According to the RBI, there were 15 lakh point of sales machines in India as of August 2016, with over 712.5 million debit cards.These numbers only give us a rough estimation of how many in the country can actively use digital banking.

Can Indian finance go digital?

The agriculture sector is pictured synonymous with poverty in India. How much has government allocated to the sector over the years? Has it been optimally utilised?

What is holding India's agriculture sector back?

Where does India stand in its infrastructural development? How much of tax payer's money is allocated to this sector and are we using that money efficiently?

Union Budget: Infrastructural development

Indian markets including Sensex and Nifty have ended higher today. The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 52.33 points and the Nifty up 17.30

Indian markets on a bull run?

Telecom regulator Trai has asked for attorney general&#39;s views on billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio&#39;s free voice and data offering till March that rivals have called &quot;predatory&quot;.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) sought the top government legal advisor&#39;s opinion on the tariff plans submitted by Jio, a top source said.

This follows TRAI examining replies furnished by Jio to its letter seeking an explanation for offering free data and voice calls for existing and new customers under the &quot;Happy New Year offer&quot;, days before the 90-day inaugural welcome plan ended on December 3.

The regulator had last month asked Jio to explain why the free data offer under the promotional scheme should not be treated as predatory.

In its letter, it had cited Jio&#39;s consumer base growing to 63 million as on December 18 to state that the company will become a significant market player in the broadband space shortly, maybe by December-end.

Stating that the preliminary analysis relies on factors like average subscriber additions per day and free data being offered, TRAI is learnt to have asked Jio to clarify as to &quot;why the offer of free data under the promotional offer should not be treated as predatory&quot;.

In its response, Jio stated that the latest Happy New Year offer is substantially different from the Jio Welcome Offer &nbsp;&mdash; which commenced on September 5 &nbsp;&mdash; as in the initial offer, it had provided 4 GB of free data per day, and in the new one, the same was capped at 1 GB under Fair Usage Policy.

It also contended that in the first offer, there was no option of renewal or payment after the 4GB limit was exhausted, but in the fresh offering, one can recharge both data and the promised speed.

In terms of dominance, Reliance Jio accounts for 6 per cent market share in the country whereas the Competition Commission of India (CCI) norms specify 30 per cent threshold to trigger the misuse of market dominance clause.

(PTI)

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had asked Jio to explain why its latest free data offer should not be treated as 'predatory'

Telecom regulator Trai has asked for attorney general's views on billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio's free voice and data offering till March that rivals have called "predatory". The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) sought the top government legal advisor's opinion on the tariff plans submitted by Jio, a top source said. This follows TRAI examining replies furnished by Jio to its letter seeking an explanation for offering free data and voice calls for existing and new customers under the "Happy New Year offer", days before the 90-day inaugural welcome plan ended on December 3. The regulator had last month asked Jio to explain why the free data offer under the promotional scheme should not be treated as predatory. In its letter, it had cited Jio's consumer base growing to 63 million as on December 18 to state that the company will become a significant market player in the broadband space shortly, maybe by December-end. Stating that the preliminary analysis relies on factors like average subscriber additions per day and free data being offered, TRAI is learnt to have asked Jio to clarify as to "why the offer of free data under the promotional offer should not be treated as predatory". In its response, Jio stated that the latest Happy New Year offer is substantially different from the Jio Welcome Offer — which commenced on September 5 — as in the initial offer, it had provided 4 GB of free data per day, and in the new one, the same was capped at 1 GB under Fair Usage Policy. It also contended that in the first offer, there was no option of renewal or payment after the 4GB limit was exhausted, but in the fresh offering, one can recharge both data and the promised speed. In terms of dominance, Reliance Jio accounts for 6 per cent market share in the country whereas the Competition Commission of India (CCI) norms specify 30 per cent threshold to trigger the misuse of market dominance clause. (PTI)

India's telecom regulator seeks govt's top law adviser's opinion on Reliance Jio's 'predatory' tariff plans

India is hailed as the IT hub in the world. The software engineers of India are known world over and command considerable dominance over the silicon valley of the United States.

IT/ITes Industry (WION Budget)

India is home to the third largest number of technology driven start-ups in the world. With US and UK occupying the top two positions. How has the Indian start-up industry panned out in last one year?

Start-up ecosystem in India

Netflix Inc`s international and US&nbsp;subscriber additions blew past analysts` estimates as the video streaming service released shows including the award-winning British drama &quot;The Crown&quot; and a revival of &quot;Gilmore Girls&quot;.

Netflix, whose shares rose 7.1 per cent in extended trading, has been hugely successful in attracting more subscribers through the popularity of its original shows.

Netflix, whose original shows include &quot;Narcos&quot; and &quot;Stranger Things&quot;, said on Wednesday it signed up 5.12 million subscribers outside the United States in the quarter ended Dec. 31.

Analysts on average had estimated 3.73 million additions, according to research firm FactSet StreetAccount.

Faced with slowing growth in the United States, Netflix has launched in almost every country, but is now faced with the task of tweaking the service to suit different markets and cultures, even as competitors expand.

In the United States, Netflix added 1.93 million subscribers, compared with the average estimate of 1.44 million. The company plans to spend $6 billion in original content in 2017, a $1 billion increase from last year.

Netflix &mdash; whose competitors include Amazon.com Inc`s streaming service and Hulu, besides cable channels such as HBO &mdash; plans to release over 1,000 hours of original programming this year, up from 600 hours last year.

The Los Gatos, California-based company said its revenue rose 35.9 per cent to $2.48 billion in the December quarter. Analysts on average had expected $2.47 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

The company said it expects to add 1.50 million subscribers in the United States in the current quarter, below the FactSet estimate of 1.79 million.

In international markets, Netflix said it expects to add 3.70 million subscribers, above the average estimate of 3.05 million. Up to Wednesday`s close of $133.26, Netflix`s stock had risen 33.5 per cent since it reported third quarter results in October.

(Reuters)

Netflix signed up 5.12 million subscribers outside the US in the quarter ended Dec. 31 exceeding an estimate of 3.73 million additions

Netflix Inc`s international and US subscriber additions blew past analysts` estimates as the video streaming service released shows including the award-winning British drama "The Crown" and a revival of "Gilmore Girls". Netflix, whose shares rose 7.1 per cent in extended trading, has been hugely successful in attracting more subscribers through the popularity of its original shows. Netflix, whose original shows include "Narcos" and "Stranger Things", said on Wednesday it signed up 5.12 million subscribers outside the United States in the quarter ended Dec. 31. Analysts on average had estimated 3.73 million additions, according to research firm FactSet StreetAccount. Faced with slowing growth in the United States, Netflix has launched in almost every country, but is now faced with the task of tweaking the service to suit different markets and cultures, even as competitors expand. In the United States, Netflix added 1.93 million subscribers, compared with the average estimate of 1.44 million. The company plans to spend $6 billion in original content in 2017, a $1 billion increase from last year. Netflix — whose competitors include Amazon.com Inc`s streaming service and Hulu, besides cable channels such as HBO — plans to release over 1,000 hours of original programming this year, up from 600 hours last year. The Los Gatos, California-based company said its revenue rose 35.9 per cent to $2.48 billion in the December quarter. Analysts on average had expected $2.47 billion, according to Thomson Reuters. The company said it expects to add 1.50 million subscribers in the United States in the current quarter, below the FactSet estimate of 1.79 million. In international markets, Netflix said it expects to add 3.70 million subscribers, above the average estimate of 3.05 million. Up to Wednesday`s close of $133.26, Netflix`s stock had risen 33.5 per cent since it reported third quarter results in October. (Reuters)

Netflix exceeds international subscriber estimates

General Motors Co has confirmed it will invest an additional $1 billion in its US factories in 2017 and will move some parts production from Mexico to the United States that was previously handled by a supplier. 
The investments are in addition to the $2.9 billion the automaker announced last year, GM said.&nbsp;

GM and other automakers have been sharply criticized by Republican US President-elect Donald Trump for building vehicles in Mexico that are imported into the United States. Trump will be sworn in on Friday. 
GM said the $1 billion investment will create or retain 1,500 jobs. The Detroit automaker said details of individual projects will be announced throughout the year.

