<p>Just a few days after Congress vice-president<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/rahuls-sholay-jibe-at-bjp-in-gujarat-gst-is-gabbar-singh-tax-22763"> Rahul Gandhi called the Goods and Services Tax (GST) - &quot;Gabbar Singh Tax&quot;</a>, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee termed the government&#39;s new tax as &quot;Great Selfish Tax&quot;.</p>

<p>Speaking at an election rally in Gandhinagar, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/rahul-gandhi-first-gst-gabbar-singh-tax-now-gabbar-singh-tax-yeh-kamai-mujhe-de-de-22820">Gujarat last month, the Congress vice-president had alleged that the &quot;GST</a> is not GST, it is <em>Gabbar Singh</em> Tax&quot; referring to the&nbsp;notorious decoit in the famous Bollywood blockbuster&nbsp;Sholay released in 1975.</p>

<p>Taking a cue from Rahul Gandhi, the West Bengal chief minister posted her thoughts on Twitter, saying: &quot;Great Selfish Tax (GST) to harass the people. To take away jobs. To hurt businesses. To finish the economy. GoI totally failed to tackle #GST.&quot;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Great Selfish Tax (GST) to harass the people.To take away jobs. To hurt businesses. To finish the economy. GoI totally failed to tackle <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GST?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GST</a></p>
&mdash; Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/MamataOfficial/status/927413460094218241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Mamata Banerjee&#39;s comments comes ahead of the first anniversary of demonetisation by the Modi government on November 8th, opposition parties led by the Congress have announced that they would observe it as a &#39;Black Day&#39; and carry out nationwide protests.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Noteban?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Noteban</a> is a disaster. On <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nov8BlackDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Nov8BlackDay</a> to protest against this scam that destroyed the economy, let us also change our Twitter DP to black</p>
&mdash; Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/MamataOfficial/status/927391955465539584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&quot;#Noteban is a disaster. On #Nov8BlackDay to protest against this scam that destroyed the economy, let us also change our Twitter DP to black,&quot; the chief minister said on Twitter.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Noteban?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Noteban</a> is a disaster. On <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nov8BlackDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Nov8BlackDay</a> to protest against this scam that destroyed the economy, let us also change our Twitter DP to black <a href="https://t.co/yrheSPiZE5">pic.twitter.com/yrheSPiZE5</a></p>
&mdash; Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/MamataOfficial/status/927440847699718144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>


Mamata Banerjee's comments comes ahead of the first anniversary of demonetisation by the Modi government on November 8th

Just a few days after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi called the Goods and Services Tax (GST) - "Gabbar Singh Tax", West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee termed the government's new tax as "Great Selfish Tax". Speaking at an election rally in Gandhinagar, Gujarat last month, the Congress vice-president had alleged that the "GST is not GST, it is Gabbar Singh Tax" referring to the notorious decoit in the famous Bollywood blockbuster Sholay released in 1975. Taking a cue from Rahul Gandhi, the West Bengal chief minister posted her thoughts on Twitter, saying: "Great Selfish Tax (GST) to harass the people. To take away jobs. To hurt businesses. To finish the economy. GoI totally failed to tackle #GST." Great Selfish Tax (GST) to harass the people.To take away jobs. To hurt businesses. To finish the economy. GoI totally failed to tackle #GST — Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) November 6, 2017 × Mamata Banerjee's comments comes ahead of the first anniversary of demonetisation by the Modi government on November 8th, opposition parties led by the Congress have announced that they would observe it as a 'Black Day' and carry out nationwide protests. #Noteban is a disaster. On #Nov8BlackDay to protest against this scam that destroyed the economy, let us also change our Twitter DP to black — Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) November 6, 2017 × "#Noteban is a disaster. On #Nov8BlackDay to protest against this scam that destroyed the economy, let us also change our Twitter DP to black," the chief minister said on Twitter. #Noteban is a disaster. On #Nov8BlackDay to protest against this scam that destroyed the economy, let us also change our Twitter DP to black pic.twitter.com/yrheSPiZE5 — Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) November 6, 2017 ×

Now, Mamata calls GST 'Great Selfish Tax'

<p>West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today slammed the Narendra Modi government by terming the Goods and Services Tax &quot;Great Selfish Tax to harass people and finish the economy&quot;.</p>

<p>She said demonetisation was a disaster and urged social media users to change their profile pictures to a black square on November 8 to protest against the note ban.</p>

<p>&quot;Great Selfish Tax (GST) to harass the people. To take away jobs. To hurt businesses. To finish the economy. GoI totally failed to tackle #GST (sic),&quot; she posted on Twitter.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Great Selfish Tax (GST) to harass the people.To take away jobs. To hurt businesses. To finish the economy. GoI totally failed to tackle <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GST?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GST</a></p>
&mdash; Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/MamataOfficial/status/927413460094218241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&quot;#Noteban is a disaster. On #Nov8BlackDay to protest against this scam that destroyed the economy, let us also change our Twitter DP to black,&quot; the chief minister tweeted.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Noteban?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Noteban</a> is a disaster. On <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nov8BlackDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Nov8BlackDay</a> to protest against this scam that destroyed the economy, let us also change our Twitter DP to black <a href="https://t.co/yrheSPiZE5">pic.twitter.com/yrheSPiZE5</a></p>
&mdash; Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/MamataOfficial/status/927440847699718144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Trinamool Congress had earlier announced that it would observe &#39;Black Day&#39; on November 8 to protest against demonetisation across West Bengal.&nbsp;</p>


West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee termed the Goods and Services Tax "Great Selfish Tax to harass people and finish the economy".

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today slammed the Narendra Modi government by terming the Goods and Services Tax "Great Selfish Tax to harass people and finish the economy". She said demonetisation was a disaster and urged social media users to change their profile pictures to a black square on November 8 to protest against the note ban. "Great Selfish Tax (GST) to harass the people. To take away jobs. To hurt businesses. To finish the economy. GoI totally failed to tackle #GST (sic)," she posted on Twitter. Great Selfish Tax (GST) to harass the people.To take away jobs. To hurt businesses. To finish the economy. GoI totally failed to tackle #GST — Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) November 6, 2017 × "#Noteban is a disaster. On #Nov8BlackDay to protest against this scam that destroyed the economy, let us also change our Twitter DP to black," the chief minister tweeted. #Noteban is a disaster. On #Nov8BlackDay to protest against this scam that destroyed the economy, let us also change our Twitter DP to black pic.twitter.com/yrheSPiZE5 — Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) November 6, 2017 × Trinamool Congress had earlier announced that it would observe 'Black Day' on November 8 to protest against demonetisation across West Bengal.

Mamata Banerjee slammed Narendra Modi government, Again!

<p>The all-powerful GST Council may consider lowering tax rates on a host of goods such as handmade furniture, plastic products and daily use items like shampoo, and simplify return filing rules in its meeting this week.</p>

<p>The Council, headed by Finance Minister&nbsp;<a href="http://indiatoday.intoday.in/people/arun-jaitley/19435.html">Arun Jaitley</a>, is scheduled to meet&nbsp;on November 10&nbsp;to consider lowering of the 28 per cent GST rate on certain common use items, government officials said.</p>

<p>In further relief to small and medium enterprises, the panel is likely to rationalise tax rate in sectors where the total incidence of taxation has gone up because the goods were earlier either exempt from excise or was attracted lower VAT rates in the previous indirect tax regime.</p>

<p>The Council has been meeting every month since the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, which amalgamated over a dozen central and state taxes, was introduced&nbsp;on July 1.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The meetings have resulted in an array of changes to ease compliance burden on businesses as well as provided relief to consumers.</p>

<p>&quot;A rationalisation of items in the 28 per cent tax bracket is expected. Most of the daily use items could be lowered to 18 per cent. Also tax rate on items like furniture, electric switches, plastic pipes could be relooked,&quot; an official said.</p>

<p>All types of furniture attract a 28 per cent tax under GST. Wooden furniture is handmade by unorganised sector artisans and is mostly used by middle class families and there have been demands for lowering tax incidence on them.</p>

<p>Also, some items of plastic attract 18 per cent GST but goods like shower baths, sinks, wash basins, bidets, lavatory pans, seats and covers, flushing cisterns and similar sanitary ware of plastics attract 28 per cent levy.</p>

<p>There is a need for rationalisation of tax rates on these items, officials said.</p>

<p>The plastic manufacturers in their representation to the revenue department had said that 80 per cent of the industry is in MSME category.</p>

<p>Besides, the GST rate on weighing machines, compressors may also be rationalised to 18 per cent from 28 per cent.</p>

<p>Officials said 90 per cent of the manufacturers are from small and medium industries who in the pre-GST era were exempt from excise duty on manufactured value of less than Rs 1.5 crore. Hence, such machines only attracted VAT of 14.5 per cent.</p>

<p>With regard to compressors, the total pre-GST incidence was 17.5 per cent (12.5 per cent excise duty and 5 per cent VAT), they said stressing on need to rationalise the tax incidence.</p>

<p>The GST Council, which comprises of representatives of all states, have already rationalised tax rates for over 100 items.</p>

<p>The Council has last month approved an Approach Paper to be followed by the fitment committee while deciding on future rate revisions.</p>

<p>Under GST various goods and services have been bracketed in 5,12,18 and 28 per cent.</p>

<p>GST has subsumed over a dozen taxes, including excise, service tax and VAT, and transformed India into a single market</p>


The Council has been meeting every month since the GST regime, which amalgamated over a dozen central and state taxes, was introduced on July 1.

The all-powerful GST Council may consider lowering tax rates on a host of goods such as handmade furniture, plastic products and daily use items like shampoo, and simplify return filing rules in its meeting this week. The Council, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, is scheduled to meet on November 10 to consider lowering of the 28 per cent GST rate on certain common use items, government officials said. In further relief to small and medium enterprises, the panel is likely to rationalise tax rate in sectors where the total incidence of taxation has gone up because the goods were earlier either exempt from excise or was attracted lower VAT rates in the previous indirect tax regime. The Council has been meeting every month since the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, which amalgamated over a dozen central and state taxes, was introduced on July 1. The meetings have resulted in an array of changes to ease compliance burden on businesses as well as provided relief to consumers. "A rationalisation of items in the 28 per cent tax bracket is expected. Most of the daily use items could be lowered to 18 per cent. Also tax rate on items like furniture, electric switches, plastic pipes could be relooked," an official said. All types of furniture attract a 28 per cent tax under GST. Wooden furniture is handmade by unorganised sector artisans and is mostly used by middle class families and there have been demands for lowering tax incidence on them. Also, some items of plastic attract 18 per cent GST but goods like shower baths, sinks, wash basins, bidets, lavatory pans, seats and covers, flushing cisterns and similar sanitary ware of plastics attract 28 per cent levy. There is a need for rationalisation of tax rates on these items, officials said. The plastic manufacturers in their representation to the revenue department had said that 80 per cent of the industry is in MSME category. Besides, the GST rate on weighing machines, compressors may also be rationalised to 18 per cent from 28 per cent. Officials said 90 per cent of the manufacturers are from small and medium industries who in the pre-GST era were exempt from excise duty on manufactured value of less than Rs 1.5 crore. Hence, such machines only attracted VAT of 14.5 per cent. With regard to compressors, the total pre-GST incidence was 17.5 per cent (12.5 per cent excise duty and 5 per cent VAT), they said stressing on need to rationalise the tax incidence. The GST Council, which comprises of representatives of all states, have already rationalised tax rates for over 100 items. The Council has last month approved an Approach Paper to be followed by the fitment committee while deciding on future rate revisions. Under GST various goods and services have been bracketed in 5,12,18 and 28 per cent. GST has subsumed over a dozen taxes, including excise, service tax and VAT, and transformed India into a single market

