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RBI establishes a system for rupee-based international trade payments

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ANI
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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday announced a mechanism to settle payments for international trade in rupees, which will help boost India’s global trade, especially the country’s exports.

“In order to promote the growth of global trade with emphasis on exports from India and to support the increasing interest of the global trading community in INR, it has been decided to put in place an additional arrangement for invoicing, payment, and settlement of exports/imports in INR,” the RBI said in a letter addressed to ‘All Category-I Authorised Dealer Banks

“Before putting in place this mechanism, AD banks shall require prior approval from the Foreign Exchange Department of Reserve Bank of India, Central Office at Mumbai,” it said.

The new mechanism addresses the issues related to invoicing, exchange rate as well as settlement.

Under the new guidelines, all exports and imports under this arrangement may be denominated and invoiced in Rupee (INR).

The exchange rate between the currencies of the two trading partner countries may be market-determined. The settlement of trade transactions under this arrangement shall take place in INR in accordance with the procedure laid down by the RBI.

In terms of Regulation 7(1) of Foreign Exchange Management (Deposit) Regulations, 2016, Authorised Dealer (AD) banks in India have been permitted to open Rupee Vostro Accounts. Accordingly, for settlement of trade transactions with any country, AD bank in India may open Special Rupee Vostro Accounts of correspondent bank/s of the partner trading country.

In order to allow settlement of international trade transactions through this arrangement, it has been decided that “Indian importers undertaking imports through this mechanism shall make payment in INR which shall be credited into the Special Vostro account of the correspondent bank of the partner country, against the invoices for the supply of goods or services from the overseas seller /supplier,” the RBI said.

“Indian exporters, undertaking exports of goods and services through this mechanism, shall be paid the export proceeds in INR from the balances in the designated Special Vostro account of the correspondent bank of the partner country,” the RBI added.

The export/import undertaken and settled in this manner shall be subject to usual documentation and reporting requirements. Letter of Credit (LC) and other trade-related documentation may be decided mutually between banks of the partner trading countries under the overall framework of Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (UCPDC) and incoterms.

Exchange of messages in a safe, secure, and efficient way may be agreed upon mutually between the banks of partner countries, RBI’s Chief General Manager Vivek Srivastava noted in the letter.

Indian exporters may receive advance payment against exports from overseas importers in Indian rupees through the Rupee Payment Mechanism.
Before allowing any such receipt of advance payment against exports, Indian Banks shall ensure that available funds in these accounts are first used towards payment obligations arising out of already executed export orders/export payments in the pipeline.

In order to ensure that the advance is released only as per the instructions of the overseas importer, the Indian bank maintaining the Special Vostro account of its correspondent bank shall, apart from usual due diligence measures, verify the claim of the exporter with the advice received from the correspondent bank before releasing the advance.

During the approval process, the RBI said “the bank of a partner country may approach an AD bank in India for the opening of Special INR VOSTRO account. The AD bank will seek approval from the Reserve Bank with details of the arrangement. AD bank maintaining the special Vostro Account shall ensure that the correspondent bank is not from a country or jurisdiction in the updated FATF Public Statement on High Risk & Non-Co-operative Jurisdictions on which FATF has called for countermeasures.”

What if a billionaire gangster comes out of jail on bail?

By
Vaidehi Taman
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abu salem, salem, 1993 mumbai blast, bombay blast, mumbai, salem
Image: Agency

Abu Salem was known as an underworld gangster who terrorized the Bollywood film industry by extorting money from film producers and seizing overseas distribution rights. It is believed that Salem was the mastermind behind intimidating Bollywood film producers Gulshan Kumar, Subhash Ghai, Rajiv Rai and Rakesh Roshan. While his gang members assassinated Gulshan Kumar in 1997, they failed in their attempt to assassinate Rajiv Rai and Rakesh Roshan. He was also involved in several murders and extortion among other crimes.

In 2002, he was arrested in Portugal on charges of using a fake passport and extradited to India. He was tried and convicted in a few cases and was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2015. The Supreme Court on Monday said the Centre is bound to honour its commitment given to Portugal and release gangster Abu Salem on completion of his 25-year sentence in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case. He was convicted for the 1993 Bombay serial blasts case, and murder of Gulshan Kumar in 1996, shooting at Indian actress Manisha’s secretary, murdering a property builder and more than 50 other cases.

