Beginning of the end for FDI controls: Cabinet may consider proposal on dismantling FIPB in April
India has begun the process of dismantling some of the last remaining controls in the foreign direct investment (FDI) framework. The department of economic affairs (DEA) has floated a draft Cabinet note for inter-ministerial consultation to scrap the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), in line with a plan announced by finance minister Arun Jaitley in his February 1 budget, said a senior government official. The note also proposes that all foreign investment in sectors that require prior approval will be the responsibility of the relevant administrative ministry, department or regulator, avoiding the need for multiple clearances.
Daiichi availed Rs 8,000 crore monetary benefits while it had stake in Ranbaxy: Singh brothers
Former Ranbaxy promoters Malvinder and Shivinder Singh have hit back at Daiichi Sankyo in its case to recover Rs 3,500 crore from them as part of an arbitration award. The brothers claim that Daiichi has made profits that far outweigh the losses it incurred by purchasing a majority shareholding in Ranbaxy in 2008. A Singapore tribunal last year ordered the Singh brothers to pay the Japanese drug maker Rs 2,562-crore damages for concealing information regarding wrongdoing at Ranbaxy while selling it for $4.6 billion in 2008.
FinMin okays capital infusion for 10 PSU banks
Coming in support of weak and non-performing public sector banks (PSBs), the Finance Ministry has chalked out a turnaround-linked Rs. 8,586-crore capital infusion plan for 10 PSBs. The capital allocation would be linked to quarterly milestones on which all related parties — Banks’ Board, management, employees and unions must commit, the Department of Financial Services has said. The 10 banks identified are Allahabad Bank (Rs. 418 crore); Andhra Bank (Rs. 1,100 crore); Bank of India (Rs. 1,500 crore); Bank of Maharashtra (Rs. 300 crore); Central Bank of India (Rs. 100 crore); Dena Bank (Rs. 600 crore); IDBI Bank (Rs. 1,900 crore); Indian Overseas Bank (Rs. 1,100 crore); UCO Bank (Rs. 1,150 crore) and United Bank of India (Rs. 418 crore).
Source: The Hindu Business Line
Cabinet may consider GST supplementary legislationson Monday
The cabinet on Monday may take up for approval the supporting goods and services tax (GST) legislations, which will then be introduced in Parliament as the government sprints to meet the 1 July target date for rollout of the new indirect tax regime. A set of four supporting legislations—the Compensation Law, the Central-GST or C-GST, Integrated-GST or I-GST and Union Territory-GST or UT-GST—are likely to together go to the cabinet for approval. People aware of the development said the cabinet meeting has been called forMonday morning and the agenda list may not be very long. The GST Council, in its previous two meetings, had given approval to the four legislations as also the State-GST (S-GST) bill.
BSNL, MTNL merger to help both firms: BSNL CMD Anupam Shrivastava
Amid renewed push for BSNL-MTNL merger, BSNL CMD Anupam Shrivastava has said the combination will be “advantageous” for both the state-owned telecom firms but issues pertaining to debt and salary structure will need to be sorted out first. A Parliamentary panel report has pointed out that the Telecom Department is planning to place the merger proposal before the Cabinet by June. The Standing Committee on Information Technology last week had said: “On the plan for merger of BSNL and MTNL, the same would be taken to Cabinet before June.”
Unilever prepares sale of food brands worth £6-bn
Unilever is preparing a £6 billion ($7.44 billion) sale of some of its food brands, British newspapers reported on Saturday. The Anglo-Dutch company is planning to sell Flora margarine and Stork butter brands, the Sunday Times said. The SundayTelegraph, which also cited a 6 billion pounds figure, cited sources as saying private equity firms Bain Capital, CVC and Clayton Dubilier and Rice have started working on offers for the “spreads” business, citing sources. Unilever did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
E-commerce firms to pay up to 1% TCS under GST
E-commerce firms like Snapdeal and Amazon will have to mandatorily deduct up to 1 per cent TCSBSE -1.18 % (Tax Collected at Source) while making payments to their suppliers under the GST regime which is expected to kick in from July 1. The model Goods and Services Tax (GST) law, finalised by the GST Council, provides for 1 per cent TCS to be deducted by the e-commerce operators. The model law provides that every electronic commerce operator, not being an agent, shall collect up to one per cent TCS, as may be notified on the recommendations of the Council, of the net value of taxable supplies made through it by other suppliers where the consideration with respect to such supplies is to be collected by the operator.