Council to consider slashing GST on common use goods

<p>Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who also heads a five-member panel on<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/gst-will-further-boost-indias-ranking-in-ease-of-doing-23256" target="_blank"> Goods and Services Tax </a>Network, today suggested that the maximum retail price (MRP) of a product should always be inclusive of tax for the convenience of the consumers.</p>

<p>The deputy CM was interacting with businessmen at a function organised by Bihar Chamber of Commerce and Industries in association with a leading Hindi daily &#39;Hindustan&#39;.</p>

<p>&quot;We (GoM) have suggested the inclusion of GST in maximum retail price. It has been seen across the globe that consumers react when they have to pay tax in addition to a product&#39;s price but they usually do not mind paying the MRP when it is inclusive of tax,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>Sharing his experiences abroad, he said the situation was no different in Canada, Australia and Singapore.</p>

<p>&quot;Even in Canada, Australia and Singapore, consumers&#39; perception changed when they had to pay tax in addition to a product&#39;s price. The same consumers react differently when they were asked to pay a particular percentage of tax that had already been included in the price tag,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>GST is a gigantic reform and people may face teething problems for the first five to six months but things will get smoother in due course of time, he said.</p>

<p>Stating that a firm having a turnover of Rs 1.5 crore would now have to file quarterly returns instead of monthly, he said, &quot;We are making efforts to implement this process of quarterly returns for the businessmen. They will have to deposit tax every month but returns can be filed quarterly.&quot;</p>

<p>He said that he also wanted the form for filing returns to be simplified further.</p>

<p>Making it clear that no state was entitled to take a decision on its own regarding taxes, Sushil Modi said that he wanted the quantum of fee for filing returns late -Rs 200 per day with a maximum cap of Rs 5,000 -to be reduced.</p>

<p>He also heard suggestions and grievances of the traders, in the presence of Bihar Chamber of Commerce and Industries president P K Agrawal, central GST commissioner of Patna Ranjit Kumar, and appealed to the lawyers and the chartered accountants to rationally charge them.</p>

<p>The deputy CM said that he would hold sector-specific meetings with the businessmen before the next GST council meeting.</p>


He said that he also wanted the form for filing returns to be simplified further

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who also heads a five-member panel on Goods and Services Tax Network, today suggested that the maximum retail price (MRP) of a product should always be inclusive of tax for the convenience of the consumers. The deputy CM was interacting with businessmen at a function organised by Bihar Chamber of Commerce and Industries in association with a leading Hindi daily 'Hindustan'. "We (GoM) have suggested the inclusion of GST in maximum retail price. It has been seen across the globe that consumers react when they have to pay tax in addition to a product's price but they usually do not mind paying the MRP when it is inclusive of tax," he said. Sharing his experiences abroad, he said the situation was no different in Canada, Australia and Singapore. "Even in Canada, Australia and Singapore, consumers' perception changed when they had to pay tax in addition to a product's price. The same consumers react differently when they were asked to pay a particular percentage of tax that had already been included in the price tag," he said. GST is a gigantic reform and people may face teething problems for the first five to six months but things will get smoother in due course of time, he said. Stating that a firm having a turnover of Rs 1.5 crore would now have to file quarterly returns instead of monthly, he said, "We are making efforts to implement this process of quarterly returns for the businessmen. They will have to deposit tax every month but returns can be filed quarterly." He said that he also wanted the form for filing returns to be simplified further. Making it clear that no state was entitled to take a decision on its own regarding taxes, Sushil Modi said that he wanted the quantum of fee for filing returns late -Rs 200 per day with a maximum cap of Rs 5,000 -to be reduced. He also heard suggestions and grievances of the traders, in the presence of Bihar Chamber of Commerce and Industries president P K Agrawal, central GST commissioner of Patna Ranjit Kumar, and appealed to the lawyers and the chartered accountants to rationally charge them. The deputy CM said that he would hold sector-specific meetings with the businessmen before the next GST council meeting.

MRP should include GST, suggests Sushil Modi

<p>The BJP on Wednesday attacked the Congress by saying that &#39;ease of doing corruption&#39; has been replaced by the ease of doing business.</p>

<p>&quot;The difference between the UPA and NDA - &#39;The ease of doing corruption has been replaced by the ease of doing business&#39;,&quot; tweeted Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.</p>

<p>Jaitley was responding to Rahul Gandhi&#39;s charge that there was no ease of doing business in India as demonetisation and GST destroyed everything.</p>

<p>Addressing a public meeting in Gujarat&#39;s Bharuch,&nbsp; Gandhi said that BJP will &quot;get a&nbsp;shock of their life&quot; on the day of Gujarat election and added, &quot;there was no ease of doing business in India as demonetisation and GST have destroyed everything&quot;.</p>

<p>&quot;The BJP has been in power for the last three years. How many Swiss account holders are in jail? Tell me,&quot; the Gandhi scion asked saying that Vijay Mallya was still enjoying in the&nbsp;UK, he further said.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
&quot;Modiji gave loan worth Rs 33,000 crore for Tata Nano plant, almost free, charging the least possible rate. Using that money, they could have written off the loans of the farmers. Farmers in Gujarat are crying, they are being suppressed,&#39;&#39; he added.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Earlier BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra accused the UPA dispensation under the rule of&nbsp;Manmohan Singh of draining the country of its resources worth approximately 12-14 lakh crore through various corrupt scams.</p>

<p>&quot;Today when Rahul Gandhi is, in fact, challenging the World Bank&#39;s data saying that he knows as to how this data is produced, Rahul Gandhi should be answering whom he believes,&nbsp;his Pidi or the world bank,&quot; Patra added.<br />
&nbsp;</p>


Addressing a public meeting in Gujarat, Rahul Gandhi said there was no ease of doing business in India as demonetisation and GST have destroyed everything.

The BJP on Wednesday attacked the Congress by saying that 'ease of doing corruption' has been replaced by the ease of doing business. "The difference between the UPA and NDA - 'The ease of doing corruption has been replaced by the ease of doing business'," tweeted Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Jaitley was responding to Rahul Gandhi's charge that there was no ease of doing business in India as demonetisation and GST destroyed everything. Addressing a public meeting in Gujarat's Bharuch, Gandhi said that BJP will "get a shock of their life" on the day of Gujarat election and added, "there was no ease of doing business in India as demonetisation and GST have destroyed everything". "The BJP has been in power for the last three years. How many Swiss account holders are in jail? Tell me," the Gandhi scion asked saying that Vijay Mallya was still enjoying in the UK, he further said. "Modiji gave loan worth Rs 33,000 crore for Tata Nano plant, almost free, charging the least possible rate. Using that money, they could have written off the loans of the farmers. Farmers in Gujarat are crying, they are being suppressed,'' he added. Earlier BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra accused the UPA dispensation under the rule of Manmohan Singh of draining the country of its resources worth approximately 12-14 lakh crore through various corrupt scams. "Today when Rahul Gandhi is, in fact, challenging the World Bank's data saying that he knows as to how this data is produced, Rahul Gandhi should be answering whom he believes, his Pidi or the world bank," Patra added.

'Ease of doing corruption' replaced by ease of doing business: Arun Jaitley taunts UPA

<p>Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who met leaders of his party ahead of the first anniversary of demonetisation, said November 8 was a &quot;sad day&quot; for India.</p>

<p>Rahul Gandhi said that the very fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that November 8 will be celebrated conveyed the message that he has not understood pain and feelings of people.</p>

<p>The Congress vice-president said that PM Modi had hit&nbsp;the country&#39;s economy with &quot;two torpedoes of demonetisation and GST which have destroyed it.&quot;</p>

<p>Yesterday, while addressing a public meeting in Karnayaka, PM Modi and said that there would be no roll-back of the reforms of demonetisation and GST.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The government has said that it will celebrate November 8, the day the ban of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes was announced last year, as anti-black money day.<br />
&nbsp;</p>


Rahul Gandhi said that the very fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that November 8 will be celebrated conveyed the message that he has not understood pain and feelings of people.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who met leaders of his party ahead of the first anniversary of demonetisation, said November 8 was a "sad day" for India. Rahul Gandhi said that the very fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that November 8 will be celebrated conveyed the message that he has not understood pain and feelings of people. The Congress vice-president said that PM Modi had hit the country's economy with "two torpedoes of demonetisation and GST which have destroyed it." Yesterday, while addressing a public meeting in Karnayaka, PM Modi and said that there would be no roll-back of the reforms of demonetisation and GST. The government has said that it will celebrate November 8, the day the ban of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes was announced last year, as anti-black money day.

Torpedoes of demonetisation, GST have destroyed economy: Rahul Gandhi

<p>Japanese auto major Honda Motor Co today said it will launch six new models in India in the next three years to enhance its position in the market there.</p>

<p>The company, however, said there will not be any hybrid or electric vehicle models in the upcoming lineup, as it awaits clarity on government policy regarding electric mobility.</p>

<p>&quot;We have six big launches coming up in the next three years in India&nbsp;It will not include any battery vehicles,&quot; Honda Motor Co CEO Takahiro Hachigo told the group of visiting Indian journalists.</p>

<p>All these new models will be assembled at the company&#39;s two plants in India but did not divulge details of segments where these models would be present.</p>

<p>When asked about the absence of hybrids from the lineup, he said, &quot;When it comes to India we still don&#39;t know if hybrids segment will grow or how the electric vehicles will grow. We need to study government policy to understand more.&quot;</p>

<p>The advantages of hybrids, however, is that they can use existing infrastructure, Hachigo added.</p>

<p>After the implementation of GST in July this year, hybrids vehicles have become expensive in India as the tax incidence increased as compared to previous taxation regime. Hachigo said that Honda&#39;s endeavor would be to make hybrids affordable for customers rather than worrying about government support.</p>


The company, however, said there will not be any hybrid or electric vehicle models in the upcoming lineup, as it awaits clarity on government policy regarding electric mobility.

Japanese auto major Honda Motor Co today said it will launch six new models in India in the next three years to enhance its position in the market there. The company, however, said there will not be any hybrid or electric vehicle models in the upcoming lineup, as it awaits clarity on government policy regarding electric mobility. "We have six big launches coming up in the next three years in India It will not include any battery vehicles," Honda Motor Co CEO Takahiro Hachigo told the group of visiting Indian journalists. All these new models will be assembled at the company's two plants in India but did not divulge details of segments where these models would be present. When asked about the absence of hybrids from the lineup, he said, "When it comes to India we still don't know if hybrids segment will grow or how the electric vehicles will grow. We need to study government policy to understand more." The advantages of hybrids, however, is that they can use existing infrastructure, Hachigo added. After the implementation of GST in July this year, hybrids vehicles have become expensive in India as the tax incidence increased as compared to previous taxation regime. Hachigo said that Honda's endeavor would be to make hybrids affordable for customers rather than worrying about government support.

