QBiz: Jaitley Slams Yashwant Sinha; Sensex Breaks Losing Streak

Read The Quint’s compilation of top business stories.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

(Photo: PTI)

1. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Defends Demonetisation & GST, Reacts to Sinha’s Criticism

Finance minister Arun Jaitley strongly defended the government's economic management, demonetisation and tax reforms, citing robust revenue collections to dismiss what he described as the “so-called“ slowdown.

Speaking at a book launch, a day after former finance minister Yashwant Sinha's criticism of his economic management, Jaitley said the government was not scared of taking tough decisions, even as he tore into the record of predecessors in North Block.

“India has shown bold leadership... our leadership doesn’t shiver in taking decisions,“ Jaitley said, defending demonetisation and the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST), while flagging the insolvency code, benami law and crackdown on black money as some of the significant steps.

"Acting in tandem will not change the facts," Jaitley said, referring to criticism by Sinha and former finance minister P Chidambaram, while recalling their record. The government's economic management has been subjected to criticism after GDP growth fell to a three-year low of 5.7 percent in the June quarter.

(Source: The Economic Times)

2. Government Sticks to $2.08 Trillion Borrowing Plan for FY18

The government will raise Rs 2.08 trillion through market borrowings in the second half of 2017-18, sticking to its budget, but does not rule out the possibility of selling more government bonds for additional spending.

The majority of the borrowing would be completed by December, economic affairs secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said in a press briefing on Thursday. 

According to the calendar released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the government will raise Rs 1.65 trillion by the end of December.

(Source: Livemint)

3. Sensex Breaks Longest Losing Streak, Closes 123 Points up, Nifty Above 9,750

BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty reversed their seven-day losing spell as covering of shorts picked up on a day of derivatives expiry. The rupee, which had hit six and a half month low on Wednesday, managed to overcome its weakness after the dollar weakened globally.

Since it was the last session for September futures and options (F&O) contracts, speculators hit the ground running by covering their short bets towards the close, which accelerated the pace of recovery.

The Sensex quickly slipped into negative territory as foreign funds continued to pull out capital, but the emergence of value-buying made sure the gauge settled higher by 122.67 points, or 0.39 Percent, at 31,282.48. 

The Nifty 50 ended up 33.20 points, or 0.34 percent, at 9,768.95.

(Source: Livemint)

4. India Says Talking to GE to Tweak $2.5 Billion Locomotive Deal

Two years after signing an agreement with General Electric Co for a local diesel-engine factory, India said it is in talks to alter the contract as it favors electric locomotives.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said the government is negotiating ways to tweak the agreement as the nation shifts to less-polluting modes of transportation. 

The two sides have considered options including exports of some of the engines and making them more fuel efficient to reduce pollution. The US company doesn’t make electric locomotives.

(Source: BloombergQuint)

5. Government Crackdown on Board Directors Puts Companies in a Bind

The government's bid to clean up corporate India may spread panic in some boardrooms. The National Stock Exchange has asked about 200 companies listed on it to consider whether directors disqualified by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) should continue on their boards.

Most of these are small, often defunct, private companies but many of them share directors with some top firms. The digital signatures of these directors have been deactivated. 

“They cannot sign or upload any documents using that signature. The exercise has been linked to their unique director identification number,’’ a senior official said.

(Source: The Economic Times)

6. CBDT Chief Tells Tax Officers to Target Rs 3 Lakh Crore Unexplained Cash Deposits During Note Ban

It could be taxing times for tax officials as well as those they turn their glare on.

They have been told by the chief of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex body , to target and impose tax on Rs 3 lakh crore deposits which is estimated to be the quantum of unexplained cash parked with banks after demonetisation was announced.

CBDT chairman Sushil Chandra conveyed the message in a recent video conference to senior officials of I-T department, according to two persons who attended the meeting.

(Source: The Economic Times)

7. Gold Heads for Worst Month in 2017 on ‘Specter’ of Higher Rates

Gold touched the lowest since August and headed for the biggest monthly loss this year as traders raise bets that the Federal Reserve will boost US rates by the end of December.

Bullion was up 0.3 percent to $1,286.97 an ounce at 2:03 p.m. in New York after slipping as much as 0.4 percent to the lowest since 25 August. 

Prices are down 2.6 percent this month. An index of gold producers is on track for the biggest loss since November.

(Source: BloombergQuint)

8. Telecom Firms May Get Interim Sops Now, Full Relief Package Later

The Telecom Commission may offer interim, piecemeal sops to debt-laden telecom firms, pending a comprehensive relief package that’s still some distance away, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The apex telecom policy-making body is still awaiting clarifications it has sought from an inter-ministerial group (IMG) dealing with the issue, the person said on condition of anonymity.

“We will take a little time... it (comprehensive package) may take a little longer. They (IMG) have given other clarifications... on some of the things, we are still waiting for clarifications,” the person said, without disclosing the clarifications the commission has sought.

(Source: Livemint)

9. Morgan Stanley Says "Party’s Just Begun" For Indian Stock Funds

The recent flood of cash into Indian stock funds is just the beginning, as the nation’s growing savings chase equity returns amid decreasing appetite for gold, property and fixed income, according to Morgan Stanley.

“We’ve just started, the party has just begun,” said Ridham Desai, managing director at Morgan Stanley India Co Pvt. 

The nation’s total financial savings are still low at 9 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) compared with a peak of 14.5 percent about eight years ago, and the government’s push for pension funds to invest in stocks should drive flows even higher, Desai said at a press conference on Wednesday in Mumbai.

(Source: Livemint)