1. Rail Passenger Fares May Rise After State Polls
Rail tariff is likely to go up after Assembly elections to five states, though the final modalities are only being worked out.
The recent stance by the Finance Minister and top Railway Board officials indicate that they are building up a case for phasing out the subsidy provided to passengers, although the ongoing elections in various states have led to its deferral.
The average passenger subsidy stands at 57 per cent: there are segments which pay much more than the average and some that pay much less, absorbing a higher level of subsidy. Passengers who travel in the AC segment already pay higher sums through various schemes such as dynamic pricing.
(Source: The Hindu Business Line)
2. Cyrus Mistry Losing Ground to Tata Sons, But Legal Battle Far From Over
The five-week long legal battle between Tata Sons Ltd and its ousted chairman Cyrus P Mistry’s family firms, has so far gone largely in favour of Tata Sons Ltd, with the courts – first the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and then the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), dismissing pleas by the Mistry firms.
While it may seem that Mistry’s family firms are losing ground, the battle is far from over for two reasons – one, the NCLT has yet to pronounce its final judgement on the petition and two, so far, both tribunals have not gone into the merits of the issue but only with pleadings and investigative agencies have not presented their fact-finding reports.
(Source: Livemint)
3. Tata No Longer in Top 100 Brands List
The spat between Tata Sons and its former chairman Cyrus P Mistry seems to have pushed Tata out of the top 100 brands in the world ranked by Brand Finance, a consulting firm.
According to Brand Finance’s 2017 report, the Tata group has slipped out of the top 100 for the first time since 2007, the first year for which this data is available. In 2017, it is ranked 103 compared with 82 in the previous year.
Tata, however, continues to be the most valuable brand in India ahead of Airtel, LIC, Infosys and State Bank of India, which all find a place in the global top 500.
(Source: Livemint)
4. Tax Department Scans 1 Crore Accounts Under ‘Operation Clean Money’
In a bid to clamp down on unaccounted money funnelled into bank accounts after demonetisation, the tax department has scrutinised and matched as many as 1-crore accounts and has asked 18 lakh people to explain the source of the funds.
The tax department has run big data analytics on more than 1-crore accounts in its data bank and has matched them with the the taxpayer profile of the holder, a top source said.
As per I-T records, 3.65 crore individuals have filed income tax returns. Besides, there are over 7 lakh companies, 9.40 lakh hindu undivided families (HUFs) and 9.18 lakh firms who filed ITRs during Assessment Year 2014-15.
(Source: Bloomberg Quint)
5. After H-1B Visa Curbs, Two More US Bills May Stymie Indian Tech
The Indian IT industry has more than just the H-1B visa Bill to worry about. Two more legislations have been introduced in the United States Congress over the last two weeks that can hit the domestic tech sector’s prospects.
While the H-1B visa Bill seeks to more than double the minimum wage for an H-1B visa holder to $1,30,000, the ‘End Outsourcing Act’ asks for a ban on outsourcing by states. Another is a 2007 Bill that has been reintroduced by Senators Chuck Grassley and Dick Durb.
(Source: The Economic Times)
6. Now, File Tax Returns On Time Or Pay a Fee
Taxpayers will find it difficult to avoid filing returns from the next financial year, 2017-18. But at the same time, unnecessary queries in case of a tax notice and endless waiting in case of appeals may soon come to an end.
The Union Budget 2017-18 has provisions that seek to promote compliance while making things easier for those who comply.
Currently, if a taxpayer does not file returns on time there is a penalty. The penalty is discretionary and payable post facto, that is, after you have filed returns. It is also levied only if it is proved.
(Source: Business Standard)
7. Budget Bonanza May Not Save the Day For Rural Job Scheme
Arun Jaitley has been vocal about the ₹9,500-crore increase in budgetary allocation for rural employment guarantee programme MNREGS, but the Finance Minister’s efforts may not translate into more jobs this year.
Around 220 crore person-days (the product of labour and days of work) will be created this fiscal, as against last year’s 235 crore person-days. This, despite Budget 2017-18 apportioning ₹48,000 crore, the highest-ever outlay for the Central scheme.
(Source: The Hindu Business Line)
8. RBI May Cut Rates by 25bps As Inflation Slows
Slowing inflation and a fiscally responsible budget may sway the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to cut interest rates on Wednesday, according to a Mint survey of economists from 10 banks.
Seven out of 10 bank economists expect RBI to cut its repo rate by 25 basis points to 6% when the central bank’s monetary policy committee meets on 7-8 February for the bimonthly credit policy. The other three expect the repo rate to remain unchanged.
(Source: Livemint)
9. FPIs Back in Buying Mode, Pump in Rs. 2,300 cr in 3 Days
After four months of selling frenzy, overseas investors turned net buyers in February and pumped in over Rs 2,300 crore in the capital market over the last three sessions, enthused by clarity on FPI taxation.
The latest inflow followed a net pull-out of Rs 80,310 crore from equity and debt together in the past four months (October-January). Prior to that, FPIs had invested over Rs 20,000 crore in the capital market.
According to depository data, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) infused a net sum of Rs 1,246 crore in equities during February 1—3 and another Rs 1,098 crore in the debt segment, translating into a total inflow of Rs 2,344 crore.
(Source: The Hindu Business Line)
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