India’s economy possesses strong fundamentals and will revive on account of various reform measures taken by the government, said industry players, after Moody’s Investors Service cut the country’s credit rating outlook to negative. Continue Reading
Real estate developers welcomed the government’s move to create a Rs 25,000-crore fund to help complete over 1,600 stalled housing projects, saying it will solve the long-pending problem of homebuyers. “It’s a very welcome change from the initial announcement (of 14 September). Now the only criteria for eligibility are networth positive projects,” real estate developers association CREDAI chairman Jaxay Shah said. Continue Reading
In the wake of the crisis at Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman reiterated the government commitment to rein in cooperative banks by bringing in necessary legislative changes. She said the finance ministry and RBI officials had three meetings since the PMC Bank crisis and the effort is to bring back the confidence of the depositors in the nation’s banking system. Continue Reading
The government unveiled two new IT initiatives, ICEDASH and ATITHI, for improved monitoring and pace of customs clearance of imported goods. These initiatives will also facilitate arriving international passengers with e-filing of baggage and currency declarations. Continue Reading
Traders’ body CAIT demanded a high-level enquiry by the Centre to probe the “unholy nexus” of e-commerce firms, companies owning brands and banks for causing price distortion in the country’s e-commerce market. Continue Reading
India’s commitment to fight the global challenge of climate change is “bold” and one of the best amongst the community of nations, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said. Interacting with global investors at the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund here on Wednesday, Nirmala said that in a bid to fulfill its commitment to tackle climate change India has focused on generation of renewable energy. Continue Reading
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today assured investors that India will honour contractual commitments under various energy agreements. “Commitments shall be honoured and investors should not have any concern,” Sitharaman said at the India Energy Forum of CERAWeek. Continue Reading
Crisis-ridden Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is hoping to boost marketshare, following Reliance Jio’s decision to charge six paise per minute for voice calls made to mobile phone networks of rival operators. Continue Reading
Conceding that GST may have some flaws in its present form, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked tax professionals not to curse it and sought their help to make it better. The minister was replying to the concerns raised by taxation industry professionals here, who said the industry was “cursing” the government over how the GST was implemented. Billed as the biggest reform in indirect taxation, the goods & services tax, which does away with a host of levies from the federal to the local government levels, was implemented in July 2017. Continue Reading
The revenue department has asked customs officials to ensure strict implementation of prohibition on import of e-cigarettes after the country banned production, import and sale of these electronic devices and similar products citing health risk to people, especially youth. Continue Reading