Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal could have a part of his three-year anti-corruption ban suspended when the judge heading the Cricket Board's disciplinary Panel gives out his detailed judgement soon, a source in the PCB has said.

After the hour-long hearing of the panel held on April Monday in Lahore, where Umar appeared himself to plead his case, Justice (retd) Miran Chohan announced a three-year ban on the batsman for failing to report corrupt approaches.

"People are jumping to conclusions about the three-year ban but the detailed order is yet to come out. Umar might eventually get a three-year ban with two years suspended or something like that," the source told PTI.

He said there are chances the judge will suspend most part of the three-year ban given the clauses under which Umar has been charged by the Anti-Corruption Unit and also given his past track record.
"Umar could get a suspended sentence in his three-year ban because this will also test him as an individual to see how he behaves and conducts himself in future," the source said.

"When majority part of a ban is suspended, the player has to be careful with his behaviour or he could end up being banned for the entire duration of the ban,¿ he explained.

Umar has the right to appeal against the panel decision 14 days after he gets a copy of the detailed judgement. His appeal will be heard by an independent adjudicator to be appointed by the board.

Two years ago, the Anti-Corruption Tribunal of the PCB, headed by Lt. General (retd) Tauqir Zia, had also banned Sharjeel Khan for five years with half of the sentence suspended, which allowed him to make a comeback in the Pakistan Super League 5 in February.

Umar was suspended from playing in the PSL 5 on February 20 by the PCB in the spot-fixing approach case.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has banned Deepak Agarwal from all cricket for two years, with six months of that suspended, after he accepted one charge of breaching the ICC Anti-Corruption Code, the ICC said in a release.

Agarwal was charged as a participant under the Code due to the fact he was one of the team owners of the Sindhi's franchise in the 2018 T10 Cricket League. The charge is as follows:

Article 2.4.7 -- obstructing or delaying an investigation, including concealing, tampering with or destroying any documentation or other information that may be relevant to that investigation and / or that may be evidence of or may lead to the discovery of evidence of corrupt conduct under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code.

Under the provisions of the Code, Agarwal chose to admit the charges and agreed the sanction with the ICC in lieu of an Anti-Corruption Tribunal hearing. Subject to him satisfying conditions in respect of the suspended part of the sanction, he will be free to resume his involvement in the game on October 27, 2021.

Alex Marshall, ICC General Manager -- Integrity said: "There were a number of examples of Agarwal obstructing and delaying our investigations and it was not just a one off occurrence. However, he made a prompt admission of his breach of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code and continues to provide substantial assistance to the ACU in relation to several investigations involving other participants. This cooperation is reflected in his sanction."

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Star Australian opener David Warner does not see the need to abolish the use of saliva to shine the ball when cricket resumes in the post COVID-19 world as he feels it is no more or no less risky than sharing the change room with fellow players. There is speculation that use of saliva to shine the ball will be stopped to cut down the risk of the highly contagious infection when international cricket restarts. "You're sharing change rooms and you're sharing everything else, I don't see why you have to change that," Warner told 'cricket.com.au'.

"It's been going around for hundreds of years now, I can't recall anyone that's got sick by doing that. If you're going to contract a bug, I don't think it'd necessarily be just from that. "I'm not too sure but it's not my place to comment on whether or not we should or shouldn't (use saliva to shine the ball). It's up to the ICC and the governing bodies to decide."

However, former fast bowler Shaun Tait believes it is important to be open about changes and the use of saliva could become a thing of the past. "I've never been a huge fan of the saliva on the ball, it's not very nice really," Tait said. "We have to open to some possible changes there." The subject of legalisation of ball tampering has led to divided opinions with West Indies pace great Michael Holding saying it is a bit "self contradictory", while South Africa legend Allan Donald being open to the idea.

Among others, batting great Sachin Tendulkar said players will be wary of using saliva to shine the ball, while Pakistan legend Waqar Younis, former India pacer Ashish Nehra and spinner Harbhajan Singh have supported the use of spit.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Thousands of people on Saturday defied the countrywide lockdown to attend the funeral of a Muslim cleric in Bangladesh, triggering fears of rapid spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The news media in Bangladesh reported that thousands of people, without masks and in clear violations of social distancing, participated in the funeral prayers of Khelafat Majlish's 'Nayeb-e Amir' Maulana Zubayer Ahmad Ansari, held at a madrasa in Bertola village under Sorail Upazila of Brahmanbaria district. The cleric had passed away at his home last night.

