1. Madhya Pradesh and Delhi Ratify GST Bill
Madhya Pradesh and Delhi became the seventh and eight states to ratify the constitutional amendment bill for the roll-out of the goods and services tax (GST).
With eight states ratifying the landmark legislation, it has now reached the halfway mark to the required number of states before it can be sent for presidential assent.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government became the third non-National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-led state government to ratify the bill.
The two non-NDA states which have already ratified the bill are Bihar – ruled by a Janata Dal (United)-Rashtriya Janata Dal coalition – and Himachal Pradesh, ruled by the Congress party.
This is a major tax reform happening in the country and we are in favour of this.Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister, Delhi
(Source: Livemint)
2. Cabinet Clears Railway Projects Worth Over Rs 24,000 Crore
The Union Cabinet approved nine projects estimated to cost Rs 24,374 crore combined. This was done in an attempt to increase the capacity of both freight and passenger trains.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu kept his word that he made in the budget for 2016-17, which identified expansion of capacity – particularly on saturated networks – as a key priority over the medium-term. Lack of adequate infrastructure was creating a bottleneck and impeding economic growth.
The projects will be across the states of Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
Railway tracks of a total length of 1,937.8 kms will be laid by the Indian Railways to facilitate easier passenger travel and movement of freight items such as steel, coal and cement.
(Source: Livemint)
3. Banks May Soon Provide Personal Loans Through ATM Machines
Banks can now pre-approve small-value personal loans to its customers using ATMs as a point of disbursal. So, next time you are done withdrawing cash from the ATM, just wait for the system to make an instant loan offer to you.
“It is an undisputed fact that an ATM is a potential touch point or a customer interface point which is frequented by almost every bank customer. It is also the point where if an individual has an emergency, he can avail of that loan immediately even on a holiday,” said Arvind Kapil, Group Head of Unsecured Loans and Mortgage at HDFC Bank.
Banks will be using big data analytics to analyse the facts such as the customer’s work profile, income, personal details, and payment capacities to decide on her credit-worthiness. The bank then decides on the amount of loan that the person is eligible for. Then, as the person swipes her debit card at an ATM, she gets the offer.
If the customer is interested, all she has to do is ‘Agree’ to the legal terms and conditions and type in her mobile number for verification, and get the amount added to her account in seconds.
(Source: The Economic Times)
4. Commerce Minister ‘Strongly Recommends’ a 200 Basis Point Rate Cut
One week after the government announced the new RBI Governor, the Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharam told reporters that she “has no hesitation in recommending 200 bps rate cut” to the RBI.
A basis point is a unit of measure used in finance to describe the percentage change in the value or rate of a financial instrument. It refers to changes in interest rates and bond yields.
The minister added that high interest rates are adversely affecting small and medium enterprises and hence, affordable credit was necessary to boost India’s manufacturing sector.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
5. IFC to Invest $125 Million in Hero Future Energies
International Finance Corp (IFC), the private sector investment arm of the World Bank, said on Tuesday it will invest $125 million (Rs 840 crore) in Hero Future Energies Ltd, the renewable energy arm of the Hero Group.
Hero Future Energies was started in 2012 and is now present in almost 10 India states.
The company works in wind power and solar power sectors and is currently developing 150 megawatts (MW) and about 90 MW in each sector respectively.
It has a pipeline of 1.1 gigawatts (GW) of wind projects till 2018-19 and expects to secure more than 500 MW in solar projects under state and central bidding by 2015-16.
Hero Future Energies plans to commission capacity of more than 1 GW in the next 12 months. IFC, together with IFC Global Infrastructure Fund, will invest up to $125 million of equity and proceeds, which will be used to fund the construction of solar and wind power plants.
(Source: Livemint)
6. Zoomcar Raises $24 Million in Funding Round Led by Ford Arm
Car rental start-up Zoomcar has raised $24 million in a Series B funding round led by Ford Smart Mobility LlC, a unit of Ford Motor Co on Wednesday. Existing investors of the start-up – Sequoia Capital, Nokia Growth Partners and Empire Angels – also participated in the round.
The company had raised $21 million between October 2014 and July 2015 from Sequoia Capital, Empire Angels, TV Mohandas Pai (Chairman of Manipal Global Education) and Abhay Jain (Adviser at Manipal Group), among others.
The start-up was founded in 2012 by Chief Executive Greg Moran and David Back. The latter quit the company in May last year and returned to the US, citing personal reasons.
Initially, the company owned the entire fleet of cars available on its platform. However, in April this year, the company launched the Zoomcar Associate Program, that allowed private car owners to make their vehicles available on Zoomcar.
(Source: Livemint)
7. Pfizer to Buy Antibiotics From AstraZeneca for $725 Million
Settling for one piece of a company it once tried to acquire, Pfizer Inc has agreed to buy an antibiotics business from AstraZeneca Plc for $725 million, as well as other payouts.
Pfizer will be paying $550 million to AstraZeneca as soon as the transaction closes and the remaining $175 in January 2019. In addition to this, AstraZeneca is also eligible to receive as much as $250 million in milestone payments, up to $600 million in sales-related payments, as well as certain royalties.
The US drugmaker had been trying to strengthen its portfolio of marketed drugs after two failed attempts at a major acquisition, first with AstraZeneca in 2014, then with Allergan Plc this year.
Earlier this week, the drugmaker had agreed to buy Medivation Inc, maker of the Xtandi prostate cancer drug, in a $14 billion deal.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
8. Infosys Valuations Slip to Lowest Discount to Nifty
Infosys’ valuations are at their lowest ever discount to the stock benchmark Nifty. The company, which once was a top player at Dalal Street, has always enjoyed premium valuations but increasing concerns over the impact of Brexit on its business and slowing growth have moderated investor interest in the company.
The stock’s estimated price to earnings (P/E) ratio is currently trading at more than 15% discount to the Nifty. The Nifty is currently trading at 17.8 times estimated earnings, while Infosys is trading at 15 times.
This discount in P/E ratio – a measure for valuations – has never happened before, as investors have rarely doubted Infosys’ prospects. Infosys’ rival and the biggest software exporter in India, Tata Consultancy (TCS) is trading at 19.17 times estimated earnings.
(Source: The Economic Times)
9. Investments Via Cyprus to Attract Capital Gains Tax
The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved the revised double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) with Cyprus.
This will help close the gaps and enable Indian authorities to tax capital gains in the country for investments originating in the Mediterranean island nation.
The recent amendments of DTAA with Mauritius were the reason why this decision was taken. As in the case of Mauritius, the treaty with Cyprus had provided for residence-based taxation of capital gains.
According to a government statement:
With the revision of the treaty now approved by the cabinet, capital gains will be taxed in India for entities resident in Cyprus, subject to double tax relief. In other words, India will have the right to tax capital gains arising in India.
(Source: The Times of India)
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