&quot;Thank you to General Motors and Walmart for starting the big jobs push back into the U.S.,&quot; Trump tweeted, referring as well to WalMart Stores Inc&#39;s announcement that it will hire 10,000 US workers in 2017 as part of a plan previously announced by the discount retailer.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Thank you to General Motors and Walmart for starting the big jobs push back into the U.S.!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/821415698278875137">January 17, 2017</a></blockquote>
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GM also said it will begin work on bringing axle production for its next generation of full-size pickup trucks, including work previously done in Mexico, to operations in Michigan, creating 450 US jobs.&nbsp;

The part was previously built by American Axle &amp; Manufacturing Holdings Inc. American Axle did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

GM spokeswoman Joanne Krell said the automaker planned to add 7,000 new US jobs over the next two to three years. Krell said the decisions being announced &quot;had been in the works for some time&quot; but she added &quot;the timing was good for us to share what we are doing.&quot;

The 7,000 figure includes the 450 jobs on axle production, 1,500 jobs tied to the $1 billion announcement and more than 5,000 new jobs tied to engineering, GM Financial and advanced technology.

GM in 2014 announced it was investing $5 billion in Mexico and doubling production capacity by 2018. GM said last week it had no plans to cancel Mexican investments despite Trump pressure. GM said it had added about 6,000 US jobs, consisting of 4,000 hourly and 2,000 salaried positions, since the end of 2015 for a total American workforce of 103,000.

Since GM&#39;s bankruptcy restructuring in 2009, when it had 77,000 US employees, it has added more than 25,000 jobs as it boosted production, acquired an auto finance company and brought information technology work in house.

The United Auto Workers union said GM&#39;s new investments &quot;have emerged as a result of the 2015&quot; contract with the union. GM shares slightly rose in midday trading, up 0.6 per cent, or $0.23 per share, to $37.57.

Trump, who made bringing back manufacturing to the United States a large part of his successful election campaign, has been touting recent automaker investments in the United States.

&quot;With all of the jobs I am bringing back into the US (even before taking office), with all of the new auto plants coming back into our country and with the massive cost reductions I have negotiated on military purchases and more, I believe the people are seeing &quot;big stuff,&quot; Trump said in a pair of tweets.

Trump has been inaccurate in describing some US auto investments, wrongly saying last week that Fiat Chrysler was planning to build a new factory in the United States. The company announced it is investing $1 billion in two existing plants, adding 2,000 jobs.

On January 3, Trump threatened to impose a &quot;big border tax&quot; on GM for making some of its Chevrolet Cruze compacts in Mexico - and he has extended that threat to German automakers like BMW AG and Toyota Motor Corp over building vehicles abroad. Separately, Hyundai Motor Group said on Tuesday in South Korea that it plans to boost US investment by 50 per cent to $3.1 billion over five years and may build a new plant in the United States.

Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Motors Corp, which make up the Hyundai Motor Group, have not been directly criticized by Trump but they may have felt vulnerable because among major brands, they have one of the lowest ratios of cars built in the United States to cars sold. GM also said an unnamed supplier has committed to make components for GM&#39;s next-generation full-size pickup trucks in Michigan, moving 100 supplier jobs from Mexico to the United States.

(Reuters)

GM said the investment will create or retain 1,500 jobs and also promised to announce more individual projects during the year

General Motors Co has confirmed it will invest an additional $1 billion in its US factories in 2017 and will move some parts production from Mexico to the United States that was previously handled by a supplier. The investments are in addition to the $2.9 billion the automaker announced last year, GM said. GM and other automakers have been sharply criticized by Republican US President-elect Donald Trump for building vehicles in Mexico that are imported into the United States. Trump will be sworn in on Friday. GM said the $1 billion investment will create or retain 1,500 jobs. The Detroit automaker said details of individual projects will be announced throughout the year. "Thank you to General Motors and Walmart for starting the big jobs push back into the U.S.," Trump tweeted, referring as well to WalMart Stores Inc's announcement that it will hire 10,000 US workers in 2017 as part of a plan previously announced by the discount retailer. Thank you to General Motors and Walmart for starting the big jobs push back into the U.S.! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 17, 2017 × GM also said it will begin work on bringing axle production for its next generation of full-size pickup trucks, including work previously done in Mexico, to operations in Michigan, creating 450 US jobs. The part was previously built by American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. American Axle did not immediately respond to a request for comment. GM spokeswoman Joanne Krell said the automaker planned to add 7,000 new US jobs over the next two to three years. Krell said the decisions being announced "had been in the works for some time" but she added "the timing was good for us to share what we are doing." The 7,000 figure includes the 450 jobs on axle production, 1,500 jobs tied to the $1 billion announcement and more than 5,000 new jobs tied to engineering, GM Financial and advanced technology. GM in 2014 announced it was investing $5 billion in Mexico and doubling production capacity by 2018. GM said last week it had no plans to cancel Mexican investments despite Trump pressure. GM said it had added about 6,000 US jobs, consisting of 4,000 hourly and 2,000 salaried positions, since the end of 2015 for a total American workforce of 103,000. Since GM's bankruptcy restructuring in 2009, when it had 77,000 US employees, it has added more than 25,000 jobs as it boosted production, acquired an auto finance company and brought information technology work in house. The United Auto Workers union said GM's new investments "have emerged as a result of the 2015" contract with the union. GM shares slightly rose in midday trading, up 0.6 per cent, or $0.23 per share, to $37.57. Trump, who made bringing back manufacturing to the United States a large part of his successful election campaign, has been touting recent automaker investments in the United States. "With all of the jobs I am bringing back into the US (even before taking office), with all of the new auto plants coming back into our country and with the massive cost reductions I have negotiated on military purchases and more, I believe the people are seeing "big stuff," Trump said in a pair of tweets. Trump has been inaccurate in describing some US auto investments, wrongly saying last week that Fiat Chrysler was planning to build a new factory in the United States. The company announced it is investing $1 billion in two existing plants, adding 2,000 jobs. On January 3, Trump threatened to impose a "big border tax" on GM for making some of its Chevrolet Cruze compacts in Mexico - and he has extended that threat to German automakers like BMW AG and Toyota Motor Corp over building vehicles abroad. Separately, Hyundai Motor Group said on Tuesday in South Korea that it plans to boost US investment by 50 per cent to $3.1 billion over five years and may build a new plant in the United States. Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Motors Corp, which make up the Hyundai Motor Group, have not been directly criticized by Trump but they may have felt vulnerable because among major brands, they have one of the lowest ratios of cars built in the United States to cars sold. GM also said an unnamed supplier has committed to make components for GM's next-generation full-size pickup trucks in Michigan, moving 100 supplier jobs from Mexico to the United States. (Reuters)

General Motors to invest $1 billion in US, Trump tweets 'thank you'

India&#39;s National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Wednesday dismissed a contempt petition filed by two companies owned by ousted Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry&#39;s family against Tata Sons and its directors.&nbsp;

The companies had alleged violation of NCLT directives in taking steps to remove Cyrus Mistry from the board of Tata Sons.