The gathering was large and the authorities did not stop it, media reports said. Noted Bangladeshi author, Taslima Nasreen, who lives in exile in Sweden, tweeted that 50,000 people had attended the funeral prayers, defying the ban on mass gatherings during the lockdown. "Stupid government didn't even try to stop these stupid people," she tweeted.

Like many other countries where religious congregations are turning out to be a major multiplier in the pandemic, the Saturday funeral gathering could become Bangladesh's hotspot for the outbreak. So far, over 2,100 people have tested positive and 84 have died due to Coronavirus in Bangladesh.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

President Donald Trump has said he will sign an executive order to temporarily suspend all immigration to the US to "protect" the jobs of Americans and to fight the "invisible attack" on the country by the novel Coronavirus, a move that was widely criticised by the Democrats, including Indian-origin Senator Kamala Harris.
The outbreak has killed more than 42,094 people in the US, the country with the most fatalities in the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University, and more than 7,50,000 cases have been confirmed.

Details of Trump's executive order were not immediately known. He also did not indicate when he would sign such an order. His announcement comes as his administration seeks to reopen parts of the US from the crippling COVID-19 shutdown.

Donald Trump

However, the NBC News reported that the move "had been under consideration for a while," a senior administration official was quoted as saying by the report. The official said the details about how the plan would be implemented and how many countries would be affected "will be forthcoming," the report added.

Immigration has long been an issue of President Trump. He has been calling for a merit-based immigration system. Since the pandemic began, the administration had already restricted foreign visitors from China, Europe, Canada and Mexico. And also suspended all routine visa services, both immigrant and non-immigrant, around the world. "Trump failed to take this crisis seriously from day 1. His abandonment of his role as president has cost lives. And now, he's shamelessly politicising this pandemic to double down on his anti-immigrant agenda," Harris tweeted.

"It is about the message the president wants to send. He wants people to turn against 'the other.' And, regardless of the valuable contributions immigrants are making to the response and recovery, he sees immigrants as the easiest to blame," Ali Noorani, the executive director of the National Immigration Forum, was quoted as saying by CNN.

42,094
COVID-19 deaths in the US

Don't rush to ease restrictions, warns WHO

A couple gets ice cream in Ludwigsburg as Germany relaxes curbs. Pic/AFP

The World Health Organisation said on Tuesday that rushing to ease Coronavirus restrictions will likely lead to a resurgence of the illness, a warning that comes as governments start rolling out plans to get their economies up and running again. "This is not the time to be lax. Instead, we need to ready ourselves for a new way of living for the foreseeable future," said Dr. Takeshi Kasai, the WHO regional director for the Western Pacific.

Around the world, step-by-step reopenings were underway in Europe, where the crisis has begun to ebb in places such as Italy, Spain and Germany. The pandemic has killed over 1,70,000 people globally, close to two thirds of them in hardest-hit Europe, according to an AFP tally Tuesday at 0935 GMT. In total, 1,70,226 people have died worldwide, including 106,737 in Europe, and there are 2,483,086 recorded cases. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday extended the lockdown till June 1 and urged citizens to "persevere" with the strict restrictions, as the city-state reported 1,111 new cases, a majority them foreign workers living in dormitories, taking the total infections to 9,125.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

As of September 1, 2019, India introduced an obligation for tax to be deducted at source at a two percent rate if a taxpayer's cash withdrawals totaled INR10m (USD138,350) or more in the previous year.

Indian share markets ended their trading session lower yesterday.

Benchmark indices edged lower tracking weak global cues as investors fretted over weak economic data and rising COVID-19 cases.

Barring energy stocks, all sectoral indices ended on a negative note with stocks in the power sector, telecom sector and consumer durables sector witnessing most of the selling pressure.

At the closing bell yesterday, the�BSE Sensex stood lower by 242 points and the�NSE Nifty�closed down by 72 points.

The SGX Nifty�was trading at 9,200, down by 53 points, at the time of writing.

The�BSE Mid Cap�index and the�BSE Small Cap�index ended their day down by 0.5% and 0.1%, respectively.

Speaking of the current stock market scenario, after a sharp rally in the past few weeks, the markets have turned volatile again.

You would be interested in knowing when the market will likely bottom out.

Vijay Bhambwani, editor of Weekly Cash Alerts, has the answer and he has recorded a video about it.

