India

World’s first Halal network launched aiming to tap $5 tr market

The world’s First Halal Angels Network was launched to help investors, businesses, entrepreneurs and startups during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Network would provide huge market opportunities to tap the $5 trillion worth Halal consumer global market. It is founded by Indian American Dr. Tausif Malik, who is a serial entrepreneur based out of Pune, India, and Chicago, USA. He said India is the biggest manufacturer of Halal consumer goods and has huge market opportunities in the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia. Halal Angels Network would be the 1st Angels Network backed by Blockchain technology. The areas of interest for investments would be future technologies (Blockchain, Fintech AI, etc), Modest Fashion & Cosmetics, Retail, Pharmaceuticals, Food Cafe & Restaurants, Processed Food & Tourism.

ED attaches Rs 10-crore assets in 'Islamic banking' Bengaluru ponzi scam

Assets worth over Rs 10 crore of a Bengaluru-based firm have been attached under the anti-money laundering law in connection with an alleged 'Islamic banking or halal investment' ponzi scam case. The accused firm is Ambidant Marketing Pvt Ltd and the case had made headlines last year in Karnataka. The firm is accused of collecting investments from customers under the Haj/Umrah plan in the name of 'Islamic banking or halal investment' and offering huge returns to the extent of up to 15% per month. The company was not authorised to collect such funds as it was neither registered with RBI nor with the SEBI under their collective investment scheme. The company had hired agents who would convince investors to invest in the plan by giving these agents a heavy commission. Initially, the company shared profits to the existing investors out of funds obtained from its new investors.

Draft Bill Proposes Ban On #Cryptocurrencies In #India

India is considering a ban on cryptocurrencies. A draft bill explains that a Digital Rupee, which will be issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), would be approved as legal tender, while all other digital currencies would be prohibited. However, the ban does not apply to anyone using distributed ledger technologies (DLT) or other related technologies for experiments or research, as long as cryptos are not being used for payments. The proposed penalty for violating the ban would be a fine or up to 10 years’ imprisonment, or both. The news comes after reports that RBI has been developing a blockchain platform for banking in its R&D branch. However, RBI has denied it had any involvement in the proposed legislation.

'Halal' Ponzi Scams and Islamic Finance in #India – Need for a Strict Shariah-Compliance Certification Framework

Prominent Islamic Finance activists have been trying to create recognition and make an impact in the implementation of Islamic Finance in India since decades. Recent years have seen quite a few setbacks in the Islamic Finance initiatives, with many financial initiatives being eventually discovered as Ponzi schemes. Some of these prominent schemes include Heera Gold, Ambiant Marketing, and now the latest is called I Monetary Advisory (IMA). Investigations revealed that IMA did not even have a Shariah board to begin with, and often used non-Shariah compliant statements in its marketing resources. Despite claiming to be a Shariah-compliant investment avenue, IMA had promised a fixed minimum return. A country with a sizeable Muslim population like India demands a central Shariah-Compliance Certification platform that keeps a strict control over Islamic Finance activities.

With no official nod for halal funds, money scams arise

Investigation authorities are probing complaints that a Bengaluru-based company, which promised to route investors’ savings into halal investments, cheated them of 2000 crore. India does not recognise Islamic banking, but there are investment options for those who do not want to violate religious laws while investing their savings. Researcher Shafeeq Rahman says that Muslims have an unmet need for Shariah-compliant investments. Because they are more likely to run their own businesses, Muslims have more need for credit and go to groups that offer halal financial services. The problem is that these institutions use the claim of Shariah investments to lure depositors, but these groups are not regulated by government agencies.

RBI’s efforts to stabilise rupee hit country’s forex reserves, experts say

A strong US dollar and subsequent interventions by the country’s central bank to stabilise the rupee drained over $1.80 billion (Dh6.61 billion) from India’s foreign exchange reserves. Reserves plunged by $1.82 billion during the week ended August 10 to $400.88 billion from $402.70 billion reported one week earlier. According to Anindya Banerjee, deputy vice-president of Kotak Securities, the decline in Forex reserves can be attributed to the RBI’s intervention to stem the decline in rupee’s fall. Foreign currency assets fell sharply, but the value of the country’s gold reserves increased by $145.6 million to $20.69 billion.

Which are the Sharia-compliant mutual #fund schemes in #India?

