Sushma Nath set to be first woman finance secy

NEW DELHI: Expenditure secretary Sushma Nath is all set to take over as finance secretary.

Nath, a 1974 Madhya Pradesh cadre Indian Administrative Service officer, will be the first woman to occupy the finance secretary's chair in North Block. Government sources said the notification for the changes in the finance ministry would be announced in the next couple of days.

The low profile Nath is considered to be an efficient officer and is a stickler for rules. She has been officiating as the expenditure secretary since 2008 and is the senior most officer in the finance ministry. She is due to retire on March 31.

The current finance secretary Ashok Chawla retires on January 31.

The changes in the finance ministry take place at a time when finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is drawing up the 2011-12 budget to be presented in Parliament on February 28.

Financial services secretary R Gopalan is likely to take over as the economic affairs secretary. Gopalan, who took over as financial services secretary last year, is a 1976 Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer.

Read more: Sushma Nath set to be first woman finance secy - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Sushma-Nath-set-to-be-first-woman-finance-secy/articleshow/7380312.cms#ixzz1COZTEdk4

U K Sinha set to be next Sebi chief

NEW DELHI/ DAVOS: U K Sinha, UTI Asset Management Company chairman and managing director, is set to be the new chairman of the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh clearing his appointment. Sources involved with the appointment told TOI that the government would notify his appointment early next week. The present Sebi chairman C B Bhave's three-year term is due to end next month. It is unclear if Sinha will get a three-year term or a five-year term.

Sinha will be the sixth Sebi chairman since the regulatory agency was set up through a law in 1992. The former Indian Administrative Service Officer has been associated with the capital markets sector for a decade now, having first worked as a joint secretary in the finance ministry before moving to take over the reins of UTI.

Apart from dealing with cleaning up the sector in the aftermath of the 2001 stock scam, Sinha was one of the main architects of revamping UTI which went under due to commitment to offer assured return schemes and wrong investment decisions. Apart from the bailout, the government split the erstwhile Unit Trust of India into two entities, one dealing with the assured return schemes while the rest moved to what is now UTI AMC.

In addition, Sinha has been involved with preparing the roadmap for developing the bond market, something that he would be associated with once he moves across the road from the UTI headquarters in Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex to the Sebi head office.

State Bank of India chairman O P Bhatt says it's one area that needs urgent attention. But Bhatt is not alone. In the absence of a well-developed bond market, developers of long-gestation projects have to rely on bank funding, creating pressure on the system. Hero Corporate Services chairman Sunil Munjal adds further techonological development to the list. In addition he says that Sebi should clear the air on entry of new players in the stock exchanges business. The area has become a big controversy, especially in the wake of the Bimal Jalan committee report which among other things has proposed a cap on profits and restrictions on listing. That will be one of the first few things on the table.

Sinha had recently headed a committee which sought to provide greater clarity of portfolio flows and that's something where he will have to advise the government. He will have to act on increasing the reach of equity MFs as they have been relying heavily on debt to shore up their assets under management (AUM).

Read more: U K Sinha set to be next Sebi chief - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/U-K-Sinha-set-to-be-next-Sebi-chief/articleshow/7382000.cms#ixzz1COZ71800

Sensex drops 289 pts to 5-month low

MUMBAI: Continuing its fall for the third day, the BSE benchmark sensex dropped nearly 289 points to a 5-month low on brisk selling in heavy-weight financial companies, on investor concerns about rising interest rates in view of high inflation and weak global cues.

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index sensex, which had lost 467 points in the last two trading sessions, fell further by 288.46 points to 18,395.97, a level last seen on September 3, 2010, as investors indicated that rising prices and interest rate hikes would crimp company profits.

The index touched the day's low of 18,235.45 Similarly, the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty dipped below the 5,500 level before ending 92.15 points lower at 5,512.15 led by interest-linked stocks like realty, auto, consumer durable as well as the metals sector.

A weak Asian trend and lower opening in Europe further dampened the trading sentiment.

Stock markets have continued to decline since January 25, when the Reserve Bank of India increased interest rates for the seventh time since March and revised upwards its inflation forecast to 7% by the end of this fiscal.

Brokers said that rising input costs were eating into the margins of most consumer companies and raised concerns among investors on their earnings.

The realty sector index suffered the most by losing 4.96% to 2,279.62, followed by consumer durables index by 3.91% to 5,923.17. The auto sector index lost 3.56% to 8,841.90.

The most-heaviest on the Sensex, Reliance Industries fell by 3.02% to Rs 914.50 and second-heaviest Infosys Technologies by 0.68% to Rs 3,173.50. The two carry nearly 23% weightage on the index.

As the selling pressure spilled over a wide-front, smallcap index lost 3.59% to 8,546.29 and midcap index by 2.66% to 6,898.37.

Read more: Sensex drops 289 pts to 5-month low - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Sensex-drops-289-pts-to-5-month-low/articleshow/7379044.cms#ixzz1CKTwsbnw