You can check the same here -�This is When the Stock Market Will Bottom Out

Also, our special report, How to Trade the Coronavirus Crash, is the most comprehensive report on how to trade the coronavirus, both from a short-term and long-term perspective. You can�claim your FREE copy here...

Top Stocks in Focus Today

From the pharma sector, Dr Reddy's Laboratories share price will be in focus as the company announced that the its NDA (new drug application) Elyxyb ((celecoxib oral solution 25 mg/mL) has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

The drug is indicated for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults.

From the IT sector, HCL Technologies share price will also be in focus as the company reported a 22.8% year-on-year (YoY) rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 31.5 billion compared with Rs 25.7 billion in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter rose 16.3% YoY to Rs 185.9 billion from Rs 159.9 billion reported in the year-ago quarter. In dollar terms, revenue rose 11.7% YoY to US$ 2,543.40 million from US$ 2,277.80 million. On a sequential basis, dollar sales were flat. Sales growth in constant currency terms rose 13.5% YoY to US$ 2,584.60 million.

To know more about the company, you can read HCL Technologies' Q4FY20 result analysis on our website.

Market participants will also be tracking RBL Bank share price, Cyient share price and Gillette share price as these companies announced their March quarter results yesterday.

You can read our recently released Q4FY20 results of other companies here: Ambuja Cement,�IndusInd Bank,�Axis Bank,�Tech Mahindra,�HUL,�Reliance Industries,�Marico, Kansai Nerolac, NIIT Technologies, Persistent Systems.

GSK Sells Stake in HUL via Block Deal

From the FMCG sector, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) share price will be in focus as the UK-based Glaxo-SmithKline (GSK) offloaded its stake in HUL via block deals yesterday.

According to the term sheet, over 133 million shares are being offered in the range of Rs 1,850-1,950 to investors through a special block window. The deal will be valued roughly between Rs 246 billion to Rs 259 billion.

GSK and�Horlicks�are selling up to US$ 3.4 billion worth of HUL shares through what could be India's biggest secondary market block trades.

The British drug maker is looking to monetise about 5.7% of�HUL stock it had got after last year's merger of GSK Consumer Healthcare and HUL.

As per the scheme of amalgamation amongst GSK Consumer Healthcare and HUL, GlaxoSmithKline Pte had received 54.08 million shares of HUL, meanwhile Horlicks received 79.69 million shares.

Accordingly, parent company Unilever Plc and group companies' stake in HUL reduced to 61.9%, from 67.2% earlier after the issue of new shares.

Yes Bank Q4FY20 Results

Yes Bank reported better-than-expected March quarter (Q4FY20) results.

Yes Bank�posted a net profit of Rs 26.3 billion on the back of one-time gain attributed to an exceptional item of Rs 63 billion.

The bank has written-down additional tier-1 bonds as part of its planned reconstruction scheme, leading to a one-time gain of Rs 63 billion.

In the absence of the exceptional gain, the bank would have reported a net loss of Rs 36.7 billion.

The bank had reported a net loss of Rs 15.1 billion a year ago, while the same was Rs 185.6 billion in Q3FY20.

The bank's net interest income (NII) for the March quarter came in at Rs 12.7 billion, up 19.6% sequentially.

Net interest margin (NIM) for Q4FY20 came in at 1.9%, compared to 3.1% a year ago.

On the asset quality front, gross non-performing assets (NPA) fell 19% QoQ to Rs 328.8 billion, mostly on account of write-offs.

The bank's deposits plunged to Rs 1.05 lakh crore, down 54% YoY compared with Rs 2.27 lakh crore.

Meanwhile, Advances declined 29% YoY to Rs 1.7 lakh crore from Rs 2.4 lakh crore in the year-ago quarter.

For the financial year 2019-20 (FY20), the private lender posted a loss of Rs 164.2 billion, on a standalone basis, compared to net profit of Rs 17.2 billion in the previous year.

To know more, you can read Yes Bank's latest result analysis on our website.

Speaking of the banking sector, the low access to credit for micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) tells us there is a huge opportunity for lenders.

This is evident from the chart below:

India's Huge Lending Opportunity

Of the 60 million MSMEs in India, only 11% had access to credit from organised lenders. Most of them are self-financed or get credit from unorganised sources.

Here's what Tanushree Banerjee wrote about this in one of the editions of�The 5 Minute WrapUp...

• Self-financing limits the growth of these MSMEs. On the other hand, high interest rates from unorganised sources makes it difficult for them to earn profits.
  
