RBI liable to cut rates for 6th time this year, attempt help development

RBI has conveyed 135 premise focal points rate facilitating this year, yet moneylenders have just transmitted a small amount of that to borrowers.

The Reserve Bank of India is set to convey its 6th straight loan fee cut Thursday, disregarding a spike in swelling as it remains resolutely centered around supporting monetary development. While each of the 34 market analysts reviewed by Bloomberg News as of Wednesday anticipate a decrease, the greater part expect a quarter-point cut, with the rest expecting decreases of 15 premise focuses to 50 premise focuses. The RBI has cut acquiring costs by 135 premise indicates so far in 2019 a nine-year low of 5.15%.

The gathering of the six-part Monetary Policy Committee drove by Governor Shaktikanta Das, who finishes one year in office one week from now, comes in the midst of extending worries about development, budgetary security and feeble open accounts. The strategy choice will be declared at 11:45 a.m. in Mumbai, trailed by a public interview 15 minutes after the fact by Das. Here’s a gander at what else to look out for:

Development direction

The Reserve Bank of India has brought down its development figure for the current monetary year multiple times as of now, with the most recent correction in October pegging extension at 6.1%. Information from that point forward has indicated GDP extension easing back to 4.5% in the July to September period, the weakest pace in over six years.

“With no unavoidable indications of a turnaround, we anticipate that the RBI should cut rates by 25 premise focuses at its December meeting,” said Teresa John, a financial analyst at Nirmal Bang Equities Pvt. in Mumbai. The July-September period saw financial leeway extend, with assembling contracting….

‘We have to stop RCEP’: Farmers plan nationwide protest against trade deal

The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee said that they will burn effigies depicting the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership or RCEP, to mark their protest

Farmers’ organisations have planned a nationwide protest on November 4 to demand that the government keep agriculture out of a 16-nation trade agreement currently being negotiated in Thailand.

The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee, an umbrella organization of about 250 farmers unions from across the country, said that they will burn effigies depicting the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership or RCEP Deal, to mark their protest and warn the government. Farmers won’t be able to compete should the country agree to cut duties for agricultural and dairy products in the proposed trade pact, said V.M. Singh, a convener of the the farmers’ group.

Imports of dairy and agricultural products including wheat, cotton and oil seeds would affect the livelihood of millions of Indian farmers, he said. The government should defer signing of the agreement and hold consultations with farmers, state governments and other stake holders before taking a final decision, said Singh.

“We have to stop RCEP,” he said. It is not clear yet what terms India will agree to in order to join what could become the world’s largest trade deal. The final stage of negotiations have begun in Bangkok and Indian trade minister Piyush Goyal will travel for the ministerial meeting there on November 1. The nations are seeking to conclude the negotiations by November end...

Govt reduces rate of contribution towards ESI scheme, employers to benefit

Government decision may lead to annual savings to the tune of Rs 9,000 crore for the industry.

The legislature on Thursday declared lessening the complete rate of commitment made by laborers and businesses towards the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) plot from 6.5 percent to 4 percent without precedent for more than two decades.

The move is relied upon to profit around 1.3 million businesses who will see a 40 percent decrease in the rate of commitment they make for their representatives, in accordance with the arrangements of the Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948.

About 4.75 percent of a laborer’s month to month compensation goes towards ESI as the business’ commitment, 1.75 percent of the salary is the representative’s offer at present. Presently, 3.25 percent will be the business’ offer and 0.75 percent the employee’s. This will be viable from July 1, 2019 — a move the legislature said “would profit 36 million workers and 1.28 million managers”.

The move has the endorsement of Labor and Employment Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar who had given his gesture before he traveled to Switzerland on Tuesday to go to the International Labor Conference. The Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), which oversees the ESI Act, had in February prescribed diminishing the absolute rate of commitment of laborers towards the protection conspire from 6.5 percent to 5 percent. Be that as it may, the work and business service proceeded to diminish the commitment rate to 4 percent.

“The reduced rate of contribution will bring about a substantial relief to workers and it will facilitate further enrolment of workers under the ESI scheme and bring more and more workforce into the formal sector,” the government said in a statement, adding “Similarly, reduction in the share of contribution of employers will reduce the financial liability of the establishments leading to improved viability of these establishments.”

