The Evening Wrap: RBI increases policy rates in sudden move; Sensex plummets 1,300 points

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in a sudden move on Wednesday raised the policy repo rate by 40 basis points (bps) to 4.4% and the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points to 4.5%. Making an unscheduled announcement, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the RBI met in an off-cycle meet and decided to increase the policy rates to curb rising inflation. Despite the rate increase, the RBI would maintain its ‘accommodative’ stance, even as the fundamentals of the Indian economy remained strong, he stated. The RBI said the increase in the policy repo rate would take effect immediately. Consequently, the standing deposit facility (SDF) rate stands adjusted to 4.15% and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 4.65%. “The MPC also decided to remain accommodative while focussing on withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that inflation remains within the target going forward, while supporting growth,” the RBI said in a statement. “These decisions are in consonance with the objective of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4% within a band of +/- 2%,” it noted. The RBI said since the MPC’s meeting in April 2022, disruptions, shortages and escalating prices induced by geopolitical tensions and sanctions have persisted and downside risks have risen. “Heightened uncertainty surrounds the inflation trajectory, which is heavily contingent upon the evolving geopolitical situation. Global commodity price dynamics are driving the path of food inflation in India, including prices of inflation-sensitive items that are impacted by global shortages due to output losses and export restrictions by key producing countries,” the central bank pointed out. However, the RBI Governor sought to allay fears of the impact of higher interest rates on growth, saying: “Our monetary policy actions today – aimed at lowering inflation and anchoring inflation expectations – will strengthen and consolidate the medium-term growth prospects of the economy”. He pointed out that sustained high inflation ‘inevitably hurts savings, investment, competitiveness and output growth’. Meanwhile, following the RBI announcement, equities went into a tailspin. The 30-share BSE Sensex came under massive selling pressure, closing 1,306.96 points or 2.29% down at a two-month low of 55,669.03. This was its third straight session of loss. On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty tanked 391.50 points or 2.29 per cent to finish at 16,677.60. The market capitalisation of all BSE-listed companies tumbled by ₹6.27 lakh crore to stand at ₹2,59,60,852.44 crore. Bajaj Finance was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack, tumbling 4.29%, followed by Bajaj Finserv, Titan, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Maruti and RIL. Supreme Court restates plan to study legality of govts filing incriminating material in sealed covers The Supreme Court on Wednesday, in the Media One ban case, reiterated its intention to examine the legality of governments filing incriminating material in sealed covers without sharing the information with the accused/other party. The court allowed the Central government more time to file its counter giving reasons for banning Kerala-based news channel Media One. The issue of “sealed cover jurisprudence” came up in the previous hearing on March 15, when the Centre wanted to pass on to the court its internal files regarding the ban in a sealed cover. But the Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud had objected to the government’s move, asking why the government could not disclose the files to the channel. The court expressed its intention to examine the larger issue of ‘sealed cover jurisprudence’, especially in the background of bans on media houses like Media One. It had asked senior lawyers like Rakesh Dwivedi and Additional Solicitor Generals S.V. Raju and K.M. Nataraj to assist it in the endeavour. Justice Chandrachud had said there were only a “small exception” of cases in which the court, for the benefit of the parties, accepted material in sealed covers. “Like in a case of child sexual abuse,” he pointed out. On Wednesday, senior advocate Dushyant Dave and advocate Haris Beeran, for the media company, urged the court to take up the issue of sealed covers without delay. “In Assam again, the same thing has happened where a sealed cover has been submitted in the case of Gujarat MLA. This needs to be decided authoritatively,” Dave submitted. The court agreed to examine the issue while it gave the Centre four weeks to file its counter affidavit in the Media One case. The court had stayed the telecast ban on Media One on March 15 while keeping open the question whether the internal government files, based on which the media company’s security clearance was not renewed in an order on January 31, 2022, ought to be shared with the media company. The court had questioned the