  The Modi government is looking at various ways�to correct this problem. Mudra loans, online loans facilities are being made available to MSMEs.
  
  Slowly but surely, lenders are sensing the huge opportunity that lies ahead for this sector.
  
  Banks and other financial firms with prudent lending practices and strong distribution networks will benefit from this�megatrend.

Tanushree is counting on 7 top stocks from the Indian stock market that will benefit from this megatrend.

As per her, now is the right time to buy these stocks to profit from the�Rebirth of India.�You can read about them here.

And to know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent�share market updates here.

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA share price has zoomed 9% and is presently trading at Rs 10.

Meanwhile, the BSE BANKEX Index is at 22,787 (up 2.1%).

Among the top Gainers in the BSE BANKEX Index today is BANK OF MAHARASHTRA (up 8.6%).

Over the last one year, BANK OF MAHARASHTRA has moved down from Rs 15 to Rs 10, registering a loss of Rs 5 (down 35.9%).

On the other hand, the BSE BANKEX has moved down from 32,704 to 22,787, loss of 9,917 points (down 30.4%) during the last 12 months.

The top gainers among the BSE BANKEX Index stocks during this same period were [param_historic_top3].

What About the Benchmark Indices?

The BSE Sensex is at 32,089 (up 1.8%).

The top gainers among the BSE Sensex stocks today are HUL (up 3.0%), INDUSIND BANK (up 2.9%) and BAJAJ FINANCE (up 2.8%). Other gainers include AXIS BANK (up 2.7%) and RELIANCE IND. (up 2.5%). The most traded stocks in the BSE Sensex are RELIANCE IND. and SBI.

In the meantime, NSE Nifty is at 9,383 (up 1.5%). The top gainers in the NSE Nifty include DR. REDDYS LAB (up 4.1%), INDIABULLS HOU. FIN. (up 3.8%) and HUL (up 3.2%). Other gainers include HINDALCO (up 2.5%) and ZEE ENTERTAINMENT (up 2.3%) are among the top gainers in NSE Nifty.

Over the last 12 months, the BSE Sensex has moved down from 38,277 to 32,089, registering a loss of 6,188 points (down 16.35%).

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA Financial Update...

BANK OF MAHARASHTRA net profit declined 103.6% YoY to Rs 1 billion for the quarter ended December 2019, compared to a loss of Rs 38 billion a year ago. Operating income rose 14.0% to Rs 30.2 billion during the period as against Rs 26.5 billion in October-December 2018.

For the year ended March 2019, BANK OF MAHARASHTRA reported 328.3% increase in net profit to Rs 47.6 billion compared to net profit of Rs 11.1 billion during FY18.

Revenue of the company grew 2.2% to Rs 108 billion during FY19.

The current Price to earnings ratio of BANK OF MAHARASHTRA, based on rolling 12 month earnings, stands at 6.7x.

This article (BANK OF MAHARASHTRA Surges by 9%; BSE BANKEX Index Up 2.1%) is authored by Equitymaster.

Equitymaster is a leading 'independent' equity research initiative focused on providing well-researched and unbiased opinions on stocks listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Asian stock markets are higher today as Chinese and Hong Kong shares show gains. The Shanghai Composite is up 0.6% while the Hang Seng is up 0.9%. The Nikkei 225 is trading up by 1.8%. Wall Street's indices climbed on Thursday, with the Nasdaq erasing losses for 2020, following a clutch of upbeat earnings reports led by PayPal as investors looked past more weak jobs data caused by the coronavirus-induced economic downturn.

Trends on SGX Nifty indicated a positive opening for the index in India with a 91 points gain.

India share markets opened higher. The BSE Sensex is trading up by 542 points while the NSE Nifty is trading up by 158 points. The BSE Mid Cap index and BSE Small Cap index opened up by 0.9% and 0.6% respectively.

All sectoral indices are trading in green with metal stocks and banking stocks witnessing maximum buying interest.

Note that the�coronavirus impact�has shaken markets worldwide. For the�BSE Sensex, FY20 was the second worst year post FY08, the year of the global financial crisis.

Good Time to Start Investing Now?

Naturally, there is an atmosphere of fear all round.

Is it time to sell stocks now? Will the correction get worse?

History has shown that after years like the one we had just now, the next 3 years are good for the markets. In fact, these corrections are the rare times when you find businesses with solid fundamentals at reasonable valuations.

