Latest news with #BanningofUnregulatedLendingActivitiesBill
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Unregulated lending may soon be banned
The government is likely to introduce a bill in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament to ban unregulated lending activities, aiming to prevent fraud and protect citizens. This bill will not affect informal lending among relatives. It prioritizes citizens' benefits over the Insurance Amendment Bill, seeking to raise foreign investment in the insurance sector. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads New Delhi: The government is likely to introduce a bill banning any lending activity not authorised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) or any other law to prevent comments have been received and final consultations are going on with the law ministry on the Banning of Unregulated Lending Activities Bill , said a senior government bill may be introduced in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament, which will be held from July 21 to August 12. It will not cover informal lending among relatives."The idea is to bring the bill in this Parliament session, and we may even prioritise it over the Insurance Amendment Bill , given that citizens will be directly benefited from its implementation," said the official, who did not wish to be Insurance Amendment Bill seeks to raise the cap on foreign investment in the insurance sector to 100% from the existing 74%.The draft bill was put out for stakeholder comments as another step to rein in several digital loan apps for unregulated lending and complaints about their predatory recovery practices. The new bill, along with the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill enacted in 2019, is expected to strengthen and streamline both lending and deposit taking activities in the country and rein in any unregulated firms while plugging the Unregulated Deposits Scheme Bill, the Central Registry of Securitization Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest of India is mandated to create and maintain a central database of deposit takers in year, the government had informed Parliament that Google had suspended or removed more than 2,200 fraudulent loan apps from its Play Store between September 2022 and August official said digital lenders had raised some concerns, which had been addressed. "As long as they are partnering with any regulated entity, including non-banking finance companies or those regulated through the State Money Lenders Act, it is not in violation of the proposed bill," he states would also be aligning their Act with the proposed bill to ensure strict implementation, he said. The government had earlier sought comments till February 2025.
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Business Standard
29-04-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Optimistic about impact of Trump tariffs, RBI tells parliamentary panel
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) brass, including its Governor Sanjay Malhotra, on Tuesday told a Parliamentary panel that it was 'optimistic' about the impact of the US tariffs on the Indian economy and, in long-run, it could benefit the country due to dipping trade relations between the US and China. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), chaired by Congress' Lok Sabha member KC Venugopal, held two meetings on Tuesday, one with top RBI officials and the other with the Department of Financial Services (DFS) and managing directors of some of the top nationalised banks. 'Banking reforms' was the overarching theme of the two meetings. At the panel's meeting, Governor Malhotra and Deputy Governor Rajeshwar Rao were present. At the second meeting, the DFS Secretary and MDs of SBI, Indian Bank, Canara Bank, IDBI and Punjab National Bank were present. On tariffs, the RBI Governor and Deputy Governor told the panel that the central bank is still analysing the impact, but their outlook was positive, that they do not see any big impact on the economy. The DFS told the panel that the government could bring the 'Banning of Unregulated Lending Activities Bill' in the next session of Parliament, to check public lending by individuals or organisations that are neither registered under any law, nor authorised by the RBI or other regulators. Panel members also wanted to know why the DFS had approved an infusion of ₹8,000 crore into the State Bank of India in 2018 as part of its recapitalisation exercise without the country's biggest lender asking for such funds. A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report presented in Parliament in 2023 had also flagged the issue. The panel, which has 22 members, sought to know from the DFS and MDs of nationalised banks about the paucity of banks in naxal-affected areas and north eastern states. The government and banks said these areas will also have a bank branch within five kilometres within a year. On non-performing assets, the panel was told that it is declining. The panel said defaulters should be categorised, an early warning system put in place for bigger defaulters, and banks should have an entrepreneurial mind-set and not a bureaucratic one in dealing more humanely in cases of students loans, loans to farmers and fisher-folk. The banks also addressed questions on recruitment of Hindi speaking bank officers deployed in non-Hindi speaking states, clarifying that earlier these officers were trained to speak and understand other languages, but now this lacuna was being addressed at the recruitment level. The DFS apprised the panel of the government's measures towards financial inclusion and outreach, including the Mudra Scheme, PM Jan Dhan Yojana, Vidyalakshmi scheme and Vishwakarma scheme. Members sought details of the 520 million Mudra accounts, including how many people had multiple accounts. The government representatives said they would furnish a written reply in the next meeting. The panel members also flagged structural problems in the Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunals (DRATs) and National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) leading to delay in solving cases. Members posed questions relating to writing off loans after calamities, to which they were told that loans of the deceased are written off while repayment schedules are reviewed and deadlines extended for the injured. Members also spoke about the rising number of financial frauds, including cyber frauds and digital arrest. They called for strengthening of the regulatory mechanism of UPI, akin to the telecom sector.
