CHENNAI, July 10:
Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan today said it is too early to declare victory over the high non-performing assets in the system, which will improve only with an uptick in growth expected during this fiscal.
“I think, the most immediate problem we have to confront is that of rising level of stressed assets in the banking system. Fortunately in the last quarter those levels of stressed assets tapered off or flattened out. But, it is too early to declare victory,” he told reporters here after the central board meeting of the monetary authority.
Rajan, who has initiated a slew of measures, including asking banks to work together to spot and resolve asset stress early, said the remedy for this lies in “stronger governance actions” like clearing projects and growth numbers inching up faster.
“Growth bails out lot of past bad decisions. So I believe that as growth comes back, and I fully expect that growth will be stronger over the course of the year, that some of the bad assets will turn back performing,” he said.
It can be noted that lenders, especially the public sector banks, are saddled with a high amount of asset stress due to a slew of problems including economic gloom, projects not getting cleared by the executive and also some judicial interventions like the ban on mining.
As of March 2014, total NAPs stood at a high 4.4 per cent for the system, with multiple analysts fearing it will go up further.
Commenting on the early detection and redressal of NPAs which incentivises banks to detect an issue early and also includes penalties for being late, Rajan said it is still early days for the system but bankers have informed him that promoters are finding it difficult to con the lenders now.
Meanwhile, even though he declined to offer a reaction on the Budget presented today saying he had not read it, Rajan said the central bank will be working in close coordination with the government on aspects like creating a new monetary policy framework which was announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
On the movement of the rupee and the level where the RBI would like the currency to be, Rajan said the rupee is holding on to a level currently, and RBI will not be “too interventional” in the market.
He, however, added that it will work towards reducing volatility in the currency in either direction.
On the concerns about the oil prices adding to inflationary pressures, Rajan said crude prices have stabilised after hitting a high of USD 116 a barrel and added that RBI will be vigilant on the issue.
With the funding needs of the infrastructure sector pegged to over USD 1 trillion during the ongoing 12th Plan period, Rajan underscored the need for developing right models to ensure credit flow to the sector.
The Governor added that RBI will soon be coming up with some guidelines which will make the ‘5/25 loans’ to the infrastructure segment feasible.
“We are shortly going to come out with circulars describing how we will make feasible 5/25 loans to infra sector going forward. That is something on the cards,” he said, addressing a Ficci Ladies Wing event later in the day in the Southern metropolis.
He added that banks need to improve on their project evaluation skills which will help during the due diligence stage for a loan proposal so that the loans are structured in such a way that there is no stress to the bank even if economic conditions worsen. (PTI)

President Barack Obama is looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September, which will be a “valuable opportunity” to renew the strategic partnership and spur trade between the two countries, a senior US official said here today.
US Deputy Secretary of State William J Burns, who met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, said there was huge potential for taking the ties further particularly in the area of trade where “we are just scratching the surface”.
“I look forward tomorrow to meeting Modi…I know that President Obama looks very much to PM Modi’s visit to the White House at the end of September,” he said.
Modi will be travelling to Washington for his first summit meeting with Obama.
“It is a very valuable opportunity to renew the strategic partnership between our two countries. It’s an opportunity to renew our mutual determination to spur economic growth,” said Burns.
The visiting US official said Modi-led BJP has won a very a strong mandate to invigorate India’s development and its rise on the world stage.
“America has deep stake in India’s success and PM Modi’s success. As the world’s two largest democracies and two of world’s largest economies, USA and India share stake in each other’s success in each. Our partnership can contribute enormously to a safer world,” he said. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, July 10:
Zohra Sehgal, a quintessential Bollywood diva who essayed character roles with aplomb in a career spanning over seven decades in both theatre and cinema, died here today at the age of 102.
A Padma Vibhushan awardee, Sehgal breathed her last at Max hospital here around 4:30 PM.
“She was admitted yesterday and diagnosed with pneumonia. A heart patient, she suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away,” a senior doctor at the hospital said.
