April 2017

28Apr

India. Market-linked assured returns pension plan runs into hurdles

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority’s (PFRDA) proposal to offer minimum assured returns on market-linked pension plans is facing resistance from other financial regulators and fund managers, said three people with direct knowledge of the matter, including a PFRDA official. The matter was discussed in the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) meeting held on 17 April. As a way out, the pension regulator has suggested an inter-regulatory committee to work out the modalities. In 2016, based on a provision in...

April 28, 2017
News, OP Ed
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21Apr

Inadequate pensions leave India’s elderly no choice but to work

Kamla Devi (not her real name), of advanced but uncertain age, lives in Lohari, a remote adivasi village located inside a wildlife sanctuary in Udaipur, Rajasthan. On a summer day in 2016, we approached her as she was chasing after a small herd of goats, to ask questions as part of a study on the relation between ageing, paid work and pensions. Our very first question–whether she was a beneficiary of the government's non-contributory pension scheme for the aged–irritated her....

April 21, 2017
News
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March 2017

28Mar

India’s largest mobile phone company sells 10.3% of tower unit to KKR-Canada Pension Plan combine

India's Bharti Airtel has sold a 10.3% stake in its tower unit to a consortium for 61.94 billion rupees ($952 million) as the country's largest mobile phone company seeks to trim its staggering debt. The consortium, backed by private equity firm KKR & Co. and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, paid 325 rupees per Bharti Infratel share, a 4% premium to Monday's closing price, Bharti Airtel said in a statement to the Indian stock exchanges Tuesday. Bharti Airtel, which will hold...

March 28, 2017
News
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