1. Aadhaar Must for Opening Bank Accounts, Transactions of Rs 50,000 and Above
The government on Friday made the Aadhaar card mandatory for opening bank accounts and for financial transactions of Rs 50,000 and above.
Existing bank account holders have been asked to submit the Aadhaar number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (Uidai) by 31 December 2017, failing which the account will be declared invalid, according to a revenue department notification.
The government in Budget 2017 had also mandated seeding the Aadhaar number with the Permanent Account Number (PAN) to avoid individuals using multiple PANs to evade taxes.
Source: Business Standard
2. Two Factors That Made Reliance Industries, BP Go in for Huge Investment in KG Basin
Reliance Industries and BP Plc’s $6-billion investment announcement on Thursday was prompted by the rare opportunity to develop their gas fields at rock-bottom costs and sell the output at market rates, putting the spotlight back on the Krishna-Godavari Basin block that once seemed to be fading in the priorities of India’s richest man.
The timing of the development is significant as the new output will begin in 2020 and triple in 2022, which a Morgan Stanley report said is “close to end of the global gas glut”. Global gas prices tumbled in recent years because of the glut, discouraging fresh investment.
Source: Economic Times
3. India Moves to Daily Petrol, Diesel Price Change
State-run oil companies Indian Oil Corp Ltd (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL) started selling petrol and diesel in sync with international rates from Friday.
These government-run firms, which have around 90% share of the Indian fuel retail market, adopted the new dynamic pricing model after trying it out since 1 May in Udaipur, Jamshedpur, Puducherry, Chandigarh and Visakhapatnam. Private firms such as Reliance Industries Ltd and Essar Oil Ltd are also present in the Indian retail fuel retail market.
Source: Livemint
4. Consumer-Facing Companies Stare at Over a Month's Sales Loss Due to GST
Indian companies that rely on elaborate distribution networks to reach out to their customers face an unexpected headwind – the GST.
Introduction of the new levy, billed as India’s biggest indirect-tax reform since Independence, may cause about 45 days of potential sales loss to companies in consumer businesses – cars, white goods, medicines, staple foods, soaps and shampoos, and auto-parts. If the Street’s concerns turn out to be true, projections on the earnings per share (EPS) for the BSE 200 index may have to be whittled down by as much as 7%, as consumer connect businesses have a significant share in the benchmark.
Source: Economic Times
5. GST Disruption May Last Two Quarters at Most, Says Vikas Khemani
India’s equity markets will not react to the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) the same way they reacted to demonetisation, said Vikas Khemani, CEO and President of Edelweiss Securities on BloombergQuint’s special series Thank God It’s Friday.
While demonetisation came as a surprise, implementation of the new indirect tax regime was expected, he said. Consequently, there may be a short-term disruption which will last one or two quarters, at worst, and the market will definitely overlook these worries, Khemani added.
Source: Bloomberg Quint
6. Govt Said to Be Planning Policy Revamp for $19 Billion Gold Jewellery Industry
India, which vies with China as the top consumer of bullion, is working on new policies to improve transparency and help expand its $19 billion gold jewellery industry, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The plans being worked out by the finance and commerce ministries along with industry groups should be finalised by the end of March next year, the people said, asking not to be identified because they aren’t authorised to speak publicly. DS Malik, spokesman for the finance ministry, didn’t answer calls to his cellphone, while a spokeswoman for the commerce ministry didn’t reply to an email seeking comment.
Source: Livemint
7. Govt Will Unveil New Electronic and Software Products Policy, Says Ravi Shankar Prasad
The government will soon come out with a new electronic and software products policy, and the framework for a data security and protection policy, as it aims to build a $1 trillion digital economy.
“We will be shortly laying out a new electronics policy to boost electronics manufacturing. There is a need to look inwards for software in Indian markets therefore we’ll go with a new software policy and we are also going to have a framework for a data security and data protection policy,” Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union minister for electronics and information technology, told reporters an event organized to develop a road map for the One Trillion Dollar Digital Economy in India.
Source: Livemint
8. Black Money: Switzerland Ratifies Account Info Sharing With India From 2019
Switzerland on Friday ratified automatic exchange of financial account information with India and 40 other jurisdictions to facilitate immediate sharing of details about suspected black money, even as it sought strict adherence to confidentiality and data security.
Adopting the dispatch on introduction of the AEOI, a global convention for automatic information exchange on tax matters, the Swiss Federal Council said the implementation is planned for 2018 and the first set of data should be exchanged in 2019.
The council, which is the top governing body of the European nation, will soon notify the Indian government about the exact date from which the automatic exchange would begin.
Source: Business Standard
9. Infosys Americas Head Sandeep Dadlani Quits in Setback for CEO Vishal Sikka
Sandeep Dadlani, the head of Americas and global head of manufacturing and retail for Infosys, has resigned, in a setback to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Vishal Sikka.
Dadlani, among the four presidents at Infosys, was managing nearly a third of the $10.2 billion revenue for India's second largest software exporter. He joined Infosys in 2001.
While Dadlani, who resigned on Thursday, did not disclose where he is headed, wrote on his LinkedIn profile: "Next up: An out-of-the world assignment! Stay tuned."
Source: Business Standard
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