Pronouncing the operative part of the order, a division bench of NCLT said, &quot;the contempt petition is dismissed.&quot;

The bench was of the view that the action of Tata Sons did not amount to contempt of court.

The bench, however, gave liberty to the Mistry family companies to file an affidavit within three days on the issue of Tata Sons holding an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on February 6.

Tata Sons was also asked to file a rejoinder, if any, three days thereafter.

In their petition, Cyrus Investments Ltd and Sterling Investment had also sought injunction against the Tata Sons barring them from &quot;convening or holding of the EGM scheduled for February 6, 2017 or any other date or from transacting any business threat.&quot;

NCLT kept this matter for hearing on January 31 and February 1 when the main petition filed earlier by the two Mistry companies against Tata Sons would be heard.

The earlier petition had challenged Mistry&#39;s removal as the chairman of Tata Sons alleging bad practices, oppression and mismanagement in the holding company.

NCLT, on December 22 last year, had refused interim relief and posted the main petition for hearing on January 31 and February 1. Today, the tribunal clubbed the issue of holding EGM of February 6 along with the hearing of the main petition.

Meanwhile, the Mistry companies filed a contempt plea with NCLT against Tata Sons accusing them of &quot;committing a breach&quot; of an NCLT order of December 22 by giving a special notice on January 3, 2017, for removal of Mistry as a director of the board of Tata Sons, &quot;in the clear violation of the order&quot;.

It sought punishment for Ratan Tata, other directors of Tata Sons and trustees of Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Sir Dorabjee Trust &mdash; N A Soonawala, R K Krishnakumar and R Venkatramana &mdash; under the Contempt of Court Act which provides for simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or fine of Rs 2,000 or both.

Last October, Tata Sons removed Mistry as its Chairman, nearly four years after he took over the reins of the over USD 100 billion salt-to-software conglomerate.

A Sundaram, counsel for Mistry&#39;s family companies, had argued that removal of Mistry as a director of Tata Sons could have waited.

He contended that by calling an EGM to remove Mistry as a director of the company, Tata Sons and others had committed direct violation of the December 22 tribunal order and its action amounted to &quot;wilful disobedience&quot; of NCLT&#39;s order in an earlier petition filed by Mistry&#39;s family owned companies against Tata Sons.

Sundaram further argued that the move to remove Mistry was against the spirit of the NCLT order which had earlier stated that the respondents will not &quot;initiate any action or proceedings over this subject matter pending disposal of the company petition.&quot;

The contempt petition contended that the move of Tata Sons to call an EGM on February 6 to remove Mistry as a director violated the undertaking given by its lawyers to NCLT which heard an earlier petition filed by the investment firms on December 22.

The lawyers had assured the Tribunal that no further action would be taken in this matter until the petition was finally heard and disposed of, said the contempt petition.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi, counsel for Tata Sons, said the respondents &mdash; Tata Sons and its Directors &mdash; had not committed any contempt of NCLT by calling an EGM to remove Mistry.

Singhvi had argued that Tata Sons had not given any specific undertaking to the Tribunal earlier that Mistry would not be removed as director from the company. Hence, there was no contempt committed by Tata Sons and others.

The Tata Sons&#39; lawyer further argued that there was nothing implicit in the order of NCLT of December 22 that Mistry should not be removed.

He had said that Tata Sons had no option but to remove Mistry from the board because he violated his fiduciary duty to the share-holders by leaking confidential information which was damaging to Tata companies.

He argued that Tata Sons was seeking Mistry&#39;s removal as a director as he was acting in a manner detrimental to the company.

(PTI)

The companies had alleged violation of the tribunal directives in taking steps to remove Cyrus Mistry from the board of Tata Sons

India's National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Wednesday dismissed a contempt petition filed by two companies owned by ousted Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry's family against Tata Sons and its directors. The companies had alleged violation of NCLT directives in taking steps to remove Cyrus Mistry from the board of Tata Sons. Pronouncing the operative part of the order, a division bench of NCLT said, "the contempt petition is dismissed." The bench was of the view that the action of Tata Sons did not amount to contempt of court. The bench, however, gave liberty to the Mistry family companies to file an affidavit within three days on the issue of Tata Sons holding an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on February 6. Tata Sons was also asked to file a rejoinder, if any, three days thereafter. In their petition, Cyrus Investments Ltd and Sterling Investment had also sought injunction against the Tata Sons barring them from "convening or holding of the EGM scheduled for February 6, 2017 or any other date or from transacting any business threat." NCLT kept this matter for hearing on January 31 and February 1 when the main petition filed earlier by the two Mistry companies against Tata Sons would be heard. The earlier petition had challenged Mistry's removal as the chairman of Tata Sons alleging bad practices, oppression and mismanagement in the holding company. NCLT, on December 22 last year, had refused interim relief and posted the main petition for hearing on January 31 and February 1. Today, the tribunal clubbed the issue of holding EGM of February 6 along with the hearing of the main petition. Meanwhile, the Mistry companies filed a contempt plea with NCLT against Tata Sons accusing them of "committing a breach" of an NCLT order of December 22 by giving a special notice on January 3, 2017, for removal of Mistry as a director of the board of Tata Sons, "in the clear violation of the order". It sought punishment for Ratan Tata, other directors of Tata Sons and trustees of Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Sir Dorabjee Trust — N A Soonawala, R K Krishnakumar and R Venkatramana — under the Contempt of Court Act which provides for simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or fine of Rs 2,000 or both. Last October, Tata Sons removed Mistry as its Chairman, nearly four years after he took over the reins of the over USD 100 billion salt-to-software conglomerate. A Sundaram, counsel for Mistry's family companies, had argued that removal of Mistry as a director of Tata Sons could have waited. He contended that by calling an EGM to remove Mistry as a director of the company, Tata Sons and others had committed direct violation of the December 22 tribunal order and its action amounted to "wilful disobedience" of NCLT's order in an earlier petition filed by Mistry's family owned companies against Tata Sons. Sundaram further argued that the move to remove Mistry was against the spirit of the NCLT order which had earlier stated that the respondents will not "initiate any action or proceedings over this subject matter pending disposal of the company petition." The contempt petition contended that the move of Tata Sons to call an EGM on February 6 to remove Mistry as a director violated the undertaking given by its lawyers to NCLT which heard an earlier petition filed by the investment firms on December 22. The lawyers had assured the Tribunal that no further action would be taken in this matter until the petition was finally heard and disposed of, said the contempt petition. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, counsel for Tata Sons, said the respondents — Tata Sons and its Directors — had not committed any contempt of NCLT by calling an EGM to remove Mistry. Singhvi had argued that Tata Sons had not given any specific undertaking to the Tribunal earlier that Mistry would not be removed as director from the company. Hence, there was no contempt committed by Tata Sons and others. The Tata Sons' lawyer further argued that there was nothing implicit in the order of NCLT of December 22 that Mistry should not be removed. He had said that Tata Sons had no option but to remove Mistry from the board because he violated his fiduciary duty to the share-holders by leaking confidential information which was damaging to Tata companies. He argued that Tata Sons was seeking Mistry's removal as a director as he was acting in a manner detrimental to the company. (PTI)

Relief for Tata Sons as tribunal rejects contempt plea by Cyrus Mistry's companies

For the past few years, critics and experts have been going in hard against the rising non-performing assets at public sector banks in India

Are non-performing assets the reason behind strict interest rates?

