Business
Rs 30,600cr govt guarantee for ‘bad bank’ NARCL
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while addressing a press conference on Thursday announced that the Union Cabinet has approved the government’s guarantee for the National Asset Reconstruction Company. The idea of having a bad bank was first mooted by Nirmala Sitharaman in the Budget of 2020-2021. A ‘bad bank’ is...
US, UK, Australia launch Indo-Pacific Alliance to counter China
The US, UK and Australia have announced a new trilateral security alliance for the Indo-Pacific to take on the threats of the 21st century and allow for greater sharing of defence capabilities, including help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines, in an effort to counter China’s growing power and military presence...
8 out of 10 Indians want petrol and diesel under GST
Ahead of the GST Council meeting in Lucknow on Friday, a survey has found that 77% citizens want the government to bring petrol and diesel under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) amidst the spiraling prices. According to reports, the GST Council might on Friday may consider taxing petrol,...
Modi to attend Biden’s Quad Summit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be part of the first-ever in-person Quad summit hosted by US President Joe Biden on September 24. Other invitees include Modi’s Australian counterpart Scott Morrison and Japanese premier Yoshihide Suga. The White House said that the four leaders would discuss deepening their ties and...
Bommai demands extension of GST compensation
New Delhi: Amid fall in state revenue and GST collection in view of COVID-19 crisis, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai on Thursday demanded the Centre to extend the GST compensation period to states beyond 2022, for three more years. After a meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman,...
Official Taliban websites go offline
Taliban websites that delivered the victorious insurgents official messages to Afghans and the world at large in five languages went offline abruptly Friday, indicating an effort to try to squelch them. It is not immediately clear, though, why the sites in the Pashto, Urdu, Arabic, English and Dari languages...
Johnson & Johnson seeks approval of its single-dose Covid vaccine
Global healthcare major Johnson & Johnson on Friday said it has applied for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine in India. Earlier on Monday, the company had said that it remained committed to bringing its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine to India and looks forward to ongoing discussions...
IT Act amended to end retrospective tax demand
: The Union government on Thursday amended the Income Tax Act to end controversial retrospective tax demand. The move came after back-to-back setbacks in Cairn energy and Vodafone Group tax dispute cases. An Ordinance was introduced in Lok Sabha to scrap the dreaded retrospective changes made in Finance Act,...
Microsoft in talks to buy stake in OYO
New Delhi, Jul 30: Microsoft is in advanced stages of discussions to pick up a stake in OYO that would value the hospitality firm at about USD 9 billion (around Rs 67,000 crore), according to sources. While the deal size is not known, sources close to the development said...
Depositors to get money in 90 days if bank under moratorium
To provide relief to depositors in stressed banks, Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared the amendments in Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act, 1961, (DICGC Act). The aim is to minimise the hurdles faced by depositors of banks like the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank, Yes Bank and...
FM says no plan to print currency to tide over Covid crisis
The impact of the second wave of Covid on the economy is expected to be muted given the localised containment measures and rapid upscaling of the vaccination drive, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has told Parliament. She has denied any plan to print currency to tide over the Covid crisis,...
RBI says near-term economic prospects bright
A gradual decline in India’s second wave of COVID-19 infections and an aggressive vaccination push have brightened the near-term prospects for the economy, the Reserve Bank of India said in its July bulletin, released on Thursday. The RBI said there had been a rise in mobility indicators and attendance...
Centre releases Rs 75,000 crore to states as GST compensation
The government on Thursday said it has released Rs 75,000 crore to the states and Union Territories to compensate them for the shortfall in GST revenue. The GST Council in its meeting on May 28 had decided that the central government would borrow Rs 1.59 lakh crore and release...
RBI bars Mastercard from acquiring new customers
The Reserve Bank on Wednesday barred Mastercard Asia Pacific from onboarding new credit, debit and prepaid card customers with effect from July 22 as it failed to comply with data storage norms. The supervisory action will not impact existing customers of Mastercard, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said....
Punjab Govt waives Rs 590 cr loans to labourers, farmers
The Punjab government on Wednesday announced waiver of Rs 590 crore worth of loans under the farm debt waiver scheme for labourers and the landless farming community. The cheques would be issued at a state-level function on August 20, said an official spokesperson after a meeting held on Tuesday....
Ministry says economy showing signs of revival from second wave
New Delhi: The Finance Ministry on Friday said the economy has started showing signs of revival from the impact of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic on the back of targeted fiscal relief, monetary policy and a rapid vaccination drive. The broad-based economic relief package, extended to mitigate...
SC rejects plea for moratorium on bank NPAs
‘fit case’. The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the plea seeking the moratorium on the declaration of accounts as NPA till June 23, it announced. The court said that it is a matter of policy and that it does not see it as a ‘fit case’ for intervention. In...
Special drive to expand PM crop cover to more farmers
In a major farmer outreach, the government on Thursday launched a special drive to enrol more cultivators under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). A week-long drive, starting July 1, will cover all notified areas under the kharif 2021 season with special focus on 75 aspirational districts where...
