Page 18 - Banking Finance April 2018

ROUNDUP

UP budget focus on improving energy access rural
Coal India monopoly to
housing
end, Private companies
The Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh presented its 2018-19 budget with a
will soon be able to spending target of Rs.4.28 trillion, focusing mainly on im-
mine coal proving energy access, rural housing and infrastructure.
The government will spend Rs.29,883 crore on various
The private sector will soon be able
energy sector schemes and will try to provide electricity
to mine connections to 15 million households by March 2019,
coal and
when the country goes to polls.
sell it to
power "We have presented a very good budget for the farmers, youth, women and
villages, keeping in mind fiscal discipline," said chief minister Adityanath. The
plants,
state's FY18-19 budget, which raises annual spending by 11.4% from the revised
steel mills and other users, ending
the decades-old monopoly of state- estimate for FY17-18, seeks to contain fiscal deficit at 2.96% of gross state do-
mestic product. The budget revised the fiscal deficit for FY17-18 marginally to
run Coal India Ltd (CIL) and its affili- 2.98% from the original estimate of 2.97%.
ates, marking a long-expected re-
form aimed at boosting investment The government proposes that 75% of the total expenditure will be revenue
and output. The move is also seen as expenditure and the rest will be capital expenditure. The tax revenue collection
lowering prices and imports while in- target of Rs2.6 trillion in FY18-19 includes Rs1.2 trillion by way of the state's
own tax receipts and Rs1.3 trillion by way of its share of the central taxes.
troducing better technology, apart
from saving on foreign exchange and The government plans to start work on three new Metro projects in Kanpur,
improving energy security. The coal Agra and Meerut, while detailed project reports will be prepared for Metro
sector was nationalised in 1973. projects in Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Allahabad and Jhansi.

Panel to suggest fewer creditor votes to pass insolvency
Profits from 12 ports to
plans
touch Rs. 7,000 crore this
Resolution plans under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code are likely to get
year easier approvals from creditors' committees, with a
Profits from 12 major ports in the government panel agreeing to recommend that only
country 60 per cent of their members needed to pass these. At
was ex- present, the requirement is 75 per cent votes. In a
meeting on Monday, the panel, headed by Corporate
pected to
Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas, also decided to recom-
touch Rs.
7,000 mend "creditor" status to homebuyers in insolvency cases of real estate compa-
nies, a source said. Homebuyers of Jaypee Infratech projects had moved the
crore this
year, up from Rs.3,000 crore in 2014, Supreme Court, after the company went in for insolvency resolution.
Union minister of road transport and At present, homebuyers can only submit their claims, but these are not given
highways and shipping Nitin Gadkari priority. This was allowed after they protested against being excluded from the
said in Chennai. recovery process. Discussion is on to tweak the clause on "connected party" (29A),
which would mean only those promoters of a company would be stopped from
"The first year, when I took charge bidding for a stressed asset if they were managing or in control of the business.
as minister (in 2014) profits from
But, further discussions are expected on this clause. A revised 29(A) clause may
these ports was Rs 3,000 crore. Next
year, it was Rs 4,000 crore. Third allow ArcelorMittal to bid for Essar Steel. It is facing an eligibility test as it and
its promoter, L N Mittal, had investments in Uttam Galva Steels and KSS Petron,
year, it was Rs 5,000 crore. This year,
respectively. They had, however, sold these stakes before bidding for Essar Steel.
we are expecting profits up to Rs
However, it is not clear if the creditors are expected to call for a second round
7,000 crore".
of bidding for Essar Steel, or whether they will wait for the changes.
18 | 2018 | APRIL | BANKING FINANCE