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QBiz: ATM Withdrawal Limit Increased; GST to Rollout on 1 July

The Quint brings you the top business news from dailies across the country.

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1. RBI Eases Withdrawal Limits For ATMs, Current Accounts

The Reserve Bank of India has decided to increase the limit of daily withdrawals from automated teller machines (ATMs) to Rs 10,000 per card per day, according to a notification on the central bank’s website. The limit has been increased from Rs 4,500 at present.

Withdrawals from ATMs, however, will be subject to the overall withdrawal limit of Rs 24,000 per week from the savings accounts. This limit remains unchanged for now.

Those with current accounts, used often for business purposes, will see some relief.

Clients can now withdraw up to Rs 1 lakh per week from current accounts compared to Rs 50,000 earlier. Both the changes are applicable with immediate effect.

Industry executives say that the availability of cash has improved after this relaxation.

(Source: Bloomberg Quint)

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2. GST Council Resolves Dual Control Issue; Defers Rollout To 1 July

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) has moved a step closer to reality. The GST Council on Monday ended the deadlock over the contentious issue of dual control – or the division of assessees between states and the Centre.

While states will audit and scrutinise 90 percent of the assessees, who have a turnover of Rs 1.5 crore per annum or below, the Centre will assess the remaining 10 percent, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters after the ninth meeting of the Council.

Those with an annual turnover above Rs 1.5 crore will be equally divided – 50 percent each.

Each assessee will be assessed by only one tax authority, he said.

(Source: Bloomberg Quint)

3. IMF Cuts India's GDP Growth Forecast to 6.6% on Note Ban Woes

India may lose the “fastest growing major economy” tag to China in 2016-17. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered India’s growth forecast for the year by a full percentage point to 6.6% because of disruption caused by the government’s move to invalidate high-value currencies.

In its update to the World Economic Outlook (WEO) released in October, IMF said India is likely to grow 6.6% in 2016-17, against its earlier estimate of 7.6%. IMF said the Chinese economy grew by 6.7% in 2016 as against the previously projected 6.6%.

China’s growth forecast in 2017 was raised to 6.5% from 6.2% projected in October due to “expected policy stimulus”. The Fund follows calendar years for most countries, but the April-March period for India.

(Source: Livemint)

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4. Budget 2017: Govt Planning National Social Security System for Poor, Unemployed

The government is considering an ambitious income transfer scheme that could form the basis of a national social security system, though opinion is divided over whether it should be a universal basic income or more focused support limited to the most vulnerable.

The idea is being discussed as a means of addressing poverty and if a decision is reached, it could be announced on 1 February by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

"There is a thinking... pros and cons of having such a scheme are being examined," said a government official. Such a programme can have broad implications in terms of delivery as well as the fiscal deficit, said the official, adding that any decision will have to be taken keeping these factors in mind.

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5. NCLT Reserves Order on Mistry's Contempt Petition till 18 Jan

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which is hearing the contempt petition filed by Cyrus Mistry in the ongoing Tata-Mistry saga, has reserved its order till 18 January.

An NCLT Division Bench, comprising BSV Prasad Kumar (Member-Judicial) and V Nallasenapathy (Member-Technical), did not grant any interim relief sought by Cyrus Mistry’s lawyers. Both the parties also agreed not to file further applications to avoid multiplicity of procedures.

The judgement will now be pronounced on 18 January.

On 11 January, Tata Sons’ ousted Chairman Cyrus Mistry had moved NCLT, stating the proposed move to remove him as Tata Sons’ director violates undertakings given before the tribunal. Tata Sons, the holding company of Tata Group companies, has convened an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on 6 February to remove Mistry as director.

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6. No Returning To Subsidies On Petrol, Diesel: Government

The government on Monday ruled out reverting to the system of subsidising auto fuel, but said it may resort to cut in excise duties if rate hike "pinches hard". This comes from the government despite the Rs 5.21 per litre hike in petrol price and Rs 4.45 in diesel rates since December.

"There will be no subsidy regime in petrol and diesel”, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said. "Petrol price was deregulated in June 2010 and diesel in October 2014 and the same will continue."

The surge in international oil prices has led to petrol prices being hiked for the fourth time since December and thrice in case of diesel. Petrol price was hiked by 42 paisa and diesel by Rs 1.03 a litre (excluding local levies), effective from Sunday midnight.

(Source: Bloomberg Quint)

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7. Reliance Jio, Airtel Spar Over Interconnect Ports

A fresh round of war of words broke out between Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel on Monday, with the former alleging that its service continues to face congestion issues with some of the large operators, including Airtel, not providing adequate points of interconnection (PoI) – a charge the incumbent operator refuted.

Reliance Industries (RIL) in a statement said its telecom subsidiary Jio has garnered 72.4 million subscribers within four months of commencement of services, but continues to face congestion issues as interconnect capacity provided by some large operators is “still way below requirement”.

On 10 January, Bharti Airtel filed an additional affidavit in the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), alleging the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is killing competition in the sector just for the sake of one operator.

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8. Richest 1% Own 58% of Total Wealth in India, Says Oxfam

Indicating signs of a rise in income inequality, India’s richest one per cent now hold 58 per cent of the country’s wealth. The figure is higher than its global equivalent of about 50 per cent, according to a study released by rights group Oxfam, ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos.

The study showed that only 57 billionaires in the country have the same wealth ($216 billion) as that of the bottom 70 per cent population. Globally, just eight billionaires have the same wealth as the poorest 50 per cent of the world.

The study said there are 84 billionaires in India with a collective wealth of $248 billion. The list is led by Reliance Industries’ Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani ($19.3 billion), Sun Pharma Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi ($16.7 billion) and Wipro’s Azim Premji ($15 billion).

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9. BSNL Launches Mobile TV Service 'Ditto Tv', Limited Fixed Mobile Telephony

In a bid to meet competition from private telecom operators, state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) on Monday announced mobile TV service ‘Ditto TV’ and limited fixed mobile telephony, an app that virtually turns mobiles into cordless phone working in sync with landlines within home premises.

BSNL claimed the latest limited Fixed Mobile Telephony (FMT) service is “different” from the contentious Fixed Mobile Telephony service it announced last year but was forced to put on hold following a vehement opposition from cellular operators.

“The earlier service allowed customers on roaming in India and overseas to connect their landlines through mobile and make calls through them…But this service is restricted within the home premises,” BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Anupam Shrivastava told PTI.

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