If you can�find good businesses�that can survive the current crisis, you will do well in the long run.

Moving on, the rupee is currently trading at 75.57 against the�US$.

Gold prices are currently trading up 1.7% at Rs 46,161.

Gold prices in India edged lower in yesterday's trade though it remained in a narrow range.

On MCX, June gold futures fell about Rs 30 to Rs 45,340 per 10 gram, extending losses to the third day.

Gold prices had fallen about Rs 426 per 10 gram in the previous session. Silver futures also gave up early gains and were down 0.1% to 41,803 per kg.

In global markets, gold prices edge higher today after a sharp fall in the previous session.

Spot gold climbed 0.3% to US$1,690.19 per ounce, after a 1% fall in the previous session. Despite bleak economic data, the dollar's strength is weighing on gold.

The US dollar today touched a more than one-week high against a basket of major currencies. Besides firmer dollar, some bullion refineries restarted have production, easing supply-side concerns.

Moving on to mutual funds sector. Investors pumped Rs 837.8 billion in equity-oriented mutual fund (MF) schemes in FY20, registering a decline of 25% from the Rs 1.11-trillion inflows in the preceding year.

However, this was the sixth successive year of net inflows in equity mutual funds, according to data by the Association of Mutual Funds in India.

The flows into equity funds in the last fiscal were lower than the flows in 2018-19 primarily because of the equity markets displaying volatility, which made some investors take a break from making fresh equity investments.

Net inflows in these funds were Rs 1.7 trillion in FY18, Rs 703.7 billion in FY17, Rs 740.2 billion in FY16, and Rs 710.3 billion in FY15. However, they had witnessed a net outflow of Rs 92.7 billion in FY14.

To know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent�share market updates here.

Share markets in India are presently trading on a positive note. Benchmark indices advanced today tracking firm global cues.

Further, talks of an economic stimulus for small businesses battered by the coronavirus outbreak improved sentiment.

Reportedly, the government may unveil fiscal stimulus amounting to 0.3% of the country's gross domestic product, focusing on small and medium sized businesses, real estate firms and banks.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 524 points while the NSE Nifty is trading up by 146 points.

The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index are trading up by 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed with stocks in the energy sector and telecom sector witnessing buying interest, while power stocks are witnessing selling pressure.

The rupee is currently trading at 75.44 against the US$.

Gold prices are currently trading down by 0.1% at Rs 46,134.

Speaking of the current stock market scenario, after a sharp rally in the past few weeks, the markets have turned volatile again.

You would be interested in knowing when the market will likely bottom out.

Vijay Bhambwani, editor of Weekly Cash Alerts, has the answer and he has recorded a video about it.

You can check the same here - This is When the Stock Market Will Bottom Out

Moving on, market participants are tracking Shree Cement share price, TCI Express share price, and SBI Cards and Payment Services share price as these companies are scheduled to announce their March quarter results (Q4FY20) later today.

You can read our recently released Q4FY20 results of other companies here: Ambuja Cement, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Marico, Kansai Nerolac, NIIT Technologies, Persistent Systems, SKF India.

In news from the banking sector, public sector banks (PSBs) sanctioned loans worth Rs 5.66 lakh crore for the March-April period to 41.81 lakh accounts, according to the finance ministry.

The borrowers represented the micro small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs), retail, agriculture and corporate sectors.

Reportedly, PSB loans amounting to Rs 265 billion have been sanctioned in 2.37 lakh cases for MSMEs.

This is part of the PSB initiative to prioritise pre-approved emergency credit lines and enhanced working capital requirements to the sector.

Meanwhile, PSBs sanctioned loans worth Rs 773.8 billion to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and housing finance companies (HFCs) between March 1 and May 4.

Including the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) targeted long term repo operations (TLTRO) window, PSBs extended Rs 1.08 lakh crore of financing to ensure business stability and continuity.

The finance ministry said that the three-month loan moratorium facility announced by the RBI has been availed by 3.2 crore PSB accounts.

On Thursday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Indian economy is poised to recover from the recent crisis brought upon by the coronavirus pandemic with PSB sanctioning loans worth Rs 5.66 lakh crore in just two months.

Speaking of the banking sector, the low access to credit for micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) tells us there is a huge opportunity for lenders.

This is evident from the chart below:

India's Huge Lending Opportunity

Of the 60 million MSMEs in India, only 11% had access to credit from organised lenders. Most of them are self-financed or get credit from unorganised sources.