The chief of India&#39;s central bank, Urjit Patel, received support from the most unlikely quarter while he was being grilled by an opposition party leader Digvijay Singh during a meeting with the parliamentary committee about demonetisation on Wednesday.

When asked by Digvijay Singh, a member of the Congress party, as to whether there would be chaos when the withdrawal limit is removed, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, who is also a Congress member, told Patel that he need not answer that question.

The government yesterday (January&nbsp;17) raised the withdrawal limit from Rs 4,500 per day to Rs 10,000 per day, although the weekly limit remains Rs 24,000.

It was an unexpected show of support because Singh is not only a member of the same party as Digivijay Singh is, the renowned economist has in the past flayed the government&#39;s decision to scrap old banknotes as he believes the move will pare down India&#39;s economy by two percentage points.

During the Wednesday meeting, Patel, who is the governor of Reserve Bank of India, was chastised for not satisfactorily replying to questions regarding demonetisation, nearly three weeks after the deadline for people to exchange their old currency notes with new ones elapsed.

Saugata Roy, a member of the panel and a lawmaker affiliated to Trinamool Congress, said Patel was &quot;unable to tell us how much money (old currency) has come back to the banks&quot;.

One of the members of the standing committee of finance, wishing anonymity, confirmed to WION that when asked as to when the details would be available, the RBI officials replied that they were calculating at the moment and could not give a timeline to the committee.

The federal government had given the public time till December 30 to replace their old currency notes with new ones.

As of December 14, various media reports stated that the banks in India had received 80 per cent of the old bank notes amounting to Rs 12.44 lakh crores (roughly $184 billion).

But Patel did inform the quantum of amount infused into the economy. He said Rs 9.2 lakh crore (approximately $135 billion) worth of new currency notes has been injected back into the economy so far.

The Standing Committee of Finance, headed by Veerapa Moily, grilled the finance ministry officials and Patel for nearly two hours. Overall, the meeting lasted for four&nbsp;hours but Patel joined the briefing session in the second half.

When one of the members questioned Patel on the emphasis been given by the prime minister and finance minister on turning India into a cash-less economy, Patel replied: &quot;The demand will be met with supply and it is the prerogative of the Reserve Bank of India.&rdquo;

Government officials also informed the committee that demonetisation was a well thought-out decision and preparations were on since January 2016.

India&#39;s central bank had earlier given a seven-page reply that it received advisory instructions from the government to consider the government&#39;s plan to replace the hitherto currency notes.&nbsp;But several questions were raised when it came to light that the RBI had received the advisory on November 7, barely 24 hours before the government rolled out the nationwide scheme.

India&#39;s central bank came under a deluge of criticism as many felt that the institution&#39;s autonomy had been undermined. The theme of RBI&#39;s autonomy dominated the Wednesday meeting as well, with Patel fielding a raft of questions about the issue, another member of the panel told WION.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, WION has learnt that Patel will be summoned again either during the Budget Session (February 1) or just after it as a&nbsp;lot of questions remained pending due to paucity of time.&nbsp;

But problems&nbsp;don&#39;t end for Patel there as he is expected to depose before the Public Accounts Committee on January 20, where opposition parties are expected to ask him uncomfortable questions about how the decision on demonetisation was reached upon. The very debate on demonetisation and the RBI&#39;s autonomy has become extremely political as regional elections in five states of India are merely 20 days away.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from ANI)

&nbsp;

The former premier told Urjit Patel that he need not answer the question when asked if there would be chaos once withdrawal limit is lifted

The chief of India's central bank, Urjit Patel, received support from the most unlikely quarter while he was being grilled by an opposition party leader Digvijay Singh during a meeting with the parliamentary committee about demonetisation on Wednesday. When asked by Digvijay Singh, a member of the Congress party, as to whether there would be chaos when the withdrawal limit is removed, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, who is also a Congress member, told Patel that he need not answer that question. The government yesterday (January 17) raised the withdrawal limit from Rs 4,500 per day to Rs 10,000 per day, although the weekly limit remains Rs 24,000. It was an unexpected show of support because Singh is not only a member of the same party as Digivijay Singh is, the renowned economist has in the past flayed the government's decision to scrap old banknotes as he believes the move will pare down India's economy by two percentage points. During the Wednesday meeting, Patel, who is the governor of Reserve Bank of India, was chastised for not satisfactorily replying to questions regarding demonetisation, nearly three weeks after the deadline for people to exchange their old currency notes with new ones elapsed. Saugata Roy, a member of the panel and a lawmaker affiliated to Trinamool Congress, said Patel was "unable to tell us how much money (old currency) has come back to the banks". One of the members of the standing committee of finance, wishing anonymity, confirmed to WION that when asked as to when the details would be available, the RBI officials replied that they were calculating at the moment and could not give a timeline to the committee. The federal government had given the public time till December 30 to replace their old currency notes with new ones. As of December 14, various media reports stated that the banks in India had received 80 per cent of the old bank notes amounting to Rs 12.44 lakh crores (roughly $184 billion). But Patel did inform the quantum of amount infused into the economy. He said Rs 9.2 lakh crore (approximately $135 billion) worth of new currency notes has been injected back into the economy so far. The Standing Committee of Finance, headed by Veerapa Moily, grilled the finance ministry officials and Patel for nearly two hours. Overall, the meeting lasted for four hours but Patel joined the briefing session in the second half. When one of the members questioned Patel on the emphasis been given by the prime minister and finance minister on turning India into a cash-less economy, Patel replied: "The demand will be met with supply and it is the prerogative of the Reserve Bank of India.” Government officials also informed the committee that demonetisation was a well thought-out decision and preparations were on since January 2016. India's central bank had earlier given a seven-page reply that it received advisory instructions from the government to consider the government's plan to replace the hitherto currency notes. But several questions were raised when it came to light that the RBI had received the advisory on November 7, barely 24 hours before the government rolled out the nationwide scheme. India's central bank came under a deluge of criticism as many felt that the institution's autonomy had been undermined. The theme of RBI's autonomy dominated the Wednesday meeting as well, with Patel fielding a raft of questions about the issue, another member of the panel told WION. Meanwhile, WION has learnt that Patel will be summoned again either during the Budget Session (February 1) or just after it as a lot of questions remained pending due to paucity of time. But problems don't end for Patel there as he is expected to depose before the Public Accounts Committee on January 20, where opposition parties are expected to ask him uncomfortable questions about how the decision on demonetisation was reached upon. The very debate on demonetisation and the RBI's autonomy has become extremely political as regional elections in five states of India are merely 20 days away. (WION with inputs from ANI)

Demonetisation: Ex-PM Manmohan Singh comes to central bank chief's help

Former TATA sons chairman Cyrus Mistry has opposed the appointment of Natarajan Chandrasekaran as his successor and may even be preparing to open another legal front challenging the decision. All this and much more on this edition of WION Wallet.

Mistry against new Tata chairman and more (WION Wallet)

Countries with higher public debt levels like India should continue to implement their medium-term plans to reduce debt and deficits, an IMF official has said.

