'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 A stack of bad loans had reduced to almost zero the net worth of Yes Bank, whose board was superseded by the RBI on Thursday night...'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 Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Gujarat legislative Assembly recently prepared a report to follow up audit observations that had been submitted in 2014 by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India to the Gujarat government sharply criticising it for bestowing “undue” favours on a company in the Adani group that operates India’s largest private port. Gautam Adani heads the Adani group of companies. He is the country’s second richest man, according to one estimate. The industrialist is perceived to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi...
'In an affidavit submitted to the Delhi High Court, the Citizens Whistle Blower Forum stated that Yes Bank, a private-sector lender founded by Rana Kapoor, advanced “dubious” loans amounting to at least Rs 5,698 crore to various companies of the Indiabulls group and others owned by its founder and promoter, Sameer Gehlaut. Publicly available documents reveal that many of these loans were issued after the respective companies had reported a negative net worth.
'In a bid to privatise state-owned airports and allegedly to benefit a well-known corporate house, the Central government has planned to privatise six more airports, NH has learnt. All six airports that have been listed for the second round of the privatisation – Bhubaneswar, Varanasi, Indore, Trichy, Amritsar and Raipur – will, in all probability, be awarded to the Adani group. The government has brushed aside the suggestions given by the ministry of finance to allegedly benefit Adani, said sources...'
'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.
'The decision of a bench of the Delhi High Court of comprising Justices D N Patel and C Hari Shankar on Friday September 27, to issue notices to different government bodies – the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and its wings, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and the Registrar of Companies (RoC), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the National Housing Bank (NHB) – to investigate the allegations levelled in a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a non-government organisation, the Citizens Whistle Blowers Forum against I
'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...
'A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)- led Jharkhand government approved 16.35 acres of land to Adani Thermal Power Limited for setting up a 1,600 MW power plant in Godda district, local residents and opposition questioned the decision to serve the interests of the Adani Group and vowed to continue their protest against land acquisition. The State Cabinet Coordination department Principal Secretary SKG Rahate said the cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Raghuvar Das on Wednesday cleared 16 acres of land to Adani Power at a cost of Rs 58 lakh for a period of 30 years...'
'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...'
