1. GST Revenues Cross Rs 1 Lakh Cr in April on Improved Compliance
The revenue collection from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) touched Rs 1.03 lakh crore in April, the finance ministry said on Tuesday, 1 May. This is for the first time that the GST revenues have exceeded Rs 1 lakh crore mark since the new tax regime became operational in July last year.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in a tweet said, "GST collections in April exceeding Rs 1 lakh crore is a landmark achievement and a confirmation of increased economic activity as brought out by other reports."
Giving a break-up of the Rs 1.03 lakh crore GST revenue mop up in April, the government said the collections from Central GST (CGST) and State GST (SGST) were Rs 18,652 crore and Rs 25,704 crore, respectively. The tax collected from Integrated GST (IGST) was Rs 50,548 crore, whereas cess accounted for Rs 8,554 crore.
(Source: DNA)
2. Rs 14,000-Crore Deal: L&T to Sell Its Automation, Electrical Biz to Scheider
India’s heavy engineering major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has signed definitive agreements with Schneider Electric for divesting the company’s electrical and automation (E&A) business for an all-cash consideration of Rs 14,000 crore, the company said in a statement on Tuesday, 1 May.
The company’s E&A business, which reported net revenues of Rs 5,038 crore during the financial year ended 31 March 2017, offers low- and medium-voltage switchgear, electrical systems, marine switchgear, industrial and building automation solutions, energy management systems and metering solutions.
Its manufacturing facilities are located at Navi Mumbai, Ahmednagar, Vadodara, Coimbatore and Mysuru in India as well as in Saudi Arabia, UAE (Jebel Ali, Dubai), Kuwait, Malaysia, Indonesia and the UK.
(Source: Financial Express)
3. RBI Allows FPIs to Invest in Treasury Bills
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday, 1 May said Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) will be allowed to invest in treasury bills issued by the government in a move that could lead to more foreign portfolio investment in India. The RBI announcement came two days after it allowed foreign investors to invest in government and corporate bonds with tenures below one year.
However, it did not indicate when the change on investment in T-bills would come into force. “FPIs are permitted to invest in treasury bills issued by the Central government,” the RBI stated in a circular.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. JSW Infra Plans Rs 8,800 Crore Investment in Next 3 Years
JSW Infrastructure, the privately-held ports arm of Sajjan Jindal’s JSW group, plans to invest Rs 8,800 crore over the next three years to expand cargo handling capacity from the current 75 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 200 mtpa by 2020.
The expansion plan is in line with the company’s ambition to shift from handling only sister concern JSW Steel’s cargo to accepting third-party cargo as well.
Half of this investment would be funded through loans and the remaining through internal accruals, BVJK Sharma, joint managing director and chief executive of JSW Infrastructure said in an interview.
(Source: Livemint)
5. Core Sector Growth Slows Marginally In March
Growth in the eight core sectors of industry slowed to a 3-month low of 4.1 percent in March due to weak year-on-year performance in as many as six sectors including coal, crude oil and natural gas. The other sectors which showed slower growth rate were refinery products, steel and electricity.
The growth rate of these eight infrastructure sectors, which also include fertilizers and cement, was at 5.2 percent in March 2017, according to the data released by the commerce and industry ministry on 1 May. Core sector growth has an impact on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data as these eight segments account for about 41 percent of the total factory output.
Cumulatively, the eight core sectors grew by 4.2 percent in 2017-18 compared to 4.8 per cent in the previous fiscal.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
6. Mahindra Financial to Raise up to Rs 15,000 Cr From Lenders, Sale of Bonds
Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Services Ltd is looking to raise Rs 10,000-15,000 crore this fiscal year through various routes including a bond sale, its vice-chairman and managing director Ramesh G Iyer said on Monday, 30 April.
The company needs to inject fresh capital to shore up lending to Rs 35,000-37,000 crore this year, the same as in the previous year, he added.
Mahindra Financial expects around Rs 24,000 crore to come in from repayment of loans. The balance will be raised from banks, sale of bonds and financial institutions, according to Iyer.
(Source: Livemint)
7. Two of Flipkart's Investors Keep Valuations Unchanged Despite Losses
Two of Flipkart’s mutual fund investors have kept the e-commerce giant’s valuation unchanged even after March quarter losses wiped out almost half of the $6.1 billion it had raised since its inception.
Valic Company and T Rowe valued Flipkart between $11.7 and $15.9 billion for the quarter ended March, according to separate filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The valuations have remained unchanged since the quarter ended August.
That’s after accumulated losses of India’s largest online retailer stood at nearly Rs 24,000 crore ($3.6 billion) as of March 2017, according to filings with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore. Losses widened from nearly Rs 10,000 crore a year ago.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
8. Credit Norms Tightened to Curb Frauds, Says PNB
Punjab National Bank (PNB), on 1 May, said it has tightened bank's credit underwriting norms to curb frauds and has put in place an off-site monitoring to identify risks. "The bank has strengthened the process of underwriting of credit to wean out any possibility of fraudulent behaviour and ensure a fair evaluation," the bank said in a statement.
The second largest public sector lender had reported an alleged fraud of over Rs 13,000 crore by diamantaire Nirav Modi in February-March this year.
The process is divided into four components with different employees focused on sourcing; appraisal, processing and underwriting; documentation and disbursement and recovery, PNB said.
(Source: The Economic Times)
9. State-Run Oil Firms Freeze Petrol, Diesel Prices Ahead Of Karnataka Polls
A fortnight before Karnataka goes to polls, government-owned oil firms have stopped revising petrol and diesel prices even though benchmark international rates have gone up by almost $2 per barrel.
State-owned oil companies have not changed fuel rates since 24 April. This is to give relief to the common man from petrol hitting a 55-month high of Rs 74.63 a litre and diesel at a record high of Rs 65.93 even as the finance ministry refused to cut excise duty.
The benchmark international rate for petrol has gone up from $78.84 per barrel, which was used for raising the price to Rs 74.63 a litre on 24 April, to $80.56 now, according to sources privy to fuel pricing methodology.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
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