&quot;Countries with higher public debt levels, like India, should continue to implement their medium-term plans to reduce debt and deficits. Japan and Malaysia should develop plans in these areas,&quot; IMF deputy managing director Zhang Tao said in his address at the Asian Financial Forum, Hong Kong.

&quot;Asia continues to lead global growth. We expect the economies in the region to grow above 5 per cent both in 2017 and 2018, compared with around three-and-a-half per cent for the world in the next two years,&quot; an IMF statement quoted Tao as saying.

Noting that Asia overall managed well the market surprises in 2016, and Asian financial markets were resilient for most of the year, Tao said Asia is expected to continue to make the largest contribution to growth in the world, by generating around two thirds of global growth.

Yesterday, IMF cut India&#39;s growth rate for the current fiscal year to 6.6 per cent from its previous estimate of 7.6 per cent due to the &quot;temporary negative consumption shock&quot; of demonetisation, days after the World Bank also decelerated India&#39;s growth estimates.&nbsp;

(PTI)

The IMF official said that countries like India with higher public debt should continue with their plans to reduce debt and deficits

Countries with higher public debt levels like India should continue to implement their medium-term plans to reduce debt and deficits, an IMF official has said. "Countries with higher public debt levels, like India, should continue to implement their medium-term plans to reduce debt and deficits. Japan and Malaysia should develop plans in these areas," IMF deputy managing director Zhang Tao said in his address at the Asian Financial Forum, Hong Kong. "Asia continues to lead global growth. We expect the economies in the region to grow above 5 per cent both in 2017 and 2018, compared with around three-and-a-half per cent for the world in the next two years," an IMF statement quoted Tao as saying. Noting that Asia overall managed well the market surprises in 2016, and Asian financial markets were resilient for most of the year, Tao said Asia is expected to continue to make the largest contribution to growth in the world, by generating around two thirds of global growth. Yesterday, IMF cut India's growth rate for the current fiscal year to 6.6 per cent from its previous estimate of 7.6 per cent due to the "temporary negative consumption shock" of demonetisation, days after the World Bank also decelerated India's growth estimates. (PTI)

Countries with higher public debt levels should bring it down, says IMF deputy managing director

India features among top six for global executives when it comes to overall growth prospects over the next 12 months, but enthusiasm for investing in the country has dropped from three years ago, finds out a survey.

According to the annual global CEO survey of consultancy giant PwC, released at the WEF annual meeting, the top two markets from the growth point of view are the US, as voted by 43 per cent of respondents, followed by China which received&nbsp;33 per cent votes.

Others in the pecking order are Germany (17 per cent), UK (15 per cent), Japan (8 per cent) and India (7 per cent).

Last year, India was among the top five most promising markets globally.

&quot;Over time, CEOs have become less enthusiastic about India perhaps because structural reforms have been slow to come (and there have been recent short-term difficulties with its rupee conversion programme),&quot; the survey noted.

It further said &quot;nevertheless, it still stands out for its robust growth and monetary and fiscal reforms&quot;.

As per the findings, the changeability of markets, exacerbated by currency volatility, has caused CEOs to turn to a greater mix of countries. This year&#39;s study shows that the US, Germany and the UK have become bigger priorities while willingness to invest in Brazil, India, Russia and Argentina has lessened from three years ago.

CEOs around the world feel they have plenty to worry about in the year ahead. Their confidence in companies&#39; growth prospects and the&nbsp;outlook for the global economy are back on the rise.&nbsp;Globally, 38 per cent of CEOs are very confident about their companies&#39; growth prospects in the next 12 months while 29 per cent believe that global economic growth will pick up in 2017.

While business leaders are more positive in their outlook, their levels of concern about economic uncertainty, over-regulation and availability of key skills remain very high.&nbsp;Also, worries about protectionism are growing, with 59 per cent of CEOs concerned about protectionism, whereas the figure stands at 64 per cent in the United States and Mexico.

&quot;Despite a tumultuous 2016, CEO confidence is moving back up - albeit slowly and still a long way from the levels we saw back in 2007. But there are signs of optimism right across the globe, including in the UK and US, where despite predictions of a Trump slump and a Brexit exit, CEOs&#39; confidence in their company&#39;s growth are up from 2016,&quot; said Bob Moritz, Global Chairman, PwC.

A significant 71 per cent of India&#39;s CEOs are very confident of their companies&#39; growth in the next 12 months, a 7-point increase over last year&#39;s and 33 points above this year&#39;s global average (38 per cent).

&quot;Confidence in the Indian economy is reflected in the optimism of Indian CEOs in their company&#39;s growth. It re-instates India&#39;s growth story, backed by the government&#39;s reform agenda. Availability of key skills and disruption caused by technology continues to be a concern,&quot; PwC India Chairman Shyamal Mukherjee said.&nbsp;

(PTI)&nbsp;

According to a survey, the top two markets from the growth point of view are the US followed by China

India features among top six for global executives when it comes to overall growth prospects over the next 12 months, but enthusiasm for investing in the country has dropped from three years ago, finds out a survey. According to the annual global CEO survey of consultancy giant PwC, released at the WEF annual meeting, the top two markets from the growth point of view are the US, as voted by 43 per cent of respondents, followed by China which received 33 per cent votes. Others in the pecking order are Germany (17 per cent), UK (15 per cent), Japan (8 per cent) and India (7 per cent). Last year, India was among the top five most promising markets globally. "Over time, CEOs have become less enthusiastic about India perhaps because structural reforms have been slow to come (and there have been recent short-term difficulties with its rupee conversion programme)," the survey noted. It further said "nevertheless, it still stands out for its robust growth and monetary and fiscal reforms". As per the findings, the changeability of markets, exacerbated by currency volatility, has caused CEOs to turn to a greater mix of countries. This year's study shows that the US, Germany and the UK have become bigger priorities while willingness to invest in Brazil, India, Russia and Argentina has lessened from three years ago. CEOs around the world feel they have plenty to worry about in the year ahead. Their confidence in companies' growth prospects and the outlook for the global economy are back on the rise. Globally, 38 per cent of CEOs are very confident about their companies' growth prospects in the next 12 months while 29 per cent believe that global economic growth will pick up in 2017. While business leaders are more positive in their outlook, their levels of concern about economic uncertainty, over-regulation and availability of key skills remain very high. Also, worries about protectionism are growing, with 59 per cent of CEOs concerned about protectionism, whereas the figure stands at 64 per cent in the United States and Mexico. "Despite a tumultuous 2016, CEO confidence is moving back up - albeit slowly and still a long way from the levels we saw back in 2007. But there are signs of optimism right across the globe, including in the UK and US, where despite predictions of a Trump slump and a Brexit exit, CEOs' confidence in their company's growth are up from 2016," said Bob Moritz, Global Chairman, PwC. A significant 71 per cent of India's CEOs are very confident of their companies' growth in the next 12 months, a 7-point increase over last year's and 33 points above this year's global average (38 per cent). "Confidence in the Indian economy is reflected in the optimism of Indian CEOs in their company's growth. It re-instates India's growth story, backed by the government's reform agenda. Availability of key skills and disruption caused by technology continues to be a concern," PwC India Chairman Shyamal Mukherjee said. (PTI)

Investment in India has dropped in the past three years: Survey

The IMF has cut India&#39;s growth rate for the current fiscal year to 6.6 per cent from its previous estimate of 7.6 per cent due to the &quot;temporary negative consumption shock&quot; of demonetisation, days after the World Bank also decelerated India&#39;s growth estimates.