On 20 September 2002, Interpol arrested Monica Bedi in Lisbon, Portugal. They tracked his satellite phone using GPS technology. Monica Bedi was a film actress who reportedly had a relationship with him. In February 2004, a Portugal court cleared his extradition to India to face trial in the 1993 Bombay bomb blasts case. In November 2005, Portuguese authorities handed him over to India on the assurance by the Government of India that they would not give him the death penalty. When Salem was in Lisbon, fighting India’s extradition attempt, the only proof that he was indeed Salem was provided by the fingerprint and photographs taken after his arrest in 1991. Monica Bedi was also extradited to India and later convicted of passport forgery in 2006 and served her imprisonment but she was not involved in any of the businesses operated by Abu Salem.

A lower court in Portugal cancelled his extradition to India for violation of deportation rules by Indian authorities by instituting fresh cases against him that attracted the death penalty. In July 2012, the Portuguese Supreme Court of Justice questioned the legal right of Indian authorities to challenge the cancellation of the extradition order. On 27 June 2013, Devendra Jagtap, an accused person in the Shahid Azmi murder case inside Taloja Central Jail in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, shot Salem. Salem sustained an injury to his hand as Jagtap fired one round.

Abu Salem, Mustafa Dossa, and 4 others were convicted by a Special CBI court in Mumbai on 16 June 2017 in connection with the 1993 Bombay blasts case. Salem is currently lodged in Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail. Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act Court Gives Life Imprisonment To Abu Salem in Mumbai 1993 Blast Case.  In 2010, a violent clash broke out between the gangster Abu Salem and Mustafa Dossa, which led to Salem’s face being slashed with a sharpened spoon.

On 7 June 2018, A Delhi court held him guilty of extorting Delhi businessman Ashok Gupta and sentenced him to seven years in prison. In 2002, Salem called Gupta asking him to call a number in Dubai. Salem had threatened Gupta and his family. In August 2013, Punjabi singer Sukhwinder Singh Maan alias Sukha Delhi Wala revealed that he would release a song composed by Abu Salem while lodged in Tihar Jail, in his next Music Album. The Music Album shall also feature many other celebrities like Rahul Mahajan and Vindu Dara Singh.

After spending years in jail Salem had said his sentence could not exceed 25 years as per a solemn assurance given by India to Portugal for his extradition in 2002. A bench of Justices S K Kaul and M M Sundresh said the Central government is bound to advise the President of India for the exercise of power under Article 72 of the Constitution and the national commission on completion of his sentence.

Abu Salem worked in the D-Company (Dawood Ibrahim gang) as a driver transporting artillery and contraband. Later he rose among the ranks after he introduced a new strategy of hiring unemployed youths from his hometown Azamgarh to come to Mumbai, execute shoot-outs and return to Azamgarh the next day remaining untraced by the Mumbai police. He is currently serving a life sentence in India. He played an active role in March 1993 Bombay serial bomb blasts which killed over 250 people and left 700 damaged properties worth Rs 270 million. In 1993, he left the country and moved to Dubai, United Arab Emirates when the police started rounding up suspects in serial blasts cases. Now Salem is seeking his bail and if he gets out of jail what would he be doing? He can become a politician or business owner or something else, is this not dangerous?

Edappadi Palaniswami has been elected as the party’s Interim General Secretary

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Web Team
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Panneerselvam 1
Edappadi Palaniswami has been elected as the party’s Interim General Secretary 4

In the state of Tamil Nadu, Edappadi Palaniswami was elected as the party’s interim General Secretary at its General Council meeting which was held today. After which the dual leadership structure which was followed till now and it will be put on end in the All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party.

A petition was filed by the former coordinator O Pannerselvam (OPS) for the stay in the Madras High Court. As the court was allowing Tamil Nadu’s main opposition party to hold its General Council Meeting.

