ECONOMY-MCMINIS
Arbitration ruling | Government examining Cairn judgement, sources say
The government has been asked to pay damages at the share value of Rs 330 in 2014, instead of the Rs 220-240 per share price at which it was sold by the Income-Tax Department in 2018, in tranches. The damages also include Rs 1,590 crore of tax refund due to the British company besides the legal fees.
INDIA
Through her public statements, FM Nirmala Sitharaman is preparing markets, rating agencies for an unprecedented budget
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman seems to be preparing the markets for a budget with never before seen fiscal slippage and public spending outlay.
MCMINIS
Monetary Policy: RBI gets a breather
ECONOMY
Govt hopes to complete Shipping Corp privatisation in H1 FY22
The publicly-listed Shipping Corp has a fleet of 59 ships, including container vessels, dry bulk carriers, very large crude carriers, offshore supply vessels and others. Based on Tuesday morning’s price of Shipping Corp shares, the centre’s 63.75 per cent is valued at Rs 2,521 crore.
BUSINESS
CHART | More agencies upgrade India’s FY21 GDP forecast after Q2 data
Four agencies have improved their FY21 GDP forecast for India in the past one week or so. These include Asian Development Bank, State Bank of India, Fitch, and India Ratings.
MCMINIS
Govt to incur lower sugar subsidy bill this year
BUSINESS
‘Google tax’ collected till December 15 exceeds last fiscal year's collection
While in FY20, the tax department collected Rs 1,100 crore in equalization levy, estimates till December 15, exclusively accessed by Moneycontrol, show that the Centre has garnered Rs 1,151.50 crore in 'Google tax' this fiscal year.
TELECOM
Cabinet approves spectrum auction; to take place in March
After four years, the government is set to auction telecom spectrum, at a time when receipts from such auctions are much needed when tax and other sources of revenue are hit due to COVID-19.
ECONOMY
We are breaking down barriers in the agriculture sector: PM Modi
Amidst raging protests by farmers on the borders of Delhi and other parts of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi defended the farm sector reforms passed by Parliament earlier this year
INDIA
Need to revisit 7th Schedule, Article 282 of Constitution: NK Singh
Fifteenth Finance Commission (FFC) Chairman NK Singh also said a mechanism needs to be created for constant dialogue between the Centre and states on various issues, to fill a vacuum left by the abolition of the Planning Commission.
BUSINESS
Macro Minutes podcast | What we know about the Budget 2021 so far
Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to go big on public spending as economic revival becomes the government's biggest priority.
BUSINESS
EXCLUSIVE | Budget 2021 may allot up to Rs 80,000 crore for Covid-related spend
Additionally, the Narendra Modi government is learnt to have accepted the recommendations of the Fifteenth Finance Commission (15th FC) on the health sector. The recommendations, which will be made public along with the budget, likely include nearly doubling India’s combined public health expenditure as percentage of GDP, and creating a dedicated central cadre of medical professionals.
ECONOMY
Cabinet approves new employment subsidy scheme with lower outlay
The scheme as approved by cabinet seems to have a much lower outlay than what was announced by FM Nirmala Sitharaman in November.
INDIA
Open to further stimulus, assessing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on FY21: Nirmala Sitharaman
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also said the Centre would come out with fresh growth and budgetary estimates for the COVID-19 pandemic-hit 2020-21.
BUSINESS
New privatization policy ready; Cabinet to discuss note on 'strategic sectors' soon
Banking and insurance will be designated as 'strategic sectors', sources told Moneycontrol. Over the long run, the Centre will have only four PSUs in strategic sectors and exit the 'non-strategic sectors' completely
ECONOMY
Interview | RailTel, IRFC IPOs in pipeline; govt has limited bandwidth to back Air India: DIPAM secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey
In an exclusive interview, DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey says plans for FY21 include IPOs of RailTel, IRFC Ltd and WAPCOS Ltd. and the privatisation of Nilanchal Ispat Nigam Ltd plant in Odisha, and the Salem and Bhadravathi steel plants of SAIL Ltd. Pandey also said the government is trying its best to complete the privatisation of Shipping Corp, Concor Ltd, Bharat Earth Movers Ltd and Central Electronics Ltd before March 31, 2021.
ECONOMY
‘Aatmanirbharta’ over export-orientation is ‘akin to killing the goose that lays the golden egg’: Arvind Subramanian
In a research paper, former CEA argues that the Indian domestic market is still quite small, and is likely to remain so over the medium-term, since domestic demand will be weighed down by heavy debts across the economic horizon—in firms, households, and the government.
ECONOMY
IMF says Indian economy likely to fare worse than some global and South Asian peers
The International Monetary Fund, in its World Economic Outlook report late on Tuesday, said that Bangladesh is set to beat India in terms of per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in calender year 2020.
BUSINESS
States willing to borrow need not wait for GST Council decision, says govt official
The Centre has not ruled out further stimulus and no decision has been taken as to whether the finance ministry will challenge the Vodafone tax verdict or not, says the top official
ECONOMY
RBI offers ‘indirect monetisation’ route to states to help with their stretched finances
The RBI’s decision to purchase state bonds in the secondary market through open market operations will provide a boost to the states’ finances at a time when they, just like the centre, are having to deal with a massive revenue crunch and rising expenditure commitments
IPO
Exclusive | LIC IPO may not happen before second quarter of FY22
The government is yet to appoint book running lead managers and legal advisors. An embedded value has to be decided, the insurer has to pare its stake in a number of other listed companies and has to tweak its balance sheets to comply with regulations, and the LIC Act has to be amended in Parliament.
ECONOMY
Farmer protests: Government bets on 'big guns' as it starts nationwide outreach initiative
The government is rolling out the ‘big guns’ including Defence Minister and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s farmer face Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur,
INTERVIEW
Some sectors, worst hit by pandemic, 'require special love and care': Sanjeev Sanyal
The government is considering relief measures for sectors which have been the worst-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, Principal Economic Advisor Sanjeev Sanyal said in an exclusive interview. He said there may be a case of positive GDP growth in Q4 FY21 and a substantial uptick in FY22 due to a low base effect
BUSINESS
Inflation targeting, agriculture, capital markets - the many areas of expertise of the new MPC members
Moneycontrol takes a look at the work and fields of research of Ashima Goyal, Shashanka Bhide and Jayanth Verma