Honda to launch 6 new models in India in 3 years

<p><font face="Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif,serif,EmojiFont" size="2">The Indian government has collected Rs 92,150 crore as Goods and Services Tax (GST) in September from 42.91 lakh businesses, the finance ministry said today.</font></p>

<p><font face="Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif,serif,EmojiFont" size="2">Of this, Rs 14,042 crore is on account of GST collected by the central government, while state governments have collected GST to the tune of Rs 21,172 crore. </font></p>

<p><font face="Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif,serif,EmojiFont" size="2">Integrated GST collections stood at Rs 48,948 crore, of which Rs 23,951 crore was on account of imports.</font></p>

<p><font face="Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif,serif,EmojiFont" size="2">&quot;The total revenue of GST paid under different heads (up to October 23, 2017) for the month of September 2017 is Rs 92,150 crore,&quot; the finance ministry said in a statement.</font></p>

<p><font face="Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif,serif,EmojiFont" size="2">Collection under compensation cess stood at Rs 7,988 crore, of which Rs 722 crore is compensation cess from imports in September.</font></p>

<p><font face="Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif,serif,EmojiFont" size="2">Till Monday, 42.91 lakh business entities had filed initial GSTR-3B returns for September.</font></p>

<p><font face="Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif,serif,EmojiFont" size="2">As per the data available, GST collections for the maiden month of July were more than Rs 95,000 crore, while for August the figure crossed Rs 91,000 crore. </font></p>

<p><font face="Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif,serif,EmojiFont" size="2">September was the third month of GST rollout.</font></p>

<p><font face="Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif,serif,EmojiFont" size="2">GST, which combines more than a dozen taxes, including excise duty and service tax, was rolled out on July 1.&nbsp;</font></p>


Out of the 92,150 crores, Rs 14,042 crores is on account of Central GST, while State GST is to the tune of Rs 21,172 crores

The Indian government has collected Rs 92,150 crore as Goods and Services Tax (GST) in September from 42.91 lakh businesses, the finance ministry said today. Of this, Rs 14,042 crore is on account of GST collected by the central government, while state governments have collected GST to the tune of Rs 21,172 crore. Integrated GST collections stood at Rs 48,948 crore, of which Rs 23,951 crore was on account of imports. "The total revenue of GST paid under different heads (up to October 23, 2017) for the month of September 2017 is Rs 92,150 crore," the finance ministry said in a statement. Collection under compensation cess stood at Rs 7,988 crore, of which Rs 722 crore is compensation cess from imports in September. Till Monday, 42.91 lakh business entities had filed initial GSTR-3B returns for September. As per the data available, GST collections for the maiden month of July were more than Rs 95,000 crore, while for August the figure crossed Rs 91,000 crore. September was the third month of GST rollout. GST, which combines more than a dozen taxes, including excise duty and service tax, was rolled out on July 1.

Goods and Services Tax: Rs 92,150 crore collection in September

<p>Rahul Gandhi had on Monday at his rally in Gandhinagar, Gujarat dubbed the GST &quot;Gabbar Singh Tax&quot;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>On Tuesday he took his formulation to Twitter, and then added some.&nbsp;</p>

<p>He first wrote Congress GST = Good and Simple Tax.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Then, Modiji GST = Gabbar Singh Tax.&nbsp;</p>

<p>And then added his coup de grace: Gabbar Singh Tax = Yeh Kamai Mujhe de de.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Congress GST= Genuine Simple Tax<br />
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Modi ji&#39;s GST= Gabbar Singh Tax =&#39;&#39;?? ???? ???? ?? ??&quot;</p>
&mdash; Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) <a href="https://twitter.com/OfficeOfRG/status/922695603380879360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>The Twitterati quickly took up the cue:&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">What&rsquo;s your full form of GST?</p>
&mdash; History of India (@RealHistoryPic) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealHistoryPic/status/922493120545284096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>And the answers poured in, including from former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah:&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Greatly Screwed-up Tax</p>
&mdash; Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) <a href="https://twitter.com/OmarAbdullah/status/922496966642167808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>And Shashi Tharoor:&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">GST being translated increasingly as Gayi Sarkar Tumhari! great idea ruined by wretched implementation <a href="https://t.co/ExBhNY351T">pic.twitter.com/ExBhNY351T</a></p>
&mdash; Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShashiTharoor/status/922757994219167744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Go Sell Tea</p>
&mdash; Uday Menon (@Uday47) <a href="https://twitter.com/Uday47/status/922493941097709569?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="hi">Gayi Sarkar Tumhari</p>
&mdash; Rachit Seth (@rachitseth) <a href="https://twitter.com/rachitseth/status/922504102336008192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="tl">Ghoom Saariduniya Tax</p>
&mdash; Razi (@raz0212) <a href="https://twitter.com/raz0212/status/922500425265401856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>GST and demonetisation are being blamed for the current state of the Indian economy.&nbsp;</p>

<p>And with Gujarat and Himachal going to the polls soon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP have been trying to put some distance between them and the tax.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Modi has of late been saying GST was first the Congress&#39;s idea.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Congress of course has been trying to do the opposite -- lay the blame squarely at the BJP&#39;s door.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


After Rahul Gandhi posted his formulation on Twitter, the Twitterati quickly took his cue

Rahul Gandhi had on Monday at his rally in Gandhinagar, Gujarat dubbed the GST "Gabbar Singh Tax". On Tuesday he took his formulation to Twitter, and then added some. He first wrote Congress GST = Good and Simple Tax. Then, Modiji GST = Gabbar Singh Tax. And then added his coup de grace: Gabbar Singh Tax = Yeh Kamai Mujhe de de. Congress GST= Genuine Simple Tax Modi ji's GST= Gabbar Singh Tax =''?? ???? ???? ?? ??" — Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) October 24, 2017 × The Twitterati quickly took up the cue: What’s your full form of GST? — History of India (@RealHistoryPic) October 23, 2017 × And the answers poured in, including from former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah: Greatly Screwed-up Tax — Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) October 23, 2017 × And Shashi Tharoor: GST being translated increasingly as Gayi Sarkar Tumhari! great idea ruined by wretched implementation pic.twitter.com/ExBhNY351T — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 24, 2017 × Go Sell Tea — Uday Menon (@Uday47) October 23, 2017 × Gayi Sarkar Tumhari — Rachit Seth (@rachitseth) October 23, 2017 × Ghoom Saariduniya Tax — Razi (@raz0212) October 23, 2017 × GST and demonetisation are being blamed for the current state of the Indian economy. And with Gujarat and Himachal going to the polls soon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP have been trying to put some distance between them and the tax. Modi has of late been saying GST was first the Congress's idea. The Congress of course has been trying to do the opposite -- lay the blame squarely at the BJP's door.

'Yeh kamai mujhe de de,' says Rahul after calling GST 'Gabbar Singh Tax'

<p>The government on Tuesday waived penalty on delayed filing of initial GST returns for the months of August and September.</p>

<p>&quot;To facilitate taxpayers, late fee on filing of GSTR-3B for August and September has been has been waived,&quot; Finance Minister Arun Jaitley tweeted.</p>

<p>He said that the late fee which has been already charged to businesses will be credited back to taxpayers&#39; accounts.</p>

<p>The government had earlier waived late fee for delayed filing of the maiden returns for the month of July under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.</p>

<p>Businesses have been demanding that the government waives penalty for delayed filing of 3B returns.</p>

<p>As per the data, 55.87 lakh GSTR-3B returns were filed for July, 51.37 lakh for August and over 42 lakh for September. Preliminary returns GSTR-3B for a month is filed on the 20th day of the next month after paying due taxes.</p>

<p>As per the data with the GST Network (GSTN), a huge chunk of businesses file their returns after the expiry of the due date.</p>

<p>While only 33.98 lakh July returns were filed till the due date, the number has now gone up to 55.87 lakh. Similarly for August 28.46 lakh returns were filed till the last date, but the figure went up to 51.37 lakh later.</p>

<p>Also for September while 39.4 lakh returns were filed by the due date, the number is rising and was over 42 lakh till yesterday.</p>

<p>The GST law provides for a nominal fee of Rs 100 per day on Central GST and an equivalent amount on State GST in case of late filing of returns and payment of taxes.&nbsp;</p>


"To facilitate taxpayers, late fee on filing of GSTR-3B for August and September has been has been waived," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley tweeted.

The government on Tuesday waived penalty on delayed filing of initial GST returns for the months of August and September. "To facilitate taxpayers, late fee on filing of GSTR-3B for August and September has been has been waived," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley tweeted. He said that the late fee which has been already charged to businesses will be credited back to taxpayers' accounts. The government had earlier waived late fee for delayed filing of the maiden returns for the month of July under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. Businesses have been demanding that the government waives penalty for delayed filing of 3B returns. As per the data, 55.87 lakh GSTR-3B returns were filed for July, 51.37 lakh for August and over 42 lakh for September. Preliminary returns GSTR-3B for a month is filed on the 20th day of the next month after paying due taxes. As per the data with the GST Network (GSTN), a huge chunk of businesses file their returns after the expiry of the due date. While only 33.98 lakh July returns were filed till the due date, the number has now gone up to 55.87 lakh. Similarly for August 28.46 lakh returns were filed till the last date, but the figure went up to 51.37 lakh later. Also for September while 39.4 lakh returns were filed by the due date, the number is rising and was over 42 lakh till yesterday. The GST law provides for a nominal fee of Rs 100 per day on Central GST and an equivalent amount on State GST in case of late filing of returns and payment of taxes.

Govt waives fine for delayed filing of August, September GST returns

<p>The government came out all guns blazing, defending the economic measures it has taken in recent years after concerns raised by the&nbsp;opposition on GDP growth.</p>

<p>Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, along with economic affairs secretary Subhash Chandra Garg and finance secretary Ashok Lavasa, gave a presentation on the economic plan charted out by the government to put India on a higher-growth track.</p>

<p>&quot;There have been lot of discussions and reviews of the economy in the past few weeks within the ministry. When results of the GDP of the first quarter came out then I had said that we will be ready for the response,&quot; Jaitley said.</p>

<p>India has remained the world&#39;s fastest-growing large economy for the past three years, he added.</p>

<p>Hailing GST, Subhash Chandra Garg said it has been the biggest reform, along with others like demonetisation and the battle against black money. He then delved into the presentation, giving details about the reduced amount of current account deficit and the overall health of the economy.</p>

<p>Then Lavasa took over and talked about how the government is creating more jobs and has increased its public spending.</p>

<p>&quot;We have launched the biggest component of road-building programme, the ?Bharat Mala programme which has been cleared by the Union Cabinet today. It will lead to building of 34,800 km of roads,&quot; Lavasa said highlighting government&rsquo;s push towards infrastructure.</p>

<p>About 2000 km of coastal roads will be constructed in first phase of Bharat Mala, he added.</p>

<p>The government said a total of&nbsp;83,677 kms of roads would be built over the next five years, creating &quot;more jobs&quot; and leading to &quot;more growth&quot;.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>The second large scheme announced by Team Jaitley today was an &quot;unprecedented&quot; recapitalisation -- by Rs 2.11 lakh crore -- of public sector banks.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The recapitalisation, Team Jaitley said, had come after a cleaning up of the banks and their&nbsp;non-performing assets and would encourage the banks to lend to private enterprise.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Since it came to power three years ago, the Modi government has taken many bold steps to give boost to India&rsquo;s economy, like the a new tax regime the Goods and Services Tax and demonetisation. But both the decisions have been slammed by the opposition and other sections of society.</p>

<p>The Congress has even said that it will mark November 8, 2017 - the first anniversary of demonetisation - as a &#39;Black Day&#39;.</p>

<p>But the government has been firm in its resolve and has maintained that these economic reforms will have positive impact in long term. Many global bodies, including the IMF, have given thumbs up to government&rsquo;s reforms and have predicted bright future for Indian economy.</p>


Team Jaitley said 83,677 kms of roads would be built over the next five years, creating 'more jobs' and leading to 'more growth'

The government came out all guns blazing, defending the economic measures it has taken in recent years after concerns raised by the opposition on GDP growth. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, along with economic affairs secretary Subhash Chandra Garg and finance secretary Ashok Lavasa, gave a presentation on the economic plan charted out by the government to put India on a higher-growth track. "There have been lot of discussions and reviews of the economy in the past few weeks within the ministry. When results of the GDP of the first quarter came out then I had said that we will be ready for the response," Jaitley said. India has remained the world's fastest-growing large economy for the past three years, he added. Hailing GST, Subhash Chandra Garg said it has been the biggest reform, along with others like demonetisation and the battle against black money. He then delved into the presentation, giving details about the reduced amount of current account deficit and the overall health of the economy. Then Lavasa took over and talked about how the government is creating more jobs and has increased its public spending. "We have launched the biggest component of road-building programme, the ?Bharat Mala programme which has been cleared by the Union Cabinet today. It will lead to building of 34,800 km of roads," Lavasa said highlighting government’s push towards infrastructure. About 2000 km of coastal roads will be constructed in first phase of Bharat Mala, he added. The government said a total of 83,677 kms of roads would be built over the next five years, creating "more jobs" and leading to "more growth". The second large scheme announced by Team Jaitley today was an "unprecedented" recapitalisation -- by Rs 2.11 lakh crore -- of public sector banks. The recapitalisation, Team Jaitley said, had come after a cleaning up of the banks and their non-performing assets and would encourage the banks to lend to private enterprise. Since it came to power three years ago, the Modi government has taken many bold steps to give boost to India’s economy, like the a new tax regime the Goods and Services Tax and demonetisation. But both the decisions have been slammed by the opposition and other sections of society. The Congress has even said that it will mark November 8, 2017 - the first anniversary of demonetisation - as a 'Black Day'. But the government has been firm in its resolve and has maintained that these economic reforms will have positive impact in long term. Many global bodies, including the IMF, have given thumbs up to government’s reforms and have predicted bright future for Indian economy.