The Madras High Court order was passed at 9 am and the General Council Meeting was led by Edappadi Palaniswami at the party office in Vanagaram. The meeting was chaired by the presidium chairman Tamil Mahan Hussain. In the entire meeting, approximately 16 resolutions were passed in which one resolution stated a squash of dual-leadership and it also created a post of General Secretary to ensure it elects a person for the post by the primary members of the party. The party elections will be conducted in four months.

The second resolution which was passed in the meeting out of the 16 resolutions was It sought a Bharat Ratna which is India’s highest civilian honor for E V Ramasamy ‘Periyar’ and C N Annadurai and later Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

There is a huge clamor seen in the party for a single leader in the party since the district secretary meeting on June 14, 2022. The dual leadership in the party started after the demise of the late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in the year 2016.

While today’s court hearing the ruling supporters of the Edappadi Palaniswami and O Pannerselvam were on the streets of Chennai and due to these clashes some people were also injured. The stones were pelted against each other, posters were burnt and banners were also burnt. The O Pannerselvam people also protested outside AIADMK’s headquarters in Royapettah.

Maha CM and Dy CM to review flood situation in Gadchiroli

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ANI
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CM Dy CM
Maha CM and Dy CM to review flood situation in Gadchiroli 6

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will visit Gadchiroli district to take stock of the flood situation owing to heavy rainfall in the state.

“To review the flood situation, along with CM Eknath Shinde, we have left from Mumbai, for visiting Gadchiroli district,” tweeted Deputy CM Fadnavis. A flood-like situation occurred in different areas of Gadchiroli district due to incessant rainfall in Maharashtra in the past few days.

Waterlogging and incessant downpours have created a flood-like situation in the Gadchiroli district. Heavy rainfall warnings have been issued in Mumbai for the next few days.

Visuals showed heavy water flow on the roads where people are walking in the Gadchiroli district. It almost looked like an overflowing river. The India Meteorological Department, in its weather bulletin, noted, “Isolated very heavy rainfall very likely over Gujarat region & Madhya Maharashtra on 09th; Saurashtra & Kutch on 09th & 10th; Marathawada on 09th & 11th; Coastal Karnataka on 12th & 13th; Kerala & Mahe, Konkan & Goa & Coastal Andhra Pradesh & Yanam on 09th; Telangana on 10th & 11th; South Interior Karnataka during 09th-11th.

” West Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Vidharbha region and Chhattisgarh will witness similar weather conditions till July 13.

Also, the IMD predicted rainfall over Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka during the next five days

NCP in Maharashtra has to fight for 27% seats for OBC in local body polls

By
PTI
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NCP
NCP in Maharashtra has to fight for 27% seats for OBC in local body polls 8

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has decided to give 27 per cent seats to candidates from the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the upcoming local body polls in Maharashtra, its state president Jayant Patil said on Monday.

Elections to 92 Nagar Parishads and four Nagar Panchayats (bodies that govern smaller towns in semi-urban areas) in Maharashtra will be held on August 18, the State Election Commission (SEC) had announced on Friday. No provision for OBC reservation has been made in elections to these civic bodies as a related case is pending before the Supreme Court.

“Since it is important that the OBC community gets justice, the NCP has decided to give 27 per cent of the total seats in the local body polls to the candidates of the community,” Patil tweeted. The Supreme Court had refused to restore OBC reservation in local bodies in the state for want of empirical data.

Patil said the apex court’s decision regarding OBC quota is being awaited and his party will make all efforts to ensure that backward communities get political reservation in local self-governing bodies. The BJP had earlier opposed the holding of local body elections until the OBC quota, set aside by the Supreme Court in March last year, was restored.

The party is now in power in the state along with the Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The August 18 elections will be held for local urban bodies in Pune, Sangli, Solapur, Kolhapur, Nashik, Dhule, Nandurbar, Jalgaon, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Jalna, Beed, Osmanabad, Latur, Amravati and Buldhana districts. Counting of votes will take place on August 19.

13 Sena Lok Sabha MP present in the prez poll supported Murmu

By
PTI
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murmu
13 Sena Lok Sabha MP present in the prez poll supported Murmu 10

Thirteen of the 18 Lok Sabha MPs of the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra on Monday physically attended a key meeting on the presidential elections and a majority of them suggested supporting the BJP-led NDA’s candidate Droupadi Murmu, party leader Gajanan Kiritkar said.

