Five associates and the Bharatiya Mahila Bank became part of the State Bank of India (SBI) today, catapulting the country's largest lender to among the top 50 banks in the world.
State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Patiala (SBP) and State Bank of Travancore (SBT), besides Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB), merged with SBI with effect from April 1, the bank said in a statement.
"With this six-way mega merger, SBI has again displayed its ability to change and evolve in order to continue as the country champion among banks in India and to create enduring value," SBI said.
With this merger, the bank will join the league of top 50 banks globally in terms of assets, it added.
The total customer base of the bank will reach 37 crores with a branch network of around 24,000 and nearly 59,000 ATMs across the country.
The merged entity will have a deposit base of more than Rs 26 lakh crore and advances level of Rs 18.50 lakh crore.
Welcoming all the stakeholders of merged entities, SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said the bank will strive to conclude the transition process within a quarter.
"The combined entity will enhance the productivity, mitigate geographical risks, increase operational efficiency and drive synergies across multiple dimensions while ensuring increased levels of customer delight," she said.
Post merger, the bank will rationalise its branch network by relocating some of the branches to maximise reach.
This will help the bank optimise its operations and improve profitability, she said.
Integration of treasuries of the associate banks with the treasury of SBI will bring in substantial cost saving and synergy in treasury operations, she added.
The government had in February approved the merger of these five associate banks with SBI. Later in March, the Cabinet approved merger of BMB as well.
SBI first merged State Bank of Saurashtra with itself in 2008. Two years later, State Bank of Indore was merged with it.
The board of SBI earlier approved the merger plan under which SBBJ shareholders will get 28 shares of SBI (Re 1 each) for every 10 shares (Rs 10 each) held. Similarly, SBM and SBT shareholders will get 22 shares of SBI for every 10 shares.
SBI had approved separate schemes of acquisition for State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Hyderabad. There will not be any share swap or cash outgo as they are wholly-owned by the SBI.
Reliance Jio has extended the deadline to enrol for its Jio Prime plan till April 15, 2017. The move comes as a relief to millions of Jio customers who can enrol themselves for the service by paying a one-time fee of Rs 99 and avail of a host of benefits.
Along with the extension of the deadline, Jio continued with its streak of throwing surprises when it unveiled its latest offer known as Summer Surprise. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries', promises this to be just the first of many surprises lined up for Jio Prime members.
Ambani in his statement said more than 72 million Jio customers have signed up for Jio Prime so far and the number is only supposed to go up further.
Heres a brief of what the plans are and how Prime members stand to benefit.
Extension of enrolment for Prime:
Jios free service period is coming to an end. Jio Users as customers can enrol for Jio Prime offer by paying just Rs 99 and opting for a plan of Rs 303 or above.
Summer Surprise offer
All those who enrol before April 15 and recharge for plans of Rs 303 and more will get three months of complimentary service i.e. the company will not charge you anything till July 1, 2017 and one can continue availing benefits of its existing plan.
For example, if a user recharges with Rs 99 (enrolment into Jio Prime) and then recharges worth Rs 303, before April 15 he can avail 1GB data per day along with unlimited free calling services and SMS service.
Now instead of Rs 303, if somebody recharges worth Rs 499 he will receive 2GB data every day for free till July 1, 2017.
What will happen if you dont enrol for Prime by April 15?
If one fails to recharge by April 15, all the free services from Jio will come to an end. Furthermore, Jio Prime members enjoy almost double data benefits when compared to non-Jio Prime members.
According to Reliance, users who do not recharge by April 15 will experience degradation and/or discontinuation of services.
What to do if the Rs 303-data plan with 1 GB daily FUP is not enough?
If 1GB free data daily on 4G speeds is not good enough you can opt for the Rs 499 Jio Prime plan which offers a daily FUP on 4G speeds of 2GB for 28 days. To get rid of the FUP altogether, users can opt for the Rs 999 Jio Prime Plan, which offers 60GB 4G data with 60 days validity without any FUP.
There are other plans for Rs 1,999, Rs 4,999 and Rs 9,999 with 90 days, 180 days and 360 days validity and 125GB, 350GB, and 750GB data respectively without any FUP.
In case, you are using a Jio Prime plan without FUP and run out of data midway, you can always opt for booster packs ranging between Rs 11 and Rs 301 with 0.1GB to 10GB data.
Disclosure: Reliance Industries, which owns Reliance Jio, also owns Network18, which publishes Moneycontrol.com.
Union Minister of State for Finance Arjum Ram Meghwal today expressed confidence that the historic tax reform Goods and Services Tax (GST) will roll out from July 1.
"100 per cent GST will be implemented from July 1," Meghwal said here when asked on GST roll out.
"In the last meeting four rules had been approved and the next meeting is in Srinagar," he said on the sidelines of ICC organised on investment opportunities in African country Democratic Republic of Congo.
Adding further, he said, government will resolve the problems of the trade and if GST begins from July 1, there will be no loss to trade and industry.
On March 29, Lok Sabha approved the four supplementary legislations.
The Central GST Bill, 2017; The Integrated GST Bill, 2017; The GST (Compensation to States) Bill, 2017; and The Union Territory GST Bill, 2017 were passed after negation of a host of amendments moved by the opposition parties.
The Council, however, deferred a decision on tax structure to its next meeting on May 18-19.
Meghwal said that states are been told to strengthen their IT infrastructure and focus on manpower training.
"Trade, chambers are suggesting. We are continuously meeting them and communicating the benefits. If there are some problems..we will solve it," the minister said.
He said government will open guidance centres including in the villages where internet is available to support the trade in getting registered with GST.
Meanwhile, Meghwal said government was ready to cooperate for greater trade relationship and cross investments in the central African country of Congo which offers huge opportunity in agro, mining and hydro power.
India was building 16MW x4 hydro power plant in the country which was expected to be completed in the next 30 months, a BHEL official said.
