Mumbai Dec 28 PTI The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly was prorogued on Tuesday at the end of the five-day winter session of the state legislature hereThe Budget session will be held in Nagpur the second capital of the state from February 28 Deputy speaker Narhari Zirwal announced He read out the prorogation order of Governor Bhagat Singh KoshyariTraditionally the winter session is held in Nagpur but it was held in Mumbai in 2020 and again this year citing the COVID-19 pandemic PTI MR KRK KRK

Mumbai Dec 28 PTI Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray who is recuperating from a spine surgery remained absent during the entire five-day-long winter session of the state legislature which ended here on TuesdayThackeray 61 underwent a cervical spine surgery on November 12 and was discharged on December 2While his office maintained that Thackeray was keeping good health he has not been seen in public barring a quiet visit to the legislature premises on December 18He has been advised rest for ensuring speedy recovery sources close to the chief minister saidThackeray has been however participating in official meetings and weekly cabinet meetings through video conference from his residence PTI MR KRK KRK KRK

Mumbai Dec 28 PTI Opposition parties in the Maharashtra Legislative Council on Tuesday submitted a complaint against Deputy Chairman Neelam Gorhe for allowing a discussion on alleged corruption in the Akola municipal corporationGorhe should not have allowed the discussion as the issue is sub judice pending before a court said Leader of Opposition Pravin DarekarOpposition leaders requested Council chairman Ramraje Nimbalkar to table their no-confidence complaint against Gorhe The complaint however did not come up for discussion during the day as the winter session endedA calling-attention motion was moved regarding Akola Municipal Corporation and alleged corruption there The entire case is sub judice so I pointed it out it to Gorhe She did not heed my objections It could have been an insult of judicial procedure Darekar told reporters laterThe discussion was started by outgoing Shiv Sena MLC Gopikishan Bajoria who few weeks back lost his Council seat to the BJPBajoria lost the election hence he demanded dissolution of the municipal corporation said DarekarEarlier in the day proceedings of the Council were adjourned for 10 minutes following an uproar in the House over allegations of malpractices levelled by Bajoria against the BJP-ruled Akola Municipal Corporation PTI ND KRK KRK KRK

Mumbai Dec 28 PTI The Maharashtra Legislative Council on Tuesday passed the Maharashtra Public University Act 2016 Third Amendment bill which gives more powers to the Higher and Technical Education Minister with regard to the state-run varsitiesOpposition BJP claimed that it undermines the Governors powers and will lead to more political interference in the running of universitiesThe bill allows the minister to make recommendations to the governor who is the chancellor of the universitiesIt also proposes appointment of the Higher and Technical Education Minister as pro-chancellor of the universitiesThe bill tabled by Higher and Technical Education Minister Uday Samant was cleared by the upper house by voice vote following its passage in the Assembly earlier in the eveningThe opposition led by Leader of Opposition in the Council Pravin Darekar staged a walk-out in protest The autonomy of the governor is being compromised This will make the minister more powerful and pave the way for more and more political interference in universities and their functioning he saidIronically the bill said to have been introduced to curtail the governors powers will now go to state governor B S Koshyari for his approval PTI ND KRK KRK KRK

Mumbai Dec 28 PTI The Maharashtra Legislative Council was on Tuesday adjourned sine die as the winter session of the legislature endedThe Council functioned for five daysChairman Ramraje Nimbalkar adjourned the house sine die and announced that the budget session will start in Nagpur on February 28The term of six members of the council also came to an end These members are Ramdas Kadam Gopikishan Bajoria Bhai Jagtap Arunkaka Jagtap Girish Vyas and Prashant Paricharak PTI ND KRK KRK

Mumbai Dec 28 PTI The restrictions on Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative PMC Bank has been extended for another three months till the end of March next year Reserve Bank of India RBI has extended the restrictions as further action on the draft scheme for the takeover of the crisis-hit bank by the Delhi-based Unity Small Finance Bank USFB is in process The central bank had prepared a draft scheme of amalgamation and the same was placed in the public domain on November 22 as part of seeking suggestions and objections if any from members depositors and other creditors of PMC Bank and USFB The deadline for submitting the comments was till December 10 Further action with regard to sanction of the scheme is under process RBI said on Tuesday as it extended the restrictions for another three months till March 31 2022 subject to review In September 2019 RBI had superseded the board of PMC Bank and placed it under regulatory restrictions including a cap on withdrawals by its customers after detection of certain financial irregularities hiding and misreporting of loans given to real estate developer HDIL The restrictions have been extended several times since then The directions were last extended in Junethis year and are in place till December 31 The draft scheme of amalgamation envisages a takeover of the assets and liabilities of PMC Bank including deposits by USFB thus giving a greater degree of protection for the depositors RBI had said last month USFB promoted by Centrum Financial Services along with Resilient Innovation Pvt Ltd as joint investor was granted a banking licence in October 2021 USFB started functioning on November 1 PTI NKD RAM