&quot;In India, the growth forecast for the current (2016-17) and next fiscal year were trimmed by one percentage point and 0.4 percentage point, respectively, primarily due to the temporary negative consumption shock induced by cash shortages and payment disruptions associated with the recent currency note withdrawal and exchange initiative,&quot; the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) update released today.

Despite IMF&#39;s downward revision of India&#39;s growth rate and a slight upward revision of China&#39;s growth projections, India continues to be the fastest-growing country among emerging economies. In 2016, China with 6.7 per cent edged past India (6.6) by 0.1 percentage point. In 2018, China&#39;s growth rate is projected to be 6 per cent against India&#39;s 7.7 per cent.

The growth forecast for 2017 was revised up for China (to 6.5 per cent, 0.3 percentage point above the October forecast) on expectations of continued policy support, the IMF said. India&#39;s growth rate in 2017 as per the latest IMG projections is 7.2 per cent.

The IMF said that after a lacklustre out turn in 2016, economic activity is projected to pick up pace in 2017 and 2018, especially in emerging market and developing economies. In 2018, China&#39;s growth rate is projected to be 6 per cent against India&#39;s 7.7 per cent.

The global growth for 2016 is now estimated at 3.1 per cent, in line with the October 2016 forecast. Economic activity in both advanced economies and emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) is forecast to accelerate in 2017-18, with global growth projected to be 3.4 per cent and 3.6 per cent, respectively, again unchanged from the October forecasts, it said. As per new IMF projections, India&#39;s growth in 2016 is now estimated to be 6.6 per cent as against 7.6 per cent earlier forecast.

In 2017, IMF has projected a growth rate of 7.2 per cent as against its previous forecast of 7.6 per cent.The Indian economy is likely to revive to go back to its previously estimated growth rate of 7.7 per cent in 2018, according to the WEO update.

The cut in India&#39;s growth rates comes days after the World Bank decelerated India&#39;s GDP growth for 2016-17 fiscal to 7 per cent from its previous estimate of 7.6 per cent citing the impact of demonetisation. But forecast issued on January 11 said that India would regain momentum in the following years with a growth of 7.6 per cent and 7.8 per cent due to a reform initiatives.

(PTI)

The reason given was the 'temporary negative consumption shock' of demonetisation

The IMF has cut India's growth rate for the current fiscal year to 6.6 per cent from its previous estimate of 7.6 per cent due to the "temporary negative consumption shock" of demonetisation, days after the World Bank also decelerated India's growth estimates. "In India, the growth forecast for the current (2016-17) and next fiscal year were trimmed by one percentage point and 0.4 percentage point, respectively, primarily due to the temporary negative consumption shock induced by cash shortages and payment disruptions associated with the recent currency note withdrawal and exchange initiative," the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) update released today. Despite IMF's downward revision of India's growth rate and a slight upward revision of China's growth projections, India continues to be the fastest-growing country among emerging economies. In 2016, China with 6.7 per cent edged past India (6.6) by 0.1 percentage point. In 2018, China's growth rate is projected to be 6 per cent against India's 7.7 per cent. The growth forecast for 2017 was revised up for China (to 6.5 per cent, 0.3 percentage point above the October forecast) on expectations of continued policy support, the IMF said. India's growth rate in 2017 as per the latest IMG projections is 7.2 per cent. The IMF said that after a lacklustre out turn in 2016, economic activity is projected to pick up pace in 2017 and 2018, especially in emerging market and developing economies. In 2018, China's growth rate is projected to be 6 per cent against India's 7.7 per cent. The global growth for 2016 is now estimated at 3.1 per cent, in line with the October 2016 forecast. Economic activity in both advanced economies and emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) is forecast to accelerate in 2017-18, with global growth projected to be 3.4 per cent and 3.6 per cent, respectively, again unchanged from the October forecasts, it said. As per new IMF projections, India's growth in 2016 is now estimated to be 6.6 per cent as against 7.6 per cent earlier forecast. In 2017, IMF has projected a growth rate of 7.2 per cent as against its previous forecast of 7.6 per cent.The Indian economy is likely to revive to go back to its previously estimated growth rate of 7.7 per cent in 2018, according to the WEO update. The cut in India's growth rates comes days after the World Bank decelerated India's GDP growth for 2016-17 fiscal to 7 per cent from its previous estimate of 7.6 per cent citing the impact of demonetisation. But forecast issued on January 11 said that India would regain momentum in the following years with a growth of 7.6 per cent and 7.8 per cent due to a reform initiatives. (PTI)

Demonetisation: IMF cuts India's growth forecast from 7.6 to 6.6%

India's most important tax reform GST will roll out in July and not on April 1 as planned because of unresolved disputes between the centre and states over taxation powers. Here's more to this story.

GST rollout in July and much more (WION Wallet)

Even though India's I-T industry has made a mark in the global arena yet it has been unable to tap the domestic market. WION's Chaiti Narula is joined by Dr. Jaijit Bhattacharya and Dr. B.K. Gairola for this insightful discussion.

Bengaluru's budget expectations (WION Budget)

In a significant breakthrough in implementation of India&#39;s biggest tax reform, the deadlock over administration of GST ended on Monday after the Centre agreed to allow states control over most of small taxpayers, but the rollout date was pushed back by 3 months to July 1.

The split of GST taxpayers between the two will be done horizontally with states getting to administer and control 90 per cent of the asseesses below Rs 1.5 crore annual turnover, and the remaining 10 per cent coming under the Centre.

The Centre and states will share control of assessees with annual turnover of over Rs 1.5 crore in 50:50 ratio even as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley insisted that each tax payer will be assessed only once and by only one authority.

Besides ceding control, the Centre also agreed to the demand of coastal states, allowing them to tax economic activity in 12 nautical miles even though constitutionally the Centre has jurisdiction over territorial waters.

&quot;This is a significant headway,&quot; Jaitley said after the meeting.

While a four-rate tax slab of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent had already been reached, a consensus on the administration of the Goods and Services Tax - which will subsume central and state levies like excise duty, service tax and VAT - paved the way for finalisation of the draft supporting laws.

Jaitley said the draft of Integrated GST or IGST, the tax which will be levied by the Centre on inter-state movement of goods and services, as well as SGST and CGST will be finalised in the next meeting of the GST Council on February 18.

Once approved, the Council will then decide on taxing various goods and services in different tax slabs, he said.

The stalemate over administration of GST had been holding up consensus in the GST Council since early November with four successive meetings failing to break the deadlock as the Centre was not in favour of a horizontal split. It said states did not have the expertise to administer levies like service tax.

The Centre also did not favour dual agencies auditing and scrutinising each taxpayer as multiple authorities could end up acting at cross-purposes. Since GST is a transactional tax, which is to be levied when a sale takes place, it does not necessarily have to be implemented from the beginning of the fiscal, he said.

The penal arrest provisions, which were part of the draft law, have been diluted. Officials said default in payment of taxes amounting up to Rs 2 crore will be a bailable offence. The arrest powers will be invoked only in cases of criminal offences like forgery and collected tax not deposited in government coffers.

Briefing reporters after the 9th meeting of the GST Council, Jaitley said the entire taxation base will be shared between the Centre and states. He said: &quot;All assessees with GST turnover of Rs 1.5 crore or less, 90 per cent of them will be assessed for the purposes of scrutiny and audit by the states and 10 per cent by the centre.

