Cabinet orders winding up government’s procurement department, to replace with e-marketplace
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday ordered the Directorate General of Supplies & Disposal (DGS&D) to wind up operations by October 31 and approved a special purpose vehicle called the Government e-Marketplace (GeM SPV) as its replacement. The GeM would be the national public procurement portal and will be registered as Section 8 Company for providing procurement of goods and services required by central and state government organizations. It will provide an end-to-end online marketplace for central and state government ministries and departments for procurement of common use goods & services in a transparent and efficient manner.
India 2nd fastest growing market for passenger vehicles globally
India was the second fastest growth market for passenger vehicles among the top five nations globally, behind China, having expanded by 7 per cent last year. According to global automobile industry body Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d?Automobiles (OICA) data, passenger vehicle sales in India stood at 29,66,637 units last year as against 27,72,270 units in 2015. In overall sales, the country retained its position as the fifth biggest global market for passenger vehicles (PVs). China posted a growth of 14.93 per cent at 2,43,76,902 units last year as compared to 2,12,10,339 units in 2015.
Cibil’s survey shows credit card payment by Indians high
Indian credit card customers have improved their payment behaviour, with about 78 per cent of them paying off monthly bills fully, leading to an all-time low delinquency rate, credit information firm TransUnion Cibil said. This is the most important takeaway from a survey done by TransUnion Cibil covering 1,100 consumers across eight metros. What’s more, India tops the rank in the percentage of credit card holders that often make payments in excess of their minimum due on their revolving debts each month compared to other countries.
Trump’s visa missile erodes net worth of all IT billionaires in India
It’s hard to overstate the importance of the technology industry to India. Over the past three decades, the IT sector has helped drive the country’s economic growth, employed millions and made billionaires out of at least seven founders. Now the industry is at risk from U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies. The administration is promising a clampdown on the work visas India’s tech services companies use to service American customers. In the days since the U.S. government took first steps toward visa reform, all of India’s highest-profile technology tycoons have seen their net worth eroded.
Expert panel suggests reducing central and state government debt to 60% of GDP by FY23
A high-level expert panel has suggested replacing the current fiscal management law and rules with a new framework, pitching government debt as the main fiscal prudence goal that is to be achieved with targeted fiscal and revenue deficits. “Adopt fiscal deficit as the key operational target consistent with achieving the medium-term debt ceiling,” said the report of the panel chaired by former Rajya Sabha member N K Singh.
Cabinet clears decks for listing of 11 CPSEs
The Cabinet has approved listing of 11 central public sector enterprises, including five PSUs under the railway ministry and four defence companies. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its approval for listing of 11 CPSEs (Central Public Sector Enterprises) on stock exchanges,” an official statement said. The PSUs under the railway ministry that will launch initial public offerings (IPO) are Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd, IRCON International Ltd, Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) Ltd, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and RiTES Ltd. The defence ministry PSUs to be listed on bourses include Bharat Dynamics Ltd, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd and Mishra Dhatu Nigam Ltd.
Tata Motors arm launches Made-in-India robot
TAL Manufacturing Solutions, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Motors, has launched a Made-in-India robot catering primarily to micro, small and medium industries. It is priced 30-40 per cent lower than competition, the firm claimed. The indigenously built robot — TAL Brabo — is available in two variants of payloads of 2 kg and 10 kg, priced at Rs. 5 lakh and Rs. 7 lakh, respectively. “This is the first robot conceptualised and designed in India. TAL Brabo is suited not only for India, but also for manufacturing units across the world,” said Amit Bhingurde, Chief Operating Officer (Robotics), TAL. Apart from the MSME sector, the robot can also be used by large-scale manufacturers.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
Petrol, diesel prices to change daily from 1 May
Petrol and diesel prices in some cities will now see daily change in sync with international rates, according to two officials from oil marketing companies. This will be effective 1 May in five cities including Puducherry and Visakhapatnam, Udaipur, Jamshedpur and Chandigarh as part of a pilot project. This will be extended to other parts of the country after an assessment of consumer response. Diesel and petrol prices move in tandem with the price of crude oil in most countries. In January, Mint reported that the fuel retailers plan to introduce dynamic pricing in India this year.
FSSAI to get flavour of global food standards
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has entered into an agreement with US-based Decernis Ltd, which will allow it to have access to a database of international food regulations through an online platform. In a statement, it said this agreement will give access to database of over 70,000 standards for food additives, food standards and food contaminants from over 170 countries. Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI, said that as per the good regulatory practices, the authority needs to take international practices in account, while framing national standards and guidelines. “This module will help FSSAI in accessing various regulations and practices which are followed globally,” he added.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
Amazon gets RBI nod for e-wallet in India
Amazon India has received the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) approval to launch its own digital wallet in India, paving the way for the American online retail giant to gain a slice of India’s fast-growing digital payments business. Amazon India, which had applied for what is called a Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) licence nearly a year ago, will now look to take on established rivals such as Paytm and Freecharge as it prepares to launch a prepaid wallet service that will be broader in scope than its Pay Balance service and will not be restricted to Amazon-based transactions. In December, Amazon had launched its Pay Balance service in order to boost cashless transactions.
Airtel seeks Trai intervention on Reliance Jio Dhan Dhana Dhan offer
Bharti Airtel Ltd., India’s biggest mobile-phone service provider, has asked the telecom regulator Trai to intervene after rival Reliance Jio started an offer to lure customers that was similar to a previous programme stopped by authorities. Airtel, controlled by billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal, said that Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.’s Dhan Dhana Dhan plan — which loosely translates to money, money, money in Hindi — violates the spirit of the regulator’s directive and “essentially continues with a similar plan now masquerading under a different name.” “This is a classic example of old wine in a new bottle,” Airtel’s spokesman said in a response to a text message.
Large US firms stashed $1.6 trillion in tax havens: Oxfam
The 50 largest US companies, including Apple, Microsoft and Wal-Mart, are parking about USD 1.6 trillion in offshore tax havens to reduce their US tax burden, according to a study published today. Poverty-fighting organisation Oxfam America said the sum for 2015 was a USD 200 billion increase over the prior year. The report cites the companies’ own data. While not illegal, the companies “used a secretive network of 1,751 subsidiaries in tax havens to stash” their earnings outside the United States, Oxfam said in the report released ahead of next week’s meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington. “Tax avoidance has become standard business practice across the globe. Corporate tax dodgers cheat America out of approximately USD 135 billion in unpaid tax revenues every year,” Oxfam senior advisor Robbie Silverman said.
Private sector banks better placed to explore M&As
Talks around consolidation in the banking sector have gained traction in the recent past following comments at various forums on the need for having a few large banks. The merger of the associate banks of State Bank of India and Bhartiya Mahila Bank with State Bank of India and the news on likely consolidation in the private sector as well have further fuelled the debate on consolidation. With the merger of SBI and associates, the combined entity will account for 26 pre cent of the advances. However, the next largest bank – a private bank – will be way behind at 7 per cent share of advances.
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