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As Donald Trump prepares to fulfill a lengthy list of campaign promises, the president-elect's vow to ensure that all remaining Bitcoin is "made in the USA" may prove to be one of the most challenging to keep.Trump made the pledge in a post on his Truth Social account in June after meeting at Mar-a-Lago with a group of executives from crypto miners, the companies whose massive, high-tech data centers do the work that facilitates transactions on the blockchain in exchange for compensation paid in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. The gathering was a key juncture in Trump's transformation from a crypto skeptic to one of the industry's strongest allies. "It is a Trump-like comment but it is definitely not in reality," said Ethan Vera, chief operating officer at Seattle-based Luxor Technology, which provides software and services to miners.While seen widely as a symbolic pledge of support, it's near impossible in practice since blockchains are decentralised networks in which no one controls or can be banned from participating in the process. On a practical basis, the sector is becoming increasingly competitive as large-scale operations pop up across the world to get a slice of the tens of billions of dollars in revenue generated each year by the industry.Russian oligarchs, Dubai royal families and Chinese businessmen in Africa are some of the freshest competitors. Deep pockets and access to vast amounts of power are spurring them to join in on the lucrative but energy-intensive process. About 95% of the 21 million Bitcoin that will ever be created have already been minted, though the hard cap on production isn't expected to be met for about 100 years.The Bitcoin mining sector in the US has morphed into a multi-billion dollar industry over the last several years as the token saw exponential increases in prices. However, the total computing power generated from US-based miners is well below 50% and it is impossible to power the entire network by domestic companies, according to industry analysts.While there is no public data to indicate the sources of computing power from each region across the world, large crypto-mining service providers such as Luxor tend to have good insight on the makeup. They have more specific information on mining locations through their software that aggregates computing power to increase chances for miners to get Bitcoin rewards.US miners such as CleanSpark and Riot Platforms were quick to support Trump, banking on the former-president to ease scrutiny on the environmental impact of the high-energy use process, curb competition from overseas and to roll back what they view as restrictive guidelines under the Biden administration. Trump's support of crypto helped to generate about $135 million in campaign contributions during the last election cycle, the most by any one industry.Despite rapid expansion in the US and the latest bull run in the crypto market, economic sanctions by the US and rampant inflation in some emerging economies have spurred overseas miners to ramp up their operations even more."There is huge growth coming up in a few different markets," said Taras Kulyk, chief executive of Synteq Digital, which is one of the largest brokers for specialized computers for Bitcoin mining.

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will impose more regulatory curbs on unsecured lending if banks and finance companies do not mend their ways, it said in the Trends and Progress of Banking report published Thursday. The banking regulator also directed boards of lending entities to fix unsecured exposure levels prudently to prevent systemic risks. The report also highlighted that banks’ profitability rose for the sixth consecutive year and gross bad loans were at a 13-year low in FY24. Still, the RBI expressed concerns over interconnectedness between lending entities and private credit firms, high attrition among private banks, liberal underwriting standards for top-up loans, and rising cyber frauds. At the same time, it advised banks to fix the KYC gaps and closely monitor gold loans and hinted that it would issue directive to prohibit banks from charging pre-payment penalties on floating rate loans taken by small entrepreneurs. Although banks and finance companies have the discretion to set limits on unsecured exposures, “some entities have fixed very high ceilings, which need to be continuously monitored”, the RBI report said. The regulator's worries stem from the fact that even after it raised risk weightage on unsecured loans in November 2023, unsecured loans still constitute one-fourth of commercial banks' books at the end of March 2024. 116692744The RBI added it expects "boards of regulated entities (RE) to show prudence and avoid exuberance in the interest of their own financial health as also systemic financial stability". Justifying its stance, RBI said that even though credit growth has dipped, "delinquency levels and leverage warrant enhanced vigil". On top-up loans, the RBI pointed out that lenders often sanction extra facilities to borrowers with minimal processes and due diligence, generously underwrite loans, follow inadequate fund end-use monitoring, and deviate from loan-to-value (LTV) ratios and risk weights. "The RBI will assess the need, if any, for additional regulatory interventions to mitigate the identified risks in cases of other top-up loans," said the regulator. The central bank also warned about malpractices in the digital lending scape wherein "unscrupulous players in digital lending space, who falsely claim association with RE. Enhanced monitoring and transparency are required." To mitigate this risk, the RBI is in the process of setting up a repository of Digital Lending Apps. On the interlinkage between banks, NBFCs and private credit, the RBI said: "Strong interrelationship between them could give rise to systemic concerns along with the possibility of regulatory arbitrage to circumvent regulations." The regulator said close monitoring "is warranted as their reach expands beyond mid-sized corporate borrowers".The RBI said in its last October policy that it would restrict banks from charging prepayment penalties on floating rate loans of small businessmen to "safeguard customers' interest". At present, banks are not permitted to charge prepayment penalty to individual borrowers for purposes other than business. The RBI expressed concerns over high attrition in banks and finance companies, stating that “high attrition poses significant operational risks, including disruption in customer services and loss of institutional knowledge”. KYC GAPSIt also directed banks to fix certain gaps in know-your-customer, or KYC processes. "Accounts getting frozen and lack of proactive customer assistance have caused operational inefficiencies and customer grievances," the regulator said. The RBI advised banks to closely monitor gold loan portfolios as it continues to observe irregularities in lending processes.