“She was unwell for last three-four days,” daughter Kiran told. Sehgal would be cremated tomorrow at 11 AM at the Lodhi Road crematorium.
The news was broken in the night by historian Irfan Habib who tweeted, “Just confirmed that Zohra Aapa is no more…”
In another tweet, he said, “Extremely sad to know about d passing away of Zohra Sehgal, a woman who lived a full life on her own terms. Great loss to art and culture. RIP.”
Sehgal, a vivacious personality, started her career as a dancer with Uday Shankar in 1935. She had appeared in many Bollywood films as a character actor as well as in English language films besides television series and plays.
Often called the grand old lady of Bollywood, she last appeared in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Saawariya” (with Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor) in 2007. She acted in hits like “Cheeni Kum” (with Amitabh Bachchan), “Dil Se” (with Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala), “Veer Zaara” (Shah Rukh and Priety Zinta), “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam” (Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai) and “Bend It Like Beckham”.
Born on April 27, 1912 in Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh in a traditional Muslim family, Sehgal, third of her seven siblings, grew up in Chakrata near Dehradun and was sent to Lahore to pursue her higher education.
As a dancer, she performed across Japan, Egypt, Europe and the US. She married scientist, painter and dancer Kameshwar Sehgal in August 1942. The couple had two children, Kiran and Pavan. Kameshwar died in 1952 and Zohra raised the children all by herself.
On her return from foreign trips, Sehgal had to don the burqa while studying in Lahore’s prestigious Queen Mary College, meant for daughters of aristocratic families, an institution where strict purdah was observed and males invited to speak there were put behind a screen.
Considered the doyenne of Indian theatre, Sehgal acted with Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA) and Prithviraj Kapoor’s Prithvi Theatre for 14 years. In 1946, she debuted in IPTA’s first film production “Dharti Ke Lal”, which dealt with the Bengal famine. She also acted in another IPTA film – Chetan Anand’s “Neecha Nagar”.
She choreographed for a few Hindi films as well, including classics like Guru Dutt’s “Baazi” (1951) and the dream sequence song in Raj Kapoor’s film “Awaara”.
Sehgal moved to London on a drama scholarship in 1962, where she appeared in many TV productions including “The Jewel in the Crown”, “Tandoori Nights”, “My Beautiful Laundrette” and “The Raj Quartet”.
In 2012, daughter Kiran wrote Sehgal’s biography named “Zohra Segal: Fatty”.
Kiran, herself an Odissi dancer, expressed grief that during her dying days, her mother could not even get the government flat she had asked for.
“She was always so full of life and energy. I am in very different state of mind right now… But, what is more tragic is that during her dying days, she could not even get the government flat she had asked for,” she told PTI.
Rich tributes poured from the film industry, soon after the news of her demise.
“Zohra Sehgal passes away at 102 yrs…What a journey and what an immensely lovable co-star! Prayer for her blessed soul!,” actor Amitabh Bachchan tweeted.
Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar paid his homage by sharing a vintage picture from the 1940 on the micro-blogging site.
“Zohra Sehgal, during a stage performance…” he said on his account.
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar too expressed his heartfelt tribute.
“My condolences on the sad demise of the veteran actress Zohra Sehgal. Her legendary contribution in the field of art & cinema will live on,” Javadekar tweeted.
Television producer Siddharth Basu tweeted, “Forever young at heart & in spirit even at 102, the irrepressibly endearing Zohra Sehgal finally belongs to the ages. May she rest in peace.” (PTI)

BANGALORE, July 10:
A court today rejected the anticipatory bail application of ruling Congress MLA Vijayanand Kashpannavar who is facing a criminal case for alleged assault of two police constables in a midnight bar brawl.
The City Civil and Sessions Court rejected his bail plea observing that if granted bail to the MLA, there is a possibility of tampering with the evidence.
A case of assault was registered against Kashappanavar and his six supporters for allegedly attacking constables Kiran Kumar and Prashanth Naik at a high-profile bar when they objected to a party that was continuing past midnight on July 2. (PTI)