PNC Bank deal and indian air force's equipment purchase

Biweekly Roundup - Business Deals and Transactions
Saturday December 4th, 2021
Kovid Gopikaramanan 
Punjab National Bank plans to sell National Steel & Agro Industries to recoup Rs 200 crores in debt. 

The state-owned Punjab National Bank has placed a steel and agriculture company in Madhya Pradesh up for sale in order to repay a debt of about Rs 200 crore. The bank has a balance of Rs 199.90 crore owed to National Steel and Agro Industries Ltd. 

In an auction notification, PNB stated that they propose to submit the account for sale to ARCs/NBFCs/other banks/FIs, on the terms and conditions established in the bank's policy, in accordance with regulatory requirements. For the sale procedure, the lender has set a reserve price of Rs 95 crore (on a cash basis). The bank stated that it will make every attempt to bring copies of papers to one location in order to speed the due diligence process for the potential bidder and for the buyer's verification purposes. However, the bank reserves the right to withdraw the account offered for sale at any time, for any reason, it noted. 

PNB has set December 8 as the deadline for the planned diligence exercise to be completed. The deadline for submitting binding bids is December 9, 2021, with the opening date set for December 10, 2021.

The Ministry of Defence has approved the purchase of equipment worth Rs 2,236 crore.

The Defence Ministry on Tuesday accepted a proposal for the Indian Air Force (IAF) to purchase a GSAT-7C satellite and related equipment for Rs 2,236 crore. Officials stated the purchase is being made to improve the IAF's communication network. 

At a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the decision to clear the procurement was made. According to the defence ministry, the DAC granted Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for one capital purchase request of the IAF for its modernization and operational needs of Rs 2,236 crore under the 'Make in India' category.

A statement statedthat the Air Force proposed GSAT-7C satellite and ground hubs for real-time networking of software-defined radios [SDRs] in a procurement proposal. The project entails comprehensive satellite design, development, and launch in India. The satellite will also improve armed forces' ability to communicate over enemy lines. The introduction of the GSAT-7C satellite and ground hubs for software-defined radios [SDRs] would improve our military forces' ability to communicate in a secure manner beyond Line of Sight in all scenarios.