There are three Sharia-compliant mutual funds in India: Tata Ethical, Taurus Ethical and Reliance ETF Shariah BeES. The first two are actively-managed multi-cap schemes and Reliance ETF Sharia BeES is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that invests in the Nifty50 Sharia Index.
There are also sectoral funds with investment in Reliance Pharma, ICICI Pru Pharma Healthcare & Diagnostics, SBI Technology Opportunities, ICICI Pru Technology or Franklin India Technology. However, these funds are vulnerable to cyclical fluctuations in their respective sector.

Bank Pasargad of #Iran to Open Branch in #India: Report

India has reportedly approved a proposal from Bank Pasargad of Iran to open a branch in Mumbai. The Federation of Indian Export Organizations had earlier objected the entry of Iranian banks into India. In the wake of new US sanctions, India may explore the possibility of reviving the rupee-rial arrangement to import oil from Iran that it has used in the past. The presence of an Iranian bank in India will ensure the smooth flow of funds between the two countries. US President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that Washington was walking away from the nuclear agreement between Iran and the UN Security Council. Trump also said he would reinstate US nuclear sanctions on Iran and impose economic bans on the Islamic Republic.

Apply for Islamic Development Bank undergraduate scholarship by 21 August

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) announced the availability of scholarships for Muslim Community in India to pursue undergraduate studies in India. The scholarship may cover tuition fees and/or monthly stipends, books & clothing allowance and medical coverage through public or university sponsored hospitals. Major fields at undergraduate level include Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing, Engineering, Agriculture, Information Technology, Economics, Education, Psychology and Learning, Education Policy and International Development.

Islamic Development Bank seeks tie-ups for infrastructure investments

Islamic Development Bank president Bandar Hajjar said the bank was exploring joint opportunities with other multilateral development banks to invest in India’s infrastructure sector. India plans to invest as much as ?5.97 trillion in creating and upgrading infrastructure in the current financial year. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is setting in play a new integrated infrastructure programme that involves building of roads, railways, waterways and airports. For this, India has sought project financing totalling $2.4 billion from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Also, the Asian bank will invest $200 million in India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF).

Muslims in #India develop mutual health #insurance scheme as alternative to #takaful

A not-for-profit health assurance scheme, called Uplift Mutuals Biradaree, started in April this year in India. The scheme works on the model of mutual assurance, with certain features maintaining the values of Shariah-compliant finance. The health assurance scheme will work on the existing platform of Uplift Mutuals, a fifteen-year-old community-owned mutual health assurance model developed by Uplift India Association. Uplift Mutuals Biradaree is designed to be affordable and is open to all financially vulnerable families. A single member pays 700 Indian rupees ($10) per annum and a family of four 1,400 rupees per year. The annual contribution has been kept low because part of the capital and operating expenditures are currently met by external funding from the global industry body the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF).

An Islamic Bank for The Poor, Including 4% Hindus, Who Can't and Need Not Pay Interest

Reserve Bank of India guidelines specifically state that banks are compulsorily required to charge an interest and pay taxes to the central government. However, the Muslim Fund Trust in Deoband headed by Haseeb Siddiqui is a financial institution that works on an interest-free loan module. The trust offers loans to only those who have a savings deposit account with them. Conventional banks demand security before issuing loans, which it has the option of falling back upon, in case the consumer defaults. The Muslim Fund Trust accepts only ornaments as security. Locals who avail the services of the Muslim Fund Trust identify Siddiqui as a social worker. Popularly known as Abbaji, Siddiqui has been politically active as a member of BSP. The trust neither has debit or credit cards, nor does it have netbanking facilities like other banks. The Muslim Fund Trust also runs an eye-care hospital, driver-training centre and an orphanage.

Deoband’s new #fatwa bans Muslim women from marrying into families of bankers

The largest seminary in #India, Darul Uloom Deoband, has issued a fatwa asking Muslim women to not marry into a family whose members work in banks. Deoband argued that the income from banking jobs is considered haram (forbidden) earnings. The edict was pronounced after a person asked Darul Ifta if he should marry his daughter to a man whose father worked in a bank. The Islamic scholars have upheld the fatwa, contending that the religious body’s stand was in line with the Islamic law. Islamic researcher Maulana Nadimul Vajdi said that if a person, knowingly or unknowingly, has indulged in haram earning, the person concerned should quit the job and find another one in which the income was not considered forbidden under the Islamic law.