New highways, job creation part of govt plan to push India on high-growth track

<p>Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has told Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to &quot;interfere&quot;&nbsp;in the Tamil film &quot;Mersal&quot;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan had on Friday asked for a scene to be removed from the film.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The scene mentioned what Radhakrishnan called &quot;untruths&quot; about the Goods and Services Tax rolled out by the BJP-led NDA government on July 1.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;The film producer should remove the untruths regarding the GST from the film,&quot; PTI quoted Radhakrishnan as having said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The scene soon went viral on social media.&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>Watch the&nbsp;</em><em>scene</em><em> below:&nbsp;</em></p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Scene that North Korean President Kim Jong-Un wants to delete from the Movie &quot;Mersal&quot;. (2017) <a href="https://t.co/suBoE1s0ea">pic.twitter.com/suBoE1s0ea</a></p>
&mdash; History of India (@RealHistoryPic) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealHistoryPic/status/921581172085334017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&quot;Mr Modi, Cinema is a deep expression of Tamil culture and language. Don&#39;t try to demon-etise Tamil pride by interfering in Mersal,&quot; Gandhi said in a tweet.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The jibe was taken up by former fianance minister P Chidambaram.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;BJP demands deletion of dialogues in &#39;Mersal&#39;. Imagine the consequences if &#39;Parasakthi&#39; was released today,&quot; Chidambaram tweeted.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">BJP demands deletion of dialogues in &#39;Mersal&#39;. Imagine the consequences if &#39;Parasakthi&#39; was released today.</p>
&mdash; P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) <a href="https://twitter.com/PChidambaram_IN/status/921568357874393088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Parasakthi was a 1952 Tamil film critical of Brahmanism.</p>

<p>The movie was written by M Karunanidhi, who later went on to become chief minister of Tamil Nadu.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Notice to film makers: Law is coming, you can only make documentaries praising government&#39;s policies.</p>
&mdash; P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) <a href="https://twitter.com/PChidambaram_IN/status/921568445526888448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&quot;Notice to film makers: Law is coming, you can only make documentaries praising government&#39;s policies,&#39; Chidambaram further tweeted.<br />
&nbsp;</p>


The movie Mersal, starring the popular Tamil actor Vijay, contains a scene which says unflattering things about the Goods and Services Tax

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has told Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to "interfere" in the Tamil film "Mersal". Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan had on Friday asked for a scene to be removed from the film. The scene mentioned what Radhakrishnan called "untruths" about the Goods and Services Tax rolled out by the BJP-led NDA government on July 1. "The film producer should remove the untruths regarding the GST from the film," PTI quoted Radhakrishnan as having said. The scene soon went viral on social media. Watch the scene below: Scene that North Korean President Kim Jong-Un wants to delete from the Movie "Mersal". (2017) pic.twitter.com/suBoE1s0ea — History of India (@RealHistoryPic) October 21, 2017 × "Mr Modi, Cinema is a deep expression of Tamil culture and language. Don't try to demon-etise Tamil pride by interfering in Mersal," Gandhi said in a tweet. The jibe was taken up by former fianance minister P Chidambaram. "BJP demands deletion of dialogues in 'Mersal'. Imagine the consequences if 'Parasakthi' was released today," Chidambaram tweeted. BJP demands deletion of dialogues in 'Mersal'. Imagine the consequences if 'Parasakthi' was released today. — P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) October 21, 2017 × Parasakthi was a 1952 Tamil film critical of Brahmanism. The movie was written by M Karunanidhi, who later went on to become chief minister of Tamil Nadu. Notice to film makers: Law is coming, you can only make documentaries praising government's policies. — P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) October 21, 2017 × "Notice to film makers: Law is coming, you can only make documentaries praising government's policies,' Chidambaram further tweeted.

Rahul Gandhi: Mr Modi, don't try to 'demon-etise' Tamil pride by interfering in movie Mersal

<p>The government launched the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in July this year after much resistance from opposition and some sections of public. But the heat has still not subsided; this year, traders in Allahabad are selling Diwali firecrackers with a message condemning the&nbsp;GST pasted on the boxes&nbsp;to express their unhappiness with the government&rsquo;s decision.</p>

<p>&quot;We have launched &#39;GST Bomb&#39;&nbsp;to increase our sales. All these firecrackers are of good quality,&quot; said Kadir, a trader in Allahabad.</p>

<p>But there is more. A range of &#39;anar&#39; (flower pots), one of the most popular Diwali firecrackers, has been named &#39;notebandi (note ban)&#39; -&nbsp;a&nbsp;jibe at government&rsquo;s decision last year to replace the old Rs 500 and 1000 notes with new currency.</p>

<p>These items are a hit in Allahabad market. They are scaling new peaks as far as the sale is concerned, much higher than personality-based firecrackers like &#39;Yogi crackers&#39;, &#39;Modi rocket&#39; and &#39;Rahul Anar&#39;, launched in the market keeping in view elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.</p>

<p>&quot;You can see&nbsp;the photos of many politicians&nbsp;on&nbsp;firecracker boxes here. I am here to buy firecrackers, and I&#39;m thrilled to see all this, how they capitalise on politicians&#39; names during election season,&quot; said Poonam, a resident of Allahabad.</p>

<p>The government has been claiming that GST will usher in a new unified tax regime&nbsp;and make it easier for companies to transact across state borders.</p>

<p>But many are finding that doing business is more complicated than ever.</p>

<p>Ambiguous rules under the new, multi-rate sales tax that went into effect on July 1 have left firms confused on how to price their products. The tax&rsquo;s complex structure - four main rates ranging from 5 to 28 per cent - has hurt sales and risks denting economic growth and government revenues in the months ahead.</p>

<p>Since the launch of the GST, there has been several meetings of the GST Council - a government panel headed by the finance minister - to revise the tax slabs. But traders aren&rsquo;t happy.</p>

<p>&quot;People are either overcharging or undercharging for their work,&quot;&nbsp;said Surinder Paul, who runs one workshop in South Delhi.</p>

<p>Billed as India&rsquo;s biggest tax reform since independence in 1947, the GST replaced more than a dozen federal and state levies and was meant to unify the country into a single market.</p>

<p>While teething troubles were expected, the ensuing chaos has some officials worrying about the repercussions for Asia&rsquo;s third-largest economy. Annual growth slowed in the July-September quarter to 5.7 per cent, its weakest pace in more than two years.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from Reuters)</em></p>


The government launched the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in July this year after much resistance from opposition and some sections of public. But the heat has still not subsided.

The government launched the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in July this year after much resistance from opposition and some sections of public. But the heat has still not subsided; this year, traders in Allahabad are selling Diwali firecrackers with a message condemning the GST pasted on the boxes to express their unhappiness with the government’s decision. "We have launched 'GST Bomb' to increase our sales. All these firecrackers are of good quality," said Kadir, a trader in Allahabad. But there is more. A range of 'anar' (flower pots), one of the most popular Diwali firecrackers, has been named 'notebandi (note ban)' - a jibe at government’s decision last year to replace the old Rs 500 and 1000 notes with new currency. These items are a hit in Allahabad market. They are scaling new peaks as far as the sale is concerned, much higher than personality-based firecrackers like 'Yogi crackers', 'Modi rocket' and 'Rahul Anar', launched in the market keeping in view elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. "You can see the photos of many politicians on firecracker boxes here. I am here to buy firecrackers, and I'm thrilled to see all this, how they capitalise on politicians' names during election season," said Poonam, a resident of Allahabad. The government has been claiming that GST will usher in a new unified tax regime and make it easier for companies to transact across state borders. But many are finding that doing business is more complicated than ever. Ambiguous rules under the new, multi-rate sales tax that went into effect on July 1 have left firms confused on how to price their products. The tax’s complex structure - four main rates ranging from 5 to 28 per cent - has hurt sales and risks denting economic growth and government revenues in the months ahead. Since the launch of the GST, there has been several meetings of the GST Council - a government panel headed by the finance minister - to revise the tax slabs. But traders aren’t happy. "People are either overcharging or undercharging for their work," said Surinder Paul, who runs one workshop in South Delhi. Billed as India’s biggest tax reform since independence in 1947, the GST replaced more than a dozen federal and state levies and was meant to unify the country into a single market. While teething troubles were expected, the ensuing chaos has some officials worrying about the repercussions for Asia’s third-largest economy. Annual growth slowed in the July-September quarter to 5.7 per cent, its weakest pace in more than two years. (With inputs from Reuters)

Firecracker traders take on government this Diwali with 'GST Bomb'

<p>The Congress party&nbsp;on Monday&nbsp;downplayed Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley`s assertion that world is praising India for demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax (GST) and said they are living in delusion.</p>

<p>Speaking to ANI, Congress leader Ranjeet Ranjan said, &quot;Jaitley ji is saying that world is praising India for demonetisation and GST. On that note, we should also not forget about the statements made by their own party leader Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie&quot;.</p>

<p>She added &quot;they are in a delusion that the world is impressed with India`s structural reforms. On what basis he is saying that all the countries across the world are praising India for these reforms? They are not even able to provide employment. Jaitley ji is senior advocate but not a Finance Minister.</p>

<p>&quot;The Union Finance Minister&nbsp;on Saturday&nbsp;said that countries across the world are lauding India for having the guts to bring in major structural reforms like demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax (GST).</p>

<p>In an exclusive interview with ANI, the Finance Minister, who was in the US to attend the annual meeting of the IMF and World Bank, said that the comments made by the experts worldwide on India`s structural reforms underline the country`s confident image.&nbsp;</p>

<p><img src="https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gif" /></p>


'They are in a delusion that the world is impressed with India`s structural reforms. On what basis he is saying that all the countries across the world are praising India for these reforms? They are not even able to provide employment', said the Congress leader

The Congress party on Monday downplayed Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley`s assertion that world is praising India for demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax (GST) and said they are living in delusion. Speaking to ANI, Congress leader Ranjeet Ranjan said, "Jaitley ji is saying that world is praising India for demonetisation and GST. On that note, we should also not forget about the statements made by their own party leader Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie". She added "they are in a delusion that the world is impressed with India`s structural reforms. On what basis he is saying that all the countries across the world are praising India for these reforms? They are not even able to provide employment. Jaitley ji is senior advocate but not a Finance Minister. "The Union Finance Minister on Saturday said that countries across the world are lauding India for having the guts to bring in major structural reforms like demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax (GST). In an exclusive interview with ANI, the Finance Minister, who was in the US to attend the annual meeting of the IMF and World Bank, said that the comments made by the experts worldwide on India`s structural reforms underline the country`s confident image.