government’s decision to effectively shut down the business of the media house, Madhyamam Broadcasting Limited, which ran Media One, in the name of “national security and public order” without fully disclosing the specific reasons for revoking their security clearance. The Bench had said the company was “surely entitled” to know the “particulars” of the ban. Dave had stated that the court should not allow such bans. “Otherwise, no media or publication is safe. Everybody can be shut down anytime,” he submitted. Mumbai Police detain MNS workers outside Raj Thackeray’s home; 9 held in Pune Mumbai Police on May 4 detained a number of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers gathered outside party chief Raj Thackeray’s residence in Mumbai, a day after the latter urged people to play Hanuman Chalisa on loudspeakers wherever they hear loudspeakers blaring ‘azaan’, officials said. However, MNS functionaries Sandeep Deshpande and Santosh Dhuri managed to quickly leave the spot in a vehicle when a police team tried to catch them. A female police constable fell down while taking action against MNS workers outside Thackeray’s home in the Shivaji Park area. In Pune also, eight to nine MNS workers were detained when they came out of a Hanuman temple after performing ‘aarti’, the officials said. Heavy police security was deployed in Mumbai in the wake of Thackeray’s call for “silencing” loudspeakers atop mosques. Police deployment outside Thackeray’s residence ‘Shivtirth’ in the Shivaji Park area was also enhanced and barricades were placed on the road for smooth traffic movement. MNS functionaries Sandeep Deshpande and Santosh Dhuri were earlier served notices under Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) Section 149 (for preventing cognisable offences). After meeting Raj Thackeray on Wednesday, Deshpande came out and was speaking to reporters when a police team came towards him and tried to take him into custody. However, Deshpande quickly sat in an SUV and left the spot. The police detained some other MNS workers and took them to the Shivaji Park police station in a private taxi, the official said. Those detained were earlier served notices under various CrPC sections as a precautionary measure, he said. In neighbouring Pune, MNS state secretary Ajay Shinde and some others were detained, officials said. “We have detained eight-nine MNS workers, including Shinde, as a precautionary measure after they came out of the Khalkar Maruti temple in the city,” a senior official from Vishwambaug police station said. There was heavy police deployment at key places in Pune. Before being detained, Shinde told reporters that ‘maha aartis’ and recitation of the Hanuman Chalisa were being done at various places in the city, as per directions of MNS chief Raj Thackeray. “We performed the ‘maha aarti’ and recited Hanuman Chalisa at the Khalkar Maruti temple,” said Shinde. Meanwhile, another senior police official said most of the mosques in Pune refrained from playing the early morning ‘azaan’ on loudspeakers, following the Supreme Court guidelines. There was no incident of playing the Hanuman Chalisa on loudspeakers near mosques in Pune during the morning ‘azaan’ time, he said. LIC IPO: Policyholder portion oversubscribed; overall subscription at 67% on day 1 LIC’s public offer, the country’s biggest-ever IPO, saw the policyholders’ portion being oversubscribed on the first day itself on May 3, though overall subscription stood at 67%. The government aims to generate about ₹21,000 crore by selling 3.5% stake in the insurance behemoth. The LIC initial public offering (IPO), open for retail and institutional investors, is set to close on May 9. The issue period also includes bidding on Saturday, May 7. The portion reserved for policyholders was subscribed 1.9 times, while that for employees was fully subscribed during the first day itself, as per data available on the BSE. LIC has fixed the price band at ₹902-949 per equity share for the issue. The offer includes a reservation for eligible employees and policyholders. The retail investors and eligible employees will get a discount of ₹45 per equity share, while policyholders will get a discount of ₹60. However, demand from qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) and non-institutional investors was muted. The non-institutional investors’ portion was subscribed 26% while QIBs’ portion was slightly higher at 33%. Retail Individual Investor category picked up nearly 50 per cent of the 6.9 crore shares set aside for this segment. The share sale is through an offer-for-sale (OFS) of up to 22.13 crore equity shares. The shares are likely to be listed on May 17. LIC has mopped up a little over ₹5,627 crore from anchor investors led primarily by domestic institutions. Anchor Investors (AIs) portion (5,92,96,853 equity shares) was subscribed at ₹949 per equity share. LIC reduced its IPO size to 3.5% from 5% decided earlier due to the prevailing choppy market conditions. Even after the reduced size of about ₹20,557 crore, the