1. Government May Scrap 1 Percent Inter-State Tax to Move Closer to GST
India may have moved closer to the much-awaited goods & services tax (GST), with the government and opposition finding some common ground on crucial elements of the proposed levy. This follows efforts by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling BJP to reach out to the Congress in search for a compromise to break the stalemate on the GST.
According to a report in The Economic Times, the government is likely to concede the Congress’ demand to do away with the 1 percent tax on interstate sales, which was proposed to compensate manufacturing states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu that fear loss of revenue in the new indirect tax regime.
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2. Global Private Equity Funds Blackstone, Carlyle, Barings Asia in Race to Buy Reliance Cement
Global private equity funds Blackstone, Carlyle and Barings Asia are competing with cement players JK Lakshmi Cement, JSW Cement and China Resources Cement, which have put in initial bids to acquire the cement business of Reliance Infrastructure, part of the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group.
The bid values the company at Rs 5,000 crore, people close to the development have been told The Economic Times.
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3. Mineral-Rich States Expected to Auction up to 70 Mines This Fiscal
According to a report in The Economic Times, Mines Secretary Balivinder Kumar has said nine mineral-rich states are expected to auction up to 70 mines to private firms for captive use this fiscal. Of these, the auction process for 28 mines has started in five states, he said at a CII conference.
Kumar also said that the government is in the process of finalising a National Mineral Exploration Policy, a draft of which has been prepared for consultations with the industry.
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4. Softbank, Alibaba Form Global Alliance to Take on Uber
Ola, India’s largest app-based taxi aggregator, has gone global, partnering with China’s Didi Kuaidi, US-based Lyft and southeast Asian GrabTaxi to offer seamless access to cabs on their apps in these countries, according to the Business Standard.
The move is part of an alliance put together by Softbank and Alibaba, common investors in these firms, to take on Uber, their biggest rival globally. The single integrated app across the four companies will start rolling by March.
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5. Aviation Ministry Caps Airfares of Special Fights at Rs 1,000
Domestic airlines will operate 12 flights from INS Rajali, Indian Navy’s air station near Chennai, to destinations across the country over the next two days, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma was quoted saying in a Business Standard report.
The minister did not disclose the destinations but said the fares for these special flights would be capped at Rs 1,000 for routes within South India and Rs 2,000 for all other routes. Passengers will only be able to carry hand baggage; no check-in luggage will be permitted.
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6. Tata Jaguar Land Rover in Race to Buy UK Grand Prix Circuit
Tata Motors owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is reportedly examining a bid worth millions of pounds to buy Britain’s Formula One Grand Prix track, according to a media report. The luxury car maker has prepared its bid for Silverstone one of the UK’s best known racing circuits, according to documents seen by The Financial Express.
JLR is believed to have asked property consultant Cushman & Wakefield to draw up a valuation for the Northamptonshire track in the East Midlands region of England in July.
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7. Defence Forces up in Arms Against 7th Pay Panel Proposals
Weeks after the Seventh Central Pay Commission submitted its report, the armed forces are readying to sound the bugle of protest. Unhappy with the recommendations, a high-level tri-services meeting on Thursday identified issues of immediate concern that the military brass will take up with the government according to a report in The Economic Times.
At the meeting at Air Headquarters, it was also decided the three forces will project a united front.
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8. Startups Rope in Senior Non-Technology Executives for Functional Roles
As venture capital and private equity money pour in, leading e-commerce firms, including Flipkart, Ola, Jabong, Snapdeal, Quikr, Grofers, OYO Rooms, among others, are looking at roping in top guns for functional roles such as legal, corporate affairs, mergers and acquisitions, supply chain, marketing, human resource, finance, customer relationship management, vendor management, etc, as per a report in The Economic Times.
Startups are willing to pay top dollars to rope in senior non-technology executives who can complement the big ticket technology hires with salary at these positions having jumped from Rs 30 lakh-Rs 1 crore to Rs 1crore to Rs 5 crore over the last 3-4 months.
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9. Auto Plants Stare at 5-Day Output Loss
Major automobile firms, including Hyundai, Ford and Eicher Motors, are staring at a production loss of at least five days at their Chennai plants, owing to the incessant rains that flooded the city, reports the Business Standard. The situation has also prevented these companies from dispatching finished products to various markets as the supply chain remains crippled.
India’s second-largest car maker Hyundai, which operates two plants in the city, is seeing a daily production loss of 1,800 vehicles
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