Karnataka order on Rs 49,000 cr farm loan waiver soon
Bengaluru, July 30 : Karnataka will soon issue an official order with guidelines to waive off agricultural loans worth Rs 49,000 crore, giving relief to distressed farmers across the state, said an official statement on Monday.
"An official order on guidelines will be issued soon to waive agricultural loans to the tune of Rs 49,000 crore," said the statement from the Chief Minister's Office.
Earlier, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has directed Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Zilla Parishads (local bodies) in all the 30 districts across the state to implement the waiver scheme transparently.
"The Chief Minister has cautioned the DCs and CEOs on the role of middlemen who try to misuse the waiver scheme and misguide the farmers," added the statement.
Addressing a two-day conference of DCs and CEOs from all the districts here, Kumaraswamy directed them to redress public grievances, visit talukas (local bodies) and clear the files at the earliest.
Though the Chief Minister first announced Rs 34,000 crore crop loan waiver from the state's co-operative banks in the state budget on July 5, the relief was subsequently extended to farmers who raised loans from state-run banks as well.
Total loans amounting to Rs 49,000 crore to be waived include about Rs 38,000 crore crop loans granted to the farmers by state-owned banks and about Rs 9,500 crore of current loans.
The Chief Minister advised the district officials to provide skill development training to unemployed youth.
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ED arrests Sandeepa Virk, 'cosmetologist' for alleged money laundering
New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate said on Wednesday it has arrested a woman, who claims to be an actor and a cosmetologist, under the anti-money laundering law in a case of alleged fraud and misrepresentation.
The agency said the purported links of the woman, Sandeepa Virk, with a Reliance Group executive, Angarai Natarajan Sethuraman (President, Corporate Affairs), are also under its scanner. Sethuraman, in a statement, denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Virk was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Tuesday after searches were conducted against her and her associates in Delhi and Mumbai over the last two days.
A special court sent her to the ED's custody till August 14, the agency said. The woman claims to be the owner of a skin care products selling website named hyboocare.com, which the ED claimed was a "front" for money laundering.
She and her associates are being probed for allegedly exerting undue influence through "misrepresentation" and "defrauding" individuals by soliciting money under false pretences.
According to an Instagram ID of Virk, she is an actor and entrepreneur and the founder of the said website.
The federal agency said in a statement that the woman was also "in touch with" Sethuraman, former director of erstwhile Reliance Capital Limited.
She was communicating with him regarding "illegal liaisoning", the ED claimed, adding that the searches at Sethuraman's residence "confirmed" these allegations.
"Besides, diversion of funds for personal benefit has also been unearthed during the course of the search action," it said.
The ED alleged that public money worth about Rs 18 crore belonging to Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL) was disbursed to Sethuraman in 2018 by "flouting" prudent lending norms.
The funds were lent under terms that allowed a deferment of the principal amount as well as the interest, with multiple waivers granted and no due diligence conducted, it said.
The ED claimed that besides this, a home loan of Rs 22 crore was provided by Reliance Capital Limited by "violating" the prudential norms. "A large part of these loans are seen to have been eventually siphoned off and remained unpaid," it alleged.
Sethuraman, in a statement, dismissed the allegations as "baseless". He denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Detailing about Virk's web portal, the agency said it purportedly sold FDA-approved beauty products. However, the ED said the products listed on the website have been found to be non-existent and the portal lacks a user registration option and is plagued by persistent payment gateway issues.
A scrutiny of the website uncovered minimal social-media engagement, an inactive WhatsApp contact number and an absence of transparent organisational details, all of which reinforce the finding of "non-genuine" commercial activity, the ED claimed.
"These factors, including limited product range, inflated pricing, false claims of FDA approval and technical inconsistencies, indicate that the website serves as a front for laundering funds," it said.
Another social media-hosted bio data of the woman said she is a certified cosmetologist.
The ED said several "incriminating" documents were seized during the searches and the statement of a man named Farrukh Ali, stated to be an associate of Virk, was recorded.
The money-laundering case stems from an FIR lodged by the Punjab Police.
Sethuraman said that the home loan he received from Reliance Capital was granted following due process and was secured by the property offered as collateral.
