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The Delhi High Court Monday granted six more weeks’ time to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to respond to a PIL seeking implementation of a Uniform Banking Code for foreign exchange transactions to control black money generation and benami transactions. Time was sought for filing reply by the counsel for RBI from a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad which was hearing the plea by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay.

The petitioner has contended that there are loop holes in the system in relation to transfer of foreign funds which could be used by separatists, naxals, maoists, fundamentalists, and terrorists.

“Counsel for RBI prays for six weeks to file reply as RBI has been recently impleaded as one of the respondents. He is granted six weeks time,” said the court and the matter was listed for further hearing in July.

On December 5 last year, the court had observed that the matter deserved a detailed hearing and asked RBI to file its response on the petition.

The petition has sought direction to ensure that Real Time Gross Settlement ( RTGS ), National Electronic Funds Transfer ( NEFT ) and Instant Money Payment System ( IMPS ) are not used for depositing foreign money in Indian banks.

The petitioner has said it is not only harming the foreign exchange reserve of India but is also being used to provide money to separatists, fundamentalists, naxals, maoists, terrorists, traitors, conversion mafias and radical organisations like the SIMI and the PFI.

He has submitted that immigration rules for a visa are the same whether a foreigner comes in business class or economy class, uses Air India or British Airways, and comes from USA or Uganda.

Likewise, the deposit details in Indian banks, including foreign bank branches for foreign exchange transactions, must be in the same format whether it is export payment in a current account or salary in a savings account or donation in charities current account or service charges payable in YouTuber’s accounts. The format should be uniform whether it is converted by Western Union or National Bank or an India-based foreign bank, the plea has said.

“Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate (FIRC) must be issued and all international and Indian banks must send the link through SMS to get FIRC automatically in case foreign exchange is being deposited in the account as converted INR.

“Moreover, only a person or company should be permitted to send Indian rupees from one bank account to another bank account inside the territory of India through RTGS, NEFT and IMPS and international banks should not be allowed to use these domestic banking transactions tools,” it has said.

The plea has also sought direction that foreign exchange transactions through Indian banks and foreign bank branches in India must have information like the name and mobile number of the depositor, International Money Transfer (IMT) and not RTGS/NEFT/IMPS and name of currency.

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Investments by private equity and venture capital funds declined by 44 per cent to USD 3.7 billion in February compared to the same period a year ago, a report said on Monday. The bets by the long-term investors were 13 per cent lower when compared to the investments in the preceding month of January, the report by industry lobby Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association and consultancy firm EY, said.

“…rising global recession concerns, increasing cost of capital and mismatch in valuation expectations between sellers and investors are turning out to be major impediments in the deployment of capital,” EY’s partner Vivek Soni said.

He added that the recent events in the global financial world after the failure of SVB and the contagion spreading to other mid-market US banks catering to the technology sector has added to the overall uncertainty, and “may discourage investors from making bold bets in the immediate term”.

The venture investing industry poured in USD 6.6 billion into companies in February 2022, while the same stood at USD 4.314 billion in January 2023.

In volume terms, the number of deals dropped by 60 per cent in February with 55 transactions getting recorded as against 139 in the year-ago period, the report said, adding that there were 75 deals in January 2023.

From a sectoral perspective, real estate led by bagging USD 2.4 billion of the overall USD 3.7 billion in investments with the USD 1.9 billion funding announcement by an arm of CDPQ and Temasek to set up an investment platform for office properties in India being at the top.

There were only nine large deals of USD 100 million or more announced in February, aggregating to USD 3 billion in overall such commitments.

February 2023 recorded 11 exits worth USD 731 million compared to USD 1.4 billion recorded in February 2022 across 13 deals, and USD 898 million recorded across 20 deals in January 2023, it said.

Funds dedicated to India raised USD 881 million as compared to USD 347 million in the year-ago period, it said, adding that Kotak Alternate Assets’ USD 590 million for a data centre fund was the largest.

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For those who are salaried, investing in RDs is a viable option because they do not require a big investment. Recurring deposits will help individuals to invest regularly and build a large corpus over time.

Upon an RD’s maturity, the principal sum and interest will be returned. This sum can be applied to a variety of short-term financial needs, including vacations, children’s yearly tuition, wedding costs, and higher education costs.

Just like fixed deposit, recurring deposit interest rates will vary with deposit tenure and the bank. Here is a quick comparison of RD interest rates of top banks such as SBI , ICICI Bank , HDFC Bank , PNB , Yes Bank .

Also read: FD premature withdrawal charges: SBI vs HDFC Bank vs ICICI Bank vs PNB vs Yes Bank

SBI RD

The minimum RD Period in SBI Bank is 12 months and maximum is 120 months with minimum deposit amount Rs. 100/- per month (thereafter in multiples of Rs. 10/-). Interest rate offered is same as applicable on term deposits for public and Senior Citizens. The bank offers interest rate between 6.80% to 7% for regular citizens and 7.30% to 7.50% for senior citizens. The rates are effective from February 15, 2023.