Dr Manmohan Singh was one of those rare people who achieved greatness by dint of hard work and merit, and then found grander greatness thrust upon him. He became the Prime Minister, because the then Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, needed someone trustworthy and capable to occupy the position that was rightfully hers as leader of the majority group after the 2004 general elections but she deemed politic to renounce, for assorted reasons. He thus did not have direct authority from the people, but enjoyed delegated authority, granted by the political party that had won the largest number of seats.Also Read: Manmohan Singh passes away at 92; PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and others mourn former PM's demiseAlso Read: Remembering Dr. Manmohan Singh: A legacy of economic reforms and leadershipIt is commonplace for people to describe Manmohan Singh as the author of India's economic reforms. This is naive. Narasimha Rao brought in Singh as his finance minister, true. But reform is a political task, not a technocratic one. Rao might have had some margin for shifting blame to a finance minister, in case reform turned politically too hot to handle, but there was no way he could have escaped responsibility for whatever policies his government pursued. Prime ministers are the authors of large systemic changes, not finance ministers, finance secretaries, economic advisers or anyone else. They are the ones accountable to the people.116692659Singh should properly be recognised as the champion of India's coming out as a global power. This he did by doggedly pursuing the nuclear deal with the US. President George W Bush had clarity that India was the only power in Asia that could possibly countervail a rising China, and wanted to free India from the technology denial regime into which post-nuclear test sanctions had caged India. Within the political class, few understood the significance of the nuclear deal beyond its potential to ease supplies of uranium for nuclear power plants. Singh had clarity that India needed the deal to end technology denial and be free to acquire the strategic capability it needed to emerge a significant power.116692666Within the political class, only the Congress supported the deal. The BJP vehemently opposed the deal. When the Left withdrew support, and the continuance of the government came into question, most Congressmen, too, were willing to abandon the deal. Only Singh defended the deal stoutly. To her credit, Sonia Gandhi chose to back him. Then, the Congress machinery got to work and got the numbers to sail through the vote of no confidence.116692675India became a quasi-member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. It joined the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Wassenaar Arrangement on dual technologies and the Australia Group on chemical weapons and precursor chemicals. Large US companies like Boeing felt confident to invest in India and accept Indian companies as partners. Strategic cooperation with the US began, in the wake of the nuclear deal.116692680By having clarity on what was at stake, and choosing to exercise his delegated authority to the hilt, Singh got the nuclear deal through, and opened the door to India's rise as a major power centre.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh passed away at the age of 92 after he was admitted to AIIMS Delhi's emergency department on Thursday. Singh was brought to the emergency department on Thursday evening in a critical condition after "sudden loss of consciousness", AIIMS Delhi said. Singh had retired from Rajya Sabha in April. He was sworn in as the Prime Minister on 22nd May after the 2004 general elections and took the oath of office for a second term on 22nd May 2009.Singh served as the finance minister in the then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao-led dispensation from 1991-1996, is credited as a key architect of the economic reforms effected by the government that broke the stranglehold of socialist-era policies.In his political career, Singh has been a member of the Rajya Sabha since 1991, where he was Leader of the Opposition between 1998 and 2004.He joined the Government of India as Economic Advisor in the Commerce Ministry in 1971 and was soon promoted to Chief Economic Advisor in the Finance Ministry in 1972. After a short stint at the UNCTAD Secretariat, he was appointed Secretary General of the South Commission in Geneva from 1987-1990. In addition, Dr Singh also held the positions of Secretary in the Finance Ministry, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Advisor to the Prime Minister and Chairman of the University Grants Commission.Dr Singh has been a Member of the Rajya Sabha since 1991, where he was Leader of the Opposition from 1998-2004. Following, victories in 2004 and 2009, he took the Office of Prime Minister on May 22, 2004 and again on May 22, 2009.Manmohan Singh has been awarded with Padma Vibhushan in 1987, the Euro Money Award for Finance Minister of the Year in 1993, the Asia Money Award for Finance Minister of the Year in both 1993 and 1994 and the Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award of the Indian Science Congress in 1995.One of the key decisions Manmohan Singh took as PM included the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) (2005), a flagship program that guaranteed 100 days of wage employment per year to rural households.His government also launched the Right to Information Act in 2005 to strengthen transparency and accountability in governance by granting citizens the right to access information held by public authorities. In 2013, his government launched the National Food Security Act to ensure subsidized food grains to approximately two-thirds of India’s population.Manmohan Singh's defining 1991 BudgetAmidst an economic downfall, a crisis in the Gulf and an instable political landscape, India was introduced to a new, liberal economy in the year 1991. The then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh had presented the Union Budget 1991-92 under the P.V. Narsimharao government. "I present to you the budget of 1991-92", said Minister Singh, when he stood to present the union budget that would take the Indian economy into the direction of liberalisation, globalisation and privatisation. The budget marked a significant shift towards a markets-focused economy. This paved the way for rapid economic growth in the decades that followed. Additionally, the 1991 Budget was dedicated to India's former Prime Minister Rajeev Gandhi, and is often remembered for FM Singh's powerful Budget speech, that reverberated in the Indian Parliament.