&quot;Those above the turnover of Rs 1.5 crore would be assessed in the ratio of 50:50 between centre and states,&quot; he said, adding that intelligence-based enforcement powers would vest in both Centre and states.

&quot;The power to levy and collect the IGST taxation is with the central government but by special provision in law, the states will also be cross empowered in the same manner.&quot; In case of contentious issues and conflicts between states with regard to place of supply, the assessment would be done by Centre, he said. Also, importantly, the area of 12 nautical miles into the territorial waters, which is part of the Union government territory, will be taxed by states.

This is one of the issues which states with various parties in power - from BJP-rule Gujarat to Congress-ruled Karnataka and CPM-governed Kerala, had demanded.

&quot;This decision has been taken after very wide consultation,&quot; Jaitley said.

The Finance Minister said each assessee would be assessed only by one authority. &quot;Once you evolve numerically a lot more will come from state to the centre, because the percentage is 50:50 in higher category and 90:10 in lower category. The computer programming would be done in a manner so that there is no discretion.&quot;

After drafts of supporting legislations are prepared, fitments of rates in various slabs will be undertaken. &quot;This exercise will in all probability take us into the month of March. The Ministers and Council then assessed the realistic date by when the three important things pending -- final draft legislation and rules, secondly approval of these by the legislative bodies, and fitments of rates can take place.

&quot;I requested the ministers to give their opinion about the realistic dates and there was a broad view that July 1 appears to be more realistic,&quot; he said. Also, industry and trade should be given some adequate notice to prepare for the new regime and once the rates are decided the systems of GSTN will have to be modified suitably.

&quot;So our next meeting will be on February 18. This long gap is because -- the drafts are going to take some time to be finalised and most finance ministers would be busy with the central and state budgets,&quot; Jaitley said.

He added that all states, except West Bengal, agreed to the proposal of division of assessees in GST for audit and scrutiny purposes. &quot;The West Bengal minister disagreed to the limited extent that assessments below Rs 1.5 crore which are divided 90:10 between the states and centre. His dissent was confined to the issue that it should be 100 versus zero and not 90:10. On all other proposals he also agreed,&quot; he said.

After the Council meeting, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra said the Centre has come very close to the position that empowered committee had taken, where below Rs 1.5 crores, turnover all goods, all deemed goods, was to be assessed by states.

&quot;Our great struggle has been to save the small enterprises of states and we have succeeded to the extent of 90 per cent (of services) and all goods. We could not succeed in only 10 per cent which relates to services,&quot; Mitra said.

Earlier, Kerala Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac said there was no agreement on the issue of administration of GST, with states continuing to seek sole control over tax payers. With regard to Integrated GST, Jaitley said the power to levy and collect the IGST taxation is with the central government but by special provision in law, states will also be cross empowered in the same manner of the ratio mentioned earlier.

&quot;In the exercise of IGST where there are contentious issues between conflicting states with regard to place of supply etc. Obviously, one of the states cannot assess and therefore those assessment would take place by Centre,&quot; Jaitley said.

(DNA) 
&nbsp;

The deadlock over GST ended after the Centre agreed to allow states control over most of small taxpayers

In a significant breakthrough in implementation of India's biggest tax reform, the deadlock over administration of GST ended on Monday after the Centre agreed to allow states control over most of small taxpayers, but the rollout date was pushed back by 3 months to July 1. The split of GST taxpayers between the two will be done horizontally with states getting to administer and control 90 per cent of the asseesses below Rs 1.5 crore annual turnover, and the remaining 10 per cent coming under the Centre. The Centre and states will share control of assessees with annual turnover of over Rs 1.5 crore in 50:50 ratio even as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley insisted that each tax payer will be assessed only once and by only one authority. Besides ceding control, the Centre also agreed to the demand of coastal states, allowing them to tax economic activity in 12 nautical miles even though constitutionally the Centre has jurisdiction over territorial waters. "This is a significant headway," Jaitley said after the meeting. While a four-rate tax slab of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent had already been reached, a consensus on the administration of the Goods and Services Tax - which will subsume central and state levies like excise duty, service tax and VAT - paved the way for finalisation of the draft supporting laws. Jaitley said the draft of Integrated GST or IGST, the tax which will be levied by the Centre on inter-state movement of goods and services, as well as SGST and CGST will be finalised in the next meeting of the GST Council on February 18. Once approved, the Council will then decide on taxing various goods and services in different tax slabs, he said. The stalemate over administration of GST had been holding up consensus in the GST Council since early November with four successive meetings failing to break the deadlock as the Centre was not in favour of a horizontal split. It said states did not have the expertise to administer levies like service tax. The Centre also did not favour dual agencies auditing and scrutinising each taxpayer as multiple authorities could end up acting at cross-purposes. Since GST is a transactional tax, which is to be levied when a sale takes place, it does not necessarily have to be implemented from the beginning of the fiscal, he said. The penal arrest provisions, which were part of the draft law, have been diluted. Officials said default in payment of taxes amounting up to Rs 2 crore will be a bailable offence. The arrest powers will be invoked only in cases of criminal offences like forgery and collected tax not deposited in government coffers. Briefing reporters after the 9th meeting of the GST Council, Jaitley said the entire taxation base will be shared between the Centre and states. He said: "All assessees with GST turnover of Rs 1.5 crore or less, 90 per cent of them will be assessed for the purposes of scrutiny and audit by the states and 10 per cent by the centre. "Those above the turnover of Rs 1.5 crore would be assessed in the ratio of 50:50 between centre and states," he said, adding that intelligence-based enforcement powers would vest in both Centre and states. "The power to levy and collect the IGST taxation is with the central government but by special provision in law, the states will also be cross empowered in the same manner." In case of contentious issues and conflicts between states with regard to place of supply, the assessment would be done by Centre, he said. Also, importantly, the area of 12 nautical miles into the territorial waters, which is part of the Union government territory, will be taxed by states. This is one of the issues which states with various parties in power - from BJP-rule Gujarat to Congress-ruled Karnataka and CPM-governed Kerala, had demanded. "This decision has been taken after very wide consultation," Jaitley said. The Finance Minister said each assessee would be assessed only by one authority. "Once you evolve numerically a lot more will come from state to the centre, because the percentage is 50:50 in higher category and 90:10 in lower category. The computer programming would be done in a manner so that there is no discretion." After drafts of supporting legislations are prepared, fitments of rates in various slabs will be undertaken. "This exercise will in all probability take us into the month of March. The Ministers and Council then assessed the realistic date by when the three important things pending -- final draft legislation and rules, secondly approval of these by the legislative bodies, and fitments of rates can take place. "I requested the ministers to give their opinion about the realistic dates and there was a broad view that July 1 appears to be more realistic," he said. Also, industry and trade should be given some adequate notice to prepare for the new regime and once the rates are decided the systems of GSTN will have to be modified suitably. "So our next meeting will be on February 18. This long gap is because -- the drafts are going to take some time to be finalised and most finance ministers would be busy with the central and state budgets," Jaitley said. He added that all states, except West Bengal, agreed to the proposal of division of assessees in GST for audit and scrutiny purposes. "The West Bengal minister disagreed to the limited extent that assessments below Rs 1.5 crore which are divided 90:10 between the states and centre. His dissent was confined to the issue that it should be 100 versus zero and not 90:10. On all other proposals he also agreed," he said. After the Council meeting, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra said the Centre has come very close to the position that empowered committee had taken, where below Rs 1.5 crores, turnover all goods, all deemed goods, was to be assessed by states. "Our great struggle has been to save the small enterprises of states and we have succeeded to the extent of 90 per cent (of services) and all goods. We could not succeed in only 10 per cent which relates to services," Mitra said. Earlier, Kerala Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac said there was no agreement on the issue of administration of GST, with states continuing to seek sole control over tax payers. With regard to Integrated GST, Jaitley said the power to levy and collect the IGST taxation is with the central government but by special provision in law, states will also be cross empowered in the same manner of the ratio mentioned earlier. "In the exercise of IGST where there are contentious issues between conflicting states with regard to place of supply etc. Obviously, one of the states cannot assess and therefore those assessment would take place by Centre," Jaitley said. (DNA)

