The government will raise ₹88,000 crores this year by leasing infrastructure assets of central government ministries and state-run companies under a ₹6 trillion National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) it unveiled on Monday.

The funds will then be used to build new infrastructure assets, helping boost economic growth in Asia’s third-largest economy.

Annual targets under the four-year pipeline have been set at ₹1.62 trillion for FY23, ₹1.79 trillion for FY24 and ₹1.67 trillion in the following year.

The top five sectors by value under the government’s asset monetization programme are roads (27%), railways (25%), power (15%), oil and gas pipelines (8%) and telecom (6%).

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the monetization pipeline will be co-terminus with the ₹100 trillion national infrastructure pipeline from this year. “There won’t be any land sale happening under it. The NMP is talking about brownfield assets where investment has already been made, which are either languishing, not fully monetized or remaining underutilized. So, by bringing in private participation, you are going to monetize it better, and with whatever resource you are getting, you can put it into further infrastructure creation,” she added.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to meet heads of public sector banks (PSBs) on August 25 to review the financial performance of the lenders and progress made by them to support the economy battered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, the Finance Minister said the government is ready to do everything required to revive and support economic growth hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Given the importance of the banking sector in generating demand and boosting consumption, sources said the meeting with the MD and CEOs of PSBs is considered important. 

“Growth will be given its importance. Growth will be pushed both by the Reserve Bank and by us…,” FM said.

In addition, the Minister of Finance was expected to take stock of a critical loan or non-performing assets (NPA), and discuss various ways to repay banks, they said.

As a result of the government’s plan for adoption, resolution, housing reconstruction and transformation, NPAs have since declined to Rs 7,39,541 crore on March 31, 2019, Rs 6,78,317 crore on March 31, 2020, and on to Rs 6,16,616 crore as of March 31, 2021 (temporary data).

MoS finance says several steps have been taken to facilitate digital banking, including PSB EASE reforms agenda; government’s Jeevan Pramaan initiative for pensioners; contactless digital banking; and online bill discounting for MSMEs.

The government on Tuesday said nearly 72 per cent of financial transactions of public sector banks (PSBs) are now done through digital channels, with customers active on digital channels having doubled from 3.4 crores in 2019-20 to 7.6 crore in 2020-21.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has informed that it is not considering a separate licensing category for digital banks at present, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat K Karad said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

The Union Health Ministry has informed that the COVID-19 vaccination certificate can now be obtained via WhatsApp within seconds, in a bid to ease the process of obtaining a vaccination certificate.

The office of Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya tweeted on Sunday, “Revolutionising the common man’s life using technology! Now get #COVID19 vaccination certificate through MyGov Corona Helpdesk in 3 easy steps. Save contact number: 91 9013151515 Type & send ‘covid certificate’ on WhatsApp Enter OTP Get your certificate in seconds.”

How to get it:

1. Save the number +91 9013151515 on your phone. Go to WhatsApp and search for the MyGov Corona Helpdesk bot. Alternatively, you can head to open the MyGoV Corona Helpdesk Chatbot.
2. Type and send ‘COVID Certificate’ or ‘Download Certificate’ inside the chatbot on WhatsApp.
3. A six-digit OTP will be sent to the number, and it needs to be entered within 30 seconds.
4. The bot will show all the users registered on the CoWIN website with the number, and ask you to type the number of the user whose certificate you wish to download.
5. The certificate will be sent on WhatsApp in a PDF format, which you can easily download and print or save for future purposes.
6. The same steps can be followed for downloading the certificate for other users registered with the same number.

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who has been attacking the government over its Covid management, praised it for deciding to deliver vaccination certificates via WhatsApp.

“I’ve always acknowledged and praised the government when it merits it. As a critic of Cowin, let me say they’ve done something terrific. Send a WhatsApp message ‘download certificate’ to 9013151515, receive OTP and get your vaccination certificate back by WhatsApp. Simple and fast!” Tharoor tweeted.

Cumulatively, 50,68,10,492 Covid vaccine doses have been administered in the country through 58,51,292 sessions, according to a provisional report till 7 am on Sunday, with 55,91,657 doses being given in a day.

