1. Do More to Relax Trade Barriers: Trump to Modi
US President Donald Trump urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to do more to relax Indian trade barriers on Monday during talks in which both leaders took great pains to stress the importance of a strong US-Indian relationship.
At a closely watched first meeting between the two, Trump and Modi appeared to be getting along well. Modi pulled in Trump for a bear hug on the stage as the cameras rolled in the Rose Garden.
Trump was warm but made clear he sees a need for more balance in the US-India trade relationship in keeping with his campaign promise to expand American exports and create more jobs at home. Last year the US trade deficit with India neared $31 billion.
Trump said he would like a trading relationship that is "fair and reciprocal."
2. US Exports to India Support 2,60,000 Jobs in America
American exports to India support more than 2,60,000 jobs directly and indirectly in the US and the cumulative investment from the country into India reached USD 28.3 billion in 2015, a new report said today.
India's foreign direct investment (FDI) in the US totalled 9.2 billion dollars as of 2015, up more than 500 percent since 2006, said the report 'India Matters for America/ America Matters for India', which was released by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and East- West Center at an event on the sidelines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's US visit.
"Every US state exports to India, these exports support more than 2,60,000 jobs directly and indirectly," the report said.
Source: PTI
3. GST: Relief For Amazon & Flipkart as Government Defers Implementation of a Provision
The government has deferred implementation of a provision that required e-commerce players such as Amazon and Flipkart to deduct tax on payments made to their vendors from 1 July, under the new Goods and Service Tax regime.
In addition, small businesses that sell through these e-commerce platforms don't have to register themselves immediately, the government said.
E-commerce players had feared losing business as a large number of small suppliers were yet to register their operations as required under GST guidelines.
These firms had raised this issue in a representation to the government and were quick to welcome the development.
Source: Economic Times
4. GST: Car Firms Brace For Short-Term Losses
Passenger vehicle makers are adopting diverse distribution and sales strategies ahead of the 1 July roll-out of goods and services tax (GST).
Some, such as Hyundai Motor India Ltd and Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, have chosen to only marginally curtail dispatches to dealers and offer steep discounts to ensure buyers do not postpone purchases until GST is implemented. Others, such as market leader Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd, have cut shipments to ensure dealerships are able to liquidate stock. These firms are offering discounts only on a few models.
Source: Livemint
5. From 1 July, Oil Companies to Carve Out Their Own Exploration Areas
1 July will not only be about the biggest indirect direct tax reform – the Goods and Services Tax – but also about a new kid on the block in India’s hydrocarbon space: Open Acreage Licensing, which allows companies to cherry-pick their own areas for exploration.
Like GST, OAL, another policy initiative of the previous UPA government, will be offered under the Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy. OAL will also mean the end of the story for the existing auction mechanism, the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP).
Officials associated with the process say that if the trial run is anything to go by, OAL has already attracted the Exxons of the world, who have been keeping India low on their oil and gas exploration priority list.
Source: The Hindu BusinessLine
6. Govt Defers TDS, TCS Under GST
To help industry, especially e-commerce players, prepare for the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the Finance Ministry has deferred the provision for tax deduction and collection at source under the new levy.
It will be started from a date which will be notified separately, said the Ministry on Monday. Similarly, persons supplying goods or services through an electronic commerce operator and liable to collect tax at source will not be required to register immediately until the tax collection at source (TCS) provision is brought into force.
“This step has been taken to provide more time for persons liable to deduct tax at source/e-commerce companies and their suppliers to prepare for the historic tax reform,” said the Ministry.
The move will also benefit small businesses with a turnover less than ₹20 lakh that are required to register with the GST portal for selling goods or services through e-commerce portal.
Source: The Hindu BusinessLine
7. Ordinance Empowering RBI in Tackling Bad Loans Only a One-off Measure: Former RBI Guv YV Reddy
The ordinance empowering the Reserve Bank to direct banks to take defaulters to bankruptcy courts is blurring the roles of the regulator and the government, although it could be considered a desperate, one-off measure under extraordinary circumstances, said YV Reddy, former governor of RBI.
Indian banks are sitting on Rs 6.14 lakh crore of bad debt. RBI has asked them to tighten provisions for loans being referred to bankruptcy courts, which may squeeze credit in banking system.
Source: Economic Times
8. Record Low Credit Growth: 1,000 Companies Borrowed Rs 1 Trillion Less in FY17
The record low bank credit growth of 5.1 percent in FY17 was led by the top 1,000 listed corporates which saw their net loan outstanding decline by a whopping Rs 1 trillion in the reporting year, said a report.
One-third of this massive contraction was led by just 10 companies, which cumulatively availed of Rs 33,571 crore less in the year over the previous year, according to the report by SBI Research.
According to SBI chief economic adviser Soumya Kanti Ghosh, who penned the report, this could either be perceived as lower debt utilisation levels or prepayment through internal accruals or through asset sale. Other reasons could be QIP or private equity participation.
Source: PTI
9. Reliance Industries Seeks Shareholders’ Nod to Raise Rs 25,000 Crore Via Debt
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has sought shareholders’ approval to raise as much as Rs 25,000 crore through debt to meet capital expenditure, the firm said in a stock exchange notice.
RIL has listed this in its notice calling for an annual general meeting of the company to be held on 21 July.
The firm has proposed to raise this debt through private placement of non-convertible debt instruments.
RIL’s consolidated debt rose to Rs1.96 trillion at the end of March, compared with Rs1.8 trillion a year ago. Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the past fiscal year were at Rs77,226 crore, down from Rs89,969 crore in the year-ago period.
Capital expenditure for the past fiscal year stood at Rs1.15 trillion.
Source: Livemint
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)