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Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan has cautioned investors against fake videos of him circulating on social media, giving investment tips, especially on individual stocks."I understand there are videos of me on various social media purporting to give advice on investing, especially in individual stocks. These are fake and the perpetrators should be reported to the relevant authorities. I do not give investment advice to the public, and have never touted individual stocks," Rajan said. Rajan, who is currently a Professor of Finance at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business said this in a LinkedIn post. The former RBI governor also advised against investing directly in individual stocks or stock options saying that the danger of becoming a lot poorer is much more than people getting lucky and striking it rich. In his post, Rajan suggested investors to have a diversified portfolio of bank deposits, bonds, and stocks (through mutual funds and ETFs). "Each individual has their own financial needs and risk appetite. Furthermore, investors are typically better off holding diversified portfolios of bank deposits, bonds, and stocks (through mutual funds and ETFs) rather than buying individual stocks or stock options. You may be extremely lucky and strike it rich, but more likely, you will be a lot poorer following the latter strategy. Please disregard all videos where I tout specific investments," Rajan said. Rajan is not the only victim of this malice. Earlier NSE had warned investors about fake videos of its CEO and MD Ashishkumar Chauhan recommending stocks, doing the rounds on social media."We observed the use of the face and voice of Ashishkumar Chauhan to falsely create advisory and investment video clips. Such videos seem to have been created using sophisticated technologies to imitate the voice and facial expressions of Ashishkumar Chauhan," NSE had said in a statement.Following this, the exchange requested to take note of the same and verify the information coming from NSE or its officials from only its website as the official information.Later, BSE also cautioned investors against some fake, unauthorised, and fraudulent videos and audio impersonating its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sundararaman Ramamurthy doing the rounds on social media recommending certain investments and advisory in stocks/shares.NSE and market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) have been warning investors to remain wary of such online/ digital media frauds. From time to time, NSE issues releases pertaining to unregistered and illegal operators.Also Read: Stock market frauds on the rise: 6 ways to protect yourself(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

The finance ministry has called a meeting of heads of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) on Tuesday to review progress of various financial inclusion schemes, including PM Vishwakarma, Jan Suraksha and Mudra Yojana. The meeting is scheduled to be chaired by Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi. According to sources, the meeting would review the progress of various flagship schemes, including PM Vishwakarma, StandUp India, PM SVANidhi , among others. Other financial inclusion related issues would also be discussed in the meeting, sources said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September last year launched PM Vishwakarma scheme under which traditional craftsmen and artisans will be provided loan assistance at a minimal interest rate without the need for collateral. With a financial outlay of Rs 13,000 crore for a period of five years, the scheme will benefit about 30 lakh families of traditional artisans and craftsmen, including weavers, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, laundry workers, and barbers. Besides, sources said, targets for PM JanDhan Yojana would be reviewed. Status of inoperative accounts under PMJDY and issuance of RuPay cards will also be reviewed, sources said. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) offers life insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh, in case of death due to any reason, to people in the age group of 18-50 years having a bank or post office account, who give their consent to join or enable auto-debit of premium. On the other hand, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) offers insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh for accidental death or total permanent disability and Rs 1 lakh for partial permanent disability to people in the age group of 18-70 years with a bank or post office account, who give their consent to join or enable auto-debit of premium. In order to promote entrepreneurship at the grass-root level, banks have sanctioned more than Rs 40,700 crore to over 1.80 lakh beneficiaries under StandUp India scheme in seven years. StandUp India, launched on April 5, 2016, with a focus on economic empowerment and job creation, has been extended up to 2025. The scheme aims to encourage all bank branches to extend loans to borrowers belonging to SC, ST and women categories in setting up their own greenfield enterprises. Last year, the government approved the continuation of Prime Minister Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme till December 2024. The scheme was launched in June 2020 by the government as a micro-credit facility with an aim to empower street vendors to recover losses incurred as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Through PM SVANidhi, affordable collateral-free loans are given to street vendors.

The Indian mining company controlled by billionaire Anil Agarwal is considering tapping bond markets for at least $500 million in a debut overseas issuance, according to two people familiar with the proposal.Vedanta Ltd. is discussing the plan with lenders and seeking legal opinions about the potential sale, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing non-public issues.The bond sale could climb to $1 billion depending on the response from investors, according to one of the people. The company is also exploring other avenues of fundraising, including equity sales and local currency loans from domestic banks, the people said.Officials at Vedanta didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.The move comes at a time when four high-yield dollar bonds sold by Vedanta’s parent company, Vedanta Resources Ltd., are the top performers from India so far this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The holding company earlier this year successfully restructured its offshore bonds.Vedanta Ltd. has historically sold local currency bonds and borrowed in rupees from local lenders. Last week, the company’s board approved the sale of 10 billion rupees ($120 million) in local, non-convertible debentures.Vedanta has interests in semiconductors and commodities including aluminum, oil and gas, iron and copper. While largely concentrated in India, it has operations in South Africa, Namibia and Liberia as well.The 2024-25 fiscal year is lining up to be a critical one for Vedanta, Executive Director Arun Misra said during an analysts’ call on April 25, when he discussed plans for $1.9 billion in capex spending. The dollar bond sale would provide revenue for that expansion.In an overhaul announced last year, Agarwal is working to divide the company into six different business units: Vedanta Ltd. would control the semiconductor, zinc and stainless steel business. The company said the split would be completed in the fiscal year ending in March 2025.