1. Cash Crunch May Ease by Feb-End, Says SBI Report
The Reserve Bank of India replaced as much as 44 percent of the currency extinguished by demonetisation with new notes by 30 December, according to a State Bank of India report.
India’s currency supply is likely to return to near normal by February-end and growth, which has been hit by the withdrawal of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, is likely to bounce back faster than earlier expected, said the analysis by India’s largest commercial bank.
The level of replenishment is perhaps not rising faster because the central bank, having initially focussed on pumping new Rs 2,000 notes into the system, is now concentrating on currency of lower denominations, SBI group chief economist Soumya Kanti Ghosh told Economic Times.
(Source: Economic Times)
2. Note Ban Will Lead to Temporary Slowdown, Says President
President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday issued a note of caution that the Narendra Modi government's demonetisation decision could likely lead to a temporary slowdown in the economy and hurt the poor.
The President called for policymaking that would reduce the suffering of the poor, and seemed to question the focus shift in the government's poverty alleviation programmes and policies from an entitlement-based approach to an entrepreneurial one.
Mukherjee said he was "not too sure the poor could wait that long" to endure the gestation involved in the transition.
(Source: Business Standard)
3. Xiaomi’s India Sales Cross $1 Billion
Xiaomi Corp surpassed $1 billion in annual India revenue, two years after selling its first smartphone in the country, as Chinese names begin to dominate the world’s fastest-growing major market at the expense of local players.
Xiaomi said it grew shipments by almost 150 percent in 2016, selling two million smartphones in the third quarter alone. The company had focused on India since failing to meet sales targets and dropping to number four in a home market it once led.
India is increasingly attracting foreign players as global demand stagnates.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
4. Estimates of Old Notes Back With Banks May Be Incorrect: RBI
Reacting to media reports about the quantum of demonetised currency that has been returned to the banks by the 30 December deadline, the Reserve Bank of India on Thursday said such estimates may not be correct.
The RBI said the aggregating of accounting entries made at the various currency chests still requires to be reconciled with the actual cash balances in order to eliminate accounting errors and double counting.
“The periodical SBN (specified bank notes) figures released by us were based on aggregation of accounting entries done at the large number of currency chests all over the country,” an RBI said in a statement.
(Source: Times of India)
5. Hotel Industry Least Affected By Note Ban
Hotels are among the least affected sectors post-demonetisation. In fact, the economy hotels have reported a rise in bookings and revenue per available room (RevPAR) this year compared to last year.
At Tata Group’s budget hotel chain Ginger, for instance, the occupancy rate this December has gone up by more than 10 percent, compared to last year, registering over 3 percent overall growth to clock an aggregate of 70 percent.
Similarly, Arif Patel, VP, sales, marketing, distribution and loyalty of AccorHotels said “the month of November, the revenue per available room (RevPAR) increased by 33 percent across all hotels, while those operational for two years and more have seen 25 percent growth.”
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. Exporters to Get 90% Duty Refund Within Seven Days Under GST
The Finance Ministry has agreed to refund 90 percent of the duties paid by exporters in the process of manufacturing items for export within a period of seven days under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.
The issue was raised at a meeting of state industry ministers under the Trade Promotion and Development Council, chaired by commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Commerce secretary Rita Teaotia told the state ministers that the revenue department has given an assurance that the revamped ICEGATE portal would make sure refunds are made on time.
(Source: Livemint)
7. Gold Maintains Uptrend, Hits 1-Month High
Marching forward for the third straight day, gold prices on Thursday surged by another Rs 180 to a nearly month high of Rs 28,730 per 10 grams, in line with a firming trend overseas amid increased buying by local jewellers.
Silver followed suit and advanced by Rs 350 to Rs 40,600 per kg due to increased offtake by industrial units and coin makers.
Traders said sentiment took a turn for the better after gold advanced to its highest level in four weeks in global markets as the US dollar retreated from a 14-year peak hit earlier this week, which kept the precious metals higher.
(Source: Times of India)
8. Fly Air India At Rajdhani Train Fare, Once Again
Air India on Thursday announced a limited period special fares scheme under which passengers can book tickets at the price of second class AC of Rajdhani express trains.
Passengers travelling on select domestic sectors in the economy class can avail this exclusive offer, under which air fares start as low as Rs 1,080, Air India said in a media statement.
In June last year, the national carrier had rolled out a similar scheme. And by the time it was discontinued in September, as many as 21,678 passengers had availed of the offer.
The "Special Fares" scheme commences from Friday, the statement said, adding that tickets booked between 6 January and 10 April will be valid for a travel period between 26 January and 30 April 2017.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
9. Bank Employees’ Pay to Be Far More Attractive From 1 April: Vinod Rai
As part of the efforts to attract more professionals into the public sector bank (PSB) space, the Banks Board Bureau (BBB) will revamp the compensation package of employees and introduce bonuses, employee stock options (ESOPs) and performance-linked incentives from 1 April this year, its Chairman Vinod Rai said.
The BBB is also toying with the idea of ensuring a longer tenure for those appointed as executive directors and chief executive officers.
(Source: Hindu BusinessLine)
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