BJP living in delusion: Congress on Jaitley's remark on GST, demonetisation

<p>Finance minister Arun Jaitley took questions from ANI on GST, demonetisation, and Jay Shah.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The government has of late been pilloried for its handling of the economy, the state of which critics says has been worsened by the twin &quot;shocks&quot; of demonetisation and GST.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Most of the blame for the state of the economy has fallen on Jaitley.&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>Watch video below:&nbsp; </em></p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WATCH</a>: FM Arun Jaitley replies to question on issues like GST, Jay Shah and Demonetisation being raised in Gujarat polls. <a href="https://t.co/by6dMLCSo4">pic.twitter.com/by6dMLCSo4</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/919414072650506246?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Jaitley said demonetisation was necessary to get rid of black money.&nbsp;</p>

<p>On GST, he said the idea of the goods and services tax had been introduced by the Congress.&nbsp;</p>

<p>He added that the upcoming Gujarat polls would lay to rest all questions, and that they would be the surest barometer of whether people supported the Narendra Modi-led government&#39;s policies or not.&nbsp;</p>


Jaitley was asked how those issues might affect the Gujarat elections

Finance minister Arun Jaitley took questions from ANI on GST, demonetisation, and Jay Shah. The government has of late been pilloried for its handling of the economy, the state of which critics says has been worsened by the twin "shocks" of demonetisation and GST. Most of the blame for the state of the economy has fallen on Jaitley. Watch video below: #WATCH: FM Arun Jaitley replies to question on issues like GST, Jay Shah and Demonetisation being raised in Gujarat polls. pic.twitter.com/by6dMLCSo4 — ANI (@ANI) October 15, 2017 × Jaitley said demonetisation was necessary to get rid of black money. On GST, he said the idea of the goods and services tax had been introduced by the Congress. He added that the upcoming Gujarat polls would lay to rest all questions, and that they would be the surest barometer of whether people supported the Narendra Modi-led government's policies or not.

WATCH: Arun Jaitley asked about GST, demonetisation, Jay Shah

<p>Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said that countries across the world are lauding India for having the guts to bring in major structural reforms like demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax (GST).</p>

<p>In an exclusive interview with ANI, the Finance Minister, who was in US to attend annual meeting of the IMF and World bank, said that the comments made by the experts worldwide on India&#39;s structural reforms underline the country&#39;s confident image.</p>

<p>&quot;The comments made by the experts here in US and other countries, on India&#39;s structural reforms, highlight our countries self-confidence. The economy of various countries was going through recession since past three years and that time India was comparatively in a better state. So, we took advantage of this and introduced various structural reforms including Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, demonetisation and GST. It needs a lot of courage and guts to bring in structural reforms in the economy. What I gather here and what people from all parts of the world are saying is that &#39;it is laudable that India has courage to bring in such structural reforms,&quot; Jaitley said.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/us-world-divide-spills-out-at-imf-world-bank-meetings-22450" target="_blank">Also read:&nbsp;Divide between US &amp; rest of world spills out at World Bank-IMF meetings in Washington</a></p>

<p>The Finance Minister slammed the Congress party for criticizing the structural reforms introduced by the government and said that the opposition&#39;s criticism has no weightage.</p>

<p>&quot;The aim of demonetisation was to crack the backbone of shadow economy, which was running on black money. To curb the menace of black money was never Congress&#39; priority. So now they are tensed, and it is justified. Talking about GST, it was Congress&#39; proposal and now they are trying to change their stand. Finance ministers of all Congress run states back the GST but Congress being an opportunist party is opposing the uniform tax reform. So I think Congress&#39; criticism has no strength,&quot; he added.</p>

<p>Ever since the Centre has introduced demonetisation and GST, the Congress party has been critical of the reforms.(ANI)</p>


'It needs a lot of courage and guts to bring in structural reforms in the economy,' the finance minister added

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said that countries across the world are lauding India for having the guts to bring in major structural reforms like demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax (GST). In an exclusive interview with ANI, the Finance Minister, who was in US to attend annual meeting of the IMF and World bank, said that the comments made by the experts worldwide on India's structural reforms underline the country's confident image. "The comments made by the experts here in US and other countries, on India's structural reforms, highlight our countries self-confidence. The economy of various countries was going through recession since past three years and that time India was comparatively in a better state. So, we took advantage of this and introduced various structural reforms including Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, demonetisation and GST. It needs a lot of courage and guts to bring in structural reforms in the economy. What I gather here and what people from all parts of the world are saying is that 'it is laudable that India has courage to bring in such structural reforms," Jaitley said. Also read: Divide between US & rest of world spills out at World Bank-IMF meetings in Washington The Finance Minister slammed the Congress party for criticizing the structural reforms introduced by the government and said that the opposition's criticism has no weightage. "The aim of demonetisation was to crack the backbone of shadow economy, which was running on black money. To curb the menace of black money was never Congress' priority. So now they are tensed, and it is justified. Talking about GST, it was Congress' proposal and now they are trying to change their stand. Finance ministers of all Congress run states back the GST but Congress being an opportunist party is opposing the uniform tax reform. So I think Congress' criticism has no strength," he added. Ever since the Centre has introduced demonetisation and GST, the Congress party has been critical of the reforms.(ANI)

World praising India for reforms like demonetisation, GST: Arun Jaitley

<p>With the Centre planning to bring real estate under Goods and Services Tax (GST) ambit, the Congress Party on Friday said that the decision would prove to be a disaster.</p>

<p>Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said that the issue of bringing real estate under the GST&#39;s ambit will be discussed in the next GST Council meeting to be held on November 9 in Guwahati.</p>

<p>Talking to ANI, Congress leader Raju Waghmare said, &quot;BJP and Arun Jaitley have decided to take this country in a pothole. There is already chaos in the real estate market, so bringing real estate under GST ambit will be a disaster.&quot;</p>

<p>Another party leader Tom Vadakkan said that the government should take stakeholder and the Opposition into confidence before taking this decision.</p>

<p>&quot;We do hope they have discussed this with the stakeholders and it does not create a situation where have had problem with GST in other state. If discussion is held and stakeholder and Opposition are taken into confidence then that it will be very useful,&quot; he told ANI.</p>

<p>While delivering the &#39;Annual Mahindra Lecture&#39; on India&#39;s tax reforms at the prestigious Harvard University in Washington, Jaitley said, &quot;The one sector in India where maximum amount of tax evasion and cash generation takes place and which is still outside the GST is real estate. Some of the states have been pressing for it. I personally believe that there is a strong case to bring real estate into the GST.&quot;</p>

<p>The GST, which brings the economy under a uniform tax regime, was implemented from July 1 this year.(ANI)</p>


Congress leader Raju Waghmare said bringing real estate under the purview of the Goods and Services Tax would take the country into a 'pothole'

With the Centre planning to bring real estate under Goods and Services Tax (GST) ambit, the Congress Party on Friday said that the decision would prove to be a disaster. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said that the issue of bringing real estate under the GST's ambit will be discussed in the next GST Council meeting to be held on November 9 in Guwahati. Talking to ANI, Congress leader Raju Waghmare said, "BJP and Arun Jaitley have decided to take this country in a pothole. There is already chaos in the real estate market, so bringing real estate under GST ambit will be a disaster." Another party leader Tom Vadakkan said that the government should take stakeholder and the Opposition into confidence before taking this decision. "We do hope they have discussed this with the stakeholders and it does not create a situation where have had problem with GST in other state. If discussion is held and stakeholder and Opposition are taken into confidence then that it will be very useful," he told ANI. While delivering the 'Annual Mahindra Lecture' on India's tax reforms at the prestigious Harvard University in Washington, Jaitley said, "The one sector in India where maximum amount of tax evasion and cash generation takes place and which is still outside the GST is real estate. Some of the states have been pressing for it. I personally believe that there is a strong case to bring real estate into the GST." The GST, which brings the economy under a uniform tax regime, was implemented from July 1 this year.(ANI)

Bringing real estate under GST will be a 'disaster': Congress

<p>Identifying real estate as the one sector where maximum amount of tax evasion takes place, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said there was a strong case to bring it under the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).<br />
<br />
The matter will be discussed in the next meeting of the GST Council, which will be held on November 9, in Guwahati, Arun Jaitley said, while delivering a lecture at Harvard University.<br />
<br />
&quot;The one sector in India where maximum amount of tax evasion and cash generation takes place and which is still outside the GST is real estate. Some of the states have been pressing for it. I personally believe that there is a strong case to bring real estate into the GST,&quot; Jaitley said, while delivering the &#39;Annual Mahindra Lecture&#39; on India&#39;s tax reforms.<br />
<br />
&quot;In the next meeting itself, we are addressing one of the problem areas or at least (having) discussion (on) it. Some states want, some do not. There are two views. Therefore, by discussion, we would try to reach one view,&quot; he said.<br />
<br />
The finance minister said the move would benefit the consumers who will only have to pay one &quot;final tax&quot; on the whole product.<br />
<br />
&quot;As a result, the final tax paid on the whole product in the GST would almost be negligible,&quot; he said.<br />
<br />
The finance minister said the reduction in eventual expenditure coupled with incentivising people to enter the tax net may also help reduce the size of &quot;shadow economy&quot;.<br />
<br />
A 12 per cent GST is levied on construction of a complex, building, civil structure or intended for sale to a buyer, wholly or partly. However, land and other immovable property have been exempted from GST.<br />
<br />
On demonetisation, Jaitley said it was a &quot;fundamental reform&quot; which was necessary to transform India into a more tax-compliant society.<br />
<br />
&quot;If you see the long-term impact of it, demonetisation brought in more digitised transactions; it brought the issue to the centerstage. It expanded the individual tax base. It compressed the cash currency by three per cent which was operating in the market,&quot; Jaitley said.<br />
<br />
&quot;Those objectives are for the long-term. No doubt there are short-term challenges, but (necessary) for transforming India from a non-compliant to a more compliant society,&quot; he said.<br />
<br />
The finance minister said India had historically been one of the least efficient tax system in the world with an extremely small tax base.<br />
<br />
&quot;Frankly, over the last several decades, serious efforts, real efforts to expand this base had not been made. You had marginal efforts,&quot; he said, adding that systematic efforts to challenge the &quot;shadow economy&quot; were made only recently.<br />
<br />
&quot;In the last few years, the bulk of the increase in tax payers has not been in terms of number of companies but individuals who are coming into the tax net,&quot; he said.<br />
<br />
Mr Jaitley said some people had &quot;misunderstood&quot; the objective of demonetisation &quot;which wasn&#39;t to confiscate somebody&#39;s currency&quot;.<br />
<br />
&quot;Obviously if somebody has currency and deposits in the bank, it does not become lawful holding. They still have to account for it. Therefore, the anonymity which was attached to a cash currency came to an end and that holding got identified,&quot; he said.<br />
<br />
&quot;The government was able to trace out about 1.8 million people whose deposits are disproportionate to their normal incomes. And they are all to answerable to the law and pay their taxes,&quot; he said.<br />
<br />
Jaitley is on a week-long stay in the US, during which he will participate in annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank.</p>


The finance minister said real estate was the maximum sector where tax evasion took place

