14 hours ago
NRIs in UAE: How can I take a loan against my gold belongings?
Question: My brother in India wants to take a loan for his business against the security of gold belonging to the family. Are there any rules or guidelines for determining the amount of loan which would be sanctioned by a bank against security of the gold?
ANSWER: The Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio is fixed by the Reserve Bank of India. If the loan amount is upto Rs250,000, the LTV is 85 per cent. For loans upto Rs500,000, the LTV is capped at 80 85 per cent, and for loans above this figure, the LTV is 75 85 per cent. For valuing the gold, banks and non-banking finance companies are required to take into account the lower of the average closing price of the gold over the previous thirty days, or the latest closing price.
If gems and other precious stones are part of the security, their value will be excluded and the intrinsic metal value alone will be taken into account. Re-pledging of collateral or using it to obtain loans from other institutions is not permitted. Banks and other lenders are required to follow standardised assaying procedures in the borrower's presence and disclose the valuation method. A declaration will have to be made by the borrower as proof of his ownership of the pledged gold.
Question: Is satellite based communication going to be a reality in India in the near future? There are media reports that several companies, both foreign and Indian, are keen to enter this space.
ANSWER: In May this year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India recommended administrative allocation of satellite based communication spectrum, subject to certain conditions being complied with. The regulator has fixed the fee for such allocation at four per cent of the Adjusted Gross Revenue. Consequently, multiple players have applied for a licence and therefore it is expected that the rollout of the satellite network will happen at a fast pace. The revenue is expected to grow from the current level of $2.3 billion to around $20 billion by 2028. The Government is keen to push forward the satcom policy at the earliest and, once permissions are given by the authority, satellite based internet services would be available throughout the country.
One of the major global players Starlink has agreed to the stringent conditions laid down by the Department of Telecom and the Government has cleared its application for a Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite licence. It has already paid the fees required by law and therefore it will be in a position to start its operations as soon as it secures approval from the Indian Space and Authorisation Centre. Strict security requirements have been laid down, including the need to establish methods of interception as well as having a command and control centre in India.
Question: With the growing population of under-40s in India, the number of persons seeking jobs is increasing every year. Will it be possible to provide such persons with gainful employment opportunities?
ANSWER: The only way to ensure that the demographic dividend is reaped by the country is to provide training and skills to millions of prospective young workers. The Government is therefore devising a new framework for skilling young citizens so that they may either be employed or are capable of being self-employed as carpenters, electricians, plumbers, etc. where tremendous opportunities exist in view of the large number of residential properties that are coming up. Government is also thinking of handing over industrial training institutes (ITIs) to manufacturing companies. At present, there are 15,034 ITIs functioning in the country, of which 3,298 are run by the Government and the balance by private enterprises. The Central Government runs schemes to provide financial support to State Governments for strengthening the infrastructure of ITIs and improving the quality of training provided by them.
The Government has approached Chambers of Commerce to encourage companies which are their members to take over the Government-run ITIs and run them as polytechnics. The companies would decide on the curriculum in conformity with their requirement for a skilled workforce. The objective is that every sector of industry should have a large pool of skilled talent which will be available for future growth. The Government has allocated Rs.88 billion for the Skill India Programme and these funds will be available to the corporate sector which undertakes the training of its employees.
HP Ranina is a practising lawyer, specialising in corporate and fiscal laws of India.
