BUSINESS
India’s e-commerce policy likely to be on backburner amid sluggish FDI inflows
Latest data from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade revealed that India’s net FDI inflows contracted 3.5 percent year-on-year in FY24 to $44.42 billion, the lowest in five years.
BUSINESS
PLI scheme overhaul plan includes quarterly disbursals, addition of vaccines, chemicals
The government is also mulling bringing new sectors into the fold of the incentive-linked plan such as toys, footwear, chemicals, and vaccines. Apart from this, there are plans to bring in another PLI scheme for electronics.
INDIA
Announce BPCL refinery for Andhra Pradesh in Budget 2024, Naidu tells Centre
The Andhra Pradesh government said the establishment of the refinery in the state “will augur well for increasing the refinery capacity of the country” and will help India in becoming a developed nation.
INDIA
India may review rice export ban in September if the rain gods smile
The rainfall deficit in June is not likely to impact rice production given that most of the sowing happens in July and August. However, the distribution of the monsoon in July-September will be crucial for rice production.
BUSINESS
Labour Party win paves the way for inking India-UK FTA by Oct with minor tweaks
However, with the change in regime in the UK, a few minor adjustments in the trade pact on matters such as curtailing number of visas for India professionals are likely, said GTRI's founder Ajay Srivastava.
BUSINESS
Govt, RBI mull giving e-commerce players up to 15 months for FX payment realisation
Easing the RBI's FEMA guidelines in this regard would benefit e-commerce players which, in addition to selling directly to consumers, also export goods, store them in warehouses abroad, and sell them after a year or more
BUSINESS
Neither conservative, nor optimistic, realistic tax targets in Budget 2024 is key to fiscal prudence
Given that Budget 2024 is expected to deliver more on welfare, the government may want to be more accurate with its revenue projections in a bid to design public expenditure better.
BUSINESS
India may grant PLI-led visas for Chinese experts for only up to 6 months
The idea is to fast-track visas for Chinese technicians for shorter durations so that Indian workers can be trained by them on how to use the parts and machineries sourced from Beijing. This move comes amid delays in facilitating entry of such vendors involved in projects, especially ones pertaining to the PLI scheme.
BUSINESS
Govt may discontinue monthly GST releases; shorter statement on the cards
The finance ministry may alter the way it presents GST collections data on the first day of every month, and replace the earlier detailed format of the statement with a more succinct version.
BUSINESS
Ban on India's sugar exports may stay in place till at least October: Official
Despite the restrictions, however, the average retail price for a kilogram of sugar on the last day of June was slightly higher than what prevailed on the same day a year earlier.
BUSINESS
India bets on higher foreign inflows, lower borrowing costs on the eve of JP Morgan bond index inclusion
Indian sovereign bonds will become part of JP Morgan’s Global Government Bond Index – Emerging Market (GBI-EM) on June 28, concluding decade-long efforts to secure the inclusion and attract more foreign fund inflows. While this development promises higher FPI participation and lower domestic borrowing costs, it also raises concerns about “hot money” flows.
TECHNOLOGY
Flipkart stops sellers from changing prices of items in alleged violation of FDI policy
According to sources close to the developments, Flipkart might be preventing price changes as a strategy to force sellers to pass on the benefits of lower commissions — charged to sellers in its new rate card — to consumers
BUSINESS
Andhra to submit revised cost proposal to restart Amaravati, Polavaram projects to Centre
The Naidu government plans to request the Centre to resume payments under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, said to be halted during the YSR Congress Party's tenure. This after estimating the inflation-adjusted cost required to restart these projects.
BUSINESS
Amid limited revenue options, states may resist fuel inclusion in GST
Jet fuel and natural gas are more likely to be included under GST than petrol and diesel, given their minimal revenue impact on states.
BUSINESS
Indian exporters may face higher costs once EU's ecodesign norms kick in
Higher compliance costs could eat into the price advantage Indian exporters currently enjoy. However, there are still two years to understand the broad contours and adapt to the new norms.
BUSINESS
Fading Russian oil discounts adding to India's widening trade deficit woes
India's goods trade deficit widened to a seventh-month high of $23.78 billion in May. One of the leading causes for the higher gap was a significant jump in the oil import bill. And, one of the reasons for this jump is more expensive Russian oil purchases.
BUSINESS
Govt may hike exemption limit under new tax regime to Rs 5 lakh; relief unlikely for the rest
The government may not tinker with rates under the old tax regime despite requests to increase the threshold for the highest tax slab to Rs 20 lakh. This is to ensure that more people are incentivised to move towards the new regime that discourages exemptions and rebates.
BUSINESS
Commerce ministry's 100-day agenda includes FTA with Oman, SOP for trade talks
Speaking of FTAs, the commerce ministry, on June 14, said that outstanding issues around the trade deal with UK will be resolved once the general elections in Britain are over.
BUSINESS
India's merchandise trade deficit widens to $23.78 billion in May
While exports rose nearly 9 percent from April to $38.13 billion in May, imports shot up 14.45 percent to $61.91 billion
WORLD
UK's Labour Party manifesto says it will seek new strategic ties with India, including FTA
Ahead of the 2024 general elections in United Kingdom (UK), the Labour party released their manifesto on June 13 outlining the programme for the government for the next five years. The party will also focus on deepening co-operation with India in areas like security, education, technology and climate change, as per the manifesto.
BUSINESS
Private capex still on sidelines; may pick up towards 2024-end: Fitch Ratings' Zook
Zook said that though public capex has been supportive, if the government is hoping to consolidate, then the strong growth impetus seen so far may fade.
BUSINESS
India bond inclusion may not lower borrowing costs aggressively: Fitch Ratings' Jeremy Zook
Zook added that the potential volatility from hot money flows are likely to be limited as well since the increase in foreign participation, on account of inclusion of Indian bonds in global indices, is expected to be relatively modest in the foreseeable future.
BUSINESS
India's fiscal strategy beyond FY26 key to any positive rating action, says Fitch's Jeremy Zook
The government is looking to bring its fiscal deficit target to below 4.5 percent of GDP by FY26 and is targeting 5.1 percent in the ongoing financial year. According to Fitch Ratings' Zook, the upcoming Budget is likely to see a slight shift in the composition of spending with more thrust on social measures, but that will not have any impact on the government's fiscal consolidation path.
BUSINESS
Spending rejigs to aid welfare spend while maintaining fiscal prudence in Budget 2024: Sources
One way to use the higher RBI dividend could be to lower the fiscal deficit target further, given that there is scope to reorient spending towards schemes that boost consumption. The full Budget will be presented on July 23.