LIC IPO is going to be the biggest initial public offering ever in the country. So far, the amount mobilised from the IPO of Paytm in 2021 was the largest ever at ₹18,300 crore, followed by Coal India (2010) at nearly ₹15,500 crore and Reliance Power (2008) at ₹11,700 crore. LIC was formed by merging and nationalising 245 private life insurance companies on September 1, 1956, with an initial capital of ₹5 crore. Its product portfolio comprises 32 individual products (16 participating and 16 non-participating products) and seven individual optional rider benefits. The insurer’s group product portfolio comprises 11 group products. As of December 2021, LIC had a market share of 61.6% in terms of premiums or GWP, 61.4% in terms of new business premium, 71.8% in terms of the number of individual policies issued, and 88.8% in terms of the number of group policies issued. Governor has forwarded NEET exemption Bill to Union Home Ministry, Stalin tells Tamil Nadu Assembly Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday informed the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly that Governor R. N. Ravi has forwarded the NEET exemption Bill to the Union Home Ministry to be sent to the President of India for his assent. Terming the development as ‘historic’, Stalin called upon all parties in the Assembly to come together and take all efforts to ensure that the President gives his assent to the Bill, which was passed for the second time earlier this year after the Governor returned the previous Bill to the Assembly. Stalin informed the Assembly that the Governor’s secretary had spoken to him over the phone on Wednesday afternoon and informed him of the decision. The Chief Minister recalled all the parties [except the BJP] had taken part in the discussion on the Bill and the Assembly passed the Bill for a second time which was sent to the Governor. Following this, Stalin said, he had met the Governor and insisted that he send the Bill without delay to the Home Ministry and had also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah on the issue. Further, MPs of all political parties in the State had given a representation to the President’s office seeking his assent to the Bill, Stalin said. BCCI bans journalist Boria Majumdar for 2 years in Wriddhiman Saha case The BCCI has imposed a two-year ban on journalist Boria Majumdar for bullying senior wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha, barring the sports journalist from interviewing players and entering stadiums in the country. Majumdar won’t be given media accreditation for two years as part of the sanctions ratified by the BCCI Apex Council. On February 25, the BCCI had formed a three-member committee to probe the threat messages given to Saha for declining an interview request. While Saha had initially refused to name the journalist in a series of tweets on February 23, he later identified the journalist as Majumdar while deposing before the three-member committee, which comprised BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla, BCCI treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal and BCCI councillor Prabhtej Singh Bhatia. On May 3, BCCI interim CEO and IPL COO Hemang Amin in a letter to the state units wrote, “Mr Wriddiman Saha has shared screenshots of messages sent by a journalist on social media platform, Twitter, wherein he stated that he felt bullied by the conduct of the said journalist. Mr Saha in the hearing named Mr Boria Majumdar as the journalist.” Amin further stated, “The BCCI Committee considered the submissions by both Mr Saha and Mr Majumdar and concluded that the actions by Mr Majumdar were indeed in the nature of threat and intimidation.” According to Amin, the said committee recommended three sanctions to the Apex Council, which were agreed and imposed on Majumdar. The sanctions imposed are – two-year ban on getting any accreditation as a member of the press in any of the cricket matches (domestic and international) in India, two-year ban on getting any interview with any registered players in India and two-year ban on access to any of the BCCI and member associations owned cricket facilities. The top BCCI official has asked all the State units to facilitate the compliance of the sanctions in their respective associations. In Brief Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday met his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Store in Copenhagen and the two leaders took stock of the full range of bilateral relations, discussed ways to deepen developmental cooperation and exchanged views on regional and global developments. Modi, who arrived on Tuesday from Berlin on the second leg of his visit to three European nations, met Store on the sidelines of the second India-Nordic Summit in the Danish capital. