Banking and Financial News – 30 May 2014

RIL to acquire control of Network 18 - In one of the biggest deals in the media industry, Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Thursday said it will acquire control in Network 18 Media & Investments Ltd, including its subsidiary TV18 Broadcast Ltd. NW18 is also the owner of IBNLive.com, Moneycontrol.com, Firstpost.com, Cricketnext.in, Homeshop18.com, Bookmyshow.com; the broadcast channels include Colors, CNN-IBN, CNBC TV18, IBN7, CNBC Awaaz. (Hindustan Times)

Kotak Mahindra Bank cuts promoter stake to comply with RBI norms - Uday Kotak, the founder, vice chairman and managing director of Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd, on Friday reduced his stake in the lender to 40.3% from 43.58% to comply with a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) direction to do so, the bank said in an emailed statement. (liveMint)

India's GDP grows under 5% for 2nd year running -The Indian economy grew by 4.7% in 2013-14 — the second successive year of sub-5% growth. India’s gross domestic product (GDP) — a measure of the value of goods and services produced in the country — had grown 4.5% in 2012-13 and the government had forecast in February that the economy would grow by 4.9% in 2013-14. (Hindustan Times)

Fiscal Deficit Narrows to 4.5% of GDP in 2013/14 - India's fiscal deficit during the 2013/14 fiscal year that ended in March was Rs. 5.08 lakh crore, or equivalent to 4.5 per cent of the country's gross domestic product, government data showed on Friday. (NDTV Profit)

Government Initiates Exercise to Raise FDI in Defence to 100 Per Cent: In a major policy initiative, the government is proposing to raise foreign direct investment (FDI) in defence sector to 100 per cent through the approval route, according to sources. The proposal to raise FDI cap in defence from 26 per cent to 100 per cent is aimed at giving a boost to manufacturing activities. (NDTV Profit)

New Bank Licence Guidelines In 4 Months: Banking Secretary G.S. Sandhu said that the RBI is preparing draft guidelines for new bank licences and the new norms will be released in next four months. (NDTV Profit)

Important Financial Terms in the News explained.

Fiscal Deficit: When a government's total expenditure exceeds the revenue that it generates (excluding money from borrowings), a deficit in the government budget of a country and represents the excess of expenditure over income. So this is the amount of borrowed funds required by the government to meet its expenditures completely. Deficit differs from debt, which is an accumulation of yearly deficits.

Those who understand life, understand that they must keep their thoughts, words & actions as one, to create harmony within. ~ Anonymous

Courtesy : Hindustan Times , liveMint , NDTV Profit