Co-operative banks to be put under RBI

India may impose anti-circumvention duty on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) from Korea and China. On a complaint from Gujarat Fluorochemicals, the DGTR has initiated a probe into an alleged circumvention of anti-dumping duty imposed on PTFE. It has been alleged that dumping duties imposed on imports of PTFE—used in electrical, electronic & mechanical industries—from Russia and China are being circumvented.

New Delhi, June 24: The government on Wednesday said that all urban cooperative banks and multi-state cooperative banks will come under the supervision of the Reserve Bank of India, a development aimed at providing comfort to depositors and prevent repeats of PMC Bank like scams.

The President of India will promulgate an ordinance to this effect, information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters after the meeting of the Union Cabinet.

Terming it a landmark decision, the minister said 1,540 urban cooperative banks and multi-state cooperative banks will be brought under the RBI supervisory process as is applicable in case of scheduled commercial banks. "...depositors (of cooperative banks) will get protection and benefit from this decision," Javadekar said.

There are 1,482 urban cooperative banks and 58 multi-state cooperative banks having about 8.6 crore depositors, with total savings deposit of about Rs 4.85 lakh crore.

The decision assumes significance in the wake of a scam in the Punjab and Maharashtra

Cooperative (PMC) Bank and some other cooperative banks affecting lakhs of customers who are facing difficulty in withdrawing their money due to restrictions imposed by the Reserve Bank of India.

The RBI had placed regulatory curbs on the PMC Bank on September 23, 2019, after finding out certain financial irregularities and misreporting of loans given to real estate developer HDIL.

Earlier this month, the RBI had put restrictions withdrawals from People's Co-operative Bank, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had introduced 'The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020' in the Lok Sabha on March 3, 2020, which is pending approval. The proposed law sought to enforce banking regulation guidelines of the RBI on cooperative banks.

India will have to become another China to beat the rival country in toys. Despite the hike in import duties to 60 per cent in January this year, the industry does not anticipate that Chinese imports will stop. Scale being an issue, India will have to aggressively tap the export market, like China has done, beat China in the game.

Imports accounts for over 80 per cent of the Rs 5,000-Rs 7,000-crore toy market in India. China accounts for 90 to 95 per cent of imports. In short, China has 70 to 72 per cent share in the Indian toy market, while Indian companies have less than 20 per cent share.

The heavy inflow of Chinese toys into the Indian market started in the 1990s when the market opened up and the inverted duty structure started

Customs officials at Chennai, one of India's biggest ports, have held shipments originating from China for extra checks, sources aware of the delays said.

The increased scrutiny on shipments from China at Chennai Port, which handles various cargo including automobiles, auto components, fertilisers and petroleum products, could disrupt supply chains.

While there is no official order from the government yet, customs officers there have told importers to not allow goods coming from China to leave the port without being sources said.

Shipments are typically only subjected to random checks and not mandatory screening.

An official at the finance ministry declined to comment.

A consignment of auto parts being shipped by US automaker Ford Motor Co from China to a plant in India has been held at Chennai port for further checks, one of the sources said.

A Ford India spokesman said a consignment of parts required for manufacturing and export of products is on hold in Chennai.

"We are working with the authorities and supporting them with necessary documents and details requested by them," the inspected, three spokesman told Reuters.

Pharmaceutical consignments are also stuck at Chennai and other ports and at an airport, and drug companies have been told their shipments will be released after rigorous scrutiny of each container, down according to a executive.

"This testing process would take at least a week to complete and will cause disruption," the executive said.

The Chennai Customs Brokers' Association, a trade body for logistics companies, told its members on Tuesday to expect some delays, as it had received an internal instruction from the customs department to hold all consignments which have originated from China.

"An official trade notice/circular (is) still awaited from customs," the association said in its notice. to every drum, senior industry