Kotak Mahindra Bank RD rates

The minimum tenure for RD in Kotak Mahindra Bank is 6 months and interest rate starts from 6% to 7.20% for regular citizens and 6.50% to 7.70% for senior citizens. The rates are effective from March 20, 2023.

ICICI Bank RD rates

ICICI Bank offers interest rate between 4.75% to 7.10% for regular citizens and 5.25% to 7.50% for senior citizens. The rates are effective from February 24, 2023. According to the ICICI Bank website, “Recurring Deposits will be available for a minimum tenure of 6 months (and in multiples of 3 months thereafter) up to a maximum tenure of 10 years.”

Post Office RD

India Post offers interest rate of 5.8 % per annum on a 5-Year Post Office Recurring Deposit Account. RD account can be closed prematurely after 3 years from the date of account opening. Note that interest rate will be revised every quarter by government.

Yes Bank RD rates

For regular residents, YES Bank offers recurring deposit interest rates ranging from 6% to 7.50% with terms ranging from six months to ten years. For senior citizens, the bank offers interest rate between 6.50% to 8%. These rates are effective from February 21, 2023.

PNB RD rates

PNB offers interest rates ranging between 5.5% and 7.25% on recurring deposits maturing between six months and 10 years to regular citizens and 6% to 7.50% to senior citizens. These rates are effective from February 20, 2023.

How does an RD Account work?

According to the IDFC FIRST Bank website, “Unlike a regular fixed deposit, wherein you invest a lumpsum amount at one go for a predetermined tenure, a recurring deposit account lets you invest a specified amount each month until the end of the tenure. The monthly amount generally remains unaltered during the tenure. One of the benefits of such an investment is that you can invest a sum that doesn’t hamper your monthly expenditure; instead, it can help increase your future funds.”

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A revised guideline for the treatment of adult COVID-19 patients has been issued by the Centre which advises against the use of antibiotics, drugs such as Lopinavir-ritonavir , hydroxychloroquine, Ivermectin, Molnupiravir, Favipiravir, Azithromycin , and Doxycycline, and convalescent plasma therapy unless there is clinical suspicion of bacterial infection or other endemic infections.

The AIIMS/ICMR-COVID-19 National Task Force met on January 5 to revise the clinical guidance protocol. It has also advised doctors not to use convalescent plasma therapy.

“Antibiotics should not be used unless there is clinical suspicion of bacterial infection. Possibility of co-infection of COVID-19 with other endemic infections must be considered,” the guidelines said.

The guidelines recommend the use of Remdesivir for up to five days in moderate or severe cases with a high risk of progression, and only for those who require supplemental oxygen but are not on IMV or ECMO . The guidelines advise against using Remdesivir for more than five days or in patients who do not require oxygen support or are in a home setting. Additionally, Tocilizumab should be considered within 24-48 hours of severe disease or ICU admission in cases of rapidly progressing moderate or severe disease.

In recent news, after a gap of 129 days, India recorded a rise of more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases in a single day on Sunday, and the following day reported a rise of 918 cases, bringing the active caseload to 6,350.

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Air India Ltd. is in talks with banks to help fund its recently announced record aircraft order, benefitting from the support of new owner Tata Sons Ltd., the carrier’s chief executive officer said.

“We have the backing of Tata Sons, so there is financing available for these aircraft,” CEO Campbell Wilson said in an interview with Bloomberg News on the sidelines of the CAPA India Aviation Summit in New Delhi on Monday. “We have already made some downpayments for these aircraft from our internal funds.”

Air India has placed an order of 470 aircraft from both Boeing Co. and Airbus SE, with deliveries due to start from the end of this year. Discounts are common for such large purchases.

The formerly state-run carrier will use cash, shareholder equity, and sale and leaseback of aircraft to help fund the order, Wilson said last month. With the fleet expansion, Air India is seeking to take on the likes of Emirates and Qatar Airways, which dominate lucrative routes from India to the US and Europe through their hubs in Doha and Dubai.

Wilson didn’t say which banks Air India is talking to.

India has been quicker than most other nations to get back to pre-Covid levels of air traffic, aided by a strong local market and growing middle class. Domestic air traffic is expected to rise 20% to 160 million passengers in the year through March 2024, and the nation’s carriers may operate a fleet of 1,400 jets by 2030, according to Sydney-based CAPA Centre for Aviation.

India plans to spend about 980 billion rupees ($12 billion) over the next two years on airports, including new terminals and the renovation of existing facilities to meet surging demand. A lot of that growth may come from smaller cities where air travel penetration is low.

“India over the last few decades has been punching below its weight,” said Subhas Menon, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines. “The government is doing what is natural, to build up potential as an aviation hub.”

Air India is preparing to integrate Vistara, a joint venture between Singapore Airlines Ltd . and Tata Group, to form a single, full-service carrier. The airline is spending $400 million to upgrade its widebody planes, replacing all seats and in-flight entertainment systems with new products.

India’s largest conglomerate Tata bought Air India for $2.4 billion from the government in 2021. The high-profile privatization under Prime Minister Narendra Modi ended decades of attempts to sell the money-losing, debt-laden carrier, which had been kept alive on years of taxpayer bailouts.

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