Reserve Bank says no to Islamic banking: All you need to know

After examining the details of Islamic banking, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided not to pursue the matter any further. It all started in late 2008 when former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan had stressed on the need for a closer look at the issue of interest-free banking in the country. Later, an inter-departmental group (IDG) set up in the RBI examined the legal, technical and regulatory issues for introducing Islamic banking in India. It recommended an "Islamic window" in conventional banks for gradual introduction of Sharia-compliant banking. However, no deadline was given for the proposal. This Sunday the central bank has refused to go on with the idea saying the decision was taken after considering the opportunities available to all citizens to access banking and financial services.

TASIS appointed as Shariah Advisor for Tata Group Shariah Mutual #Funds

Taqwaa Advisory and Shariah Investment Solutions (TASIS) has been appointed as Shariah Advisor for Tata Group Shariah Mutual Funds. They include Tata Ethical Fund (TEF), which is a domestic fund and Tata Indian Shariah Equity Fund (TISEF), which is an offshore fund. TASIS claimed that TEF was the only Shariah compliant fund in which charitable trusts are allowed to invest without attracting tax. Under the current agreement, TASIS is supposed to ensure that the investment and operations of TEF and TISEF are Shariah compliant. In India there is low awareness about investment in securities. The availability of options such as TEF would help this section of the society to become part of the mainstream financial system and hence contribute to the goal of financial inclusion.

Industry body #AAOIFI plans #standards for Islamic endowments

The Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) will develop a package of standards covering Islamic endowments or awqaf. AAOIFI did not give a time frame for the completion of its awqaf standards, but said its board had discussed and approved specifications regarding the accounting standards. The plans are part of wider industry efforts to modernise awqaf, which receive donations to operate specific social projects, such as mosques, schools and welfare schemes. Most awqaf do not disclose full financial figures, although their underperformance is believed to be considerable. In India, awqaf are estimated to own 490,000 properties but their estimated annual income is just 1.63 billion rupees ($25.22 million.)

Can't share details of govt response on Sharia banking: RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said it cannot disclose the Finance Ministry's response about the introduction of Sharia banking in India. The RBI had earlier proposed opening of Islamic window in conventional banks for gradual introduction of Sharia- compliant or interest-free banking in the country. RBI was asked to give the copy of the letter sent to it by the ministry on the recommendation of its Inter Departmental Group (IDG) regarding Islamic banking.
The central bank had sought response from the Department of Financial Services (DFS) under the finance minister whether their letter can be disclosed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. As advised by the DFS, the disclosure of information would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or the state legislature.

Islamic banking to start in Gujarat: What is it all about?

#India will soon have Islamic Banking facilities. The Saudi Arabia-based Islamic Development Bank will start its operations from Gujarat soon. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to UAE in April last year, the Indian Exim Bank had signed a memorandum of understanding with IDB for a $100 million line of credit to facilitate exports to IDB's member countries. The Reserve Bank of India had proposed opening of an Islamic window in conventional banks for introduction of Sharia-compliant or interest free banking in the country. The proposal was taken up to ensure financial inclusion for those sections of society which remain excluded due to religious reasons.

Blow to #Islamic #Banking in #India

Before handing over his charge to present Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel, former Governor Raghuram Rajan had proposed working with the Government to introduce Islamic Banking. Most recently, Union Finance Ministry said that Islamic banking was not relevant any more as the Government has already introduced several programmes for all citizens towards financial inclusion. Finance Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said various legal changes are needed if even limited products were to be introduced under Islamic banking. It is estimated that 180 million Muslims in India are unable to access Islamic banking because of non-availability of interest free banking. RBI in its report had said it would explore to introduce interest-free banking products in consultation with the government, but before the consultation could be held, the Government of India derailed this whole process.

#Debate #continues in #India about #Islamic #finance

It seemed as if the path had been cleared for the introduction of Islamic finance in India after the country’s central bank made a proposal to launch Islamic banking windows at conventional banks. With two crucial effects awaiting: Firstly, greater financial inclusion of unbanked Indians, not necessarily only around 170mn Muslims, but also those interested in ethical banking, and, secondly, an increased influx of investments from Muslim regions, namely the Gulf, into India.
However, the proposal got rebuffed in December by the Indian finance ministry which, in a surprising declaration, argued that Islamic banking was “not relevant” any more in achieving the objectives of financial inclusion as the government had already introduced other programmes for all citizens towards that end.

India’ Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar also said that a number of legal changes would become necessary even if limited Islamic finance products were to be introduced, which would result in “numerous legal hurdles.”

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