled luxury car maker Rolls-Royce will soon be marketing its goods in one of the world's poorest countries.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars announced that it has joined with a Cambodian business partner to open a showroom in the Cambodian capital next month.

EROS to acquire TECHZONE

This is probably the first instance where a content owner is acquiring a content aggregator in the country: Eros International Plc has announced that it has signed a term sheet to acquire a controlling stake in the mobile value added service provider Techzone (Universal Power Systems Private Limited) for an undisclosed amount.

Techzone currently delivers content through caller ring-back tones (CRBT), mobile radio, short message service (SMS), wireless application protocol (WAP) and interactive voice response (IVR). It also owns a mobile shortcode 56060.