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QBiz: Nifty Hits Record High; GST Won’t Push Up Prices, Says Adhia

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1. Where Would Apple, IBM Be If Not for Global Talent: Urjit Patel

Cautioning against protectionism, RBI Governor Urjit Patel has said where would giant American corporations like Apple, Cisco and IBM be if they had not sourced the best products and talent from across the world.

"I don't think that we have heard the last word on US policy talk about this because there is a push back internationally that the world has benefited from an open trading system," the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor said after delivering a lecture in New York.

He made the remarks in response to a question on the rise of protectionist tendencies in major world economies after he delivered the Third Kotak Family Distinguished Lecture, sponsored by the Raj Center on Indian Economic Policies at the Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.

Read the full story on The Quint.

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2. Wipro Posts Strong Q4 Results, But Q1 FY18 Growth Forecast Weak

Wipro Ltd on Tuesday reported a strong set of fourth-quarter earnings that beat street estimates to end a year in which India’s three largest services firms all lagged behind the industry’s average growth pace.

Bengaluru-based Wipro said its dollar revenue improved 2.7 percent sequentially to 1.95 billion dollars in the three months to March (1.7 percent rise in constant currency terms), after it had earlier outlined quarterly growth of at-best 2 percent in constant currency terms in the fourth quarter.

Net profit jumped 13 percent to 349 million dollars from 309 million dollars in the preceding quarter, on account of gains made on the sale of Wipro EcoEnergy for 70 million dollars.

A Bloomberg survey of analysts had estimated a revenue of 2.14 billion dollars (Rs 13,817.6 crore) and a profit of 327.94 million dollars (Rs 2,122.6 crore).

For fiscal 2016-17, Wipro reported 4.9 percent dollar revenue growth, a slight improvement over the 3.7 percent growth in 2015-16, to end with 7.7 billion dollars in revenue. The firm ended 2016-17 with 7 percent growth in constant currency terms.

(Source: Livemint)

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3. Nifty Closes at All-Time High of 9,306.60 points, Valuations Rich

The National Stock Exchange’s (NSE’s) benchmark Nifty rose to a record closing high on Tuesday and the BSE Sensex ended just 57 points short of the psychologically important mark of 30,000 as better-than-expected quarterly corporate earnings and the forecast of a normal monsoon buoyed investors.

Rich stock valuations failed to deter investors, who also rode the tail of a worldwide rally sparked by a centrist victory in the first round of the French presidential election.

The 50-share Nifty closed 88.65 points, or 0.96 percent, higher at 9,306.60 points on Tuesday. The 30-share Sensex closed up 287.40 points, or 0.97 percent, at 29,943.24 points.

Elsewhere, the Nasdaq Composite index crossed the 6,000 threshold on Tuesday, more than 17 years after it last marked a 1,000 point milestone.

(Source: Livemint)

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4. Economic Reforms: Tax on Agriculture Income Part of Niti Aayog’s Action Plan

Agricultural income should be taxed at the same threshold as personal income, Niti Aayog, the government’s thinktank, has proposed in its draft three-year action plan. Farm income could be assessed for tax as a three-year average, Niti Aayog member Bibek Debroy said at a press briefing on Tuesday, making a case for widening the taxpayer base.

“There should be no distinction between urban and rural. The threshold for taxing rural agriculture income should be the same as urban income. However, rural agriculture income taxed could be an average of three years as it is subject to weather fluctuations,” Debroy said, explaining the Aayog’s proposal to expand the country’s tax base.

The government plans to do away with personal income tax exemptions, an exercise that’s already under way for corporate income. However, taxing agricultural income would require an amendment to the Income Tax Act and cannot be purely an executive decision.

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5. NPAs Resolution ‘Big Challenge’ And ‘Top Priority’: Arun Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has asserted that the government was giving top priority to the issue of bad loans, while acknowledging that the problem of non-performing assets was "adversely impacting" the Indian banking system.

Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations, Jaitley termed the resolution of the Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) as the "one very big challenge" going forward and the government's "top priority" at the moment. He said the magnitude of the NPAs problem was that essentially it was about 20 to 30 big accounts.

It’s not a problem spread over hundreds of thousands of accounts... And it’s not impossible for a large economy like India to resolve 20 to 30 accounts. So it’s not an insurmountable problem. I think it’s just persisted too long, but it’s certainly adversely impacting us.
Arun Jaitley

(Source: PTI)

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6. GST Will Not Push up Prices, Says Revenue Secretary

Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia on Tuesday held out the assurance that prices of goods and services will not see an increase under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.

For instance, goods that currently have a tax incidence of 32 percent will be taxed at about 28 percent under GST, he told reporters at a GST Conclave organised by the Finance Ministry.

“Almost 60 percent of the income of the Centre and the States comes from items that attract 14 percent value added tax and 12.5 percent excise duty. There will be a likely decrease on the tax on each of these items under GST,” he said, adding that GST will reduce the cascading of taxes and help ease inflation.

In the case of services, which will see a higher tax of 18 percent under GST (as against the 15 percent service tax rate now), Adhia said the tax incidence will be the same.

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7. Rs 24,646 Cr Tax Demand Notice Slapped on Sahara Group’s Amby Valley Ltd By IT Dept

The Income Tax Department has issued a Rs 24,646-crore tax demand notice to Sahara Group's Aamby Valley Ltd (AVL) after conducting a special audit of the company.

The department, as part of a special investigation and audit into the account books of AVL, found that an income of over Rs 48,000 crore for a particular assessment year was allegedly not reflected in the record books of the firm and hence it raised a fresh tax demand and penalty amount on it.

A Sahara Group spokesperson confirmed the development to PTI.

(Source: PTI)

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8. Coal India FY18 Production Target Cut on Weak Demand

In an unprecedented move, the Union government has reduced the production target for Coal India Ltd (CIL) from 660 million tonnes (mt) to 600 mt in the current year due to tepid demand for the fuel from thermal power plants.

CIL, the monopoly state-owned miner, has stock of around 69 mt of coal, according to a key official, who asked not to be named. In addition, power plants across the country have in their stock 26-28 mt of coal, this person added.

In 2016-17, CIL produced 554.1 mt as against a target of 598.6 mt, and despatched 543.1 mt of coal. With production exceeding despatches, CIL’s inventory (or stock) rose by around 11 mt.

(Source: Livemint)

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9. Govt Plans New PSU-ETF This Fiscal

To achieve the stiff target set for disinvestment proceeds, the Finance Ministry is planning an exchange traded fund (ETF) of shares of Central public sector units.

The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has invited applications for advisers and legal firms for the proposed ETF, which is expected to help raise at least Rs 6,000 crore.

“This is the thinking as of now as share sales have been cleared in a number of firms. If required, the fund-raising through ETF can be increased,” said a person familiar with the development.

Sources said the ETF could include shares of listed PSUs as well as some government stake in companies held through SUUTI.

(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)

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Topics:  Sensex   Nifty   Arun Jaitley 

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