Cabinet approves amendments to insolvency and bankruptcy code - TV NEW DELHI, November 22 (Reuters): The cabinet on Wednesday gave approval to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code to prevent wilful defaulters from bidding for stressed assets, two TV channels reported citing unnamed sources. The finance ministry had earlier asked banks to ensure that wilful defaulters were prevented from buying same stressed assets again as it strives to cut the record $147 billion soured loans accumulated in the banking sector. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is scheduled to brief the media later on Wednesday. India’s annual diesel consumption to rise by two-thirds by 2030 NEW DELHI, November 22 (Reuters): India’s annual diesel consumption could rise to 150 billion litres by 2030 from 90 billion litres now, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Wednesday. Annual gasoline consumption in the world’s third-biggest oil consuming nation could rise to 50 billion litres by 2030 from 30 billion litres now, he said. The energy hungry nation, which is looking to cut its oil imports by 10 percent in 2022, aims to boost use of bio fuels, the minister said. India currently imports about 80 percent of its oil needs. Cabinet gives nod to wage policy framework for CPSE workers New Delhi, November 22 (PTI): The Cabinet approved a policy framework for central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) on Wednesday to negotiate the next round of wage revision with their workers, said official sources. The decision on the wage policy for the eighth round of negotiations for the workers was taken at the Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. According to the decision, the sources said, management of the CPSEs would be “free” to negotiate wage revision for workers where the periodicity of wage settlement of 5 years or 10 years “expired generally” on December 31, 2016. However, the government would not provide any budgetary support for any such wage increase, and the respective CPSEs would have to bear the entire financial implications from their own resources, they added. Further, the management of CPSEs would have to ensure the negotiated scales of pay do not exceed the existing scales of executives and non-unionised supervisors of the respective companies. According to the sources, CPSEs would also have to make sure any increase in wages does not result in administered prices of their goods and services.