However, party MP and chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut claimed of the 18 MPs in the Lok Sabha, 15 attended the meeting held at ‘Matoshree’, the private residence of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in suburban Bandra.

He did not provide details. Besides 18 Lok Sabha members in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena also has its MP, Kalaben Delkar, in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

Kiritkar said 13 MPs physically attended the meeting, while three others — Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Mandlik and Hemant Patil — could not make it to the gathering, but affirmed their support to the leadership.

“Most of the MPs were of the opinion that the party should support Droupadi Murmu,” Kirtikar told PTI. Two Lok Sabha MPs of the Sena – Bhawana Gawali and Shrikant Shinde (son of Chief minister Eknath Shinde) – did not attend the meeting, he added. The presidential elections will be held on July 18.

Mumbai: Eknath Shinde camped MLA Bharat Gogawale’s car met with an accident

By
PTI
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bharat gogawle
Mumbai: Eknath Shinde camped MLA Bharat Gogawale's car met with an accident 12

The car in which rebel Shiv Sena MLA Bharat Gogawale was travelling met with an accident on Mumbai’s Eastern Freeway on Monday morning after a vehicle ahead of it applied brakes suddenly, though no one was injured in the incident, a police official said. The pile-up took place near Orange Gate on the arterial road and saw five cars rear-ending each other as a chain reaction after the vehicle ahead applied brakes, he said. “None of the persons in the cars, including MLA Bharat Gogawale and his driver, have approached police with a complaint. Therefore, no case has been registered,” the official added.

Cash and jewellery were dumped outside the house of BJP leader Prasad Lad

By
Web Team
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prasad lad, lad, prasad, bjp, mumbai police
Cash and jewellery were dumped outside the house of BJP leader Prasad Lad 14

The incident has put the authorities on alert mode as they fear that instead of these articles, something that could cause potential harm could also have been dropped, creating a problem with the law-and-order situation in the city. In a bizarre incident that reportedly took place in the early Sunday morning, police officials in Mumbai found a bag – containing articles like – cash, coins, the idol of God and jewellery – outside the house of BJP leader Prasad Lad.

Lad is one of the ten newly-elected members of the Maharashtra Legislative Council who were sworn in on Friday. In a video shared by news agency ANI on Twitter, three to four plastic bags filled with coins can be seen lying on the ground. A stack of notes can also be seen in the video.

Apart from this, the clip shows some utensils, a gold-coloured idol of the Hindu god Ganesha intact in a plastic box, a pot full of bangles and several other items. A stack of jewellery, presumably containing a necklace, bangle and earrings can also be seen lying on a crumpled pink paper.

Explaining the details of the incident, officials told ANI that all these items were dropped by a man outside the Lad’s house at around 5:30 am. When the cops confronted the man, he fled the spot. The incident has put the authorities on alert mode as they fear that instead of these articles, something that could cause potential harm could also have been dropped, creating a problem with the law-and-order situation in the city.

“Police saw a suspicious man passing by my house at 5.30-6 am. When they approached him, he fled and left the bag. Tomorrow it could be something lethal,” an official was quoted as saying. The motive of the act and the identity of the accused is yet to be established and an investigation in the matter is currently underway as per the officials. As per the reports, Prasad Lad’s house is currently under tight security.

Two men were found dead after drowning in the canal

By
Web Team
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drowing
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In the state of Uttar Pradesh in Balrampur at a village two men from a village drowned on Monday while bathing in the canal. The villagers who usually visit the canal for bathing went to have a bath today but they were drowned in the Saryu canal this was been said by the state police.

As per the report, this incident was reported at Judikuiya village and the Saryu canal also passes from the same where this incident was reported.

In the report mentioned in PTI according to police “ Five men had gone to bathe in the Saryu canal and struggled to stay afloat when they went too deep”. After this incident police said, “ The locals who rushed to help them when they heard their shouts they could rescue only 3 of them”.

