1. FDI in Retail: Panel on Waiver of Local Sourcing Norms Set Up
The government has set up a committee under department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) secretary Ramesh Abhishek to decide on requests for waiver of 30% local sourcing norms by foreign single brand retail companies planning to set up branded stores in India and claiming to have products with state-of-the-art and cutting-edge technology.
The committee will comprise representatives of NITI Aayog, officials from the concerned ministries and independent technical experts.
Last year, a similar informal committee, headed by the DIPP secretary without technical experts, had recommended waiving the local sourcing norm for Apple Inc to allow the company to open its own branded stores in India but the proposal was rejected by the finance ministry.
Source: Livemint
2. Infosys Board Changes Still Work-In-Progress, Says Narayana Murthy
NR Narayana Murthy lauded what he termed as "corrective actions" being taken by the newly appointed non-executive chairman of Infosys, Nandan Nilekani, but the founder of India's second-largest software services company told investors on a conference call on Tuesday evening that the "rejuvenation of the board was still a work-in-progress".
Murthy, who has demanded greater disclosure by the Infosys board on charges of poor corporate governance levelled by an anonymous whistleblower in February, said he was "confident" that Nilekani would ascertain whether those present on the board at the time when the lapses were pointed out had exercised their "proper and expected role in governance". Murthy's comments were in line with his earlier stand that there should be changes in the Infosys board.
Source: Economic Times
3. RBI Sends Second List Of Cases To Banks For Insolvency Action
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has sent a second list of defaulting companies to lenders, recommending that these firms be referred for resolution via the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, two bankers with knowledge of the matter said on the condition of anonymity. However, the RBI has given banks until December to try and come up with a resolution plan, failing which the firms must be taken to bankruptcy court, said these bankers.
There are close to 30-40 firms in this second list, confirmed the bankers quoted above who added that each bank has received names of firms to which they have exposure.
In June, the RBI had identified 12 large accounts, which made up 25 percent of the banking system’s gross non performing assets (NPAs), and asked banks to refer these for resolution under the IBC. 11 of these 12 cases have been admitted and insolvency proceedings have been initiated.
Source: BloombergQuint
4. Rs 1000 Notes Won't Be Reintroduced, Says Finance Ministry
Within days of introducing new Rs 200 notes, the finance ministry on Tuesday ruled out reintroduction of Rs 1000 notes that were scrapped as part of the demonetisation move last November.
“There is no proposal to reintroduce Rs 1000 note,” said economic affairs secretary Subhash Chandra Garg in a tweet.
The statement comes amid reports that the government may reintroduce Rs 1000 notes.
The government had announced the withdrawal of old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes on 8 November 2016, with an aim to check black money, fake notes and terror financing.
Source: Livemint
5. Consolidation of PSU Banks Remains a Work-In-Progress
It was in the budget speech on 28 February 2005 that consolidation of Indian banking industry was probably put forth for the first time by someone who mattered in the government. The then finance minister P Chidambaram, in a different context of acquiring size to match global banks, signalled the government is keen on state-run banks' merger.
More than a decade after, this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet has given a go ahead to banks to come up with plans by themselves to consolidate the 21 entities based on the needs of individual banks. As matters stand, government has said it wouldn't force the hands of banks.
Which bank would set the ball rolling? The first casualty of any merger is the top management of one of the banks. In this context, it is difficult to see any lender taking the first step and see his crown go missing.
Source: Economic Times
6. Over Rs 92,000 Crore Received As GST For July
A total of Rs 92,283 crore had been collected via the Goods and Services Tax (GST) for July, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said at a press conference in New Delhi. This is the first month of collections under the new indirect tax regime which came into existence on 1 July. The collections have been higher than the targeted Rs 91,000 crore, the finance minister said.
64.42 percent of taxpayers had filed returns as of Tuesday morning, Jaitley said.
The total collections included:
- CGST: Rs 14,894 crore
- SGST: Rs 22,722 crore
- IGST: Rs 47,469 crore (IGST from imports: Rs 20,964 crore)
- Cess: Rs 7,198 crore
- Total: Rs 92,283 crore
Source: BloombergQuint
7. Top Telcos May Give 5G a Miss If Auction Is Held This Fiscal Year
Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Idea Cellular and Reliance Jio Infocomm may skip bidding for 700 MHz band, which is ideal for 4G services, and give 5G spectrum a miss if airwaves are auctioned in this financial year, analysts and industry experts said.
“Top incumbents and Jio could selectively augment their existing spectrum portfolio across the 800-2500 MHz bands rather than bid for fresh 700 MHz spectrum,” Morgan Stanley said in a note to clients seen by Economic Times.
The US brokerage does not see immediate takers for 700 MHz, especially if their value is benchmarked to the exorbitant base price in the previous October 2016 auction.
Source: Economic Times
8. Samara Capital, Norwest Sell RBL Bank Shares Worth Rs 495 Crore
Private equity firms Samara Capital and Norwest Venture Partners on Tuesday offloaded RBL Bank shares worth Rs495 crore through open market transactions.
The central bank of Norway, Norges Bank, was among the buyers of the shares. It also manages the Government Pension Fund Global. According to bulk deal data available with the BSE, Norwest Venture Partners sold 60 lakh shares of RBL Bank at Rs 515.04 apiece, valuing the transaction at Rs 309.02 crore.
Besides, Samara Capital Partners offloaded a total of 36.10 lakh shares of the bank on an average price of Rs 515, translating the transaction size to Rs 185.91 crore.
Source: Livemint
9. Survey On Ease Of Business Doesn’t Represent Government Views: NITI Aayog
A survey on ease of doing business suggesting that it takes longer time to set up business in India than previous estimates is a research document and did not represent the views of the government, the NITIi Aayog clarified on Tuesday.
Facing flak over the document it released on Monday on the ease of doing business, the government think-tank in a statement said this was based on an enterprise survey conducted jointly with the IDFC Institute.
“The report itself states that it is meant to be a research document and its contents do not represent the views of the Government of India or NITI Aayog,” the statement said.
The survey had stated that it takes 118 days on an average to set up a business in India. The findings were at sharp variance with the World Bank report, which showed that it took just 26 days to set up a business in India in 2016.
Source: BloombergQuint
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