Why $190 bn bank loan clean-up is the only way to revive India’s growth

So far, lenders have recovered the equivalent of about $11 billion, or about 43 per cent, of the $25 billion in dues admitted by courts in 94 cases of default, according to a Crisil report

forms meant to clean up $190 billion of stressed bank loans will be crucial to reviving economic growth during Narendra Modi’s second term as prime minister. Just days after a landslide electoral victory, Modi is being forced to focus on the economy after the slowest expansion in five years. A crisis among shadow lenders has curbed advances from the sector and hit consumer spending in recent months, coming on top of years of sluggish credit growth at banks hamstrung by non-performing loans. Revitalising lenders is essential to jump-starting private investments and consumer spending.

Investors expect Narendra Modi to complete reforms started during his first term when India instituted a time-bound bankruptcy process, putting the business community on notice by stripping assets off the biggest defaulters and selling them. While the two-and-a-half-year-old law has helped banks improve the rate and pace of bad-debt recovery, prolonged court battles have delayed transactions and deterred some foreign investors.

“We have to find a way to speed up the process,” said Rajnish Kumar, chairman of State Bank of India Ltd., India’s largest bank. “The results so far — despite the delays — have been good for the system,” he said in a recent interview, adding that the bankruptcy law needs to be periodically reviewed. As of March, about a third of India’s bankruptcy cases had exceeded the 270-day deadline stipulated by law, according to government data.

In fact, of 12 large debtors — the so-called dirty dozen — that were pushed into bankruptcy courts in 2017 by the banking regulator, only five have been successfully sold with lenders recovering about 39 per cent of dues on average. The rest have been delayed by problems including a slew of challenges by previous owners, losing bidders, financial and operational creditors. Potential bidders have also become wary of India’s evolving insolvency process after court rulings in the past year allowed late bids to be considered in the interest of greater recovery…

‘Demonetisation was Modi govt’s failed national improvement scheme’

The new India being forged through the pain of demonetisation makes a clear distinction between the ‘us’ and the ‘other’

Latest News: The year 2016 was one of surgical strikes. Just when we were recovering from the patriotic adrenaline rush of being in a state of semi-battle with Pakistan, we witnessed ‘a surgical strike ‘on black money, terror funding and drug money’. Two years on, we continue to reel under the effects of demonetisation. With the benefit of hindsight, this is a good time to ask: what on earth was it about?

Demonetisation as neoliberal yet participatory development An obvious reading aligns with the Narendra Modi government’s agenda of neo-liberal development. The current regime, like its predecessor UPA, has embraced globalised, business-friendly development. Here, the market is expected to deliver economic growth. However, the market is not a level playing field. The government tends to ally with specific businesses interests. In this partisan state-business alliance, the population at large needs to be brought on board. It has to be somewhat enthused about the unfolding economic story, and participate in this as labour, aspirational consumers, or even investors.

Viewed from this perspective, demonetisation was a vast exercise in increasing cash flow to banks, to strengthen their position as lenders to business. How do the rest of us come on board? We come aboard as ‘active participants in the benefits of economic progress’. We are feted as ‘honest citizens… fight(ing) against corruption, black money, benami property, terrorism and counterfeiting…’ in the words of the PM during his ‘Demonetisation Day’ speech. We become fighters standing in queue to exchange our old money for a newer version of the cash, as also ourselves.

Read More : Business Standard OR BS

India's GST rates are highest in the world: Manpreet Singh Badal

Congress will strongly raise the issue of compliance and reduction in tax rates at the GST Council meeting in Guwahati: Badal

 

 

 

Exclusion of energy, real estate, and power are leading to cascading of taxes, and need to be brought under the goods and services tax (GST), said Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal. He told Dilasha Seth that the Congress will strongly raise the issue of compliance and reduction in tax rates at the Council meeting in Guwahati on Friday. Edited excerpts:

What are the key concerns that you have raised with the Centre on the GST?

We were told once the GST was implemented, India’s gross domestic product would go up by two per cent, but the opposite has happened. There is something fundamentally wrong with the GST — whether be it the rates, compliance, or the GST Network (GSTN) itself. We have gone in for a reform measure that is half-baked. The Indian GST rate is the highest in the world. Most countries start with a uniform GST rate of a single digit — at best, below 15 per cent; at worst, 18-20 per cent. The GST rates of 40 per cent are unheard of anywhere in the world.(economy policy)

Most of the issues on rates and compliance may get addressed in the Council meeting on Friday. Why is the Congress raising them now?

