1. Raghuram Rajan Maintains Form, Holds Rates in Final Innings: ET
In his last monetary policy review, outgoing Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan left interest rates unchanged, as expected by analysts. In all probability, this review marked that last time an RBI governor decided the rates, as the task will be handed over to the monetary policy committee (MPC) that’s in the process of being constituted.
The governor, who will step down on 4 September, asserted that there will be enough liquidity for the markets to keep rates stable. He also pledged to ensure that the country’s banking system becomes self-sufficient on funding instead of depending on the central bank.
Source: The Economic Times
2. State’s GST Compensation to Be Offset By Revenue Surge, Says CEA: FE
The need to compensate states for any loss of revenue from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) would be “temporary” as revenue would definitely witness a boast from “the technology-enabled surge in compliance”, Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian said on Tuesday, while speaking at The Indian Express Group’s Idea Exchange programme.
He also argued against a high standard rate of GST and said that the money to compensate states will have to come “elsewhere in the budget.”
GST compensation to states is temporary. We don’t have to burden a permanent (GST rate) structure for it.Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser
Source: The Financial Express
3. Government Plans Policy Rejig to Restock E-commerce Cart: ET
In a decision that boost leaders in the sector like Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon, the government is planning to liberalise its e-commerce policy with a possible rejig of online marketplace rules that were issued in March.
To deliberate upon the policy, including nuances relating to foreign direct investment (FDI), a high-level committee has been set up under Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant.
We want to liberalise the sector and do away with complex regulations. We will look into each and every aspect of e-commerce and issues involved.Senior Government official to ET
Source: The Economic Times
4. One Government, One Budget in 2017?: BQ
2017 could witness the merger of the Railway budget with the Union budget, senior government officials told BloombergQuint on Tuesday. They added that the finance ministry is actively pursuing this move and a ‘joint working group’ will be set up over the next week to deliberate upon the modalities of the merger.
This comes only a few months after a committee headed by NITI Aayog member Bibek Debroy, recommended the merger in a report on restructuring the Indian Railways.
Source: BloombergQuint
5. Spectrum Auction: Vodafone, Idea Set to Drive 29 September Bidding: Livemint
If experts are to be believed, key players Idea Cellular Ltd and Vodafone India Ltd will be driving the 29 September spectrum (radio waves) auctions in the country. They will aggressively seek to outbid Bharti Airtel Ltd and new entrant Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, their two biggest rivals.
Across the 22-circles into which India’s telecom geography is stratified, Airtel sits comfortably with 769.9 megahertz (MHz) of spectrum, owing to some smart acquisitions. The same is true with Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Jio with 595.8MHz of spectrum across India. However, Vodafone has 301.8MHz and Idea 270.7MHz, putting them in a position to fill the gaps.
Source: Livemint
6. GoJavas Pays a Price for Over-Dependence on Snapdeal, Jabong: Livemint
After suspending operations last week, e-commerce-focused logistics company GoJavas is on the road to lay-off a huge chunk of its employees due to what is being touted as its “over-dependence on Snapdeal and Jabong for business.”
The company suffered a blow after talks of acquiring Snapdeal fell through. A second blow came in the form of another key client Jabong getting sold to Flipkart Ltd for $70 million last month, resulting in loss of business for GoJavas.
Source: Livemint
7. Big Birla Rejig May See Grasim-Nuvo Merger: ET
The Aditya Birla Group is on its way to complete another round of corporate restructuring in the form of the merger of Grasim and parts of Aditya Birla Nuvo, sources told The Economic Times. The move is likely to lead up to the hiving-off of the financial services business of AB Nuvo into a separate company.
This comes a year after the group consolidating its garments business into a single entity. The boards of Grasim and AB Nuvio are set to meet on Thursday and a final announcement on the merger is expected to made by the end of this week.
Source: The Economic Times
8. Randstad to Buy Job Ads Site Monster for $429 Million: Livemint
In a move to expand the human resources (HR) portfolio it offers, top recruitment company Randstad Holding NV said is all set to acquire US-based jobs portal Monster Worldwide Inc for $429 million.
It was also announced that Monster will retain its brand and work as an independent entity after the transaction comes through. This comes only a month after Yahoo Inc’s core business was bought in July by Verizon Communications Inc for $4.83 billion.
Source: Livemint
9. Indian Shares Snap 3-Day Rally After RBI Keeps Rates Unchanged: BQ
After outgoing Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor kept key interest rates unchanged, Indian shares plummeted on the Sensex, ending a three-day winning streak.
The S&P BSE Sensex slumped 0.3 percent to 28,085, while the NSE Nifty ended trade at 8,678, losing 0.3 percent. Drug maker Lupin emerged as the worst performing stock, shedding 5 percent, and reporting weak first quarter earnings.
Source: BloombergQuint
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