Identifying real estate as the one sector where maximum amount of tax evasion takes place, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said there was a strong case to bring it under the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The matter will be discussed in the next meeting of the GST Council, which will be held on November 9, in Guwahati, Arun Jaitley said, while delivering a lecture at Harvard University. "The one sector in India where maximum amount of tax evasion and cash generation takes place and which is still outside the GST is real estate. Some of the states have been pressing for it. I personally believe that there is a strong case to bring real estate into the GST," Jaitley said, while delivering the 'Annual Mahindra Lecture' on India's tax reforms. "In the next meeting itself, we are addressing one of the problem areas or at least (having) discussion (on) it. Some states want, some do not. There are two views. Therefore, by discussion, we would try to reach one view," he said. The finance minister said the move would benefit the consumers who will only have to pay one "final tax" on the whole product. "As a result, the final tax paid on the whole product in the GST would almost be negligible," he said. The finance minister said the reduction in eventual expenditure coupled with incentivising people to enter the tax net may also help reduce the size of "shadow economy". A 12 per cent GST is levied on construction of a complex, building, civil structure or intended for sale to a buyer, wholly or partly. However, land and other immovable property have been exempted from GST. On demonetisation, Jaitley said it was a "fundamental reform" which was necessary to transform India into a more tax-compliant society. "If you see the long-term impact of it, demonetisation brought in more digitised transactions; it brought the issue to the centerstage. It expanded the individual tax base. It compressed the cash currency by three per cent which was operating in the market," Jaitley said. "Those objectives are for the long-term. No doubt there are short-term challenges, but (necessary) for transforming India from a non-compliant to a more compliant society," he said. The finance minister said India had historically been one of the least efficient tax system in the world with an extremely small tax base. "Frankly, over the last several decades, serious efforts, real efforts to expand this base had not been made. You had marginal efforts," he said, adding that systematic efforts to challenge the "shadow economy" were made only recently. "In the last few years, the bulk of the increase in tax payers has not been in terms of number of companies but individuals who are coming into the tax net," he said. Mr Jaitley said some people had "misunderstood" the objective of demonetisation "which wasn't to confiscate somebody's currency". "Obviously if somebody has currency and deposits in the bank, it does not become lawful holding. They still have to account for it. Therefore, the anonymity which was attached to a cash currency came to an end and that holding got identified," he said. "The government was able to trace out about 1.8 million people whose deposits are disproportionate to their normal incomes. And they are all to answerable to the law and pay their taxes," he said. Jaitley is on a week-long stay in the US, during which he will participate in annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank.

Strong case to bring real estate under GST: Arun Jaitley at Harvard

<p>India&#39;s GDP may slow from 8.6 per cent in 2015 to 7.0 per cent in 2017 because of disruptions by demonetisation and the GST, the World Bank has forecast and warned that subdued private investment due to internal bottlenecks could put downside pressures on the country&#39;s potential growth.</p>

<p>The International Monetary Fund yesterday also lowered India&#39;s growth projection to 6.7 per cent in 2017, 0.5 percentage points less than its previous two forecasts and slower than China&#39;s 6.8 per cent.</p>

<p>India&#39;s economic momentum has been affected by disruptions from the withdrawal of banknotes and uncertainties around the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the World Bank said in its South Asia Economic Focus, a biannual economic update.</p>

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<h5>The IMF also lowered, yesterday, India&#39;s growth forecast to 6.7% in 2017</h5>
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<p>As a result, growth is expected to slow from 8.6 per cent in 2015 to 7.0 per cent in 2017. Sound policies around balancing public spending with private investment could accelerate growth to 7.3 per cent by 2018, it said.</p>

<p>While sustained growth is expected to translate to continued poverty reduction, more focus could be made to help benefit the informal economy more, said the report released here ahead of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.</p>

<p>A slowdown in India&#39;s growth rate, the bank said, has also affected the growth rate of South Asia. As a result, South Asia has fallen to second place after East Asia and the Pacific.</p>

<p>&quot;Real GDP growth slowed to 7.1 per cent in 2016, from 8 per cent in 15/16, and further to 5.7 per cent in Q1 FY2017,&quot; it said.</p>

<p>On the one hand, public and private consumption gained pace: after implementation of the 7th central pay commission recommendations; and due to the revival in rural demand after normal monsoon and agricultural impetus. On the other hand, overall demand slowed as public investments started to wane.</p>

<p>According to the bank, the GST is expected to disrupt economic activity in early 2018, but the momentum may pick-up.</p>

<p>Evidence suggests that post-GST, manufacturing and services contracted sharply, it said.</p>

<p>The growth activity is expected to stabilise within a quarter ? maintaining the annual GDP growth at 7.0 per cent in 2018.</p>

<p>Growth is projected to increase gradually to 7.4 per cent by 2020, underpinned by a recovery in private investments, which are expected to be crowded-in by the recent increase in public capex and an improvement in the investment climate (partly due to the passage of the GST and Bankruptcy Code, and measures to attract the FDI), the bank report said.</p>

<p>The most substantial medium-term risks are associated with private investment recovery, which continues to face several domestic impediments such as corporate debt overhang, regulatory and policy challenges, along with the risk of an imminent increase in US interest rates, it said.</p>

<p>&quot;If the internal bottlenecks are not alleviated, subdued private investment would put downside pressures on India&#39;s potential growth,&quot; the report said. Downside risks to the global economy ? and accordingly to export growth and capital flows ? are also substantial given the possibility of monetary policy normalisation in the USA and risks of protectionism, it added.&nbsp;</p>


India's GDP may slow from 8.6 per cent in 2015 to 7.0 per cent in 2017 because of disruptions by demonetisation and the GST, the World Bank has forecast and warned that subdued private investment due to internal bottlenecks could put downside pressures on the country's potential growth. The International Monetary Fund yesterday also lowered India's growth projection to 6.7 per cent in 2017, 0.5 percentage points less than its previous two forecasts and slower than China's 6.8 per cent. India's economic momentum has been affected by disruptions from the withdrawal of banknotes and uncertainties around the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the World Bank said in its South Asia Economic Focus, a biannual economic update. The IMF also lowered, yesterday, India's growth forecast to 6.7% in 2017 × As a result, growth is expected to slow from 8.6 per cent in 2015 to 7.0 per cent in 2017. Sound policies around balancing public spending with private investment could accelerate growth to 7.3 per cent by 2018, it said. While sustained growth is expected to translate to continued poverty reduction, more focus could be made to help benefit the informal economy more, said the report released here ahead of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. A slowdown in India's growth rate, the bank said, has also affected the growth rate of South Asia. As a result, South Asia has fallen to second place after East Asia and the Pacific. "Real GDP growth slowed to 7.1 per cent in 2016, from 8 per cent in 15/16, and further to 5.7 per cent in Q1 FY2017," it said. On the one hand, public and private consumption gained pace: after implementation of the 7th central pay commission recommendations; and due to the revival in rural demand after normal monsoon and agricultural impetus. On the other hand, overall demand slowed as public investments started to wane. According to the bank, the GST is expected to disrupt economic activity in early 2018, but the momentum may pick-up. Evidence suggests that post-GST, manufacturing and services contracted sharply, it said. The growth activity is expected to stabilise within a quarter ? maintaining the annual GDP growth at 7.0 per cent in 2018. Growth is projected to increase gradually to 7.4 per cent by 2020, underpinned by a recovery in private investments, which are expected to be crowded-in by the recent increase in public capex and an improvement in the investment climate (partly due to the passage of the GST and Bankruptcy Code, and measures to attract the FDI), the bank report said. The most substantial medium-term risks are associated with private investment recovery, which continues to face several domestic impediments such as corporate debt overhang, regulatory and policy challenges, along with the risk of an imminent increase in US interest rates, it said. "If the internal bottlenecks are not alleviated, subdued private investment would put downside pressures on India's potential growth," the report said. Downside risks to the global economy ? and accordingly to export growth and capital flows ? are also substantial given the possibility of monetary policy normalisation in the USA and risks of protectionism, it added.

World Bank lowers India's growth forecast to 7%

<p>Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who is on a week-long visit to the US, said on Monday that India&#39;s transition to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime has been &quot;fairly smooth&quot; despite attempts by &quot;ill-informed&quot; Opposition leaders to derail its implementation.</p>

<p>The finance minister said the transition had been smooth because the government had introduced the lowest tax slab of five per cent which does not exist anywhere in the world so as to bring the non-compliant into the tax network.</p>

<p>&quot;So the lowest slab in India is five per cent, which doesn&#39;t exist anywhere in the world. That is because of the non-compliant tax character of the Indian society. You make it easy for people to enter the taxation system that you are able to expand. In the GST, for up to 10 million turnover we now have a scheme for them,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>&quot;We are trying to bring them into the tax net because the first two months data has shown that almost 95 per cent of the tax is just being paid by 400,000 accesses.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Therefore, it&#39;s very top heavy in terms of payment. And there&#39;s a need to continue to expand the tax base at the bottom itself,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>The finance minister said that governments in the Opposition-ruled states were not listening to their leaders since they knew that &quot;80 per cent of the money&quot; would come into the state coffers and they did not want revenues of their states to suffer.</p>

<p>&quot;Many attempts have been made by political groups to derail the GST, but I am glad that their own state governments are not listening to them because they know 80 per cent of the money is going to come to them so they don&#39;t have to appease an ill-informed central leader of the party and let the revenues of their own state suffer,&quot; Jaitley told an audience in New York.</p>

<p>&quot;So, the state governments are being wiser,&quot; Mr Jaitley said in response to a question during an event titled &#39;India&#39;s market Reforms: The Way Forward&#39; organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry in association with the US Chambers of Commerce.</p>

<p>The finance minister is in the US to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.</p>

<p>He said that the GST Council was India&#39;s first genuine federal institution and met every month to review the monthly situation, take decisions, review rates and changes of rates which will take place in the times to come itself.</p>

<p>Arun Jaitley said the obvious problem in the GST was that the non-compliant were going to eventually come into the net because of which complaints were inevitable.</p>

<p>&quot;And therefore there are going to be different complaints -- some legitimate, some manufactured thrown up by the non-compliant how GST is creating a problem for them,&quot; he said. The finance minister emphasised that the government needs to have capacity to distinguish between a genuine and a manufactured complaint.</p>

<p>Arun Jaitley said the global integration of the Indian economy was happening at a time when other economies were becoming more protectionist.</p>

<p>He asserted that India was now a better place to do business with because of the series of steps being taken by the government in the last three years including simplifying proceedures, abolishing the Foreign Investment Promotion Board and enabling 95 per cent of the investments through the automatic route.</p>

<p>He said 99 per cent of tax queries were addressed online and states were being ranked on the ease of doing business.</p>

<p>He added that India was now capable of taking big decisions and implementing them on a large scale.</p>

<p>Mr Jaitley said as many as 250 highways projects were under construction and that India now had the surplus power and the capacity of Indian ports had been expanded.</p>

<p>Responding to a question on digital payments, the finance minister said the younger generation was taking on to modern payment methods in a big way.</p>

<p>He also said government benefits were linked directly to bank accounts. The government has introduced low-cost insurance policies to incentivise the bank holders, he<br />
said.</p>

<p>Jaitley also addressed American investors on recent economic reform initiatives.</p>

<p>He will address the Columbia University students today.</p>

<p>But before arriving in Washington DC for the annual IMF and World Bank meetings, the finance minister will travel to Boston and address the students of the Harvard University. He will also interact with the US business community in the city.</p>

<p>During his three day stay at Washington, the finance minister will hold a bilateral meeting with US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.</p>

<p>He will also participate in an interactive seminar organised by the FICCI on -- &quot;India Opportunity Conference&quot; and attend the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors&#39; Working Dinner on October 12.&nbsp;</p>