Here's what Tanushree Banerjee wrote about this in one of the editions of The 5 Minute WrapUp...

• Self-financing limits the growth of these MSMEs. On the other hand, high interest rates from unorganised sources makes it difficult for them to earn profits.
  
  The Modi government is looking at various ways to correct this problem. Mudra loans, online loans facilities are being made available to MSMEs.
  
  Slowly but surely, lenders are sensing the huge opportunity that lies ahead for this sector.
  
  Banks and other financial firms with prudent lending practices and strong distribution networks will benefit from this megatrend.

Tanushree is counting on 7 top stocks from the Indian stock market that will benefit from this megatrend.

As per her, now is the right time to buy these stocks to profit from the Rebirth of India. You can read about them here.

Moving on to news from the FMCG sector, shares of Hindustan Unilever (HUL) rose 4% today after institutional investors bought stake in the company via open market on Thursday.

The NSE bulk deal data showed that foreign portfolio investor Societe Generale, a French multinational investment bank and financial services company, bought 129 million shares of HUL at an average price of Rs 1,902.

UK-based Glaxo-SmithKline (GSK) offloaded its stake in HUL via block deals, yesterday.

According to the term sheet, over 133 million shares were offered in the range of Rs 1,850-1,950 to investors through a special block window.

The deal is valued roughly between Rs 246 billion to Rs 259 billion.

Note that last week, HUL reported a 7% decline in volumes in Q4FY20. The company's profit before tax fell 10.6% to Rs 19.9 billion, while net profit declined 1.2% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 15.2 billion.

HUL share price is presently trading up by 3%.

To know more about the company, you can HUL's latest result analysis on our website.

And to know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.

BANDHAN BANK LTD share price has plunged 5% and is presently trading at Rs 262.

Meanwhile, the BSE BANKEX Index is at 22,880 (up 0.1%).

Among the top losers in the BSE BANKEX Index today are BANDHAN BANK LTD (down 5.0%) and RBL BANK LTD (down 8.1%).

ICICI BANK (up 2.0%) and KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK (up 1.4%) are among the top gainers today.

Over the last one year, BANDHAN BANK LTD has moved down from Rs 590 to Rs 262, registering a loss of Rs 328 (down 55.5%)..

The BSE BANKEX has moved down from 32,704 to 22,880, loss of 9,824 points (down 30.0%) during the last 12 months.

What About the Benchmark Indices?

The BSE Sensex is at 32,089 (up 0.7%). The top gainers among the BSE Sensex stocks today are HUL (up 4.0%). The most traded stocks in the BSE Sensex are ICICI BANK and RELIANCE IND..

In the meantime, NSE Nifty is at 9,383 (up 0.8%). DR. REDDYS LAB (up 4.3%) and HUL (up 4.3%) are among the top gainers in NSE Nifty.

Over the last 12 months, the BSE Sensex has moved down from 38,277 to 32,089, registering a loss of 6,188 points (down 17.24%).

BANDHAN BANK LTD Financial Update...

BANDHAN BANK LTD net profit stood at Rs 7 billion for the quarter ended December 2019, compared to a profit of Rs 3 billion a year ago. Operating income rose 64.7% to Rs 27.2 billion during the period as against Rs 16.5 billion in October-December 2018.

For the year ended March 2019, BANDHAN BANK LTD reported 45.0% increase in net profit to Rs 19.5 billion compared to net profit of Rs 13.5 billion during FY18.

Revenue of the company grew 38.4% to Rs 66 billion during FY19.

The current Price to earnings ratio of BANDHAN BANK LTD, based on rolling 12 month earnings, stands at 9.3x.

This article (BANDHAN BANK LTD Plunges by 5%; BSE BANKEX Index Up 0.1%) is authored by Equitymaster.

Equitymaster is a leading 'independent' equity research initiative focused on providing well-researched and unbiased opinions on stocks listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Share price of RBL Bank fell up to 8.77% to Rs 117.6 compared to the previous close of Rs 128.90 on BSE

For the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2020, ICICI Bank reported a 26 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 1,221 crore compared to Rs 969 crore a year ago

In a letter to Banerjee, Shah accused the Bengal government of not allowing "shramik (worker)" trains to reach Bengal and warned that non-cooperation would create hardship for state's migrants

ICICI Bank's board also approved issuances of bonds/notes/offshore Certificate of Deposits in overseas markets up to $3 billion in single or multiple tranches for a period of one year

Dalal Street expects ICICI Bank to report healthy earnings in Q4

The crisis served as a wake-up call for banks whose digital operations were growing at a snail's pace. They have started embracing the change

SIR-Network Model - new mathematical model offers a simplified approach to studying the spread of dengue fever in urban areas. The model is

The current outbreak of dengue is spreading fast to the outlying districts paralleling with the people traveling from Dhaka to the different districts on the eve of Eid.

