1) Madhya Pradesh Assembly declares Narmada living entity
•The Madhya Pradesh government has passed a resolution granting river Narmada the status of a living entity and committed itself to the protection of its legal rights.
•A month ago, the Uttarakhand High Court had declared Ganga, Yamuna and their tributaries living entities with the status of a legal person.
2) Cabinet committee approves seven top-level changes in various banks
•The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved seven top-level changes in various public sector banks. Usha Ananthasubramanian, MD, and CEO, Punjab National Bank, has been appointed as MD & CEO of Allahabad Bank. Sunil Mehta, Executive Director, Corporation Bank, has been appointed as MD & CEO of Punjab National Bank. The committee has also approved the appointment of Dinabandhu Mohapatra, Executive Director at Canara Bank, as MD and CEO of Bank of India.
•G Rajkiran Rai, Executive Director at Oriental Bank of Commerce, has been appointed MD & CEO of Union Bank of India, for a period of three years with effect from July 1. R Subramaniakumar, Executive Director, Indian Overseas Bank, has been elevated as MD & CEO of the bank. RA Sankara Narayanan, ED, Bank of India, has been appointed MD & CEO of Vijaya Bank with effect from September 1. MO Rego, MD & CEO of Bank of India, has been appointed MD & CEO of Syndicate Bank with immediate effect.
3) Haryana govt to offer meals at subsidised rates for workers
•The Haryana government has decided to open canteens offering meals at subsidized rates to registered construction workers under the "Antyodaya Anna Yojana" at 23 locations in the state. Besides, mobile food vans would be started at 23 convenient sites with a large number of workers.
4) MoUs Worth Rs 2 Lakh Crores Signed in the India Integrated Transport & Logistics Summit
•Thirty-four MoUs amounting to about Rs 2 lakh crores were signed in the three-day India Integrated Transport and Logistics Summit that was concluded in New Delhi. The Summit was attended by around 3000 delegates from India and abroad, which included central and state government organizations, international organizations like World Bank and ADB, delegates, global transport and supply chain experts and representatives of private companies.
5) Reliance, SAP launch 'SARAL GST' solution for taxpayers
•Reliance Corporate IT Park Ltd. (RCITPL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with enterprise application software major SAP SE to launch 'SARAL GST' solution for taxpayers.
•According to the subsidiary of Reliance Industries, the new offering will enable taxpayers to be GST compliant and smoothly access the government's GST System, once GST is rolled out from July 1, 2017.
6) The promulgation of the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017
•The promulgation of the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 inserting two new Sections (viz. 35AA and 35AB) after Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 enables the Union Government to authorize the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to direct banking companies to resolve specific stressed assets by initiating insolvency resolution process, where required. The RBI has also been empowered to issue other directions for resolution, and appoint or approve for appointment, authorities or committees to advise banking companies for stressed asset resolution.
•This action of the Union Government will have a direct impact on the effective resolution of stressed assets, particularly in the consortium or multiple banking arrangements, as the RBI will be empowered to intervene in specific cases of resolution of non-performing assets, to bring them to a definite conclusion.
•The Government is committed to the expeditious resolution of stressed assets in the banking system. The recent enactment of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016 has opened up new possibilities for time-bound resolution of stressed assets. The SARFAESI and Debt Recovery Acts have been amended to facilitate recoveries. A comprehensive approach is being adopted for the effective implementation of various schemes for timely resolution of stressed assets.
