Top News
IL&FS bailout: Congress warns of looming ‘Lehmann Bros-type crisis’
Mumbai, Sep 28 (IANS) Opposing the government’s bailout package for the debt-hit Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), the Mumbai Congress on Friday warned of “an impending ‘Lehman Brothers-type’ economic crisis facing the country”.
Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of ‘poor governance’ leading to the complete collapse of IL&FS, Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam asked the Centre to “stop pressurizing LIC and SBI” to bail out the company or face a grave Lehman Brothers type scenario.
“The 30-year-old infrastructure lending giant IL&FS has gone totally bankrupt now. But in just three years, the debts of the company jumped by 44 per cent and profitability declined by 900 per cent. What were the reasons for this? The entire stock market has been shaken the past fortnight over this issue,” Nirupam told mediapersons.
Demanding a high-level probe into the reasons behind the sudden collapse of IL&FS, the Congress leader claimed it will expose the role of several BJP ministers who are misusing their positions to exploit the issue for their vested political interests.
Instead, he alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley “are pressurising” the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and the State Bank of India (SBI) to bail out IL&FS with the money that belongs to the common masses of the country.
Nirupam pointed out that LIC, which has almost 29 crore policy holders, mostly common Indians, owns the highest — 26.34 per cent take in IL&FS.
“The government wants both LIC and the largest public sector bank, the SBI to divert their monies to IL&FS solely to protect the interests of the foreign investors. If the Modi government fails to stop this trend of using public money to cover up its favourites, we may soon witness a Lehman Brothers like crash of 2008,” Nirupam said.
Questioning why nobody has bothered when so many IL&FS board members quit their boards, he recalled how the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had shown a red flag and virtually predicted the IL&FS crisis twice three years ago.
“What prevented the government from taking immediate action after the RBI warnings? What are they doing to ensure that none of the former IL&FS directors become (absconders) like Nirav Modi or Mehul Choksi,” Nirupam asked.
He said IL&FS has about $500 million in repayments, but is left with around $27 million only, forcing it to put on sale its corporate headquarters this month, besides another around two dozen projects.
It plans to sell these assets to reduce the debt by almost Rs 30,000 crore, but that would be barely one-third of the total outstanding amount, and the repayments of $500 million are due within the second half of the current fiscal.
As on March 2018, besides, LIC, the other big-ticket stakeholders of IL& FS included Japan’s Orix Corporation (23.54 per cent), Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (12.56), HDFC (9.02), Central Bank of India (7.67) and SBI (6.42) per cent.
The IL&FS, which has not financed any new infrastructure project since 2015, hopes to net around Rs 1,300 crore from the sale of its headquarters in the Bandra Kurla Complex.
–IANS
qn/pgh/bg
Top News
Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma
World-renowned business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has supported Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission. In memory of his mother, Late Veena Verma, who was a 3 term Rajya Sabha MP.
Dr. Verma dedicated a state-of-the-art free permanent shelter for the attendants of patients at KGMU Medical University, Lucknow, under the aegis of Vijay Shree Foundation. His daughter, Nicolle Verma, inaugurated the shelter.
During the event, Foodman Vishal Singh honored Nicolle Verma by presenting her with a memento. Mrs. Nidhi Sharma and Avantika Yadav, associated with the organization, welcomed her with garlands. Following this, Nicolle Verma distributed essential items to the attendants and also handed out fruits. She became emotional remembering her grandmother on her birth anniversary.
On this occasion, she also inaugurated the “Veena Verma Sevalaya” in memory of her grandmother, Veena Verma, to serve the attendants. She expressed, “I feel proud that my family is engaged in nation-building as well as social service. Today, in collaboration with Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh Ji, I feel immensely proud to dedicate this shelter for the poor, helpless, and needy attendants of patients battling serious illnesses like cancer. I am honored to be associated with the Hunger-Free World Mission for humanity.”
Inspired by the continuous humanitarian service provided by Vijay Shree Foundation over the past 17 years, Nicolle Verma donated 10 lakh rupees to support the cause. The purpose of this donation is to ensure that services continue for the needy attendants of patients suffering from severe illnesses in hospitals, as facilitated by Foodman Vishal Singh.
It is noteworthy that Dr. Abhishek Verma’s family has a legacy of public and philanthropic service. They are helping millions to carry forward the values and service work of their parents. On the occasion of his mother’s birth anniversary, Dr. Abhishek Verma dedicated this state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College to serve the attendants of patients through the Vijay Shree Foundation.
Supporting Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission, Dr. Abhishek Verma assured that he would continually support keeping this flame of humanity alive. He also promised to assist in providing medicines to the helpless patients.
Continuing her grandmother’s legacy of service, Nicolle Verma personally served food to the needy patients and attendants. She said, “It is our good fortune to have received the joy of doing this noble work today through Foodman Vishal Singh. I have taken another step forward in carrying my family’s values and cooperation by joining hands with the Vijay Shree Foundation. My father taught me to serve and help the needy, and I feel happy when I bring a smile to someone’s face.”
On the birth anniversary of the late Veena Verma, the event organizer, Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh, said, “We feel proud and happy that Dr. Abhishek Verma, a globally renowned business tycoon, has extended his support to uplift our country from the hunger index. Today, on his mother’s birth anniversary, he inaugurated a state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College, which will always be helpful for the needy attendants of patients. It is a pleasure for me and the organization to receive the affection of Mr. Verma.”
The event was attended by General Manager Verma Family Office Hemant Garg, Sonu Rajput, and the organization’s volunteers, including Sandeep Singh, Parmeshwar Ji, Prashant Rao Gautam, Balram Singh, Ramesh Chaudhary, Suman, Jeetu, Anil, Suraj, Vinay, Manish Bhadauria, Manas Mehrotra, Vivek, Apurv, Happy, and others.