The finance minister said the Opposition's own state governments are not listening to them 'because they know 80 per cent of the money is going to come to them'

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who is on a week-long visit to the US, said on Monday that India's transition to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime has been "fairly smooth" despite attempts by "ill-informed" Opposition leaders to derail its implementation. The finance minister said the transition had been smooth because the government had introduced the lowest tax slab of five per cent which does not exist anywhere in the world so as to bring the non-compliant into the tax network. "So the lowest slab in India is five per cent, which doesn't exist anywhere in the world. That is because of the non-compliant tax character of the Indian society. You make it easy for people to enter the taxation system that you are able to expand. In the GST, for up to 10 million turnover we now have a scheme for them," he said. "We are trying to bring them into the tax net because the first two months data has shown that almost 95 per cent of the tax is just being paid by 400,000 accesses. Therefore, it's very top heavy in terms of payment. And there's a need to continue to expand the tax base at the bottom itself," he said. The finance minister said that governments in the Opposition-ruled states were not listening to their leaders since they knew that "80 per cent of the money" would come into the state coffers and they did not want revenues of their states to suffer. "Many attempts have been made by political groups to derail the GST, but I am glad that their own state governments are not listening to them because they know 80 per cent of the money is going to come to them so they don't have to appease an ill-informed central leader of the party and let the revenues of their own state suffer," Jaitley told an audience in New York. "So, the state governments are being wiser," Mr Jaitley said in response to a question during an event titled 'India's market Reforms: The Way Forward' organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry in association with the US Chambers of Commerce. The finance minister is in the US to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. He said that the GST Council was India's first genuine federal institution and met every month to review the monthly situation, take decisions, review rates and changes of rates which will take place in the times to come itself. Arun Jaitley said the obvious problem in the GST was that the non-compliant were going to eventually come into the net because of which complaints were inevitable. "And therefore there are going to be different complaints -- some legitimate, some manufactured thrown up by the non-compliant how GST is creating a problem for them," he said. The finance minister emphasised that the government needs to have capacity to distinguish between a genuine and a manufactured complaint. Arun Jaitley said the global integration of the Indian economy was happening at a time when other economies were becoming more protectionist. He asserted that India was now a better place to do business with because of the series of steps being taken by the government in the last three years including simplifying proceedures, abolishing the Foreign Investment Promotion Board and enabling 95 per cent of the investments through the automatic route. He said 99 per cent of tax queries were addressed online and states were being ranked on the ease of doing business. He added that India was now capable of taking big decisions and implementing them on a large scale. Mr Jaitley said as many as 250 highways projects were under construction and that India now had the surplus power and the capacity of Indian ports had been expanded. Responding to a question on digital payments, the finance minister said the younger generation was taking on to modern payment methods in a big way. He also said government benefits were linked directly to bank accounts. The government has introduced low-cost insurance policies to incentivise the bank holders, he said. Jaitley also addressed American investors on recent economic reform initiatives. He will address the Columbia University students today. But before arriving in Washington DC for the annual IMF and World Bank meetings, the finance minister will travel to Boston and address the students of the Harvard University. He will also interact with the US business community in the city. During his three day stay at Washington, the finance minister will hold a bilateral meeting with US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. He will also participate in an interactive seminar organised by the FICCI on -- "India Opportunity Conference" and attend the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' Working Dinner on October 12.

India's transition to GST 'fairly smooth' despite Opposition attempts to derail it: Arun Jaitley

<p>A big global corporate voice, the Indian-origin CEO of the US-based payments company Mastercard, Ajaypal Singh Banga, has come out in defence of the Indian government.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Banga told WION that one or two quarters of slow economic growth should not impact the pace of reforms.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Banga&#39;s comments come at a time when some of the Indian government&#39;s measures -- demonetisation and the goods and services tax -- have come under severe criticism, and are being blamed for slowing down the economy.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Banga also hailed the reforms undertaken by previous governments, but said the pace of reforms under the current establishment has been quicker. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;India is going through an exciting phase. FDI, GDP, foreign reserves have gone up in the last two decades,&quot; he said. &nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;Digitisation will give the next boost to the Indian economy,&quot; he said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;Change has actually accelerated in the last two years,&quot; he added.&nbsp;</p>


Banga told WION that one or two quarters of slow economic growth should not impact the pace of reforms.?

A big global corporate voice, the Indian-origin CEO of the US-based payments company Mastercard, Ajaypal Singh Banga, has come out in defence of the Indian government. Banga told WION that one or two quarters of slow economic growth should not impact the pace of reforms. Banga's comments come at a time when some of the Indian government's measures -- demonetisation and the goods and services tax -- have come under severe criticism, and are being blamed for slowing down the economy. Banga also hailed the reforms undertaken by previous governments, but said the pace of reforms under the current establishment has been quicker. "India is going through an exciting phase. FDI, GDP, foreign reserves have gone up in the last two decades," he said. "Digitisation will give the next boost to the Indian economy," he said. "Change has actually accelerated in the last two years," he added.

WATCH: Not concerned by slowdown in Indian economy, says Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga

<p>World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said the recent slowdown in India&#39;s economic growth is an &quot;aberration&quot; caused by temporary disruptions in preparation for the Goods and Service Tax (GST).</p>

<p>He asserted that it will get corrected in the near future.</p>

<p>Kim while responding to questions on the slowdown in India`s growth in the first quarter said GST is going to have a positive impact on the Indian economy.</p>

<p>&quot;There&#39;s been a deceleration in the first quarter, but we think that`s mostly due to temporary disruptions in preparation for the GST, which by the way is going to have a huge&nbsp;positive impact on the economy,&quot; Kim told the media during a conference ahead of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank here.</p>

<p>&quot;We think that the recent slowdown is an aberration which will correct in the coming months, and the GDP growth will stabilise during the year. We`ve been watching carefully, as Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi has really worked on improving the business environment, and so, we think all of those efforts will pay off as well,&quot; he added.</p>

<p>Further responding on India and human capital, Kim praised the &quot;commitment&quot; of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sanitation issues, and said &quot;Swachh Bharat&quot;&nbsp;is one of the most effective programmes anywhere.</p>

<p>&quot;I know that Prime Minister Modi himself personally is very committed to improving opportunities for all of India. But, India has a lot of challenges. We look at some of the educational outcomes, we`ve looked at some of the health outcomes, and India has room to improve, like most other countries,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>&quot;Our job is to take the political will and commitment that Prime Minister Modi has clearly demonstrated and has communicated to everyone, and then bring to India the most effective intervention that will, as quickly as possible, improve the stock of human capital,&quot; Kim said.</p>

<p>Finance Minister Arun Jaitley would be leading a delegation to the annual meeting next week.</p>

<p>India`s GDP grew 5.7 per cent during the April-June period. During the previous quarter (January-March) the GDP had grown by 6.1 per cent.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/watch-not-concerned-by-slowdown-in-indian-economy-says-mastercard-ceo-ajay-banga-21060" target="_blank">WATCH: Not concerned by slowdown in Indian economy, says Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga</a></p>

<p>Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/photos/forbes-list-mukesh-ambani-added-153-billion-last-year-485#photo-26301" target="_blank">Economy slows but India&#39;s richest 100 </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/photos/forbes-list-mukesh-ambani-added-153-billion-last-year-485#photo-26301" target="_blank">get</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/photos/forbes-list-mukesh-ambani-added-153-billion-last-year-485#photo-26301" target="_blank"> richer by 26%: Forbes list</a></p>


World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said the recent slowdown in India's economic growth is an 'aberration' caused by temporary disruptions in preparation for the Goods and Service Tax

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said the recent slowdown in India's economic growth is an "aberration" caused by temporary disruptions in preparation for the Goods and Service Tax (GST). He asserted that it will get corrected in the near future. Kim while responding to questions on the slowdown in India`s growth in the first quarter said GST is going to have a positive impact on the Indian economy. "There's been a deceleration in the first quarter, but we think that`s mostly due to temporary disruptions in preparation for the GST, which by the way is going to have a huge positive impact on the economy," Kim told the media during a conference ahead of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank here. "We think that the recent slowdown is an aberration which will correct in the coming months, and the GDP growth will stabilise during the year. We`ve been watching carefully, as Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi has really worked on improving the business environment, and so, we think all of those efforts will pay off as well," he added. Further responding on India and human capital, Kim praised the "commitment" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sanitation issues, and said "Swachh Bharat" is one of the most effective programmes anywhere. "I know that Prime Minister Modi himself personally is very committed to improving opportunities for all of India. But, India has a lot of challenges. We look at some of the educational outcomes, we`ve looked at some of the health outcomes, and India has room to improve, like most other countries," he said. "Our job is to take the political will and commitment that Prime Minister Modi has clearly demonstrated and has communicated to everyone, and then bring to India the most effective intervention that will, as quickly as possible, improve the stock of human capital," Kim said. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley would be leading a delegation to the annual meeting next week. India`s GDP grew 5.7 per cent during the April-June period. During the previous quarter (January-March) the GDP had grown by 6.1 per cent. WATCH: Not concerned by slowdown in Indian economy, says Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga Also read: Economy slows but India's richest 100 get richer by 26%: Forbes list

India's economy will be back on track soon: World Bank

<p>Indian&nbsp;stocks are set to rise further over the coming year but will lag predictions from three months ago on worries shares have become too pricey and that the economy is headed for a rough patch, a&nbsp;Reuters&nbsp;poll&nbsp;showed.</p>

<p>The BSE Sensex, already up over 18 per cent this year, is forecast to add another 3 per cent by end-2017 to 32,500 from Tuesday&#39;s close of 31,497, according to the&nbsp;poll&nbsp;of 50 strategists taken over the past week.</p>

<p>If realised, that would mark its best calendar year performance in percentage terms since 2014. The latest predictions were lower than the 33,000 - which would be a record - forecast in the June poll. The existing record high, struck in August, is 32,686.</p>

<p>While&nbsp;Indian&nbsp;shares have been among the star global performers this year, the domestic economy has been&nbsp;slowing since the middle of 2016. The latest data showed&nbsp;economic&nbsp;growth cooled to a three-year low in the quarter through to June.</p>

<p>That unexpected&nbsp;slowdown, which was reported in August, prompted foreign investors to pull cash out of India and triggered two consecutive down months in the Sensex for the first time since early 2016.</p>

<p>Still, the average price-to-earnings ratio of 23 on the BSE Sensex is at a 17-year high, suggesting stock&nbsp;prices are stretched.</p>

<p>&quot;Valuations are very rich and even the liquidity flow from FIIs (Foreign Institutional Investments) is now drying up,&quot; said B.V. Rudramurthy, managing director at Vachana Investments.</p>

<p>About 60 per cent of respondents said the index was overvalued.</p>

<p>The remainders&nbsp;don&#39;t think&nbsp;Indian&nbsp;shares are overvalued now, though they expect it will be so if further&nbsp;gains&nbsp;were made as predicted in the latest&nbsp;Reuters&nbsp;poll&nbsp;by end-2018.</p>

<p>&quot;The&nbsp;stock&nbsp;market&nbsp;has been optimistic about an eventual corporate earnings recovery, justifying the valuations. That is the single biggest risk,&quot; said Ajay Bagga, executive chairman at OPC Asset Solutions.</p>

<p>The Sensex was forecast to rise to a record high of 34,000 by the middle of next year and then to 35,000 by end-2018.</p>

<p>The biggest risks to those forecasts were the persistent weakness in&nbsp;economic&nbsp;activity and lower-than-expected corporate earnings, according to analysts.</p>

<p>The government&#39;s decision late last year to ban high-value currency notes took over 85 percent of cash out of circulation, a demonetisation drive that has hurt consumer spending and businesses.</p>