Rivaroxaban lowers the chance of serious thromboembolism more in people recovering from orthopedic surgery requiring immobilization compared to Enoxaparin,

On February 20, 2020, Malta's Commissioner for Revenue said tax payments by bank draft or check issued by foreign banks will no longer be accepted.

New Zealand is the easiest place in the world to do business, according to the World Bank's new Doing Business 2020 report, which looks at the simplicity of setting up, operating, and paying taxes in 190 territories around the world.

New Zealand is the easiest place in the world to do business, according to the World Bank's new Doing Business 2020 report, which looks at the simplicity of setting up, operating, and paying taxes in 190 territories around the world.

The Isle of Man's 2018 Budget maintains the zero percent company tax rate, and announces a banking tax review, which will look at taxing all banking profits at the 10 percent rate from next year.

New study uses photovoice methodology and qualitatively compares citizens' perceptions about the food environment in three Bilbao neighborhoods with different socioeconomic levels.

Study finds irrigation more common on city farms than rural farms, intensifying water demands in sprawling urban zones.

Dr Claudia W. Sadoff announced as IWMI's next director general.

Current wastewater nutrient recovery technologies have made significant progress. In the case of phosphorous, recovery rates range from 25% to 90%.

Top 10 travel destinations have remained mostly consistent over the past decade, with London, Paris, and Bangkok taking the top three spots, according to a new report.

About 60 percent of the region’s people are employed by the agricultural sector, which depends almost entirely on irrigation.

San Francisco is the first U.S city that bans the sale of e-cigarettes, a measure that affects both brick-and-mortar stores and online retailers. The

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive, chronic disorder in which the body's immune system attacks the central nervous system, resulting in multiple

Current wastewater nutrient recovery technologies have made significant progress. In the case of phosphorous, recovery rates range from 25% to 90%.

The main aim of the MENAdrought project is to empower decision-makers across Jordan, Lebanon and Morocco to anticipate, prepare for and mitigate drought impacts in a context of increasing climate change, in order to reduce risks of food and water insecurity.

Recent research conducted by IWMI, in collaboration with the IFPRI and IFAD, finds that the poorest are likelier to migrate when increases in incomes are accompanied by increases in local income inequalities.

For the phone app to be effective and sustainable, it must only be regarded as being a part of a more integrated approach to development and codesigned with the end users.

Should strike be allowed by medical professionals such as doctors? This debate is currently creating a tug of war betwe

Current Polish legislation on abortion is very restrictive. It bans all terminations except when the pregnancy results from rape or incest, poses a health

Ban on genetic discrimination including in the workplace or by health insurers will soon be implemented in Canada. The move comes almost a decade

Poland has one of Europe's most restrictive abortion laws. Passed in 1993, the current legislation bans all terminations unless there was rape or incest,

The coastal region of Bangladesh is prone to natural disasters and these events are expected to worsen as a result of climate change.

While wealthier people have chosen alternatives to urban nursing homes, the urban poor still depend on them for long-term care. A new study led by researchers

Patients are positively influenced by hospital advertising and a blanket ban on hospital advertising can lead to hospital readmissions, reveals a new study.

Haemophilia patient's urinary bladder was reconstructed at the privately-run Fortis hospital through surgery; an official said. "The surgery was

Private hospital in bangalore has deployed two robots to screen patients and protect healthcare warriors from coronavirus. "The 'mitra' robots interact

At a time when Indian yoga camps are spreading far and wide in Britain, two churches here have banned a group from condu

Gender-based abortions will continue to be banned in India with the Bombay High Court, in Maharashtra, a western Indian

In a major policy decision the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the USA has lifted the ban on gay and bisexual men

Teen boys who have lower resources in urban communities have surprisingly fewer incidents of sexual violence, youth violence, and bullying in the presence of adult social support.

ICICI Bank Limited has informed the Exchange regarding 'Information for the half year ended March 31, 2020'.......