PNB cuts MCLR, base rate by up to 0.25%

New Delhi: PNB has cut marginal cost-based lending rates by up to 0.25% for select maturities, effective September 1. The bank has also slashed its base rate by 0.20% to 9.15%. It has trimmed the MCLR by 0.25% each for overnight to 7.75%. PTI

Lenovo launches new range of laptops

Chandigarh:  Lenovo has unveiled its latest collection of future-ready laptops in Chandigarh and Ludhiana. The new range consists of ultra-sleek devices, including the Yoga 720 & Yoga 520, Ideapad 520s & 320s, Ideapad 520 & 320 the Legion Y720 — the international gaming brand. TNS

Comio India unveils three smartphones

Chandigarh: Comio India launched three smartphones, namely S1, P1 and CI, here on Thursday. Sanjay Kumar Kalirona, CEO and Director, Comio India, said: “Punjab is an important market for our brand hence it is the first state where we are launching our phones in India.” TNS

Pay dues or allow others to take control of business, says Jaitley 

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today put private sector debtors on notice saying they will have to pay their dues to banks or allow somebody else to step in and take control of the business. Using the new bankruptcy law, the central bank has prodded banks to initiate insolvency proceedings against 12 large corporate defaulters to resolve Rs 2 lakh crore or almost a fourth of the country’s bad debt. More defaulters are being notified for action. Jaitley said the government was open to providing more capital to banks but cleaning up stressed loans was bigger priority.

“Through the bankruptcy law, I think this is the first time that debtors in India are being taken to task,” he said at the Economist Summit here. PTI

Relief on spectrum payment norms for telecom operators likely 

New Delhi: There could be some relief in the offing for the debt-ridden telcos in the inter-ministerial group (IMG) report, which has been looking into the telecom companies’ financial stress. The report has been finalised and submitted to the Telecom Ministry. Reports suggested that the IMG has outlined some recommendations which would provide relief to the debt-ridden sector. The report has been finalised after three months of deliberations with various stakeholders, specially the telecom operators. Reports said among the recommendations was increasing of the timeline for deferred spectrum payment for telcos and shifting from PLR to MCLR for interest and penalty payments with regard to licence fee and spectrum usage charges. TNS

Demonetisation impacts RBI’s seigniorage, says SBI Research      

New Delhi: Demonetisation has caused net loss to RBI’s seigniorage — the profit accruing from currency issuances and liquidity operations — besides increasing the cost of printing notes, says an SBI Research report. On November 8 last year, the government had banned old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in an attempt to weed out black money in the country. The old notes were allowed to be deposited in banks, with unusual deposits coming under income tax scrutiny. “The demonetisation exercise has resulted in net loss of seigniorage to the RBI,” SBI’s research report Ecowrap said. “In the current case, there is a seigniorage loss, as the face value of Rs 15.28 trillion of Rs 17.1 trillion has been printed,” it said. PTI

Govt rules out any window to deposit scrapped notes 

New Delhi: The Finance Ministry today ruled out opening another window for depositing the scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, with the government now saying it had expected all the annulled currency to be returned, in line with the latest RBI data. While the RBI yesterday revealed that 99% of the Rs 15.44 lakh crore currency junked on November 8 last year had come back, some had pleaded with the government for another window to deposit their small holding of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000. “At this point... No way,” Economic Affairs Secretary SC Garg said when asked if people can get second window for depositing specified bank notes (SBNs) they are left with. PTI