It has been five months since the GST roll-out. It is now that the government has woken up to the issues we have been talking about. It is too little, too late. It is not a question of the Congress or the BJP, but a question of the livelihood of millions. There has been a change of heart at the Centre. I do not know whether it has to do with the elections, but it needs to be done in the interest of the nation.

You also spoke about including real estate, petrol, and electricity under the GST. Will you effectively raise it in the meeting on Friday?

One has to bring petroleum, real estate, and electricity under the GST. This has, in fact, led to a lot of cascading of taxes across the board. For GST to be effective, all items must be subsumed. At least 50 per cent revenue has been kept out of the GST. There needs to be a discussion on this.

Compliance is another issue you have strongly raised. What is the big demand?

The requirement of matching nearly 3,500 million invoices every month with a possible 20 per cent mismatch will require additional working capital of close to Rs 1 lakh crore. Companies are not getting their input credit on time. Compliance should be made easier. The GSTN needs to be strengthened. The invoice matching glitches should be rectified. We hope to find a solution to that in today’s (Friday’s) meeting.

India to send 300,000 youth to Japan for on-job training

Japan will bear the financial cost of the skill training of Indian technical interns; about 50,000 of them may also get jobs in Japan

economy policy: India will send 300,000 youth to Japan for on-job training for 3-5 years as part of the government’s skill development programme, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said here today.

Japan will bear the financial cost of the skill training of Indian technical interns.

The Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister said the Union Cabinet has approved signing of Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between India and Japan on the ‘Technical Intern Training Program (TITP)’.

The MoC, he said, is expected to be signed during his three-day visit to Tokyo starting October 16.

“TITP is an ambitious program to send Three Lakh Indian technical interns to Japan for on the job training for a period of three to five yrs,” Pradhan said in a tweet.

He said the youth will sent for training in the next three years with Japanese financial assistance.

About 50,000 of them may also get jobs in Japan, he added.| Readmore…

Cigarettes, tobacco shops can never again offer chips, bread rolls, confections

The move is aimed at preventing exposure of children to tobacco products

 

In what may come as a help for guardians, shops authorized to offer tobacco items won't be permitted to offer any non-tobacco items.

The move is gone for anticipating presentation of youngsters to tobacco items.

As indicated by a letter flowed by monetary counsel in the service of wellbeing and family welfare, Arun Kumar Jha, expressed, "It is felt that the control of tobacco items can be made more powerful. It will be suitable to build up a system to give consent or approval through Municipal Authority to the retail shops who are offering tobacco items"

"Further, it would likewise be proper to make a condition or arrangement in the approval that the shops approved for offering tobacco items, can't offer any non-tobacco items, for example, toffees, confections, chips, bread rolls, soda pops, and so forth., which are basically implied for non-client, particularly youngsters," Jha said in the letter.

The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003, disheartens deals.

What Section 6 of the Control of Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) 2003 says

— Prohibition of smoking in all public places

— Prohibition of direct and indirect advertisement, promotion and sponsorship of cigarettes and other tobacco products

— No person shall sell, offer for sale or permit sale of cigarette or any other tobacco product

— to any person under 18 years

— within a radius of 100 yards of any educational institution

"The focal government has established the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulations of Trade and Commerce Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (COTPA), to demoralize the utilization of tobacco, with accentuation on assurance of youngsters and youngsters from being dependent on the utilization of tobacco, with a view to accomplish change of general wellbeing when all is said in done," expressed Jha....READ MORE

Why a 'cashless' economy would hurt the poor: A lesson from India

India and other governments have failed to see the impact on poor, who seldom use banks

India recently tried to reduce the use of cash in its economy by eliminating, overnight, two of its most widely used bills in what was called demonetization.

While the effort – initially explained as an attempt to curb “black money” – has been a failure in many respects, it was part of an ongoing and global push toward cashlessness.

What India and other governments have failed to contend with, however, is the adverse effect such severe policies have on the poor, who seldom use banks.| economy policy

India’s working poor rely almost exclusively on cash, with about 97 percent of all transactions involving an exchange of rupees. With 93 percent of the country working in informal off-the-books jobs, most transactions entail personalized relationships rather than standardized forms of legal contract or corporate institutions.

