Saudi based Islamic bank enters India, first branch in Gujarat

[email protected] (CD Network)
June 1, 2016

Ahmedabad, Jun 1: The Saudi Arabia-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is set to start its India operations from Gujarat. The international financial institution which has its headquarters in Jeddah has chosen the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to set up its first branch in India. The state will also get 30 medical vans as part of IDB's social sector initiatives.

jeddah

Islamic Development Bank headquarters located in Saudi Arabia's Jeddah.

IDB's main objective is to foster the economic development and social progress of member countries as well as the Muslim community in accordance with principles of Shariah (Islamic law). The bank has 56 Islamic countries as its members.

The developments follow an agreement between India's state-owned Exim Bank and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), a private-sector arm of the IDB group, as part of deals signed during Modi's trip to Saudi Arabia in April.

The IDB, a multilateral lender with an authorised capital of $100 billion, counts 56 Muslim nations as its members. Most of these countries belong to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

ISLAMIC BANKING: SOME FACTS 

  • It is a finance system based on the principle of not charging interest, which is prohibited under Islam. Now, it goes by a more formal moniker – participatory banking.
  • Instead of charging interest, the lender shares a part of the profit – or loss – with the borrower
  • It is open to non-Muslims as well
  • By 2020, the global Islamic banking industry profit pool is expected to reach $30.3 billion.

Its India operations will be led by Zafar Sareshwala, a prominent Muslim businessman from Gujarat whom the Modi government appointed chancellor of the Maulana Azad National Urdu University soon after assuming office.

The agreement in Jeddah was signed by Exim Bank regional head Tarun Sharma and ICD CEO Khaled Al Aboodi in the presence of Ahmad Javed, India's ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

To be based in Ahmedabad, the bank will offer interest-free capital to business startups, including small and medium enterprises within India, marking the entry of the Islamic banking – also known as participatory banking – into the country.

According to an Exim Bank statement, the IDB's bigger role will be in the $100 million (about Rs 670 crore) credit line it has pledged “with the aim of facilitating the export of goods and services from India to ICD's member countries”.

“The ICD will be open for business to all Indians, regardless of religious background. In Malaysia, the KFC chain runs on ICD finance although it is owned by a Chinese firm. Some people have this unnecessary issue with Islamic banking, which is actually known as participatory banking across the globe now,” said Sareshwala, who has been named as a director for the bank's India operations.

The IDB has also promised $55m (about Rs 380 crore) for a state-of-the-art rural mobile medical network – the first leg of which will be launched in Gujarat.

The IDB, which complies with global Islamic finance norms, does not charge interest on loans because the religion prohibits it. Instead, it charges a part of the profit and also shares any losses with the borrower.

According to the EY's World Islamic Banking Competitiveness Report 2016, Global Islamic banking assets would have reached US$1 trillion by 2015-end.

Comments

Ahmed
 - 
Thursday, 2 Jun 2016

Poorna Prakash, Mangalore
We have since long following banks
Catholic Syrian Bank
Nakodar Hindu Bank
The Hindu Co-Operative Bank Ltd.

But, you have a problem as soon as we get a Islamic bank.
This is nothing else but, intolerance.

Don't forget another bank: The Hindu Vote Bank.

Rikaz
 - 
Wednesday, 1 Jun 2016

Why feku's state is getting all of those facilities? why don't they bring it to Karnataka....

suresh
 - 
Wednesday, 1 Jun 2016

All the investment only to gujarat? Why? This investment will be mis used by Gujju's as it says if the business in loss it will be shared by both. gujju's are well known how to make them fool. This will create more mallya;s in Gujarat.

moshu
 - 
Wednesday, 1 Jun 2016

Hope one day rss will understand islam well and will follow the rule of Allah

moshu
 - 
Wednesday, 1 Jun 2016

Siddarth mumbai openly backing his hawala racket crooks operating by his modi govt

Naren kotian
 - 
Wednesday, 1 Jun 2016

It is done to curb India's black money outflow and inflow by hawala means ..since 90% of hawala transactions are mostly encouraged by just particular section ...anyways since they have given 100 million credit line ..so we have ample opportunity to export pig related products to 56 Islamic countries ..hahaha ...nia monitoring is must as terrorists are most likely to use this bank ...

muhammed rafique
 - 
Wednesday, 1 Jun 2016

Appreciate Modi's wisdom in realising the importance of Islamic banking

Rizwan
 - 
Wednesday, 1 Jun 2016

Good initiative by P.M , i appreciate his move. Both india and KSA will be benifited by this.

