QBiz: Fuel Prices Slashed; Air India Gets Rs 1,000 Crore Loan
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1. Oil Retailers Cut Petrol, Diesel Prices
Petrol and diesel prices were reduced on Thursday, 18 October, for the first time in over two months because of a drop in the cost of production.
Petrol price was cut by 21 paise a litre and diesel by 11 paise, a price notification issued by state retailers said. Petrol in Delhi now costs Rs 82.62 per litre as against Rs 82.83 a litre previously.
A litre of diesel now costs Rs 75.58 as compared to Rs 75.69 previously. In Mumbai, petrol now costs Rs 88.08 per litre and diesel Rs 79.24.
This is the first cut stemming from a fall in crude prices in more than two months. The rates were last reduced by a minimum Rs 2.50 per litre across the country on 5 October.
(Source: Bloomberg Quint)
2. India Could Be Removed from US Currency Monitoring List
The US could remove India from its currency monitoring list of major trading partners, the Treasury Department said, citing certain developments and steps taken by New Delhi, which address some of its major concerns.
India was for the first time, in April, placed by the US in its currency monitoring list of countries with potentially questionable foreign exchange policies along with five other countries — China, Germany, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland.
The Department of Treasury maintained the same monitoring list in its latest report released on Wednesday, 17 October but said if India continued with the same practices as in the last six months, it would be removed from its next bi-annual report.
(Source: Livemint)
3. Consumer Confidence Drops Sharply in Sept: Survey
Consumer confidence declined in September due to worries about savings, investment and personal finances for household expenses, says a survey.
The Consumer Confidence Index plummeted 6.6 percentage points as consumers were worried about various factors such as personal finances for day to day running of the household, savings and investments, said Indian Primary Consumer Sentiment Index (PCSI) for the month of October.
Besides, there are concerns over job opportunities and performance of the economy, it added.
According to the report, its Employment Confidence sub-index is down 4.3 points, Economic Expectations sub index is also 3.9 points over last month.
(Source: The Hindu Business Line)
4. Air India Receives Rs 1,000 Cr from NSSF; To Raise Rs 500 Cr Loan Next Week
Cash-strapped Air India has raised Rs 1,000 crore from the National Small Savings Fund and expects to mop up Rs 500 crore through short-term borrowings next week, an airline source said Thursday, 18 October.
The ailing national carrier would be utilising the funds to mainly meet its working capital requirements. The fresh funds are in addition to the Rs 980 crore received towards equity infusion by way of supplementary grants from the central government in September.
“We have received Rs 1,000 crore by way of loan from the National Small Savings Fund last week. This loan has been availed at a lower interest rate. However, we have to repay the the loan amount by March next year,” the official said.
In early September, the carrier sought bids for garnering Rs 500 crore through short-term borrowings to meet its working capital requirements.
(Source: The Financial Express)
5. Tata Sons Mulls Acquiring Stake in Jet Airways
Tata Sons Ltd, the parent of Tata Group, is mulling acquiring stake in crisis-hit Jet Airways (India) Ltd, according to sources.
Tata Sons’ plans to buy stake in the airline are at a very early stage, the sources said. Naresh Goyal-led Jet Airways, in which Gulf carrier Etihad holds 24 percent stake, is grappling with financial woes and has even delayed payment of salaries to staff.
When asked about reports that Tata Sons is in discussions with Jet Airways for purchasing stake, an airline spokesperson said the information is “totally speculative”. A query sent to a Tata Sons spokesperson remained unanswered.
The diversified Tata Group already owns majority stakes in two airline joint ventures—Vistara and AirAsia India.
(Source: Bloomberg Quint)
6. What Hathway and Den Deals Mean for Reliance Jio
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has made two strategic investments in Den Networks Ltd and Hathway Cable and Datacom Ltd RIL made an investment of ₹2,290 crore for 66% stake in Den and ₹2,940 crore for 51.3% stake in Hathway. Mint looks at what the deal means for the sector.
Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd’s deals with Den Networks Ltd and Hathway Cable and Datacom Ltd may not only allow the company to expand its presence to 1,100 cities and target 50 million homes with its faster broadband services, but also reduce the cost of reaching out to customers.
Additionally, deals with Hathway and Den will help Jio GigaFiber achieve last-mile connectivity, overcoming the challenges the company has been facing from local cable operators who have in past stonewalled its expansion plans. The deal could also bring down Reliance Jio’s FTTH capex of $130-140 per subscriber, according to analysts.
(Source: Livemint)
7. 20 Oct Deadline to Avail Input Tax Credit for Last Fiscal
The Finance Ministry on Thursday, 18 October refuted concerns among businesses about reconciliation of returns and said the deadline to avail input tax credit (ITC) for last financial year will remain 20 October.
Businesses had expressed concern about the October 20 deadline for availing ITC for July 2017-March 2018 period saying that their returns cannot be reconciled with the returns filed by vendors. Such a concern arose after the last date for filing final sales return GSTR-1 has been set as 31 October.
The ministry said since the ITC is being availed on the basis of summary sales return or GSTR-3B filed, hence the deadline has been kept at 20 October. The GSTR-3B of a particular month has to be filed by the 20th day of the subsequent month.
(Source: The Hindu Business Line)
8. Stocks Tumble on Souring Sentiment; Oil Falls
Stocks fell sharply on Thursday, 18 October while the Japanese yen rose in a move toward safety assets, with traders citing the Sino-US trade war, Italy’s budget concerns and a widening gap between the United States and Saudi Arabia.
European stocks closed near the day’s lows and Wall Street slid after the European Commission said Italy’s 2019 budget draft is in “particularly serious” breach of EU budget rules, a step that prepares the ground for what would be an unprecedented rejection of a member state’s fiscal plan.
Italy’s 5-year yield hit its highest since October 2013 and its 10-year yield brushed against a 4-1/2 year high. The safe-haven yen rose for the eighth session in the last 11.
(Source: The Financial Express)
9. Mobile Numbers Verified Through Aadhaar Won’t Be Disconnected: UIDAI
The government will seek re-verification of mobile service customers only if a user opts to replace Aadhaar records with an alternate identity or address proof, the Department of Telecom and Unique Identity Authority of India said in a joint statement on Thursday, 18 October.
While the Supreme Court has prohibited the issue of new SIM cards through Aadhaar authentication process, there is no direction to deactivate the old mobile numbers, the statement added.
(Source: Bloomberg Quint)
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