My own research on the persistence of Delhi’s informal recycling economy shows just how important cash is to low-income laborers.

How Delhi’s informal recycling economy works

For the past few years, my work has focused on informal garbage collectors in a northwest Delhi neighborhood who collect garbage for middle-class residents across the city.

Beyond collecting trash, these workers also constitute the city’s only recycling service by separating out and selling plastics, papers, metal and other valuable scrap – including human hair sold for wigs and stale bread used for cow feed. The money they earn from selling these materials is how they support their families.| read full story 

GST to bring economic freedom, imagination to India: Anil Ambani

Stage is set for another 'historic tryst with destiny', said the industrialist in the Parliament

 

Industrialist Anil Ambani on Thursday termed the Goods and Services Tax (GST), being rolled out from July 1, as India's "economic freedom" and said it would make the country the biggest free and democratic market in the history of humankind.

Speaking here at a mutual fund industry event, the Reliance Group chairman said there are many ways of counting the benefits of GST and as many of counting its costs.

"But there is just one way of describing its true promise. GST is not just another piece of reform or transform, however significant. GST is the liberation of our economic imagination. It is our economic freedom," he said.

Ambani said there are moments in the life of a nation when history is made not in small steps of incremental gain but in giant leaps of ambition.| economy news

"We, the people of India, are privileged to bear witness to one such moment in time," he said, referring to the proposed rollout of GST on midnight of June 30.

"Seventy years ago, at the stroke of the midnight hour, our first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, spoke movingly in the Central Hall of Parliament about India's tryst with destiny.

"At the same mid-night hour tomorrow, as our honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi rises to address a waiting nation from the same august Central Hall, India will be set on course for another historic tryst with destiny," he said.

Ambani said the free market is perhaps the greatest force for economic good in the human history of all earthly inventions.|economy policy

He said the free market is a force for generating wealth and transforming lives and the real promise of GST is the promise of economic liberation.

With the promise of 'One Nation, One Tax, One Market', it would create a borderless world of 1.3 billion people -- producers and consumers engaged in a seamless exchange of goods and services, skill sets and capital, labour and ideas.

Ambani said the world has seen nothing like this before and in less than 48 hours, India will emerge as the biggest free and democratic market in the history of humankind.

"In tandem with its policy precursor -- demonetisation -- GST will forever change the ground rules of doing any kind of trade, commerce or business in India.

"The leadership advantage is backed by strong macro- economic stability," he said while adding that the economy has moved from low inflation to high growth, from fiscal rectitude to prudential current account management, and fom one of the highest savings rates in the world to one of the fastest rates of economic growth.

He said that from insolvency code to NPA resolution, the present government has undertaken a fundamental overhaul of India's financial infrastructure while consolidating and strengthening the banking sector.

"But the greatest achievement of the government lies in the area of financial inclusion, thus setting in motion a growth dynamic for financial intermediaries which is unprecedented in its scope and size," he added.

Aadhaar can be hacked, data leaked, Modi government finally admits

A letter written by the government confirms the data has been leaked online

 

How safe are your biometric data? With Aadhaar, you have given your fingerprints and iris scans to the government. This clearly gives an individual a 'unique' identity. But what if the details of your Aadhaar get leaked? In the recent past, there have been several cases of UID data being compromised with. While the government has constantly denied any possibility of a compromise, The New Indian Express published on Friday a report on how the NDA government has acknowledged that personal identity of individuals, including Aadhaar number and other sensitive information, has been leaked to the public domain.

A letter written by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, which the Express claims to have accessed, confirms that data, which the government has been cautiously guarding, has been leaked online. “There have been instances wherein personal identity or information of residents, including Aadhaar number and demographic information and other sensitive personal data such as bank account details etc. collected by various Ministries/Departments... has been reportedly published online and is accessible through an easy online search,” Archana Dureja, a scientist in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, wrote on March 25.

 Jaitley maintained that the only way to prevent hacking is to strengthen the firewalls. “Technology always is a learning experience,” he added.

 

On March 5 the Ministry of Electronics and IT issued a statement assuring that personal data of individuals held by UIDAI is fully safe and secure.

 

With over a billion Indians possessing an Aadhaar card in 2017, data theft issue can turn into a mammoth crisis for Modi government that has been aggressively pushing for its adoption across services and platforms and for the citizens who have linked their bank accounts and other sensitive information with it......(READ MORE)