LIC gets order demanding Rs 290.5 crore GST with interest and penalty
Life Insurance Corporation of India has received an order under the BGST and CGST Act 2017 from Bihar Additional Commissioner State Tax demanding Rs 290 crore goods and service tax along with interest and penalty, the company said in a stock exchange filing on Friday.

Centre trying to bring Bengal, Delhi and Odisha on-board for Ayushman Bharat: MoS Health
 

Asian Development Bank appoints ICICI Lombard chief Bhargav Dasgupta as VP for market solutions
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday announced the appointment of Bhargav Dasgupta as the Vice-President (Market Solutions) for a period of 3 years. His role includes responsibility for management of the operations of ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department and Office of Markets Development and Public–Private Partnerships, the regional bank said.

Dr Devi Shetty’s foray into insurance, says future linked to integrated model of health cover
Will a doctor ever want to be in the insurance business? After all, doesn’t every new operation, add to a surgeon’s income and every denied procedure an addition in the profits of an insurance company? But then, Dr Devi Shetty, founder chairman of Narayana Health and one of India’s leading cardiac surgeons says, “in all my 33 years back in India the whole discussion was around affordable healthcare and cost reduction. But today, any further lowering of costs in medical procedures will be at the cost of quality and since we cannot compromise on the quality but do still need to make healthcare affordable, the only option available is affordable health insurance.” The hope for the country now, the doctor reminds, “is not universal healthcare but  universal health insurance.” 

SEBI eases borrowing norms for large corporates
 

SEBI levies ₹55 lakh fine on 11 entities for non-genuine trades
 

Sebi empanels 34 entities to conduct forensic probe of mutual funds, AMCs, trustees
Sebi has empanelled 34 entities, including Ernst & Young LLP, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP and Grant Thornton Bharat LLP to conduct forensic investigation of mutual funds, their asset management companies (AMCs) and trustees. KPMG Assurance and Consulting Services LLP, Chokshi & Chokshi LLP, Nangia & Co LLP and Pipara & Co LLP are among the other empanelled entities, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said in a latest update.

Mirae Asset Mutual Fund launches Mirae Asset S&P BSE Sensex ETF

Mirae Asset Mutual Fund has launched Mirae Asset S&P BSE Sensex ETF, an open-ended scheme replicating/tracking S&P BSE Sensex Total Return Index.

FIIs offload ₹1,327 crore in Indian equities on high US bond yields, DIIs invest ₹801 crore; what lies ahead?
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their selling streak as Sensex and Nifty extended losses for the fourth straight session on Friday, September 22. The domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net buyers and invested ₹80 crore in Indian stocks today. 

SBI raises ₹10,000 crore via infrastructure bonds at 7.49%
State Bank of India has raised ₹10,000 crore via infrastructure bonds at a rate of 7.49 per cent. This is the state-owned lender’s fourth infrastructure bond issuance.

Rupee, bond markets cheer bond index inclusion but gains limited
Mumbai: The government securities and forex market cheered the inclusion of India in JPMorgan’s Global Bond Index – Emerging Markets, but gains were limited in both markets due to expected structure of index flows and broader market sentiment. Market participants have lauded the move as positive for Indian money markets as it will bring in a new set of investors to the market. The fact that it is an index or passive fund, will ensure that there is a regular flow of foreign capital unlike under the FPI limits which remain under-utilised at around 15 per cent due to the need for active management.

Amid broader pessimism, PSU Bank Index rises 3.5% on bond index inclusion
Mumbai: On a day that benchmark indices ended 0.3 per cent lower, Nifty PSU Bank Index rose 3.5 per cent to ₹5,215.05 on the back of news of inclusion of India’s government securities in JPMorgan’s Emerging Market Bond Index. “Domestic markets closed on a sombre note as mixed cues from US and Asian markets weakened domestic investors’ confidence. Nevertheless, PSU bank stocks outperformed as India’s inclusion in JPMorgan’s Government Bond Index led to a decline in bond yields,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Citi, BofA see India's 10-year bond yield sub-7% post index inclusion
JPMorgan's decision to include local Indian bonds in its widely tracked emerging market debt index could boost demand for debt and push India's benchmark 10-year bond yield to sub-7% levels in the coming months, Citi and Bank of America said on Friday.

India gets green light to join JPMorgan bond index; rupee, bonds gain
JPMorgan will include India in its widely tracked emerging market debt index, setting the stage for billions of dollars of inflows into the world’s fifth-largest economy and helping it finance its current account and fiscal deficits. India’s local bonds will be included in the Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) index and the index suite, benchmarked by about $236 billion in global funds, JPMorgan said in a release on Friday.

No tax incentive for G-Secs inclusion in JPMorgan index: Somanathan
JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s decision to add Indian government bonds to its benchmark emerging-market index was its own decision without any tax concession by India, finance secretary TV Somanathan said on Friday.

US 10-year yields fall from 16-year highs
Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields eased from 16-year highs on Friday after a dramatic jump this week led by more hawkish Federal Reserve rate guidance, with investors now waiting on key economic releases for further clues on rate moves. Yields jumped after the Fed on Wednesday forecast fewer rate cuts in 2024 than it previously expected and said it may hike rates this year one more time as it battles to bring inflation closer to its 2% annual target.

Deepening Debt Market. PSBs set to shine with JP Morgan’s bond inclusion boost
Public sector banks (PSBs) are set to enjoy substantial gains in their treasuries as G-sec yields are expected to slide following JP Morgan’s decision to include India in its emerging-markets bond index. The anticipation of this inclusion already pushed the ten-year G-sec yields down from 7.28 per cent on September 18 to 7.08 percent on Friday after the index inclusion news.