Sebi chief’s grand plans to boost commodities market
The new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), Ajay Tyagi, began his innings on a familiar pitch, laying down his vision for the commodities derivatives market. In his first public appearance on Saturday, since taking over on March 1, Tyagi told the international convention organised by commodity brokers in New Delhi that the market would be deepened by opening up to new participants and widened by introducing new products. The event, organised by the Commodity Participants Association of India, was presided over by the Union Minister of Agriculture, Radha Mohan Singh. Other guests included Union Minister of State for Finance Santosh Gangwar, BSE Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Ashish Chauhan and his Multi Commodity Exchange counterpart Mrugank Paranjape.
Cabinet nod for merger of Bharatiya Mahila Bank with SBI likely in 3 months
The government is expected to give final approval to the merger of Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) with the country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) within three months. The cabinet last month approved amalgamation of five associates of SBI with the parent but the merger of Bharatiya Mahila Bank was not considered due to some issues, officials said. “Now it a is matter of time. The final approval from the cabinet should come within three months,” an official said. The union cabinet has already given in-principle approval to the merger of Bharatiya Mahila Bank with State Bank of India.
IT woes: Cognizant may slash more than 10,000 jobs
US-listed IT (information technology) major Cognizant Technology Solutions, which has a significant workforce in India, is said to be reducing its employee count by as much as five per cent. Typically, the bottom one per cent of the workforce is weeded out for non-performance, a common practice across IT firms as part of the annual appraisal exercise that ends in March. But as the company is shifting its focus from traditional IT services to digital, Cognizant is reportedly looking ahead at trimming its workforce in larger number by doing away with redundant roles. Globally, the company employs around 260,000 employees, of this around 75 per cent of the workforce is based in India. A Cognizant spokesperson said as part of its workforce management strategy, the company conducts regular performance reviews to ensure it has the right employee skill sets necessary to meet client needs and achieve its business goals.
Australia’s Di Bella Coffee to step up investments in India
Australia’s Di Bella Coffee has committed a budget of Rs. 70 crore towards expanding its stores and looks upon Starbucks as its main competitor in the premium coffee retail segment. After Mumbai, the $40-million retail chain is tapping into new markets like Delhi and Bengaluru with a total store count at 20 by the year-end. After entering the country in 2011, Di Bella had a tumultuous ride changing its local partner and shutting down outlets in cities like Hyderabad. “India is our third largest market and we are optimistic about the retail business despite challenges like regulation and different State taxes.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
Banks Board Bureau chief Vinod Rai writes to Arun Jaitley, PMO on bad loans
Expressing concerns over mounting bad loans, Banks Board Bureau (BBB) chief Vinod Rai has written to finance minister Arun Jaitley and prime minister’s office (PMO) underlining the tardy progress made by state-owned lenders in resolving the issue of non performing assets (NPAs). The former CAG, in a letter marked to Nripendra Misra, principal secretary to prime minister, has also suggested a roadmap to wriggle out of the NPA problem being faced mainly by public sector banks (PSBs), officials said. The letter, they said, has suggested expansion of ambit of oversight committee to provide guidance under other available mechanisms, including deep restructuring, joint lenders forum (JLR) and strategic debt restructuring (SDR).
Future group fashion business to grow by 30%: Kishore Biyani
Future Group, one of the major retailers in the food and fashion segments, plans to grow the latter by 30% each year, group chief executive officer (CEO) Kishore Biyani said on Saturday. “The fashion business of the group across the various retail brands will grow 30 per cent every year,” Biyani said at the launch of its first standalone FBB store in Kolkata. Biyani said by the end of March 2018, revenue from the fashion business will touch Rs10,000 crore, adding that by 2021, the group would sell 80 crore garments. The group has brands like FBB, Planet Sports, All, Brand Factory and Central in the fashion segment, which constitutes 45% of the group’s total revenue.
Govt considering FDI relaxation in multi-brand retail policy
The government is weighing the option of permitting overseas retailers to open stores for selling ‘Made in India’ products only as it looks to relax the norms for multi-brand retail for attracting more funds and generating more jobs. Sources said the government is considering permitting foreign supermarket players to open retail stores but only for sale of ‘Made in India’ products. Although the current foreign direct investment policy permits overseas players to hold 51 per cent stake in an Indian retail company, the BJP in its election manifesto had opposed foreign investment in the retail segment. So far, only one foreign player, Tesco, has received approval for opening stores under the multi-brand retail policy. The previous UPA government had cleared the proposal.
New encryption key in Aadhaar authentication devices from June
Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has said that all devices using Aadhaar authentication will have to adhere to its new encryption standards from June 1. The move is aimed at adding another security layer to the hardware at a time when such devices are all set to take the centre stage in biometric-based digital payments. “We have recently come out with new specifications and asked manufacturers and vendors to go for STQC certification as per the new standards. We have advised that from June 1, they should get devices on the new specifications and that the existing devices should be upgraded to the new norms,” Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO of UIDAI told.
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