1. Linkedin CEO Jeff Weiner Steps Down After 11 Years, Says Time Is Right
The LinkedIn professional networking service is getting a new CEO.
Jeff Weiner will become executive chairman after 11 years as CEO of the Microsoft-owned business. Ryan Roslansky, senior vice president of product, will become CEO as of 1 June.
Weiner said the timing felt right personally and professionally, with a ready successor. He said he sees his new role as similar to how LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman helped him.
(Source: Business Standard)
2. Country to Get 13th Major Port at Vadhavan in Maharashtra for Rs 65,544 Cr
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday, 5 February, approved the setting up of the country’s 13th major port at Vadhavan in Maharashtra at a total cost of Rs 65,544.54 crore.
The Vadhavan port will be developed on “landlord model” (where infrastructure is leased to private firms or industries and chemical plants). A special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be formed, with the government planning to hold 51 percent stake in the project.
The SPV will develop the port infrastructure including reclamation, construction of breakwater, besides establishing connectivity to the hinterland. All the business activities would be undertaken under the private-public partnership mode.
(Source: Business Standard)
3. Govt to Finalise PSU General Insurers' Merger by March-End: Finance Secy
The government aims to complete merger of three state-owned general insurance companies – National Insurance Co Ltd, United India Insurance Co Ltd, and Oriental Insurance Co Ltd – by the end of March, Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar said.
Respective boards of the three companies have already given their in-principal approvals for the merger.
"Merger of PSU general insurers is at an advanced stage. We can see that happening quite soon. It is already before the Cabinet," Kumar told PTI in an interview.
(Source: Business Standard)
4. 15th Finance Commission to Set up Panel to Examine Fiscal, Debt Situation
The Fifteenth Finance Commission (15th FC) will set up a panel later this month to examine the fiscal and debt situation of the Centre and states and present a road map, on the lines of the erstwhile Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management panel, the Commission’s Chairman N K Singh said on Wednesday, 5 February.
The panel may include or seek inputs from former Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel, former chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian, Sajjid Chinoy of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, Rathin Roy of National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, and Prachi Mishra of Goldman Sachs, among others.
(Source: Business Standard)
5. $118.3 Bn Received in Remittances Since 2018-19: Govt to Lok Sabha
An estimated 13.62 million Indian nationals are staying abroad and $118.3 billion has been received as remittances since April 2018 up to September last year, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, 5 February.
In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan cited figures which showed that countries like Nepal, the Middle East region, the UK, the US, Malaysia and Germany have a large number of Indians living there.
According to the data received from Indian missions, there are an estimated 13.62 million Indians abroad, he said.
(Source: Business Standard)
6. Coronavirus Casts a Shadow on Solar Projects
Power project developers in India, sourcing solar modules from China, plan to declare force majeure on meeting project completion deadlines because of supply disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak, multiple people aware of the development said.
Chinese vendors have alerted Indian developers about delays in production, quality checks and transport of components due to the outbreak, the people said. Modules account for nearly 60% of a solar project’s total cost. Invoking the force majeure clause enables a developer to cite disruption from an unforeseen event – in this case the flu epidemic – to justify the delay.
(Source: Mint)
7. Maruti's Ayukawa Says Customers Are Still Not Ready for Electric Cars
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd said on Wednesday that its customers are not yet ready to drive electric cars as the country’s top carmaker appeared unfazed amid a slew of electric vehicle launches by its competitors.
Maruti’s managing director, Kenichi Ayukawa, said in an interview that the high cost of electric vehicles and inadequate charging infrastructure pose major challenges to selling such vehicles in India.
He said Maruti’s customer base mostly comprises people looking to buy affordable small and mid-segment vehicles, and buyers of such products are not so eager to purchase an electric vehicle, which is costlier than a petrol or diesel vehicle.
(Source: Mint)
8. Govt Offers Settlement Scheme, Eyes ₹9.32 Trillion in Disputed Tax Dues
The finance ministry on Wednesday, 5 February, unveiled details of a new scheme that could fetch the exchequer part of the ₹9.32 trillion direct taxes under dispute and free up courts and tribunals crippled by prolonged litigation.
The Direct Tax Vivad se Vishwas Bill, 2020, tabled in Parliament by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, offers immunity from prosecution to those who sign up for the scheme, which opens on the date it is signed into law.
The scheme offers companies a chance to pay disputed tax arrears without interest and penalty if paid before 31 March. If paid later, but before a due date to be announced later, the amount due will go up by 10%, Sitharaman said in a statement explaining the provisions of the Bill.
(Source: Mint)
9. FM Sitharaman Gives Adequate Attention to India’s Aspirations
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Saturday, 1 February, presented a Budget that navigates through various challenges currently facing the country including uplifting economic growth, creating jobs and making sure that expenditures create assets and boosts consumption and growth.
To achieve various competing objectives, the Budget 2020 gave adequate attention to the aspirations of India, tried to boost economic development by creating more space for private investments, and proposed to build social security. The finance minister gave attention to agriculture, irrigation and rural development. Overall, allocation in that sector went up by almost Rs 45,000 crores.
(Source: The Financial Express)
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