South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), a Chhattisgarh-based subsidiary of Coal India under Ministry of Coal, Govt. of India, has approved ₹170 Crores for various Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects in FY 24-25. These initiatives will significantly boost health, education and skill development infrastructure in the coalfields regions.
This allocation surpasses SECL’s statutory CSR budget of Rs. 99.76 crores for FY24, demonstrating the company’s dedication to community development. These projects will be implemented over the next 2-3 years as per respective agreements. In line with the 100-Day Intensified Campaign for TB Elimination, SECL has partnered with RK HIV & AIDS Research and Care Centre, Mumbai.
SECL is also investing in skill development through a ₹3.12 Crore MoU with Apparel Training & Design Centre (ATDC), Gurugram. This vocational training program will empower 400 underprivileged youth with skills relevant to the apparel and textile industry, creating opportunities for self-employment.
Ranchi will host the 4th South Asian Senior Athletics Championships at the Birsa Munda Athletics Stadium from May 3 to 5, 2025. Sri Lanka Athletics announced that athletes from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives will compete in the championship.
Ranchi was originally scheduled to host the championships from October 4 to 6 last year, but the event was postponed. This event marks the return of the championships to India after 17 years, with the last edition held in 2008. The first two editions of the South Asian Senior Athletics Championships were held in 1997 and 1998.
The Reserve Bank of India on Friday said 20 non-banking financial companies, including Reliance Commercial Finance and IDFC Limited, have surrendered their certificate of registration (CoR). Of these, two non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) have surrendered their CoR as they have exited from the non-banking financial institution business.
These NBFCs are Manoway Investments Private Limited and Reliance Commercial Finance Limited. IDFC Ltd, IDFC Financial Holding Company Ltd and other 16 entities surrendered the CoR as it ceased to be a legal entity due to amalgamation or merger. Besides, the RBI cancelled the CoR of 17 NBFCs, the central banks said in another statement.
The Reserve Bank of India has levied penalties on Shriram Finance, Nainital Bank and Ujjivan Small Finance Bank for failing to adhere to certain regulatory guidelines. The central bank fined Rs 61.40 lakh on Nainital Bank for non-compliance with directions on interest rate on advances and customer service.
The private sector bank did not benchmark certain floating rate loans extended to MSMEs to an external benchmark rate and levied penal charges for non-maintenance of minimum balance in savings bank accounts at flat rates instead of the charges being directly proportionate to the extent of shortfall.
The fine on Ujjivan was Rs 6.70 lakh as it failed to issue loan agreements to certain borrowers at the time of sanction / disbursement of loans. Shriram Finance was slapped with a Rs 5.80 lakh fine for failing to put in place a system of periodic review of risk categorisation of accounts among other issues.
State-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on Friday said it has launched its marketing technology (MarTech) platform to redefine customer engagement. The platform is the first major milestone in project DIVE (Digital Innovation and Value Enhancement). This launch represents LIC's first step towards becoming a global digital champion in the insurance industry.
The MarTech platform introduces an intelligent, multi-channel engagement capability, enabling LIC to run hyper-personalized, always-on campaigns that enhance customer experience and drive business growth. With the first pillar under Project DIVE now live, it said, LIC reinforces its commitment to innovation, customer centricity, and digital excellence.
Financial services player Navi Groupannounced the appointment of two CEOs for its companies, including Navi Technologies and Navi Finserv.
Sachin Bansal has resigned from his position as CEO of the companies and will serve as the executive chairman of Navi Group. Rajiv Naresh has been appointed CEO of Navi Technologies, whereas Abhishek Diwedi will serve as Navi CEO.
Bansal will oversee the group’s long-term vision, including expansion opportunities, fund-raising, and merger and acquisition (M&A) efforts, the company added. The banking regulator had prohibited the non-banking financial company (NBFC) from sanctioning and disbursing loans or charging exorbitant interest rates to borrowers, effective October 21, 2024.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) superseded the board of the Mumbai-based New India Cooperative Bank for 12 months and appointed Shreekant, former chief general manager of State Bank of India (SBI), as administrator to oversee the bank’s affairs during this period. Additionally, the RBI has appointed a ‘Committee of Advisors’ to assist the administrator.
The committee comprises Ravindra Sapra, former general manager at SBI, and chartered accountant Abhijeet Deshmukh. The move comes a day after the RBI prohibited the bank from issuing new loans and suspended deposit withdrawals for six months, starting February 13. The central bank cited supervisory concerns arising from recent material developments.
Social media conglomerate Meta would build a 50,000 km undersea cable — spanning five continents — connecting India to the United States (US), the two countries said in a joint statement. Meta will make a “multi-billion, multi-year investment” in the undersea cable project and start work this year (2025).
According to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) data, the country hosts around 17 international subsea cables across 17 district landing stations. The total lit capacity and activity capacity of these cables stood at 180 terabit per second (TBPS) and 132 TBPS, respectively, Trai chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti had said at an event earlier this year.
Apart from these, two new cable systems, India Asia Xpress (IAX), and India Europe Xpress (IEX) — collectively over 15,000 km long — are owned by Reliance Jio and scheduled to go live by the end of 2025. According to reports, the IAX cable system is expected to connect Chennai and Mumbai, the two major landing stations in India, to Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.
Listed companies may soon face stricter disclosure requirements for related-party transactions (RPTs). Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch announced on Friday that the new standards — deliberated and cleared by the Industry Standards Forum (ISF) — will be notified and integrated into the regulations soon.
The approved RPT disclosure standards will require listed companies to provide more detailed information when seeking approval for RPTs from audit committees and shareholders. RPTs involve transactions between listed companies and connected entities or firms related to promoter group members.
These transactions often require shareholder and audit committee approval to ensure transparency and trust. This includes whether the advisory firms were in favour of the transaction, whether it received shareholder approval, and the rationale behind such deals. Retail investors will now have access to this information, which was previously limited to institutional investor
This enhanced transparency aims to align the interests of promoters and minority shareholders, ensuring no divergence in interests when business decisions are made. Earlier, Sebi had raised concerns about RPTs with overseas entities where there was no tangible evidence of funds being spent on purchases.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the new Income Tax Bill, 2025 in the Lok Sabha. The bill aims to simplify tax language by removing jargon and unnecessary provisions and using concise sentences. It introduces a new term called ‘Tax Year’, eliminating the complex terms like ‘Previous Year’ and ‘Assessment Year’.
The Government ensured widespread stakeholder engagement, consulting taxpayers, businesses, industry associations, and professional bodies. Out of 20,976 online suggestions received, relevant suggestions were examined and incorporated, where feasible.
