Indian digital payments firm Paytm launched a niche payments bank on Tuesday, aiming to acquire 500 million customers in the next three years, the company said in a statement.

Paytm, which runs India&#39;s biggest electronic wallet, said it will offer an interest rate of 4 per cent per annum on deposits.

The Paytm Payments Bank aims to open 31 branches and 3,000 customer service points in its first year of operations, the company said.

A payments bank is an institution that can take deposits and remittances but cannot lend.

(Reuters)

A payments bank is an institution that can take deposits and remittances but cannot lend

Indian digital payments firm Paytm launched a niche payments bank on Tuesday, aiming to acquire 500 million customers in the next three years, the company said in a statement. Paytm, which runs India's biggest electronic wallet, said it will offer an interest rate of 4 per cent per annum on deposits. The Paytm Payments Bank aims to open 31 branches and 3,000 customer service points in its first year of operations, the company said. A payments bank is an institution that can take deposits and remittances but cannot lend. (Reuters)

Paytm launches payments bank

The Indian government will waive service tax for debit or credit card payments&nbsp;up to Rs 2,000. Any payment made by cash will not be exempt from the service tax, which at the moment is&nbsp;15 per cent&nbsp;for such transactions.

India&#39;s finance minister Arun Jaitley will table a notification in the parliament today

This comes exactly a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a sudden announcement that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes would be illegal after December 30.

The government said they wanted to tackle the black money menace and encourage the economy to turn digital.

Earlier, the Reserve Bank of India -- the country&#39;s central banking institution -- allowed people to keep Rs 20,000 in their digital wallets, up from the earlier limit of Rs 10,000.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India -- the country&#39;s central banking institution -- said 75 per cent of the old banknotes worth $170 billion have been returned till December 7.

(WION)

&nbsp;

Currently, people pay 15% service tax on every card transaction. Cash purchases are not exempt from the tax

The Indian government will waive service tax for debit or credit card payments up to Rs 2,000. Any payment made by cash will not be exempt from the service tax, which at the moment is 15 per cent for such transactions. India's finance minister Arun Jaitley will table a notification in the parliament today This comes exactly a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a sudden announcement that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes would be illegal after December 30. The government said they wanted to tackle the black money menace and encourage the economy to turn digital. Earlier, the Reserve Bank of India -- the country's central banking institution -- allowed people to keep Rs 20,000 in their digital wallets, up from the earlier limit of Rs 10,000. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India -- the country's central banking institution -- said 75 per cent of the old banknotes worth $170 billion have been returned till December 7. (WION)

Demonetisation: No service tax on card payments up to Rs 2,000

An Ahmedabad-based businessmen, Mahesh Shah, who went missing in October&nbsp;after declaring over Rs 13,000 crore in black money in September&nbsp;has resurfaced today, and&nbsp;income tax officials have already taken him&nbsp;in for questioning, <a href="http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/police-question-gujarat-man-who-declared-over-13-000-crores-in-black-money-1633619?pfrom=home-lateststories">NDTV </a>reports.

Mr Shah today&nbsp;told the local news channel&nbsp;ETV Gujarati, &quot;It is not my money. The money belongs to various people including politicians, babus and builders.&quot;

The 67-year-old was taken to an undisclosed location by police and tax officials for questioning.

Shah had been on the radar of Income Tax authorities after declaring such a huge amount under the Income Declaration Scheme, which was designed to provide immunity to those who have decided to declare and pay the required taxes on income they were previously hiding.

Shah reportedly went missing just a few days prior to the November 30 deadline for depositing one quarter of the disclosed amount.

Income Tax officials have searched Mr Shah&#39;s office and home, and also the the dwelling of his chartered accountant, Tehmul Sethna, who assisted Shah.&nbsp;Mr Sethna said of Shah,&nbsp;&quot;I can tell you that he is very well connected and has been into big dealings. I had no reason to doubt his credentials.&quot;

The Income Tax department made a point to say that they assured Mr Shah that he would be safe when he made the disclosures, but they had not&nbsp;been able to locate the businessman for the past week.

While not much is known about the source of his income, NDTV, citing sources in the Income Tax department, claim Shah had real estate investments in Gujarat, South India and Maharashtra.

