RBI denies goof-up as new notes carry Subbarao signature
5 March 2014 5:43 AM IST
Changing a Governor’s signature on the banknotes is a tedious process, the RBI said.
‘To complete the process in all the banknote presses for all denominations of banknotes is a programme which is under way and is expected to be completed in due course,’ it said. The explanation comes amid reports that new Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes bearing signature of Subbarao, who has demited office in September 2013, are being rolled out from RBI printing presses.
‘Currency note production is a manufacturing process. Making changes in the process is a tedious process and takes time, in order to keep the disturbance in production to the minimum extent,’ it said. At present, notes in India are issued in the denomination of Rs 5, Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 500 and Rs 1,000.
The RBI receives notes from four currency note printing presses. Two of the currency note printing presses are owned by the Government of India and two are owned by the Reserve Bank of India through its wholly owned subsidiary, Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Ltd (BRBNML).
The government owned presses are at Nasik and Dewas. The other two presses are at Mysore and Salboni. Coins are minted in four mints owned by the Government of India. The mints are located at Mumbai, Hyderabad, Calcutta and Noida.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister P Chidambaram will meet chief executive officers (CEOs) of public sector banks and financial institutions on Wednesday to take stock of their financial performance amid rising bad loans. The meeting comes at the backdrop of the ongoing enquiry in United Bank of India (UBI) for under-reporting of non-performing assets and the quiting of the bank’s Chairperson.
The Gross NPA of the bank stood at 10.82 per cent at the end of December 2013. This would be the last meeting with bank heads under the present government.
The broad agenda of the meeting includes ways to cut deteriorating asset quality. Credit growth in targeted sectors is also part of the agenda.
NSEL defaults for 29th time, pays Rs 83.3 lakh
New Delhi: Embattled spot commodity bourse NSEL on Tuesday paid Rs 83.30 lakh against scheduled payment amount of Rs 86.02 crore, defaulting for the 29th straight time. The bourse has settled Rs 323.4 crore so far against Rs 5,500 crore that it owes to investors.
‘The total amount being disbursed today in a proportionate manner is Rs 83.30 lakh,’ National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) said in a statement. NSEL had previously defaulted 28 times. The spot exchange was unable to make any payment on its 7th and 13th pay-out date. The exchange had availed a bridge loan of Rs 177.23 crore from its promoter Financial Technologies (FTIL) to make payments on a priority basis to small investors.
To accelerate recovery, NSEL has started the process of liquidation of attached assets of defaulting borrowers. As the first step, the exchange has decided to liquidate assets of Mohan India Group and Vimladevi Agrotech, which together owe around Rs 913 crore. NSEL, promoted by Jignesh Shah-led FTIL, is facing the problem of settling dues to 148 members after it suspended trade in July last year following a government order in the wake of violation of trading norms.
The bourse had earlier said it plans to settle all dues in 30 weeks time, by paying Rs 174.72 crore each for the first 20 weeks followed by Rs 86.02 crore each in the next 10 weeks.
Meanwhile, the Corporate Affairs Ministry has sought clarifications from the Law Ministry as well as regulators Sebi and FMC to finalise action against ‘gross violations’ by Financial Technologies and related entities. Jignesh Shah-led Financial Technologies (India) Ltd is the promoter of National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) and following the Rs 5,600 crore payment crisis at the bourse, these entities along with those related to them have come under the scanner of multiple agencies for various violations.
Sources said the ministry has found ‘gross violations’ by FTIL board on corporate governance matters and is looking at the issue of ‘fit and proper’ status of directors, among others. The promoters of NSEL are found to have violated the provisions of the Companies Act.
While the ministry has completed its report on FTIL, it is awaiting the views from the Law Ministry and other agencies before taking a final decision.
Clarifications have also been sought from Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) as well Forward Markets Commission (FMC), they added.
‘To complete the process in all the banknote presses for all denominations of banknotes is a programme which is under way and is expected to be completed in due course,’ it said. The explanation comes amid reports that new Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes bearing signature of Subbarao, who has demited office in September 2013, are being rolled out from RBI printing presses.
‘Currency note production is a manufacturing process. Making changes in the process is a tedious process and takes time, in order to keep the disturbance in production to the minimum extent,’ it said. At present, notes in India are issued in the denomination of Rs 5, Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 500 and Rs 1,000.
The RBI receives notes from four currency note printing presses. Two of the currency note printing presses are owned by the Government of India and two are owned by the Reserve Bank of India through its wholly owned subsidiary, Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Ltd (BRBNML).
The government owned presses are at Nasik and Dewas. The other two presses are at Mysore and Salboni. Coins are minted in four mints owned by the Government of India. The mints are located at Mumbai, Hyderabad, Calcutta and Noida.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister P Chidambaram will meet chief executive officers (CEOs) of public sector banks and financial institutions on Wednesday to take stock of their financial performance amid rising bad loans. The meeting comes at the backdrop of the ongoing enquiry in United Bank of India (UBI) for under-reporting of non-performing assets and the quiting of the bank’s Chairperson.
The Gross NPA of the bank stood at 10.82 per cent at the end of December 2013. This would be the last meeting with bank heads under the present government.
The broad agenda of the meeting includes ways to cut deteriorating asset quality. Credit growth in targeted sectors is also part of the agenda.
NSEL defaults for 29th time, pays Rs 83.3 lakh
New Delhi: Embattled spot commodity bourse NSEL on Tuesday paid Rs 83.30 lakh against scheduled payment amount of Rs 86.02 crore, defaulting for the 29th straight time. The bourse has settled Rs 323.4 crore so far against Rs 5,500 crore that it owes to investors.
‘The total amount being disbursed today in a proportionate manner is Rs 83.30 lakh,’ National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) said in a statement. NSEL had previously defaulted 28 times. The spot exchange was unable to make any payment on its 7th and 13th pay-out date. The exchange had availed a bridge loan of Rs 177.23 crore from its promoter Financial Technologies (FTIL) to make payments on a priority basis to small investors.
To accelerate recovery, NSEL has started the process of liquidation of attached assets of defaulting borrowers. As the first step, the exchange has decided to liquidate assets of Mohan India Group and Vimladevi Agrotech, which together owe around Rs 913 crore. NSEL, promoted by Jignesh Shah-led FTIL, is facing the problem of settling dues to 148 members after it suspended trade in July last year following a government order in the wake of violation of trading norms.
The bourse had earlier said it plans to settle all dues in 30 weeks time, by paying Rs 174.72 crore each for the first 20 weeks followed by Rs 86.02 crore each in the next 10 weeks.
Meanwhile, the Corporate Affairs Ministry has sought clarifications from the Law Ministry as well as regulators Sebi and FMC to finalise action against ‘gross violations’ by Financial Technologies and related entities. Jignesh Shah-led Financial Technologies (India) Ltd is the promoter of National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) and following the Rs 5,600 crore payment crisis at the bourse, these entities along with those related to them have come under the scanner of multiple agencies for various violations.
Sources said the ministry has found ‘gross violations’ by FTIL board on corporate governance matters and is looking at the issue of ‘fit and proper’ status of directors, among others. The promoters of NSEL are found to have violated the provisions of the Companies Act.
While the ministry has completed its report on FTIL, it is awaiting the views from the Law Ministry and other agencies before taking a final decision.
Clarifications have also been sought from Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) as well Forward Markets Commission (FMC), they added.
Next Story
