1. Market Shock: Sensex, Nifty Slump, Tracking Global Rout
India’s benchmark Sensex index slumped 3.67 percent in intraday trading on Tuesday, before rebounding to erase more than half of the day’s losses, capping a volatile day of trading. The losses in India tracked a global rout in stocks from New York to Tokyo, even as fears of accelerating inflation sent bond yields surging.
At the end of trading in Mumbai, BSE’s 30-share Sensex dropped 561.22 points, or 1.61 percent, to 34,195.94 points, while the National Stock Exchange’s 50-share Nifty fell 1.58 percent to 10,498.25. The indices fell for a sixth straight session.
Both indices plunged nearly 3.7 percent in intraday trading, their biggest decline since August 2015. The Sensex and the Nifty are down 5.75 percent and 5.68 percent, respectively, from their 29 January peaks of 36,283.25 and 11,130.40.
Around Rs 9.87 trillion worth of investments have been wiped off over the last six trading sessions, the longest losing streak in four months, largely tracking the global sell-off.
(Source: Livemint )
2. Budget 2018 I-T Relief for Individuals: No More Notices For Filing Mismatch
The government and tax officials appear to believe that the majority of people who file income-tax returns are honest taxpayers. This belief, among other things, has reportedly prompted the government to provide individual taxpayers a relief in Budget 2018 from demand notices sent by the tax department in case it finds discrepancies in the income reported in tax returns vis-a-vis reports from third parties like banks, stock exchanges, and car dealers.
Budget 2018 proposes to amend existing laws so that the I-T department stops sending demand notices to individuals where it finds discrepancies in the income reported by them in their I-T returns when matched against data from third-party entities, the Livemint reported on Tuesday.
The move, according to the report, reverses last year's amendment, under which tax authorities were empowered to raise extra demands if they detected discrepancies.
(Source: Business Standard )
3. Bitcoin Rebounds From 3-Month Low in Volatile Trade to Rise More Than 7%
Bitcoin recovered from three-month lows below $6,000 in choppy trading on Tuesday, but worries lingered about a global regulatory clampdown and moves by banks to ban buying bitcoin with credit cards.
Investors swooped in after a steep fall. On the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange, bitcoin hit $5,920, its lowest since mid-November, before recovering to above $7,000. It was last at $7,260 in late morning trading in New York, up roughly 6 percent on the day.
"The recent weakness in bitcoin stems from tightening liquidity and near-term profit taking, and does not reflect a change in the long-term outlook for the digital currency," said John Sarson, managing partner at Blockchain Momentum LP and ETF Momentum Investing in Indianapolis.
(Source: Business Standard )
4. Stay Away From Plastic Aadhaar Cards, It's Prone to Data Theft, Warns UIDAI
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has cautioned people not to use plastic or laminated Aadhaar cards as such unauthorised printing at some vendor or shop could make the QR code dysfunctional and there could be a possibility of exposing a person's sensitive demographic information.
The Aadhaar issuing authority said people should not yearn for the so-called Aadhaar smart card as it may make them fall to the ploys of some unscrupulous elements who are printing Aadhaar on a plastic or PVC sheet and charging anywhere between Rs 50 to Rs 300 or more.
The Authority asserted there is no concept such as smart or plastic Aadhaar card. Also, UIDAI said there could be a possibility of sharing Aadhaar details including personal sensitive demographic information without informed consent with some devious elements.
(Source: Business Standard)
5. $30 Billion Hit Looms for India Banks on New Accounting Rule
India’s lenders, already struggling with $210 billion of stressed assets, may have to prepare for another hit as early as the coming financial year if new accounting norms kick in as planned on 1 April.
The IndAS – based on the IFRS9 standards created in the aftermath of the financial crisis – would require banks to make provisions for expected bad loans instead of the current system where they only cover actual losses incurred. CLSA estimates that would almost double stressed advances, boost provisioning by $30 billion and consume more than $26 billion in capital at state-run banks and $4 billion for private lenders.
“The new Indian accounting standards could result in sizable incremental bad debt provisioning requirements for Indian banks given their relatively low levels of provision coverage at present," said Nicholas Yap, a Hong Kong-based credit desk analyst at Nomura International (HK) Ltd. "This could pressure banks’ capital levels."
(Source: Bloomberg Quint)
6. 1 Lakh Income Tax Notices Sent to Bitcoin Investors
The Indian Income Tax Department has issued about one lakh notices to people who have invested in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin without declaring these in their income tax returns, a top official said on Tuesday.
The revelation by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Sushil Chandra at an Assocham event here comes at a time when virtual currencies values have been tumbling on worries about government regulation. Bitcoin fell to its lowest since November at $5,992 in the Hong Kong market in early trade on Tuesday.
According to Chandra, the Income Tax Department had conducted various surveys on cryptocurrency exchanges to understand how many people are regular contributors, how many had registered themselves and how many have traded on exchanges.
(Source: Economic Times)
7. Airbus, Boeing Said to Vie for $8.5 Billion India Jet Order
Vistara, the Indian affiliate of Singapore Airlines Ltd, is in talks with Airbus SE and Boeing Co to buy jets worth as much as $8.5 billion as the carrier seeks to tap India’s growing middle class, according to people familiar with the plans.
Vistara, a joint venture with majority owner Tata Group, is seeking to buy about 50 narrowbody jets, typically used for shorter routes, and up to 10 widebodies, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing private negotiations. A final decision is likely by June, one of the people said.
The order is the first of several expected aircraft deals Indian carriers are set to place in the coming months, as carriers expand in the world’s fastest growing major aviation market. Budget operators IndiGo, run by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., and SpiceJet Ltd. are now exploring the low-cost, long-haul model, which would need widebody aircraft on top of the more than 500 single-aisle jets already on order from them.
(Source: Bloomberg Quint)
8. Gold Jumps to 14-Month High As Global Stock Markets Face Meltdown
Amidst rout in global equities on Tuesday gold soared to over 14-month high of Rs 31,600 per ten gram – gaining Rs 330 at the bullion market here, largely in sync with the overseas trend. The gains were also supported by strong demand from local jewellers to meet the wedding season demand.
Silver gained as well and reclaimed the Rs 40,000-per kg mark on the back of increased offtake by industrial units.Traders said a massive sell-off in stock markets globally led investors to seek shelter in safe haven investments, particularly precious metals.
The BSE Sensex cracked below the 34,000-mark by plunging about 1,275 points or 3.6 per cent in opening trade due to across-the-board losses after investor sentiment was hit by a sell-off in world markets.
(Source: Business Standard)
9. Wipro Makes First Management Change Under Abidali Neemuchwala
Wipro Ltd has entrusted its current head of manufacturing and technology practice to head the energy vertical, and created a new role for the head of oil and gas practice, marking the first management changes under chief executive Abidali Neemuchwala, who took over as boss of India’s third largest information technology (IT) outsourcing company in February 2016.
N.S. Balasubramanian, who heads the manufacturing and technology practice, Wipro’s second largest vertical, accounting for 22.7 percent or $457 million of company’s December quarter revenue, will take over as head of energy, natural resources, utilities and construction (ENU) business unit.
Anand Padmanabhan, who in his decade-long leadership role as head of ENU has made it the largest practice among all homegrown IT companies, will take over as head of business development and strategic sales. Padmanabhan has been mandated to help Wipro win more large outsourcing contracts.
(Source: Livemint)
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