ECONOMY
FM Nirmala Sitharaman expects retail inflation to be within MPC's comfort range going ahead
The finance minister also said that the next meeting of Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council will deal with the details of extension of compensation to states beyond 2022.
ECONOMY
TN becomes first state this fiscal year to cut petrol prices; will Centre now bite the bullet?
Tamil Nadu cutting petrol prices could be an indication to other opposition-ruled states to do the same. This could also force the hand of BJP-ruled states and the central government.
ECONOMY
Retail inflation cools to 5.59% in July, comes back to within MPC's target range
For the two months of May and June, CPI inflation was above the MPC's target band. It was 6.30 percent in May, as food prices had hardened, and transportation costs rose due to higher petrol and diesel prices and localised lockdowns. Headline retail inflation had cooled slightly to 6.26 percent in June.
ECONOMY
We are committed to meeting divestment target for FY22: FM Sitharaman
Speaking at the annual conclave of industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Sitharaman said that the centre is committed to carrying out privatisation of companies like Air India, Bharat Petroleum, BEML, Shipping Corp, Container Corp, and others this year itself. The divestment target for 2021-22 is Rs 1.75 lakh crore.
ECONOMY
Repeal of retro tax to boost trust between industry, govt: PM Modi
Speaking at the annual summit of industry body Confederation of Indian Industries, PM Modi said that the reforms undertaken by the centre over the years show that the the government has carried out reforms not out of compulsion but because of conviction.
COMPANIES
Private sector ‘animal spirits’ still missing, more investment needed: Revenue Secretary
Addressing the annual summit of industry body CII, Tarun Bajaj said that the resilience shown by India Inc through its corporate results was not translating to more investment on the ground.
INDIA
Confident of completing Air India, BPCL privatisation this fiscal: DIPAM Secretary
"There is a very big privatization agenda and that would mean that apart from NCLT, there will be a lot of assets on offer which will come from the public sector," Tuhin Kanta Pandey said.
ECONOMY
EXCLUSIVE | Next GST Council meeting likely to convene end-August; compensation extension on agenda
When the GST came into being, States had agreed to join the new tax regime provided they were compensated for any revenue loss in the first five years, from July 2017 to June 2022.
ECONOMY
EXPLAINED | All you need to know about the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Amendment Bill
As per the amendments, each depositor's bank deposit is insured up to Rs five lakh in each bank for both principal and interest. The increase of insured amount from Rs one lakh to Rs five lakh will cover 98.3 percent of all deposit accounts and 50.9 percent of deposit value.
ECONOMY
Exclusive | How the govt set about burying retrospective tax in complete secrecy
Moneycontrol spoke to multiple sources and pieced together an account of how officials in the Prime Minister’s Office and the Finance Ministry acted swiftly to draft the amendment bill, push it through cabinet and then table it in Lok Sabha once the political leadership had given its go-ahead.
ECONOMY
INTERVIEW | Cairn must stop arbitration process, it will be a clean slate from both sides: Revenue Secretary
Speaking to Moneycontrol in an exclusive interview, Tarun Bajaj said that the Centre had waited for Vodafone and Cairn legal cases to reach their conclusion before making the move to repeal retrospective tax, and that getting rid of it does not take away the Sovereign’s right to tax.
BUSINESS
Govt buries ghosts of retrospective tax, tables taxation law amendments in Lok Sabha
"The Bill proposes to amend the Income-tax Act, 1961 so as to provide that no tax demand shall be raised in future on the basis of the said retrospective amendment for any indirect transfer of Indian assets if the transaction was undertaken before 28th May, 2012," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written statement along with the bill.
ECONOMY
Urgent reforms needed across the board in power sector, says Niti Aayog report
These reforms, as suggested by the report, include public-private partnership model for loss-making discoms (distribution companies), creation of regional electricity regulation commissions, regular revision of tariffs, greater use of smart meters and use of more renewable sources to reduce power procurement costs.
ECONOMY
Govt likely to put e-RUPI to use for food, fertilizer subsidies, to start with
Moneycontrol has learnt from a top official that to start with, the e-RUPI platform is likely to be used to transfer food and fertilizer subsidies to beneficiaries. Beyond that, while the technology has possibilities, the government will gauge how it develops and how other welfare schemes can be routed through this channel.
ECONOMY
In COVID-hit 2020-21, states’ share of taxes falls while Centre’s rises, govt data shows
The share of states from the divisible pool of taxes was the lowest in at least five years during the pandemic-hit 2020-21, while the Centre’s net tax revenue was the highest in the same period. Additionally, taxes from income exceeded corporate taxes for the first time in at least five years, Finance Ministry data showed.
BUSINESS
Cabinet clears DICGC Bill, bank deposits up to Rs 5 lakh to be insured, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman
The Finance Minister said that as per the bill, depositors of troubled banks would get back amounts below Rs 5 lakh within 90 days, even if a bank is put under moratorium by the Reserve Bank of India.
ECONOMY
IMF cuts India's FY22 GDP forecast to 9.5% from 12.5%
"Growth prospects in India have been downgraded following the severe second COVID wave during March–May and expected slow recovery in confidence from that setback," the multilateral institution said in its latest World Economic Outlook report.
ECONOMY
No information collected on number of crypto exchanges and investors in India: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
According to data from crypto exchanges, there are approximately 1.5 crore Indians who have invested in cryptocurrencies holding worth Rs 15,000 crore, with more and more people starting to invest. There are 350 startups that operate in the blockchain and crypto space.
ECONOMY
Analysis | After Q1, Centre’s revenue position looks comfortable; divestment concerns remain
The first quarter has been relatively encouraging on the tax and non-tax revenue front, and the Centre’s fiscal position is comfortable for now, even with additional expenditure. However, the government needs to pick up the pace on privatisation
ECONOMY
No plan to print more currency to tide over economic slowdown: FM Nirmala Sitharaman
Fundamentals of the economy remain strong as gradual scaling back of lockdowns, along with astute support of Atmanirbhar Bharat Mission has placed the economy firmly on the path of recovery from the second half of FY 2020-21, FM Nirmala Sitharaman told the Lok Sabha
INDIA
1991 reforms paved a new path for India’s economic policy: Manmohan Singh
Singh, who as finance minister presented the 1991 budget, said that in the 30 years since, nearly 300 million fellow Indians had been lifted out of poverty and hundreds of millions of new jobs were provided.
ECONOMY
Despite COVID-19 crisis, peak power demand in FY21 surpassed previous year's levels by 3.5%: Govt
"By the end of the financial year 2020-21, in January 2021, the peak demand in the country had not only recovered but with a peak demand of 190,198 MW, surpassed the previous year’s peak demand of 183,804 MW which, occurred during the year 2019-20, in the month of June, 2019," Power Minister RK Singh said.
ECONOMY
FinMin seeks parliament nod for extra gross expenditure of Rs 1.87 lakh crore
Some big spending items, which were announced earlier, are missing from the Supplementary Demand for Grants. These include additional fertiliser subsidy, extension of the free foodgrain scheme and expanded vaccination programme
ECONOMY
Exclusive | Privatisation of general insurer, 2 banks unlikely to be completed this fiscal
The Centre is confident of meeting the ambitious divestment target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore through share sales in Air India and other companies, including the Life Insurance Corporation IPO, which is expected to be India’s largest.