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow [logo] The Evening Wrap 04 MAY 2022 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( RBI increases policy rates in sudden move; Sensex plummets 1,300 points, investors lose ₹6.27 lakh crore  Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in a sudden move on Wednesday [raised the policy repo rate by 40 basis points (bps) to 4.4% and the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points to 4.5%](. Making an unscheduled announcement, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the RBI met in an off-cycle meet and decided to increase the policy rates to curb rising inflation. Despite the rate increase, the RBI would maintain its ‘accommodative’ stance, even as the fundamentals of the Indian economy remained strong, he stated. The RBI said the increase in the policy repo rate would take effect immediately. [Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das delivers a statement on May 4, 2022. Photo: Twitter/@RBI via PTI] Consequently, the standing deposit facility (SDF) rate stands adjusted to 4.15% and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 4.65%. “The MPC also decided to remain accommodative while focussing on withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that inflation remains within the target going forward, while supporting growth,” the RBI said in a statement. “These decisions are in consonance with the objective of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4% within a band of +/- 2%,” it noted. The RBI said since the MPC’s meeting in April 2022, disruptions, shortages and escalating prices induced by geopolitical tensions and sanctions have persisted and downside risks have risen. “Heightened uncertainty surrounds the inflation trajectory, which is heavily contingent upon the evolving geopolitical situation. Global commodity price dynamics are driving the path of food inflation in India, including prices of inflation-sensitive items that are impacted by global shortages due to output losses and export restrictions by key producing countries,” the central bank pointed out. However, the RBI Governor sought to allay fears of the impact of higher interest rates on growth, saying: “Our monetary policy actions today – aimed at lowering inflation and anchoring inflation expectations – will strengthen and consolidate the medium-term growth prospects of the economy”. He pointed out that sustained high inflation ‘inevitably hurts savings, investment, competitiveness and output growth’. Meanwhile, following the RBI announcement, equities went into a tailspin. The 30-share BSE [Sensex came under massive selling pressure, closing 1,306.96 points or 2.29% down]( at a two-month low of 55,669.03. This was its third straight session of loss. On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty tanked 391.50 points or 2.29 per cent to finish at 16,677.60. The market capitalisation of all BSE-listed companies tumbled by ₹6.27 lakh crore to stand at ₹2,59,60,852.44 crore. Bajaj Finance was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack, tumbling 4.29%, followed by Bajaj Finserv, Titan, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Maruti and RIL. Supreme Court restates plan to study legality of govts filing incriminating material in sealed covers The Supreme Court on Wednesday, in the Media One ban case, [reiterated its intention to examine the legality of governments filing incriminating material in sealed covers]( without sharing the information with the accused/other party. The court allowed the Central government more time to file its counter giving reasons for banning Kerala-based news channel Media One. The issue of “sealed cover jurisprudence” came up in the previous hearing on March 15, when the Centre wanted to pass on to the court its internal files regarding the ban in a sealed cover. But the Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud had objected to the government’s move, asking why the government could not disclose the files to the channel. The court expressed its intention to examine the larger issue of ‘sealed cover jurisprudence’, especially in the background of bans on media houses like Media One. It had asked senior lawyers like Rakesh Dwivedi and Additional Solicitor Generals S.V. Raju and K.M. Nataraj to assist it in the endeavour. Justice Chandrachud had said there were only a “small exception” of cases in which the court, for the benefit of the parties, accepted material in sealed covers. “Like in a case of child sexual abuse,” he pointed out. On Wednesday, senior advocate Dushyant Dave and advocate Haris Beeran, for the media company, urged the court to take up the issue of sealed covers without delay. “In Assam again, the same thing has happened where a sealed cover has been submitted in the case of Gujarat MLA. This needs to be decided authoritatively,” Dave submitted. The court agreed to examine the issue while it gave the Centre four weeks to file its counter affidavit in the Media One case. The court had stayed the telecast ban on Media One on March 15 while keeping open the question whether the internal government files, based on which the media company’s security clearance was not renewed in an order on January 31, 2022, ought to be