Earlier, the COVID-19 vaccination certificate could be downloaded from Co-WIN Portal or Arogya Setu/Umang Mobile Application. It could be downloaded after each dose (Provisional Certificate after the first dose and Final Certificate after the second dose).

Five states, including Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh have administered more than 1 crore cumulative doses of coronavirus vaccine in the age group 18-44 years.

Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Uttarakhand and West Bengal also have vaccinated over 10 lakh beneficiaries of the age group 18-44 years for the first dose of coronavirus vaccine.

On Thursday the government permitted 100% foreign investment under the automatic route in oil and gas PSUs which have received in-principle approval for strategic disinvestment. The move would facilitate the privatisation of India’s second-biggest oil refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL). BPCL privatised the government and sold its entire 52.98 % stake in the company. 

According to a press note of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), a new clause has been added to the FDI policy for the oil and natural gas sector.

“Foreign investment up to 100% under the automatic route is allowed in case an ‘in-principle’ approval for strategic disinvestment of a PSU has been granted by the government,” it said.

On Monday The government introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to amend the insolvency law and provide for a pre-packaged resolution process for stressed MSMEs.

The proposed amendments would enable the government to notify the threshold of a default not exceeding Rs 1 crore for initiation of the pre-packaged resolution process. The government has already prescribed the threshold of Rs 10 lakh for this purpose.

“It has, therefore, been considered necessary to urgently address the specific requirements of the sector by providing an efficient and alternative framework under the Code for quicker, cost-effective insolvency resolution process that is least disruptive to the businesses, ensuring, among other objectives, job preservation,” it noted.

The government has decided to keep the interest rates on small savings schemes unchanged for the quarter ending September 30, 2021, for fixed income investors. It will provide relief to senior citizens and lower-income earners will continue to earn higher interest income than fixed deposits in banks.

“The rate of interest on various small savings schemes for the second quarter of the financial year 2021-22 starting from 1 July 2021, and ending on 30 September 2021, shall remain unchanged from the current rates applicable for the first quarter (1 April 2021, to 30 June 2021, for FY 2021-22),” an office memorandum of Department of Economic Affairs said.

The government is possible to bring out a standard operating procedure on the new Information Technology Rules. And the Centre will consult with the industry and stakeholders, as well as address their concerns and problems about the new rules.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will also release a set of “frequently asked questions” (FAQs) to simplify the requirements in the rules, as mentioned in a report. An official told the daily that the FAQs will be in a very simple format, explaining the IT rules, but the SOPs might take longer due to the consultations with various stakeholders.

Aprameya Radhakrishna, co-founder and CEO of microblogging platform Koo told the daily that they haven’t found it difficult to follow the guidelines. He said that all the guidelines are user-centric and they haven’t had any problems so far. Radhakrishna said that there is still scope to engage with the authorities and weed out some grey areas.

On Wednesday The government said edible oil prices have started falling in the past one month, and the quantum of decline is nearly 20 per cent in some cases.

Stating that India imports a significant quantity of edible oils to meet domestic demand, the Centre said it is working on a “series of mid-and long-term measures” to make the country self-sufficient.

“Edible oil prices in India are showing a declining trend across a wide array of oils. As per data from the Department of Consumer Affairs, over the past month, the prices of edible oils are now coming down,” an official statement said.

Microblogging platform Twitter has lost its legal indemnity in India because of its failure to comply with the new IT rules. The new rules required social media platforms to appoint key officers in the country. The loss of indemnity was highlighted on Tuesday after a case was filed against the social media giant over a viral video.

Government sources said that the platform is set to lose its intermediary status. Twitter is the only social media platform to not adhere to the rules, sources said. “Twitter to lose its status as an intermediary platform in India as it does not comply with new guidelines, it is the only social media platform among mainstream that has not adhered to new laws,” government sources said to news agency ANI. This means that Twitter is liable for penal actions as per Indian law.

“We are keeping the MeitY apprised of the progress at every step of the process. An interim Chief Compliance Officer has been retained and details will be shared with the Ministry directly soon. Twitter continues to make every effort to comply with the new Guidelines,” said a Twitter spokesperson on the development.