1. 7th Pay Commission: Cabinet Approves Hike in Allowance From 1 July
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission for higher allowances. The move, which also takes into account house rent allowance (HRA), is expected to benefit approximately 50 lakh employees of the central government as well as defence personnel.
The revised rates are expected to be effective from 1 July 2017.
The move comes over a year after the Narendra Modi-led cabinet approved earlier recommendations of the commission, leading to a 14.27 percent hike in basic pay of central government employees.
Read the full story on The Quint.
2. Air India Divestment Gets ‘In-Principle’ Cabinet Approval
The government on Wednesday set in motion plans to divest stake in debt-laden national carrier Air India.
The Union Cabinet approved government think-tank NITI Aayog’s proposal of Air India divestment, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters at a media briefing. A panel will be set up to finalise the modalities and the details of the stake sale, he added.
India's national carrier is saddled with more than Rs 50,000 crore debt. Between FY13 and FY15, the airline’s losses widened from Rs 5,490 crore to Rs 5,859 crore, according to responses from former aviation minister Mahesh Sharma in the Lok Sabha in April this year.
Read the full story on The Quint.
3. GST Council to Consider More Pleas on GST Rates Only After 1 July
The goods and services tax (GST) Council will consider more requests for relief on GST rates and compliance requirement from businesses and traders after the rollout of the nation’s biggest indirect tax reform on 1 July.
The council’s readiness to consider further requests for tax relief comes in the wake of protests being staged by textile traders, road builders, furniture makers and diamond merchants over the applicable tax rates and the compliance requirement. The council had on 11 June lowered GST rates on 66 items and widened the scope of a concessional tax payment scheme for small businesses and restaurants.
(Source: Livemint)
4. Grocery Expenses to Not Rise After GST Rollout
Prices for most groceries, household and personal care products will remain unchanged for at least six to eight weeks after the goods and services tax is put in place on 1 July as companies aren't too sure how the new levy will impact their cost of operations.
Several products including cookies, toothpastes, soaps and hair oils will be taxed at 18 percent under GST compared with about 22 percent in the current indirect tax structure of excise duty and value-added tax. However, detergents, shampoos and skincare products will attract a higher 28 percent levy.
"While our intent is to pass on the benefits of lower GST in the relevant categories where rates are coming down to consumers as soon as it is feasible, there are still some open issues where we need clarity such as how area-based exemptions will be handled, that will impact pricing decisions," said Godrej Consumer managing director Vivek Gambhir. No price increases are planned in categories where GST rates will be going up, he said.
Source: The Economic Times
5. Printing of Rs 200 Currency Notes Begins
India's re-monetisation exercise appears to be entering its final lap, with the central bank beginning to print bills of 200 rupees – perhaps for the first time – to help ease consumer transactions.
The notes of Rs 200 denomination are being printed in one of the government-owned facilities after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) placed an order a few weeks ago for the bills, two people familiar with the matter told ET.
An email sent to the RBI seeking its comments could not elicit any response until the publication of this report.
"For day-to-day transaction purposes, the introduction of 200 rupee notes will add to the ease of operations," said Soumya Kanti Ghosh, group chief economist at the SBI Group.
Source: The Economic Times
6. Indian Railways Earned Rs 14 Billion Via Reserved Ticket Cancellation in FY17
The Indian Railways collected Rs 14.07 billion through cancellation of reserved tickets on the request of the commuters in FY 2016-17, registering a 25.29 percent rise over previous year’s earning under this head.
This information was revealed by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Railways, in response to a query under the Right to Information (RTI) by activist Chandrashekhar Gaud.
“In its reply, the CRIS informed that earnings through ticket cancellation has gone up to Rs 14.07 billion during fiscal 2016-17, from Rs 11.23 billion in 2015-16. The earnings under this head amount were Rs 9.08 billion in fiscal 2014-15 and Rs 9.38 billion in FY 2013-2014,” Gaud told PTI today.
The Railways is also earning revenue through the cancellation of unreserved tickets.
Source: PTI
7. TCS Reclaims Most-Valued Company Status; RIL Slips to 2nd Spot
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Wednesday surpassed Reliance Industries to reclaim the status of the country's most valued firm by market valuation.
At close of trade on Wednesday, the market capitalisation of TCS stood at Rs 4,63,287.02 crore, which was Rs 8,555.55 crore more than RIL's Rs 4,54,731.47 crore valuation.
Shares of RIL declined by 2.60 percent to end at Rs 1,398.50, while TCS went up by 0.23 percent to close at Rs 2,351.20 on BSE.
Source: PTI
8. Provisioning Norms: Bankers Fear Tough Norms Will Harm Ability to Find Buyers at a Good Price
Banks are set to lobby with the Reserve Bank of India to scale down the strict provisioning norms announced by the regulator last week for accounts referred to the country's bankruptcy courts. Bankers fear that such high provisioning will harm their ability to find buyers at a good price.
Two senior bank officials said they would convey to RBI that steep provisions will result in prospective buyers having an advantage in terms of bids.
Last week, RBI shocked banks by asking them to set aside 50 percent of the loan value as provision on cases that are referred to the National Company Law Tribunal. The provisions increase to 100 percent if the company goes for liquidation. This comes a week after directing lenders to initiate resolution process on 12 large defaulting companies that account for 25 percent of total bad loans. Bankers fear that once a prospective buyer becomes aware that banks are setting aside 50 percent provision, they would see that as reserve price and not offer more.
Source: The Economic Times
9. Niti Aayog Wants Greater Role For Oil & Natural Gas Board in Upstream Biz
The draft energy policy of the government has proposed enlarging the regulatory ambit of Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB). The policy draft proposes extending the remit of PNGRB over "selected statutory aspects of the upstream business, including HSE, data collection, joint development of reservoirs in adjacent blocks, sharing of infrastructure and promotion of acreages".
Currently, PNGRB regulates certain aspects of the downstream business only, while the upstream sector is monitored by the directorate general of hydrocarbons (DGH). Both these organisations are not fully empowered to regulate the sectors. The draft, however, says, "The contract administration role of production sharing contracts will remain with the DGH. But for that, the former will have to be equipped with adequate and competent resources."
Source: Business Standard
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