1. BS poll: RBI May Hold Rates Tomorrow-BS
Market experts don’t expect the RBI to change interest rates during its monetary policy review meeting on Tuesday. The main reasons given for this were unseasonal rains which might increase food prices, geopolitical tensions which might raise oil prices and foreign fund outflow if the Federal Reserve Bank increases US interest rates, says the Business Standard.
2. 100 Foreign Funds Asked to Pay $6 billion in Tax Demands-FE
A 100 international firms have been slapped with a tax demand of $5-6 billion for ‘tax gains’ made by them in previous years, in the biggest tax demand levied by authorities. The number of affected firms can also rise substantially as assessments are still being made by the tax department and more notices may still be issued. The total tax demand therefore can still go up to $10 billion according to the Financial Express.
3. Trade Gap with China May Double to $60B in 2 Years-ET
India’s trade deficit with China could nearly double to $60 billion in the next two years if the two partners do not address market access constraints and non-tariff barriers faced by Indian goods in the neighbouring country, the department of commerce cautioned.
The trade deficit widened to $36 billion in 2013-14, accounting for a quarter of India’s overall export and import gap. While India’s exports to the bigger Asian rival fell 18.6% in April 2014-January 2015, imports grew 17.16%.
4.Market Outlook: Rangebound to Negative-FE
The renewed demand for Indian equities by foreign investors may turn out to be ‘a limiting factor’ as benchmark indices have been raised to five year highs on account of their 25% rally over the last year, says the Financial Express.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) believes the market will be range bound to negative over the next few months. It points out that a common refrain from companies is that nothing has really changed on the ground in the 10 months post the elections.
5. Projects Worth Rs 2.5 Lakh Crore Put on Fast Track Since Budget-ET
The government is hoping to get many public investment projects off the ground and expedite stalled projects such as the Navi Mumbai International Airport. It is hoping to ease red tape hurdles and speed up implementation of 135 projects with a total value of Rs. 2.5 lakh crore, Economic Times reports.
6. Ratnagiri gas to convert Rs.450-cr gas into equity-FE
Stressed state-run power utility Ratnagiri Gas and Power (RGPPL) is set to convert Rs 450 crore of its debt into equity with an extraordinary general meeting scheduled this week to formally pass the proposal. Once this gets done, the State Bank of India-led consortium of lenders would, for the first time, become the majority stakeholder in the company.
This would be the second time the company would be forced to convert debt into equity ever since its power station stopped generation in March 2013 due to a continuous decline in domestic gas supply from the KG-D6 basin.
7. Center to allow Commercial mining by state governments-BS
Coal Secretary, Anil Swarup has confirmed that Coal India is set to lose its monopoly over coal mining rights in the country as the Indian government will allow other public sector units (PSU), including at the state level, to commercially mine coal, says the Business Standard.
We want to go step-by-step. First, we auctioned mines that need it for end-use. Then, we want to give commercial mining rights to state entities. Then, we might give it to private players.
- Anil Swarup, Coal Secretary
8. Railways Planning E-commerce Push for Parcel Business-ET
The railways parcel business is all set to get an e-commerce push with the national transporter planning a special scheme to attract online retailers that use road transport to transfer heavy volumes.
The railways earns around 2,100 crore from its parcel business, which could go up to 5,000 crore in three years if it manages to tap the emerging businesses.
9. Myntra to Shut Website on May 10-TOI
Online fashion retailer Myntra will shut its website from May 1, in what seems like a definitive step towards becoming only a mobile app-based retailer, sources close to the development told TOI. This will be the first such instance of an e-commerce player transforming into a mobile-only entity as internet usage over smartphones surges in India.