India set to finalise long-pending defence deal with US during Trump visit

Current Affairs
India is set to conclude a long-pending barrier manage the United States during President Donald Trump two-day visit to India from February 24, a senior authority has told ANI. Trump will land in India on his lady visit, joined by First Lady Melania Trump, Senior Advisor to the President of the United States Jared Kushner or little girl Ivanka Trump, alongside United States Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and Secretary of Energy Dan Brouille.
The US President will arrive at Gujarat's Ahmedabad around the early afternoon of February 24 and will address a mammoth horde of in excess of 100,000 individuals which is relied upon to turn up for an occasion at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad on the lines of the 'Howdy Modi' work that was tended to by the US President and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Houston in September a year ago.
"The way that a US President is going outside New Delhi to different urban areas - and in the event that you take a gander at the gathering that he will get - shows the adoration that the individuals of India have for the United States. What's more, that is the greatest message that will return to Washington," the senior authority said.
The President is likewise prone to visit the Gandhi Ashram in Sabarmati.
The senior authority emphasized that POTUS and FLOTUS are well on the way to make a fast refueling break at Agra to visit the Taj Mahal, be that as it may, the excursion is exposed to change, considering the brief timeframe casing of the movement.

On 24th February itself, POTUS will land at night to go to talks in New Delhi. On Tuesday morning, the US President will initially get a stylized greeting at the Rashtrapati Bhawan according to convention...READ MORE

Former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar skips ED date; to be summoned again

Company News

Former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar Monday skipped her scheduled appearance before the ED in a money laundering case probe, citing bad health, officials said.
The probe involves the bank and the Videocon group.Chanda Kochhar will now be asked to depose later this week. She had not appeared before the agency even last week citing health reasons.
Official sources had told PTI earlier this week that the central probe agency is now mulling to call some more bank officials to confront them with the statements made by Chanda Kochhar and obtain further leads.The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had last month questioned and recorded the statements of Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar over multiple sessions.
The agency is also preparing to analyse the details of assets of the Kochhars and others so that they can be provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).Chanda Kochhar's brother-in-law and Deepak's brother, Rajiv Kochhar, has also been grilled by the ED multiple times in the case.
The Kochhar couple have been questioned in the past too at the ED's zonal office in Mumbai after the central agency conducted raids on March 1.The searches were conducted at the premises of Chanda Kochhar, her family and Venugopal Dhoot of Videocon Group in Maharashtra's Mumbai and Aurangabad.

 The ED registered a criminal case under the PMLA earlier this year against Chanda Kochhar, Deepak Kochhar, Dhoot and others to probe alleged irregularities and corrupt practices in sanctioning Rs 1,875-crore of loans by ICICI Bank to the corporate group.This action of the agency was based on an FIR registered by the CBI.

PFC completes REC acquisition, pays Rs 14,500 cr to government

Company News

State-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) on Thursday completed the acquisition of majority stake in REC Ltd by transferring Rs 14,500 crore to the government, an official said.

The transaction has helped the government meet its disinvestment target of Rs 80,000 crore for the current financial year.

"The entire consideration of Rs 14,500 crore for acquiring 52.63 per cent equity of the Government of India in REC is paid by PFC through RTGS (real-time gross settlement) mode this morning," the official told PTI.

The official said PFC Chairman and Managing Director Rajeev Sharma handed over the RTGS advice to Power Secretary A K Bhalla on Thursday to complete the acquisition.

The money has been transferred into the government's account online.

The official further said the government's 52.63 per cent equity in REC would be transferred in the name of the PFC by the closing of the stock market on Thursday.

PFC has raised money from Bank of Baroda, Life Insurance Corporation and State Bank of India, among others, to make the payment.

Earlier on March 20, PFC had inked a share purchase agreement to acquire 103.94 crore equity shares of Rs 10 each of REC Ltd.


 This deal was in pursuance to the in-principle approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs for strategic sale of 52.63 per cent of paid-up equity shareholding of REC held by the government to PFC, along with the transfer of management control.