(WION)

Mr Shah denies it is his money, but he abruptly went missing after depositing a quarter of the sum. He's back, and authorities have him now

An Ahmedabad-based businessmen, Mahesh Shah, who went missing in October after declaring over Rs 13,000 crore in black money in September has resurfaced today, and income tax officials have already taken him in for questioning, NDTV reports. Mr Shah today told the local news channel ETV Gujarati, "It is not my money. The money belongs to various people including politicians, babus and builders." The 67-year-old was taken to an undisclosed location by police and tax officials for questioning. Shah had been on the radar of Income Tax authorities after declaring such a huge amount under the Income Declaration Scheme, which was designed to provide immunity to those who have decided to declare and pay the required taxes on income they were previously hiding. Shah reportedly went missing just a few days prior to the November 30 deadline for depositing one quarter of the disclosed amount. Income Tax officials have searched Mr Shah's office and home, and also the the dwelling of his chartered accountant, Tehmul Sethna, who assisted Shah. Mr Sethna said of Shah, "I can tell you that he is very well connected and has been into big dealings. I had no reason to doubt his credentials." The Income Tax department made a point to say that they assured Mr Shah that he would be safe when he made the disclosures, but they had not been able to locate the businessman for the past week. While not much is known about the source of his income, NDTV, citing sources in the Income Tax department, claim Shah had real estate investments in Gujarat, South India and Maharashtra. (WION)

Police question Gujarati businessman who declared about $2 billion in black money

Aiming to move towards a cashless India, the Centre and states could soon have powers to specify categories of employers who will have to pay wages either through cheques or by crediting the amount directly into the workers&#39; bank account.

&quot;Government is ready with the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill, 2016 which seeks to empower the Centre as well as states to specify industrial or other establishments where employers shall pay workers either by cheque or by crediting wages into their bank accounts,&quot; a source said.

&quot;The proposal to amend the Payment of Wages Act 1936, is likely to be placed before Union Cabinet for approval in the next few days. Government intends to push the bill during the ongoing winter session of the Parliament after Cabinet nod,&quot; the source added.

At present, an employer is required to obtain a written authorisation from the employee to pay wages either through cheque or by crediting it into the employee&#39;s bank account.

The Act had come into force on April 23, 1936, providing for payment of wage in coin or currency notes, or in both. The provision for payment of wages by cheque or crediting it into bank account after obtaining the requisite authorisation of employee was inserted in 1975.

At present, the Act covers all those employees in certain categories of establishments whose wage does not exceed Rs 18,000 per month.

Presently, the Centre can make rules regarding payment of wages in relation to railways, air transport services, mines and oilfields and its establishments, while states take&nbsp;the call regarding all other cases.

(PTI)&nbsp;

Currently, employers must obtain the employee's permission to pay wages via cheque or direct deposit, but governments want to change that

Aiming to move towards a cashless India, the Centre and states could soon have powers to specify categories of employers who will have to pay wages either through cheques or by crediting the amount directly into the workers' bank account. "Government is ready with the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill, 2016 which seeks to empower the Centre as well as states to specify industrial or other establishments where employers shall pay workers either by cheque or by crediting wages into their bank accounts," a source said. "The proposal to amend the Payment of Wages Act 1936, is likely to be placed before Union Cabinet for approval in the next few days. Government intends to push the bill during the ongoing winter session of the Parliament after Cabinet nod," the source added. At present, an employer is required to obtain a written authorisation from the employee to pay wages either through cheque or by crediting it into the employee's bank account. The Act had come into force on April 23, 1936, providing for payment of wage in coin or currency notes, or in both. The provision for payment of wages by cheque or crediting it into bank account after obtaining the requisite authorisation of employee was inserted in 1975. At present, the Act covers all those employees in certain categories of establishments whose wage does not exceed Rs 18,000 per month. Presently, the Centre can make rules regarding payment of wages in relation to railways, air transport services, mines and oilfields and its establishments, while states take the call regarding all other cases. (PTI)

Centre, states to list industries for cashless wage payment

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Paytm launches payments bank

Demonetisation: No service tax on card payments up to Rs 2,000

Police question Gujarati businessman who declared about $2 billion in black money

Centre, states to list industries for cashless wage payment