shared with the media company. The court had questioned the government’s decision to effectively shut down the business of the media house, Madhyamam Broadcasting Limited, which ran Media One, in the name of “national security and public order” without fully disclosing the specific reasons for revoking their security clearance. The Bench had said the company was “surely entitled” to know the “particulars” of the ban. Dave had stated that the court should not allow such bans. “Otherwise, no media or publication is safe. Everybody can be shut down anytime,” he submitted. Mumbai Police detain MNS workers outside Raj Thackeray’s home; 9 held in Pune Mumbai Police on May 4 [detained a number of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers]( gathered outside party chief Raj Thackeray’s residence in Mumbai, a day after the latter urged people to play Hanuman Chalisa on loudspeakers wherever they hear loudspeakers blaring ‘azaan’, officials said. However, MNS functionaries Sandeep Deshpande and Santosh Dhuri managed to quickly leave the spot in a vehicle when a police team tried to catch them. A female police constable fell down while taking action against MNS workers outside Thackeray’s home in the Shivaji Park area. In Pune also, eight to nine MNS workers were detained when they came out of a Hanuman temple after performing ‘aarti’, the officials said. Heavy police security was deployed in Mumbai in the wake of Thackeray’s call for “silencing” loudspeakers atop mosques. Police deployment outside Thackeray’s residence ‘Shivtirth’ in the Shivaji Park area was also enhanced and barricades were placed on the road for smooth traffic movement. MNS functionaries Sandeep Deshpande and Santosh Dhuri were earlier served notices under Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) Section 149 (for preventing cognisable offences). After meeting Raj Thackeray on Wednesday, Deshpande came out and was speaking to reporters when a police team came towards him and tried to take him into custody. However, Deshpande quickly sat in an SUV and left the spot. The police detained some other MNS workers and took them to the Shivaji Park police station in a private taxi, the official said. Those detained were earlier served notices under various CrPC sections as a precautionary measure, he said. In neighbouring Pune, MNS state secretary Ajay Shinde and some others were detained, officials said. “We have detained eight-nine MNS workers, including Shinde, as a precautionary measure after they came out of the Khalkar Maruti temple in the city,” a senior official from Vishwambaug police station said. There was heavy police deployment at key places in Pune. Before being detained, Shinde told reporters that ‘maha aartis’ and recitation of the Hanuman Chalisa were being done at various places in the city, as per directions of MNS chief Raj Thackeray. “We performed the ‘maha aarti’ and recited Hanuman Chalisa at the Khalkar Maruti temple,” said Shinde. Meanwhile, another senior police official said most of the mosques in Pune refrained from playing the early morning ‘azaan’ on loudspeakers, following the Supreme Court guidelines. There was no incident of playing the Hanuman Chalisa on loudspeakers near mosques in Pune during the morning ‘azaan’ time, he said. LIC IPO: Policyholder portion oversubscribed; overall subscription at 67% on day 1 LIC’s public offer, the country’s biggest-ever IPO, saw [the policyholders’ portion being oversubscribed]( on the first day itself on May 3, though overall subscription stood at 67%. The government aims to generate about ₹21,000 crore by selling 3.5% stake in the insurance behemoth. The LIC initial public offering (IPO), open for retail and institutional investors, is set to close on May 9. The issue period also includes bidding on Saturday, May 7. [LIC employees raise slogans against the LIC IPO during their ‘Two-Hour Walkout’ strike in New Delhi on May 4, 2022. ] The portion reserved for policyholders was subscribed 1.9 times, while that for employees was fully subscribed during the first day itself, as per data available on the BSE. LIC has fixed the price band at ₹902-949 per equity share for the issue. The offer includes a reservation for eligible employees and policyholders. The retail investors and eligible employees will get a discount of ₹45 per equity share, while policyholders will get a discount of ₹60. However, demand from qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) and non-institutional investors was muted. The non-institutional investors’ portion was subscribed 26% while QIBs’ portion was slightly higher at 33%. Retail Individual Investor category picked up nearly 50 per cent of the 6.9 crore shares set aside for this segment. The share sale is through an offer-for-sale (OFS) of up to 22.13 crore equity shares. The shares are likely to be listed on May 17. LIC has mopped up a little over ₹5,627 crore from anchor investors led primarily by domestic institutions. Anchor Investors (AIs) portion (5,92,96,853 equity shares) was subscribed