'Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman confirmed on Friday that the troubled Yes Bank had had loan exposure to “very stressed” companies associated with Anil Ambani and Subhash Chandra, two industrialists considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A stack of bad loans had reduced to almost zero the net worth of Yes Bank, whose board was superseded by the RBI on Thursday night...'
'The release of richest people’s lists is usually a signal for much back-slapping and triumphalism in the corporate world and its hangers on in the media. It is seen as some kind of symptom that India is doing well, people are getting wealthier, achhe din (good days) are here, although such lists are only for a 100 people (as in the case of the Forbes India list) or perhaps more (as in IIFL Hurun list), in a country of 1.3 billion people.
'Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited, the flagship company of the Indiabulls group, collaborated with large conglomerates including the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and the DLF Group to divvy up vast amounts of public money by rerouting it through shell companies, according to a public-interest litigation submitted today in the Delhi high court. The PIL stated that IBHFL borrowed large sums from various private and public banks, and used a complex maze of shell companies to extend loans to the tune of thousands of crores to firms owned by these large business groups.
'Both the CBI and the ED were extremely assiduous in using a two-day window afforded by the Supreme Court’s listing for Friday of an anticipatory bail plea to arrest Chidambaram, scaling the wall to enter the premises of his house... It may be worth inquiring into what kind of due diligence these agencies have displayed in pursuing cases against those members of the BJP or its allies against whom charges of corruption have been levelled... Mukul Roy, now a leading light in the West Bengal BJP, was one of those implicated and questioned in connection with the scam.
'With Lok Sabha elections round the corner, Reliance wins contract to build airport in Gujarat despite being lowest bidder, while 5 airports are handed over to Adani Group, including land for power plant in Jharkhand... Recently, Anil Ambani’s Reliance Infrastructure won a contract to build a new airport at Hirasar, in Gujrat’s Rajkot district. The contract is worth Rs 648 crore, while the airport is to be built at a cost of over Rs 1,400 crore, as reported by The Hindu Business Line...
'Fighter jet deal caught in web of overpricing, abuse of authority and cronyism charges... On Friday, February 8, 2019, The Hindu daily in India reported that the standard Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) was not included in the deal. It meant that standard clauses on “Penalty for use of Undue Influence, Agents/Agency Commission, and Access to Company accounts” of Rafale manufacturer Dassault Aviation and MBDA France were waived by the Indian government in the supply protocols.
'...First there was that price claim about how much the Rafale would cost, with the government suddenly refusing to give specific details. Then there was the matter of Dassault, the manufacturer, partnering with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence instead of the state-run Hindustan Aeronatics Limited and whether the Indian government had a role in this decision. Finally, there have been a series of questions about whether Modi broke protocol in the way the agreement actually took place...'
'WERE IT NOT FOR THE SUITS, sombre faces and plush chairs, the launch of Digital India would have had the aura of a pop concert. It was the first day of July in 2015, and thousands of people had filled the arena of the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Delhi. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi entered, the crowd erupted with cheers. Before the presentations began in earnest, jumbotrons played a digital animation accompanied by heavy electronic music. Light—sometimes blue, sometimes yellow—bathed the stage.
'India's opposition parties are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over allegations of corruption in a multi-billion dollar fighter jet deal. Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the main opposition Congress party, has alleged that Mr Modi "favoured" an Indian company that is part of the French deal. Mr Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has denied the allegation, saying the government signed the deal to meet the Indian Air Force's combat requirements and had no role in choosing the French manufacturer's local partner.
'There has been talk about Adanis and Ambanis having known about the currency demonetisation in WhatsApp groups. Now it appears that it’s not just talk among the common men but even among the ruling party’s own. Video footage has emerged on the internet in which a BJP MLA from Rajasthan has been taped in an “off-the-record” conversation saying Adanis and Ambanis, who are seen as being close to the ruling dispensation at the Centre, knew about the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes before it was implemented on ninth of this month...'
