1. Govt Hikes Dearness Allowance By 3%, To Benefit 1.1 Crore Employees, Pensioners
The Union Cabinet increased the dearness allowance by 3 percent effective 1 January 2019, a move which will benefit 1.1 crore central government employees and pensioners.
The Cabinet has approved additional dearness allowance of 3 percent over the existing rate of 9 percent to government employees and dearness relief to pensioners from Jan. 1, 2019, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters after the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The hike will benefit about 48.41 lakh central government employees and 62.03 lakh pensioners.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
2. India to Push for CNG, LNG Cars Till Electric Vehicles Become Affordable
India is preparing for a major thrust on the development and use of vehicles that run on compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) in yet another effort to curb rising levels of vehicular pollution in its cities.
The government plans to use CNG and LNG as an alternative to both diesel and petrol until automakers develop efficient and affordable electric vehicles, as part of the move, according to the minutes of a meeting of a committee of secretaries in January, which was also attended by officials from the Prime Minister’s Office. The minutes were seen by Mint.
(Source: LiveMint)
3. Delhi, Kerala Seek To Defer Wednesday’s GST Council Meet
The state governments of Kerala and Delhi on Tuesday, 19 February, demanded deferment of the Goods and Services Tax Council meeting scheduled for 20 February, saying a decision on of rates on real estate sector and lottery should not be taken through a video conference meet.
In a letter to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that such “crucial issues” cannot be discussed through a video conference and convening a physical meeting is important to take a consolidated decision.
Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, too, said that decision on the important issue of GST on lottery cannot taken without a fair discussion.
He said including lottery in the council’s agenda only a day before the meeting is unfair.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
4. Can't Share Divergence Report in Full Without RBI Nod, Yes Bank Says
Yes Bank Ltd on Tuesday, 19 February, said that it had partly disclosed the divergence report because the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had said that no other part of the risk assessment report can be made public.
Besides, since the RBI risk assessment report was confidential, it cannot share it in full unless the central bank permits it, it added.
Yes Bank was responding to clarifications sought by NSE regarding an earlier RBI letter, which had questioned the bank’s intent in issuing a press release on “nil divergence" in asset classification and provisioning.
(Source: LiveMint)
5. Mumbai Sees Biggest Decline in Home Sizes, Rise in Affordability
Mumbai, India’s most expensive property market, showed the maximum improvement in affordability among top eight cities, along with a reduction in average home sizes since 2010, property advisory Knight Frank India’s latest
Affordability Index showed. The report, which assesses the affordability of homes, said average home sizes in Mumbai have shrunk by 24 percent.
While it still remains India’s most expensive housing market and the least affordable, the report estimated that a house will cost around seven times the annual household income, against 11 times in 2010.
(Source: LiveMint)
6. Govt Relaxes Norms, Investment Limit For Angel Tax Concession To Startups
In a major relief for startups, the Narendra Modi government has decided to relax angel tax norms, including increasing the investment limit to Rs 25 crore for availing income tax concessions.
Currently, startups avail tax concession only if total investment, including funding from angel investors, does not exceed Rs 10 crore.
"Considerations of shares received by eligible startups for shares issued or proposed to be issued by all investors shall be exempt up to an aggregate limit of Rs 25 crore," tweeted Suresh Prabhu, the minister for commerce and industry.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
7. WTO Pegs Global Trade at 9-Year Low
An indicator released by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to gauge global trade for January-March, 2019, has hit a nine-year low. Analysts say if global trade slows down, exports from India may face repercussions.
The WTO’s quarterly outlook indicator, comprising seven trade parameters, stood at 96.3, the lowest since March 2010 and down from 98.6 in November. A reading below 100 means below-trend growth in trade.
“The most recent WTO reading of 96.3 is the weakest since March 2010 and below the baseline value of 100 for the index, signalling below-trend trade expansion into the first quarter (of 2019),” the WTO said.
(Source: Business Standard)
8. Flipkart's Sachin Bansal May Join Ola Board After Rs 650-Crore Investment
Ride-hailing firm Ola on Tuesday, 19 February, confirmed an investment of Rs 650 crore ($92 million) from Flipkart Co-Founder Sachin Bansal.
This investment, which has been made by Bansal in his personal capacity as an investor, is part of Ola’s larger Series J funding round and values the Bengaluru firm at around $6.5 billion, according to sources with the direct knowledge of the development.
Sources confirmed that with this investment, Bansal will be accorded a board seat in Ola, giving his business insights and expertise in taking the company to the next level.
(Source: Business Standard)
9. IL&Fs Engineering, Punj Lloyd Among 314 Stocks Trading Below Face Value
A sharp fall in small-cap segment has seen the number of stocks trading below their face value rise to 314 at the bourses from 132 a year ago and 269 at the beginning of calendar year 2019 (CY19).
Reliance Naval and Engineering, IL&FS Transportation Networks, Essar Shipping, Punj Lloyd and Shriram EPC are among the 51 stocks that have slipped below their face value in past one-and-a-half months alone.
Thus far in CY19, the S&P BSE Small-cap and the S&P BSE Mid-cap indices have underperformed the market by falling 11 percent each, as compared to 1.6 percent decline in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex till Monday, 18 February.
(Source: Business Standard)
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