-The Hindu A NABARD survey says middlemen funded by banks have kept growers captive to high-interest loans Jammu: Kashmir's acres of undulating apple orchards may soon be waste lands, a survey by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) accessed by The Hindu shows. The Rs. 4,000-crore industry has been brought to its knees by a network of middle-order market functionaries comprising pre-harvest contractors (PHCs), commission agents (CAs) and wholesalers...

-Live Mint State govt says did not receive notice from SC before order was issued; SKS shares fall 19.63% in intra-day trade Mumbai: Andhra Pradesh, once the largest market for microlenders and home to India's lone listed such institution SKS Microfinance Ltd, said on Thursday it would challenge the Supreme Court's recent interim order allowing the company to resume operations in the southern state, driving the stock down by almost 20%...

-Live Mint Experts say private banks achieve lending obligations by buying out loans from non-banking entities Most private banks in India have not been able to meet the needs of farmers although they are expanding their rural and semi-urban branch network. This is why the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is insisting that at least one-fourth of the branches of the new banks that will be given a licence must be located...

-The Indian Express Contrary to the perception that money laundering is widespread across the country's banking sector, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has found an average of only about 700 cases annually over the last four years on which investigations could be initiated. The FIU is the national agency responsible for tracking information related to suspect financial transactions. Finance ministry data shows that during the last four years, banks and other entities have...

-The Times of India An undercover sting investigation across India has shown up startling videos of bank executives of three leading private banks - HDFC, ICICI and Axis - providing ready assistance to a reporter, posing as a minister's aide, for laundering black money into white through the banking system in clear contravention of banking norms and laws. Shaken by the disclosure, the three banks asserted that they were committed to transparent...