1. PM Modi Launches Aadhaar-Based Payments Via BHIM App
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced the launch of BHIM Aadhaar, the government’s latest offering to make digital payments. BHIM Aadhaar utilises the unique identification number and biometric information to authenticate the identity of a person and allows direct payment to merchants through bank accounts without using a card or a wallet.
As many as 27 major banks are already on board with three lakh merchants for BHIM Aadhaar, according to a release on the PMO website.
BHIM app will be the flag-bearer of Indian economy, the Prime Minister said at the launch of BHIM Aadhaar in Nagpur. “It costs billions of rupees to print, manage and transport currency. If this money can be saved, so much good can be done for the poor of the country.”
(Source: BloombergQuint)
2. Income Tax Department to Probe 60,000 People In Phase Two Of Operation ‘Clean Money’
The Income Tax department will investigate over 60,000 individuals under the second phase of the 'Operation Clean Money' which was launched with an aim to detect black money generation post demonetisation.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), policy-making body of the department, said it has detected undisclosed income over Rs 9,334 crore between the period of 9 November 2016 till 28 February 2017.
The note ban was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 November 2016.
"All the cases where no response is received shall also be subjected to detailed enquiries," the CBDT added.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
3. From 1 April, Airtel, Vodafone, Idea and Aircel to Abolish Roaming on Incoming Calls
Mobile phone users, especially those who travel within India, would be greeted with a lower bill for April as India’s major telcos — Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Idea Cellular and Aircel —- have taken giant steps towards abolishing roaming in their attempt to match Reliance Jio Infocomm’s offers.
Starting 1 April, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Idea Cellular and Aircel have already abolished incoming charges while roaming. Newcomer Reliance Jio has made voice calls free for life, which includes no charges on incoming or outgoing calls while roaming on any network.
Market leader Airtel has also said it won't charge a premium on outgoing calls while roaming, and others would have no choice but to follow suit.
(Source: The Economic Times)
4. Service Charge: Centre to Issue Advisory, Says Ram Vilas Paswan
The government plans to issue an advisory to states asking them to crack down against unfair imposition of service charge on food and drink bills, food and consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Friday.
“Service charge does not exist. It is being wrongly charged. We have prepared an advisory on this issue. We have sent it to the PMO for approval,” Paswan told reporters. A senior ministry official said the advisory, once approved by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), will be issued to all states and union territories.
The advisory will also be useful for Voluntary Consumer Organisations (VCOs) fighting for consumer rights, he said.
(Source: Livemint)
5. GST: Prior Registration, E-Way Bill For Goods Worth Rs 50,000 Or More In Transit
Moving goods worth more than Rs 50,000 under Goods and Services Tax regime will require prior online registration of the consignment and securing an ‘e-way bill’ that tax officials can inspect anytime during the transit to check tax evasion.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has issued draft rules on Electronic Way (e-way) bill that require registered entities to furnish, in a prescribed format, GST-Network (GSTN) website information relating to any goods worth more than Rs 50,000 they intend to move within a state or outside.
GSTN will generate e-way bills that will be valid for 1-15 days, depending on distance to be travelled – one day being for 100 kilometres and 15 days for more than 1,000 km transit.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
6. Uber's Revenue Hits $6.5 Billion in 2016, Still Makes Large Loss
Ride-hailing service Uber Technologies Inc generated $6.5 billion in revenue last year and its gross bookings doubled to $20 billion, the ride-hailing service said on Friday. Its adjusted net loss was $2.8 billion, excluding the operation in China it sold last year, said Uber, the largest of Silicon Valley’s ‘unicorns,’ or venture capital-backed companies with a valuation above $1 billion.
As a private company now worth $68 billion, Uber does not report its financial results publicly. Uber confirmed the figures in an emailed statement after Bloomberg first reported the results.
Uber did not provide first quarter figures, but a spokeswoman said they “seem to be in line with expectations.”
(Source: Financial Express)
7. Mutual Fund Assets Soar 42% to Rs 17.5 Trillion in FY17
The assets under management (AUM) of the mutual fund (MF) industry saw an exceptional growth of 42 percent at Rs 17.5 trillion in fiscal 2017 from Rs 12.3 trillion a year ago, says a report.
The quarterly average assets under management also registered a quarter-on-quarter growth of 8 percent in the Marc quarter, rating agency Icra said, quoting the data collated by the industry lobby Association of Mutual Funds in India. Investors poured in an additional Rs 3.4 trillion across categories during the year under review.
Net inflows in liquid, income and equity (including equity linked savings schemes or ELSS) categories saw fresh investment of Rs 1.2 trillion, Rs 96,000 crore and Rs 70,000 crore respectively, Icra said.
(Source: Financial Express)
8. Govt Begins to Walk the Talk on Governance in PSU Banks
To prime public sector banks (PSBs) to hold their own against Nifty private sector rivals and also prepare them for possible mergers in the future, the Bank Boards Bureau (BBB) has drawn up an elaborate Governance, Reward and Accountability Framework (GRAF).
The GRAF seeks to ensure that corporate governance at PSBs is in keeping with various pieces of legislation, including the Companies Act, 2013, Banking Regulation Act, 1949, and Securities and Exchange Board of India (listing obligations and disclosure requirements) Regulations, 2015.
Further, the framework abides by the guidelines of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision on corporate governance principles for banks. Among others, the principles deal with the board’s overall responsibilities, board qualifications and composition, senior management, risk management function, compliance, internal audit and compensation.
(Source: The Hindu, Business Line)
9. Suzuki, Toshiba, Denso to Make Lithium-Ion Cells in India
Suzuki Motor Corporation, Toshiba Corporation and Denso Corporation have agreed to manufacture lithium-ion battery packs in India.
The three Japanese majors have reached a basic agreement for establishing a joint venture company for the production of automotive lithium-ion battery packs in India, Suzuki said in a statement on Friday.
The initial capital expenditure will be 20 billion Japanese yen (around Rs 1,200 crore). The joint venture company will be capitalised at 2 billion Japanese yen, with the planned participation ratio of Suzuki 50 percent, Toshiba 40 per cent and Denso 10 percent, it said.
(Source: The Hindu, Business Line)
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