GST deadlock ends, rollout pushed to July 1

The RBI is likely to revise the weekly cash withdrawal limit to Rs. 35,000 from banks. Catch this and much more on today's edition of WION Wallet

RBI reviews cash withdrawal limit and more (WION Wallet)

After refugees of war, famine, natural calamities and so on, meet the world's first Bitcoin refugee, Otto De Voogd. Here's more to this story from Archit Sinha.

Meet the world's first Bitcoin refugee

&nbsp;

Samsung Electronic&nbsp;Co Ltd&#39;s investigation into what caused some Galaxy Note 7s to catch fire has concluded that the battery was the main reason, a person familiar with the matter said.&nbsp;

The world&#39;s biggest smartphone maker will likely announce the results of the investigation on January 23, a day before it announces detailed fourth-quarter earnings results, said the person who was not authorised to speak publicly on the matter and declined to be identified.&nbsp;

The firm will also announce new measures it is taking to avoid a repeat of the product safety failures in its future devices, the person said.&nbsp;A Samsung spokesman declined to comment.

After one of the biggest product safety failures in tech history, the company is keen to reassure that its devices are safe ahead of the launch of flagship Galaxy S8 smartphones expected sometime in the first half of this year.&nbsp; 
Investors and analysts say it is critical for Samsung to provide a detailed, convincing explanation on what went wrong with the Note 7 phones and how it will prevent such problems from recurring.

The source said&nbsp;that Samsung was able to replicate the fires during its investigation and that the cause could not be explained by hardware design or software-related matters. Samsung was forced to scrap the Note 7 smartphones in October after failing to fix the problems following an initial recall, resulting in&nbsp;$5.2 billion&nbsp;blow to its operating profit over three quarters.&nbsp;

(Reuters)

Samsung's internal investigation revealed the Galaxy Note 7 fires could not be explained by hardware or software related faults

Samsung Electronic Co Ltd's investigation into what caused some Galaxy Note 7s to catch fire has concluded that the battery was the main reason, a person familiar with the matter said. The world's biggest smartphone maker will likely announce the results of the investigation on January 23, a day before it announces detailed fourth-quarter earnings results, said the person who was not authorised to speak publicly on the matter and declined to be identified. The firm will also announce new measures it is taking to avoid a repeat of the product safety failures in its future devices, the person said. A Samsung spokesman declined to comment. After one of the biggest product safety failures in tech history, the company is keen to reassure that its devices are safe ahead of the launch of flagship Galaxy S8 smartphones expected sometime in the first half of this year. Investors and analysts say it is critical for Samsung to provide a detailed, convincing explanation on what went wrong with the Note 7 phones and how it will prevent such problems from recurring. The source said that Samsung was able to replicate the fires during its investigation and that the cause could not be explained by hardware design or software-related matters. Samsung was forced to scrap the Note 7 smartphones in October after failing to fix the problems following an initial recall, resulting in $5.2 billion blow to its operating profit over three quarters. (Reuters)

Battery reason for Galaxy Note 7 fires, reveals Samsung probe

Over the past few years, Switzerland has been experimenting with financial innovations such as the use of currencies like Bitcoins and more. In this report by WION's Archit Sinha, we take a look at the town of Zug.

Inside Switzerland's Crypto-Valley

The Indian government has refuted allegations of interference in the functioning of the country&#39;s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, stating it fully respects the independence and autonomy of the RBI.&nbsp;

The finance ministry was responding to allegations of an RBI union which accused it of infinging on the central bank&#39;s autonomy by appointing an official for currency coordination, PTI reported.

&quot;Consultations between the government and RBI are undertaken on various matters of public importance wherever such consultation is mandated by law or has evolved as a practice. Consultations mandated by law or as evolved by practice should not be taken as infringement of autonomy of RBI,&quot; the finance ministry said in a statement.

&quot;It is categorically stated that the government fully respects independence and autonomy of the Reserve Bank of India,&quot; the ministry said.

In a letter to RBI Governor Urjit Patel, the United Forum of Reserve Bank Officers and Employees had stated that employees were feeling &quot;humiliated&quot; by events since demonetisation because of &quot;blatant encroachment&quot; on RBI&rsquo;s exclusive jurisdiction on currency management.

The letter also said the RBI&#39;s autonomy and image have been &ldquo;dented beyond repair&quot;.

The union raised the issue after at least three former governors &nbsp;&mdash; &nbsp;Manmohan Singh (former prime minister), Bimal Jalan and Y V Reddy &nbsp;&mdash; &nbsp;flagged concerns about the central bank&#39;s functioning. Former deputy governors, including Usha Thorat and K C Chakrabarty too have voiced their worries.

&quot;An image of efficiency and independence that RBI assiduously built up over decades by the strenuous efforts of its staff and judicious policy making has gone into smithereens in no time. We feel extremely pained,&quot; the employees said in the letter.

The letter said the RBI staff has carried out its job excellently after the move to ban 87 per cent of the outstanding currency by the government.

(WION with inputs from PTI)

 
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The finance ministry clarified that consultations between the government and RBI on matters of public importance should not be taken as an infringement of autonomy

The Indian government has refuted allegations of interference in the functioning of the country's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, stating it fully respects the independence and autonomy of the RBI. The finance ministry was responding to allegations of an RBI union which accused it of infinging on the central bank's autonomy by appointing an official for currency coordination, PTI reported. "Consultations between the government and RBI are undertaken on various matters of public importance wherever such consultation is mandated by law or has evolved as a practice. Consultations mandated by law or as evolved by practice should not be taken as infringement of autonomy of RBI," the finance ministry said in a statement. "It is categorically stated that the government fully respects independence and autonomy of the Reserve Bank of India," the ministry said. In a letter to RBI Governor Urjit Patel, the United Forum of Reserve Bank Officers and Employees had stated that employees were feeling "humiliated" by events since demonetisation because of "blatant encroachment" on RBI’s exclusive jurisdiction on currency management. The letter also said the RBI's autonomy and image have been “dented beyond repair". The union raised the issue after at least three former governors — Manmohan Singh (former prime minister), Bimal Jalan and Y V Reddy — flagged concerns about the central bank's functioning. Former deputy governors, including Usha Thorat and K C Chakrabarty too have voiced their worries. "An image of efficiency and independence that RBI assiduously built up over decades by the strenuous efforts of its staff and judicious policy making has gone into smithereens in no time. We feel extremely pained," the employees said in the letter. The letter said the RBI staff has carried out its job excellently after the move to ban 87 per cent of the outstanding currency by the government. (WION with inputs from PTI)

Indian govt respects central bank's autonomy, says finance ministry amid row

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