1. Government Extends Deadline for Filing Final GST Returns to January 10
The government has extended the last date for filing of GSTR-1 till 10 January 2018 for businesses with turnover up to Rs 1.5 crore under the goods and services tax (GST).
Businesses with turnover of up to Rs 1.5 crore will have to file GSTR-1 for July-September by 10 January 2018, as against 31 December 2017 earlier, said a government press release.
For businesses with turnover of more than Rs 1.5 crore, GSTR-1 has to be filed for the period July-November by 10 January.
(Source: Economic Times)
2. India Says Bitcoin as Risky as Ponzi Schemes
The government on Friday, 29 December, cautioned the general public against investing in virtual currencies, calling them as risky as ponzi schemes.
Virtual currencies like Bitcoins are not backed by any assets, and their price is a ‘mere’ speculation leading to volatility, the Finance Ministry said in a statement
Value of Bitcoin has jumped more than 1,700 percent in 2017. Its price as of 10.20 am on Friday was $14,847, or about Rs 9.50 lakh a unit, according to blockchain news site CoinDesk.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
3. PM’s Top Adviser Says India Needs to Fix Slow Pace of Trade
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s top economic adviser said India needs to give the highest priority to easing cross-border trade as complex and multiple procedures continue to slow down exports and hurt the nation’s competitiveness despite recent reforms.
There’s a need to integrate and streamline clearances for logistics companies, a report co-authored by Bibek Debroy, chairman of Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, said. The government must address inefficiencies to build on its initiatives in the last three years like the single-window clearance, it said. BloombergQuint reviewed a copy of the report.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
4. India’s External Debt Stands at $496 Billion at September-End
India's external debt reached $ 495.7 billion at the end of September quarter, up 5.1 percent over end-March 2017, primarily on account of increase in foreign investment in the debt segment of capital market.
On a sequential basis, total external debt at end-September 2017 increased by $10 billion (2.1 per cent) from the end-June 2017 level. "The rise in external debt during the period was primarily due to the increase in foreign portfolio investment in the debt segment of domestic capital market included under commercial borrowings," the Finance Ministry said in a statement.
Some increase in short-term debt primarily due to trade related credit also contributed to the overall increase in total external debt. The release further said the maturity pattern of India's external debt indicates dominance of long-term borrowings.
(Source: PTI)
5. Risk of Govt Breaching Fiscal Deficit Target in FY18 Rises
The risk of the government breaching its fiscal deficit target of 3.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the fiscal year ending March 2018 increased significantly as it exhausted 112 percent of its Rs 5.5 trillion full-year fiscal deficit by November-end due to lower-than-expected revenue collections and higher revenue expenditure.
Data released by the Controller General of Accounts showed that during the April-November period, revenue deficit stood at 152 percent of the Rs 3.2 trillion full-year target, signalling that the government may also miss the revenue deficit target of 1.9 percent of GDP for 2017-18.
(Source: Livemint)
6. Infosys Divests Minority Stake in ANSR Consulting
Infosys said it signed an agreement to divest its entire stake from ANSR Consulting holdings for a total consideration of $1 million.
The IT services major had in 2015 picked up minority stake in the consulting firm, which offers services for establishment and operations of global in-house centres (GICs), captive units of multi-national businesses.
ANSR Consulting, a Delaware Corporation, was backed by Accel Partners and Infosys. ANSR reportedly helped set up 27 GICs including companies such as Target in India.
(Source: Economic Times)
7. RBI Cancels Bids for Rs 11,000-Cr Bonds
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday, 29 December, refused to accept bids for Rs 11,000 crore worth of bonds in the final auction of this calendar year.
In all, four bonds for Rs 15,000 crore were on offer. Bids for two bonds – one maturing in 2022 (Rs 3,000 crore on offer) and another in 2031 (Rs 8,000 crore) – were rejected by the central bank. It sold the remaining two bonds worth Rs 2,000 crore each and maturing in 2033 and 2046.
The signal from the RBI has been that high yields would not be acceptable to the central bank or the government. Also, and that the yield movement have been over the top in a short span.
(Source: Business Standard)
8. Centre Pumps ₹7,577 Cr Into 6 Public Sector Banks
Coming to the rescue of ailing banks, the Centre has pumped in capital of ₹7,577 crore in various weak public sector banks.
This capital infusion is timely and would help these banks shore up their capital adequacy as they close the books for the December quarter, said a banking industry observer.
The government has released ₹2,257 crore to Bank of India, which was recently placed under prompt corrective action by the Reserve Bank of India. The other big beneficiary of the latest capital infusion round is IDBI Bank, which has received ₹2,729 crore, sources said.
(Source: The Hindu Businessline)
9. In 2017, Indian Markets Clock Best Returns in Three Years
The S&P BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 have delivered 27.9 percent and 28.6 percent returns, respectively, in 2017, making it the best year for equities since 2014.
This was on account of strong portfolio flows and hopes of an improvement in economic growth and corporate earnings. Analysts expect the momentum in the markets to continue with a revival in earnings and strong global cues while the effects of demonetisation and GST implementation fade.
(Source: Business Standard)
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