1. States Wary of Any Move to Reduce GST Rates
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting on Friday is likely to be a stormy affair, with some states opposing the Centre’s proposal to cut tax on automobiles, citing revenue shortfalls and previous instances of businesses failing to pass on tax cuts to consumers.
The opposition from states, which are members of the federal indirect tax body, may make it tougher for the Union government to quickly respond to industry demands for tax cuts on automobiles to help reverse the worst sales slump in more than two decades.
(Source: Livemint)
2. Adani Group, Reliance Industries to Lock Horns for India's Data Centres
Adani Group and Reliance Industries (RIL) seldom find themselves as competitors to each other. India’s data centre market would prove to be one, where both might be chasing the same set of clients, though for different reasons.
At RIL’s annual general meeting last month, Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director, announced a partnership with Microsoft to launch data centres across India.
(Source: Business Standard)
3. Goldman Sachs, Premjiinvest and Munjal Look to Invest in PNB Housing Finance
Goldman Sachs Group, PremjiInvest and the family office of Sunil Kant Munjal are in advanced talks to invest in PNB Housing Finance Ltd, said two people directly aware of the discussions.
PNB Housing is looking to raise as much as Rs 2,000 crore through the “limited preference" route, under which a maximum of five investors can participate, the people said on condition of anonymity.
(Source: Livemint)
4. HDFC Bank Revises Fixed Deposit Interest Rates, Details Here
HDFC Bank has revised its fixed deposit (FD) interest rates on select maturities. According to the latest HDFC Bank FD rates, the bank is offering 6.60 percent interest rate on maturity period of one year to the general public on FDs of up to Rs. 2 crore. On maturity periods such as 1 year 1 day-2 years, the bank is offering an interest rate of 6.60 percent and 7.10 percent to the general public and senior citizens respectively. Previously, the public sector bank paid interest rates of 6.80 percent and 7.30 percent to general public and senior citizens respectively on this maturity.
On fixed deposits of 2 years 1 day-3 years maturity period, the private sector bank has lowered its interest rates by 10 basis points.
(Source: NDTV)
5. Amid a Sharp Auto Slowdown, Small Towns Drive up Sales of Used Cars
India’s used car market is booming at a time when the domestic automotive industry is battling one of its worst sales slump.
The demand in used cars is being driven by smaller towns and cities as stricter regulations, especially on emissions, and changing consumer preferences in major cities lead many to discard their older cars for new vehicles.
Sales of pre-owned cars are estimated to increase to as many as 4.4 million units this fiscal from 4 million in the previous fiscal, according to used car dealer Mahindra First Choice Wheels.
(Source: Livemint)
6. Government Steps for Housing, Exports to Support Economy: FICCI
The latest measures announced by the finance minister in the field of real estate and exports would help provide stimulus to the slowing economy, industry FICCI President Sandip Somany said on Sunday.
The industry body welcomed the government's move a day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced steps to help the nearly stalled real estate sector and increase India's exports. Sitharaman on Saturday announced a fresh set of measures worth around Rs 60,000 crore to boost exports and the housing sector.
(Source: NDTV)
7. SBI Drops IPO Plans for General Insurance Arm; Card JV to Hit Market in Q4
The largest lender State Bank has dropped its plan to take its general insurance arm public as there is no need for additional capital now, chairman Rajnish Kumar has said.
Investor interest for its cards business is very high, and SBI Card listing will happen in the March quarter, he said.
The bank was earlier looking for an IPO for SBI General Insurance in FY21.
(Source: Business Standard)
8. Just Ahead of Festive Season, Flipkart Expands Pan-India Delivery Reach by 80%
E-commerce firm Flipkart on Sunday said it has expanded delivery reach by 80 percent to cover almost all pin codes in India, ahead of its big billion day sales, starting from 29 September.
The company claims that it has increased its reach to around 19,200 PIN codes from about 10,660 codes in 2018 for delivery of large appliances.
(Source: Livemint)
9. NBFCS in Repair, Rebuild and Recalibrate Mode as Funds Position Improves
A year ago when the liquidity bear hugged the financial system, just a handful expected it to have a lasting impact on non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). But the victims of tight money supply are cropping up with every passing month, the latest being foreign funds-backed Altico Capital.
While in size it may not be material, the default did have a contagion effect on listed NBFC stocks on Friday, with the pack falling 2–3 percent in an otherwise good trading session.
(Source: Business Standard)
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