Asif
 - 
Wednesday, 1 Jun 2016

Al Hamdlillah... itrs great news... waiting from a long time... hope it soon opens its branches all over India.

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News Network
March 25,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 24: The state government on Tuesday published names and addresses of 14,000 people who have been placed under home quarantine, on its website.  

A district wise break up of the home quarantine patients was also provided.  

Notably, the number of coronavirus cases has risen to 41 in the state.

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News Network
March 11,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 11: The move by rebel ruling Congress MLAs in Madhya Pradesh to trigger the crisis for the party's government in the state appears to have been in the making for at least close to a month as Karnataka BJP leaders were sounded about hosting them in Bengaluru in advance, sources said.

They also indicated that the 19 rebel MLAs would stay in the city for at least two weeks till an alternative government takes charge in Madhya Pradesh.

A senior Karnataka BJP leader, in charge of the Madhya Pradesh legislators' stay in Bengaluru, received a communication from the party's central leaders about the move nearly 15-20 days ago, the sources involved in the development said on condition of anonymity on Tuesday.

The leader had even gone to New Delhi in the third week of February to meet BJP's central leaders in this regard, they said.

In a massive setback for the Congress, its prominent youth leader Jyotiradtya Scindia quit the party and in a coordinated rebellion on Tuesday 21 MLAs loyal to him resigned in Madhya Pradesh, pushing the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government to the brink of collapse.

As many as 19 Madhya Pradesh MLAs, including six ministers, said to be loyalists of Mr Scindia who appeared set to join BJP, are camping at a resort in Bengaluru. Two of them are women, the sources said.

The MLAs on Tuesday sent their resignation letters via e-mail to Raj Bhavan in Bhopal from Bengaluru.

According to the sources, eight legislators, including an independent, have been staying in the city for about a week now. Of them two - one from Congress and the other an independent MLA - had gone back.

The six were joined by 13 legislators, who landed in the city by a chartered flight on Monday, and all of them are put up in a villa.

The senior Karnataka BJP leader, also an MLA, is looking after their stay and related arrangements on the directions of the party high command, the sources said. Their stay here may be for a couple of weeks.

"There will be a no-confidence motion, and then there will be a trust vote of the new alternative government that will be formed. So they may have to stay here for some time. They may be moved out of their current location," they said.

The Madhya Pradesh legislature session is expected to begin on March 16.

The sources also said the six legislators staying in the city since last week were shifted a couple of times within the city.

Congress in Madhya Pradesh, under the leadership of Kamal Nath, had come to power in December 2018 by ousting the BJP by a narrow margin.

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News Network
July 9,2020

Mangaluru, Jul 9: The National Highway 73 between Mangaluru and Chikmagalur was blocked after a huge tree was uprooted and fell on the road near Somanthadka near Belthangady on Thursday due to heavy rain which has been lashing the region since last three days.

The monsoon rain has shifted from the coastal belt to the hilly region of the Western Ghats leading to closure of major roads after a tree was uprooted.

Karkala BJP MLA Sunil Kumar, who was traveling to Bengaluru had to wait for a long time for the traffic to clear.

Meanwhile Chikkamagaluru Deputy Commissioner Dr Bagadi Gautam imposed ban on movement of vehicles on Charmadi ghat from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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Ajaz
 - 
Thursday, 9 Jul 2020

Hope Hasanabba Charmadi cleared the road.

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