at ₹949 per equity share. LIC reduced its IPO size to 3.5% from 5% decided earlier due to the prevailing choppy market conditions. Even after the reduced size of about ₹20,557 crore, the LIC IPO is going to be the biggest initial public offering ever in the country. So far, the amount mobilised from the IPO of Paytm in 2021 was the largest ever at ₹18,300 crore, followed by Coal India (2010) at nearly ₹15,500 crore and Reliance Power (2008) at ₹11,700 crore. LIC was formed by merging and nationalising 245 private life insurance companies on September 1, 1956, with an initial capital of ₹5 crore. Its product portfolio comprises 32 individual products (16 participating and 16 non-participating products) and seven individual optional rider benefits. The insurer’s group product portfolio comprises 11 group products. As of December 2021, LIC had a market share of 61.6% in terms of premiums or GWP, 61.4% in terms of new business premium, 71.8% in terms of the number of individual policies issued, and 88.8% in terms of the number of group policies issued. Governor has forwarded NEET exemption Bill to Union Home Ministry, Stalin tells Tamil Nadu Assembly Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday informed the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly that Governor R. N. Ravi has [forwarded the NEET exemption Bill to the Union Home Ministry]( to be sent to the President of India for his assent. Terming the development as ‘historic’, Stalin called upon all parties in the Assembly to come together and take all efforts to ensure that the President gives his assent to the Bill, which was passed for the second time earlier this year after the Governor returned the previous Bill to the Assembly. Stalin informed the Assembly that the Governor’s secretary had spoken to him over the phone on Wednesday afternoon and informed him of the decision. The Chief Minister recalled all the parties [except the BJP] had taken part in the discussion on the Bill and the Assembly passed the Bill for a second time which was sent to the Governor. Following this, Stalin said, he had met the Governor and insisted that he send the Bill without delay to the Home Ministry and had also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah on the issue. Further, MPs of all political parties in the State had given a representation to the President’s office seeking his assent to the Bill, Stalin said. BCCI bans journalist Boria Majumdar for 2 years in Wriddhiman Saha case The BCCI has [imposed a two-year ban on journalist Boria Majumdar]( for bullying senior wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha, barring the sports journalist from interviewing players and entering stadiums in the country. Majumdar won’t be given media accreditation for two years as part of the sanctions ratified by the BCCI Apex Council. On February 25, the BCCI had formed a three-member committee to probe the threat messages given to Saha for declining an interview request. While Saha had initially refused to name the journalist in a series of tweets on February 23, he later identified the journalist as Majumdar while deposing before the three-member committee, which comprised BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla, BCCI treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal and BCCI councillor Prabhtej Singh Bhatia. On May 3, BCCI interim CEO and IPL COO Hemang Amin in a letter to the state units wrote, “Mr Wriddiman Saha has shared screenshots of messages sent by a journalist on social media platform, Twitter, wherein he stated that he felt bullied by the conduct of the said journalist. Mr Saha in the hearing named Mr Boria Majumdar as the journalist.” Amin further stated, “The BCCI Committee considered the submissions by both Mr Saha and Mr Majumdar and concluded that the actions by Mr Majumdar were indeed in the nature of threat and intimidation.” According to Amin, the said committee recommended three sanctions to the Apex Council, which were agreed and imposed on Majumdar. The sanctions imposed are – two-year ban on getting any accreditation as a member of the press in any of the cricket matches (domestic and international) in India, two-year ban on getting any interview with any registered players in India and two-year ban on access to any of the BCCI and member associations owned cricket facilities. The top BCCI official has asked all the State units to facilitate the compliance of the sanctions in their respective associations. In Brief Prime Minister [Narendra Modi on Wednesday met his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Store]( in Copenhagen and the two leaders took stock of the full range of bilateral relations, discussed ways to deepen developmental cooperation and exchanged views on regional and global developments. Modi, who arrived on Tuesday from Berlin on the second leg of his visit to three European nations, met Store on the sidelines of the second India-Nordic Summit in the Danish capital. 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