In a report as per the local people, they could only rescue 3 people and the other 2 were found dead the deceased were identified as Sonu at the age of 24 and Faizan whose age was 28.

The case was been handled by Panchpedwa Police Station and the SHO Alok Rai of the same police station as quoted in the PTI report “ The bodies of both men were recovered and handed over to their family members after legal formalities.

After this incident, the former minister and local MLA S P Yadav met the relatives of the deceased and demanded 10 lakh rupees from the government to be given to the deceased family members.

Panneerselvam appears set to repeat war for ‘Dharma’

By
PTI
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Panneerselvam
Panneerselvam appears set to repeat war for 'Dharma' 17

The beleaguered O Panneerselvam who initiated a ‘Dharma Yudham’ in 2017 to reclaim his position in the party appears to be heading towards the same path, this time ‘war for Dharma, 2.0,’ after his expulsion from the AIADMK on Monday.

Panneerselvam, following his dismissal from the party and when authorities descended on the AIADMK headquarters to lock and seal the premises in view of the violence, told reporters he would meet party workers, take legal action and approach court.

Precisely, this was what Panneerselvam, popularly known as OPS had done years ago against VK Sasikala that culminated in the coming together of the factions led by him and Edappady K Palaniswami (EPS).

In the present ’round two,’ political observers say one cannot be sure about the outcome of such moves. Also, the BJP, which is aggressive now in Tamil Nadu is yet to take a firm stand on taking sides in the AIADMK’s bickering.

After being the Chief Minister thrice, Panneerselvam agreed to be the deputy CM in 2017. Following DMK’s win in Assembly election last year, he also accepted the offer of Deputy Leader in the Assembly, while EPS became the Leader of Opposition. All along, the supremacy of Palaniswami in the party was unmistakable. With his expulsion, OPS is also set to lose his Deputy Leader position in the House.

He has already approached the Election Commission and in his June 27 memorandum to the panel, had underscored a bid to ‘sabotage’ the party administration by raking up the demand for a single leadership favouring EPS, neglecting him and thereby violating party bylaws.

Panneerselvam had just stopped short of requesting the EC to intervene to help establish his rights as per AIADMK bylaws and had said his representation was for the panel’s ‘kind consideration’, as required under the Representation of People Act, 1951.

Asked on what could be the future course of OPS’s action, political analyst Sumanth Raman told PTI that currently Panneerselvam has very ‘limited options’ to make a comeback in the AIADMK.

Political commentator M Bharat Kumar said Panneerselvam may consider taking steps like blocking party’s Two Leaves symbol and pursue other legal measures to scuttle Palaniswami from further firming up his grip on the party apparatus.

“Panneerselvam may join the BJP if the saffron party agrees or consider joining hands with Sasikala if her camp is okay with it. He may also toy with the idea of floating a new party. However, his chances to return to the AIADMK and especially to his previous top position is very slim,” he told PTI.

It is an open secret that Panneerselvam does not enjoy the support of party MLAs and office-bearers.

“OPS claims he has the support of party workers. However, that is limited to select regions,” he said.

After he was sidelined by Palaniswami camp, Panneerselvam has all along been playing the ‘victim card,’ claiming that his ‘sacrifices’ for the party has been forgotten. However, ‘barging’ into the party headquarters, staging a dharna and breaking open the doors of party office has created a sense of negativity against him and his supporters among the people and party workers, Kumar said.

If OPS had quietly staged a protest outside the party office, which was locked by Palaniswami’s supporters, it could have earned the sympathy of people and party workers for Panneerselvam, he added.

While the General Council meet was in progress elsewhere OPS’s storm troopers entered the office, apparently breaking open the doors and forcing their way into the headquarters.

Later, Panneerselvam arrived and waved to party workers from the upper floor of the headquarters. OPS’s supporters say that waving to cadres from the very same spot used by ‘Amma’ was not only similar to J Jayalalithaa’s style but it is OPS’ way to assert he was the choice successor of the late party matriarch and his way of asserting his right in the party.

AIADMK had on Monday elected Palaniswami as its Interim General Secretary and vested in him full powers to helm the organisation and expelled Panneerselvam and 3 of his loyalists from the party.

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