Mumbai Dec 28 PTI Indian banks need to bolster their capital positions build adequate buffers and strengthen corporate governance to deal with emerging risks as the economy recovers from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic a report by the Reserve Bank said Sounding a note of caution the RBI in its annual report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2020-21 said that the disruption in economic activity in the wake of the pandemic resulted in corporate and household sector stress and weakening of demand conditions Through concerted efforts the Reserve Bank and the Government managed to contain the risks to financial stability As the economy revives renewed focus may need to be placed on building up of adequate buffers and being vigilant of the evolving risks the RBI said The report said during 2020-21 scheduled commercial banks SCBs reported a discernible improvement in their asset quality capital buffers and profitability notwithstanding the disruptions of the pandemic While credit offtake remained subdued elevated deposit growth on the liabilities side was matched by growth in investments on the assets side Nonetheless incipient stress remains in the form of higher restructured advances Banks would need to bolster their capital positions to absorb potential stress as well as to augment credit flow when policy support is phased out it said It further said most of the regulatory accommodations announced by the RBI including restrictions on dividend payouts by banks deferment of implementation of the last tranche of capital conservation buffer CCB have already expired As the pandemic situation is dynamic the regulatory response will be calibrated in response to the evolving situation the central bank said The report further said with rapid technological advancements in the digital payments landscape and emergence of new entrants across the FinTech ecosystem banks would also be required to prioritise upgrading their IT infrastructure and improving customer services together with strengthening their cybersecurity Banks would need to strengthen their corporate governance practices and risk management strategies to build resilience in an increasingly dynamic and uncertain economic environment the RBI said in its report Although credit offtake by banks remained subdued in an environment of risk aversion and muted demand conditions during 2020-21 a pick up has started in the second quarter of 2021-22 with the economy emerging out of the shadows of the second wave of COVID-19 Going forward revival in bank balance sheets hinges around overall economic growth which is contingent on progress on the pandemic front it said During 2020-21 the consolidated balance sheet of scheduled commercial banks SCBs expanded in size notwithstanding the pandemic and the resultant contraction in economic activity In 2021-22 so far nascent signs of recovery are visible in credit growth Deposits grew by 101 per cent at end-September 2021 as compared with 11 per cent a year ago the report saidSCBs gross non-performing assets GNPA ratio declined from 82 per cent at end-March 2020 to 73 per cent at end-March 2021 and further to 69 per cent at end-September 2021 the report said On recapitalisation requirements after COVID-19 the RBI said that based on the capital position as on September 30 2021 all public and private sector banks maintained the capital conservation buffer CCB well over 25 per cent Going forward however banks would need a higher capital cushion to deal with challenges on account of the ongoing stress experienced by borrowers as well as to meet the economys potential credit requirements it said The apex bank also stressed that concerted strategies for timely capital infusion need to be carried forward by the banks PTI NKD CS MR MR

Mumbai Dec 28 PTI Mumbai on Tuesday reported 1377 new COVID-19 cases a steep rise from 809 infections reported a day ago and one more death the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC saidWith fresh additions the coronavirus tally in the metropolis rose to 773298 while the death toll increased to 16374 the civic body said in a bulletinThe days tally of 1377 was a sharp rise from 809 cases indicating an increase of 70 per cent reported on Monday which had also recorded three deaths linked to coronavirus in the metropolisThe recovery count increased to 748537 after 338 people were discharged during the day leaving Mumbai with 5803 active cases the bulletin saidWith 32369 swab samples examined in the last 24 hours the number of coronavirus tests in the countrys financial capital went up to 13524610 BMC data showedIt also revealed that the case doubling time has sharply dropped to 841 days while Mumbais coronavirus recovery rate stood at 97 per centThe growth rate of COVID-19 cases between December 21 and 27 was 007 per cent in the city the bulletin said PTI PR RSY RSY

Mumbai Dec 28 PTI Filmmaker Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari on Tuesday said she has completed the first schedule of her debut web series FaaduThe SonyLIV original is being described as an intense poetic love-story between two different-thinking charactersProduced by Studio Next Faadu stars Saiyami Kher Pavail Gulati and Abhilash ThapliyalIyer Tiwari took to Instagram to share the update about the schedule wrap of the showThe 42-year-old director thanked the cast and crew for their support throughout the filming of FaaduA long first schedule with its story to tell comes to an end only to begin soon in the new year These small moments of joy is not possible without my dearest direction team and partners in all departments and my awesome caring humans pavailgulati saiyami abhilashthaipliyal who nag me with lots of pyaar sometimes dont allow me to concentrate since I am busy laughing out loud with their random chatter even on a tough day and also who are actors par excellence that makes a storyteller see a dream she wroteThank you dearest Faadu humans to make this roller coaster journey of togetherness worthwhile the filmmaker best known for critically-acclaimed movies like Nil Battey Sannata and Bareilly Ki Barfi addedThe screenplay of Faadu is written by poet theatre writer and director Saumya JoshiIyer Tiwari recently co-directed the non-fiction series Break Point with her filmmaker husband Nitesh Tiwari for ZEE5 It followed the untold story of tennis greats Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi PTI KKP RDS RDS

Mumbai Dec 28 PTI The Congress an ally of the Shiv Sena and the NCP in Maharashtra will contest on all seats in the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC polls the partys city unit president Bhai Jagtap asserted on TuesdayHe said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who was to address party workers this month but could not do so due to the coronavirus pandemic will hold a rally during the BMC polls due in early 2022The Mumbai Congress will contest the upcoming Mumbai municipal corporation elections on all 236 seats on its own and will once again fly the Congress flag tricolour over the BMC he said at an event held on the occasion of the 137th foundation day of the Congress hereJagtap who is also a legislator gave an election call on the occasion Hum Pura Ladenge Aur Jitenge we will contest on all seats and winEarlier too the Congress had announced to go solo in the BMC pollsThe Sonia Gandhi-led party is a constituent of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA coalition in the state which is led by the Shiv Sena and also comprises the NCPOnce a dominant party in Indias richest civic body the Congress has been relegated to number three position in the city after the Shiv Sena and the BJPThe Shiv Sena currently rules the BMC whose annual budget of more than Rs 30000 crore is bigger than budget of some smaller states in the country PTI PR RSY RSY