INDIA
Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla tells states to strictly enforce lockdown measures
Under the DM Act, anyone obstructing a government authorised person from discharging their duties or refuses to comply with government orders could be imprisoned for upto a year or a fine or both
BUSINESS
Coronavirus pandemic | India's doctors caught between a rock and a hard place
A doctor on condition of anonymity said he is wary of returning to his home after attending to patients because of inadequate quarantine measures in place.
BUSINESS
Coronavirus pandemic | Lack of data may turn outbreak into humanitarian crisis
The majority of unorganised sector workers will be left out of the measures announced by the government because there is no record or data on them, say experts.
BUSINESS
Will FY21 be a washout? Chances are high after COVID-19 hit
Workforce in the unorganised sector has been the worst-hit, as they remain stranded across Indian cities, with no place to go as all state borders have been shut.
BUSINESS
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman says bank merger plan on track
Speaking to the media after a meeting with PSU bank officials, Sitharaman also said that more than 5.53 lakh stressed Medium and Small Enterprises (MSMEs) accounts have been identified as of January 6.
BUSINESS
Revenue share: Fiscal contagion adds to fissure between Centre and states
As per law, Centre has to protect a 14 percent growth in states' GST revenues. In case of shortfalls, states have to be compensated to the extent of the shortfall till June 2022.
BUSINESS
Economic Survey 2020 pitches for integrating 'Assemble in India' into 'Make in India'
On the much debated job creation issue, the Survey highlights that India can look at creating employment by emerging as a major hub for final assembly in a range of products.
ECONOMY
To take on the likes of Amazon and Flipkart, CAIT to launch e-commerce portal
Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary, CAIT, said that a pilot project of the initiative has already begun in Madhya Pradesh where individual e-stores have been created for the traders.
ECONOMY
Amid consumption slowdown, Budget needs to set realistic revenue targets
For the April-November period, growth in overall tax collections was 0.8 percent at Rs 11.42 lakh crore.
BUSINESS
Piyush Goyal to address traders on domestic trade, e-commerce on Jan 27
Goyal would also speak on issues relating to e-commerce, domestic retail, support policies, and foreign direct investment in retail
ECONOMY
Study finds uneven utilisation of funds for important central government schemes in districts
The Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) and Tata Trusts conducted a two-year project focusing on fiscal governance reforms needed at the district level.
ECONOMY
Lack of transparency on discounts on online platforms affecting competition: Report
The report noted that the discount offered on the platforms is such that the service providers are not able to profitably match the same in the other modes of booking
BUSINESS
In a first, GST Council votes on single tax rate for lotteries
All states agreed that a knee-jerk reaction of rate hike wouldn't be prudent because of the present economic crisis. The Council is unlikely to go for a rate hike or a major rejig at the moment.
ECONOMY
FM Nirmala Sitharaman, industry bodies discuss ways to boost economy in pre-budget meeting
The stakeholder groups have also discussed bottlenecks that the industry is trying to deal with
BUSINESS
Financial sector players demand reduction in GST on term insurance in Budget
Representatives of the financial sector and capital markets also highlighted the need for governance changes in public sector banks (PSBs), with special focus on the PJ Nayak Committee recommendations.
BUSINESS
RBI's decision in the P2P lending space expected to attract new capital in the sector
On December 5, the RBI in its monetary policy meeting, relaxed the lending cap for individual P2P lenders from the current Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakh.
BUSINESS
OECD report projects India's FY19-20 GDP growth to be 5.8%
The report, despite forecasting muted GDP growth for India, says that the country remains a growth champion despite recent slowdown and going forward, growth is projected to recover.
BUSINESS
GST Council to meet on December 18; compensation cess issue to top agenda
There is a view that compensation cess may no longer be enough to adequately compensate states and there is a need to come up with some other mechanisms.
BUSINESS
Healthy GST mop-up may not be enough to address fiscal deficit woes
"Economic growth in FY20 is likely to be 5.6 percent and this does not instill confidence in achievement of 3.3 percent fiscal deficit target unless there is steep expenditure reduction, which in the present scenario looks unlikely," said Devendra Pant, Chief Economist at India Ratings.
BUSINESS
Govt expects to collect Rs 18,000 crore from stake sales in THDC India, NEEPCO
For the financial year 2019-20, the government aims to collect Rs 1,05,000 crore from divestment
ECONOMY
India, US resolve major trade differences; agree on equitable market access for trade deal
Trade tensions between the two nations surfaced after India demanded exemption from high duties imposed by the US on certain steel and aluminium products.
ECONOMY
Piyush Goyal's US visit: Addressing differences over trade deal to be top agenda
Trade tensions between India and the US have been rising with President Donald Trump championing his 'America First' policy, complaining that tariffs imposed by New Delhi on American products were "no longer acceptable" to his country.
ECONOMY
Have told states to reject APMC and shift to eNAM: Nirmala Sitharaman
The Finance Minister also said that she had in the Budget announced formation of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) to that farmers have easy access to institutional finance
ECONOMY
India opted out of RCEP to protect domestic industry from cheap imports: Piyush Goyal
"We wanted agriculture, dairy out of regional trade pact," Goyal said at a press briefing.