<p>That, along with a push this year in July to unify various state-level taxes into one national goods and services tax, has disrupted business and cast a shadow over&nbsp;economic&nbsp;activity.</p>

<p>&quot;Economic&nbsp;activity has to pick up for corporate (profit) growth as there is unutilised capacity. But too many harsh reforms have impacted growth at a time when the&nbsp;market&nbsp;is overvalued,&quot; said A.K. Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital.</p>

<p>&quot;Still, there is no major avenue to invest post demonetisation. The idle cash which has come into the system is likely to keep&nbsp;markets elevated.&quot;</p>


The BSE Sensex, already up over 18 per cent this year, is forecast to add another 3 per cent by end-2017 to 32,500 from Tuesday's close of 31,497, according to the?poll?of 50 strategists taken over the past week

Indian stocks are set to rise further over the coming year but will lag predictions from three months ago on worries shares have become too pricey and that the economy is headed for a rough patch, a Reuters poll showed. The BSE Sensex, already up over 18 per cent this year, is forecast to add another 3 per cent by end-2017 to 32,500 from Tuesday's close of 31,497, according to the poll of 50 strategists taken over the past week. If realised, that would mark its best calendar year performance in percentage terms since 2014. The latest predictions were lower than the 33,000 - which would be a record - forecast in the June poll. The existing record high, struck in August, is 32,686. While Indian shares have been among the star global performers this year, the domestic economy has been slowing since the middle of 2016. The latest data showed economic growth cooled to a three-year low in the quarter through to June. That unexpected slowdown, which was reported in August, prompted foreign investors to pull cash out of India and triggered two consecutive down months in the Sensex for the first time since early 2016. Still, the average price-to-earnings ratio of 23 on the BSE Sensex is at a 17-year high, suggesting stock prices are stretched. "Valuations are very rich and even the liquidity flow from FIIs (Foreign Institutional Investments) is now drying up," said B.V. Rudramurthy, managing director at Vachana Investments. About 60 per cent of respondents said the index was overvalued. The remainders don't think Indian shares are overvalued now, though they expect it will be so if further gains were made as predicted in the latest Reuters poll by end-2018. "The stock market has been optimistic about an eventual corporate earnings recovery, justifying the valuations. That is the single biggest risk," said Ajay Bagga, executive chairman at OPC Asset Solutions. The Sensex was forecast to rise to a record high of 34,000 by the middle of next year and then to 35,000 by end-2018. The biggest risks to those forecasts were the persistent weakness in economic activity and lower-than-expected corporate earnings, according to analysts. The government's decision late last year to ban high-value currency notes took over 85 percent of cash out of circulation, a demonetisation drive that has hurt consumer spending and businesses. That, along with a push this year in July to unify various state-level taxes into one national goods and services tax, has disrupted business and cast a shadow over economic activity. "Economic activity has to pick up for corporate (profit) growth as there is unutilised capacity. But too many harsh reforms have impacted growth at a time when the market is overvalued," said A.K. Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital. "Still, there is no major avenue to invest post demonetisation. The idle cash which has come into the system is likely to keep markets elevated."

Indian stock market outlook solid but gains to slow on economic woes: Poll

<p>Activity&nbsp;in&nbsp;India&#39;s&nbsp;services&nbsp;companies limped out of contraction in September as&nbsp;demand&nbsp;recovered and pushed firms to increase hiring at the fastest pace in over six years, a business survey showed on Thursday.</p>

<p>The lingering impact of the government&#39;s cash ban late last year pushed&nbsp;growth&nbsp;in Asia&#39;s third-largest economy to slow unexpectedly to a three-year low of 5.7 per cent in the April-June quarter from a year earlier.</p>

<p>Disruptions to businesses from confusion on product pricing after the implementation of a goods and&nbsp;services&nbsp;tax (GST) on July 1, which aimed to unify multiple taxes, have also cast a shadow on economic&nbsp;growth.</p>

<p>But last month, a surge in&nbsp;demand&nbsp;helped a recovery in&nbsp;activity&nbsp;among&nbsp;services&nbsp;firms after contracting for two months prior to that.</p>

<p>The Nikkei/IHS Markit&nbsp;Services&nbsp;Purchasing Managers&#39; Index rose to 50.7 in September from 47.5 in August, moving back above the 50-mark that separates&nbsp;growth&nbsp;from contraction.</p>

<p>&quot;The&nbsp;Indian private sector regained some lost ground since the implementation of July&#39;s goods and&nbsp;services&nbsp;tax (GST) as service providers followed the manufacturing industry back to&nbsp;growth,&quot; said Aashna Dodhia, an economist at IHS Markit.</p>

<p>A sub-index on new business, which measures both domestic and foreign&nbsp;demand, jumped to 51.1 from 47.3 in August.</p>

<p>That pushed firms to increase hiring at the fastest pace since June 2011 in&nbsp;September after cutting headcount in the previous two months.</p>

<p>A composite&nbsp;PMI, which takes into account both manufacturing and&nbsp;services&nbsp;activity, returned above break-even last month to 51.1 from 49.0 in August, aided by an expansion in manufacturing&nbsp;activity&nbsp;in&nbsp;September.</p>

<p>Both manufacturing and&nbsp;services&nbsp;firms continued to absorb some input cost pressures in September to attract&nbsp;demand, which is likely to keep inflation below the Reserve Bank of&nbsp;India&#39;s 4 percent medium-term target.</p>

<p>But the RBI kept its policy rate steady at a nearly seven-year low of 6.00 per cent on Wednesday, reflecting its concern consumer inflation could accelerate further after hitting a five-month high of 3.36 per cent in August.</p>


The lingering impact of the government's cash ban late last year pushed?growth?in Asia's third-largest economy to slow unexpectedly to a three-year low of 5.7 percent in the April-June quarter from a year earlier

Activity in India's services companies limped out of contraction in September as demand recovered and pushed firms to increase hiring at the fastest pace in over six years, a business survey showed on Thursday. The lingering impact of the government's cash ban late last year pushed growth in Asia's third-largest economy to slow unexpectedly to a three-year low of 5.7 per cent in the April-June quarter from a year earlier. Disruptions to businesses from confusion on product pricing after the implementation of a goods and services tax (GST) on July 1, which aimed to unify multiple taxes, have also cast a shadow on economic growth. But last month, a surge in demand helped a recovery in activity among services firms after contracting for two months prior to that. The Nikkei/IHS Markit Services Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 50.7 in September from 47.5 in August, moving back above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction. "The Indian private sector regained some lost ground since the implementation of July's goods and services tax (GST) as service providers followed the manufacturing industry back to growth," said Aashna Dodhia, an economist at IHS Markit. A sub-index on new business, which measures both domestic and foreign demand, jumped to 51.1 from 47.3 in August. That pushed firms to increase hiring at the fastest pace since June 2011 in September after cutting headcount in the previous two months. A composite PMI, which takes into account both manufacturing and services activity, returned above break-even last month to 51.1 from 49.0 in August, aided by an expansion in manufacturing activity in September. Both manufacturing and services firms continued to absorb some input cost pressures in September to attract demand, which is likely to keep inflation below the Reserve Bank of India's 4 percent medium-term target. But the RBI kept its policy rate steady at a nearly seven-year low of 6.00 per cent on Wednesday, reflecting its concern consumer inflation could accelerate further after hitting a five-month high of 3.36 per cent in August.

India services activity returned to growth in September: Study

<p>Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha has fired a fresh salvo at the BJP government,<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/will-power-admit-the-truth-chidambaram-on-yashwant-sinhas-attack-on-arun-jaitleys-economic-mess-20728"> reiterating his stance that the Indian economy is in shambles</a> particularly because of the policies of finance minister Arun Jaitley.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In a rejoinder to the BJP <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/structural-reforms-necessary-jayant-sinhas-rejoinder-to-father-yashwant-sinha-20774">which said that structural reforms like demonetisation and GST would reap </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/structural-reforms-necessary-jayant-sinhas-rejoinder-to-father-yashwant-sinha-20774">benefits</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/structural-reforms-necessary-jayant-sinhas-rejoinder-to-father-yashwant-sinha-20774">, in the long run</a>, the former finance minister quoted economist and philosopher John Maynard Keynes and stated, &quot;In the long run we are all dead.&quot;</p>

<p>The former finance minister said yesterday (September 27) that demonetisation should have been introduced when the economy was weak. He added that the roll-out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was done when the economy was yet to recover from the effects of demonetisation. (Also Read: <a href="http://http://www.wionews.com/india-news/yashwant-sinha-has-shown-the-mirror-shotguns-defence-of-his-colleague-20776">Yashwant Sinha has shown the mirror: Shotgun&#39;s defence of his colleague</a>)</p>

<p>&quot;Demonetisation shouldn&#39;t have been brought when the economy was weak, its effects were yet to subside and GST served as the second big blow,&quot; Yashwant Sinha said.</p>

<p>The former finance minister added that he disagreed with home minister Rajnath Singh and railways minister Piyush Goyal when they said that India was the backbone of the world&#39;s economy.</p>

<p>&quot;Maybe Rajnath Singh and Piyush Goyal know more economy more than me, so they think India is the&nbsp;backbone of world&#39;s economy. I politely disagree,&quot; Mr Sinha said.</p>

<p>Earlier today, Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Yashwant Sinha&#39;s son Jayant Sinha had countered his father&#39;s criticism that the slowdown in GDP growth rate was because of demonetisation and the recently-introduced Goods and Services Tax (GST).</p>

<p>He had said GST, demonetisation and digitisation were structural reforms that were necessary for transforming the economy in the long term and that GDP growth of one or two quarters was insufficient to ascertain the long-term impact of these measures.</p>

<p>Yesterday,&nbsp;Rajnath Singh said the Indian economy is the fastest growing in the world. Piyush Goyal had said there was bound to be uncertainty when transformative changes were made.</p>


The former finance minister said that demonetisation should have been introduced when the economy was weak

Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha has fired a fresh salvo at the BJP government, reiterating his stance that the Indian economy is in shambles particularly because of the policies of finance minister Arun Jaitley. In a rejoinder to the BJP which said that structural reforms like demonetisation and GST would reap benefits, in the long run, the former finance minister quoted economist and philosopher John Maynard Keynes and stated, "In the long run we are all dead." The former finance minister said yesterday (September 27) that demonetisation should have been introduced when the economy was weak. He added that the roll-out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was done when the economy was yet to recover from the effects of demonetisation. (Also Read: Yashwant Sinha has shown the mirror: Shotgun's defence of his colleague) "Demonetisation shouldn't have been brought when the economy was weak, its effects were yet to subside and GST served as the second big blow," Yashwant Sinha said. The former finance minister added that he disagreed with home minister Rajnath Singh and railways minister Piyush Goyal when they said that India was the backbone of the world's economy. "Maybe Rajnath Singh and Piyush Goyal know more economy more than me, so they think India is the backbone of world's economy. I politely disagree," Mr Sinha said. Earlier today, Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Yashwant Sinha's son Jayant Sinha had countered his father's criticism that the slowdown in GDP growth rate was because of demonetisation and the recently-introduced Goods and Services Tax (GST). He had said GST, demonetisation and digitisation were structural reforms that were necessary for transforming the economy in the long term and that GDP growth of one or two quarters was insufficient to ascertain the long-term impact of these measures. Yesterday, Rajnath Singh said the Indian economy is the fastest growing in the world. Piyush Goyal had said there was bound to be uncertainty when transformative changes were made.

'GST served as second big blow to economy': Yashwant Sinha hits back at BJP

<p>Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha today (September 28) defended&nbsp;his father and senior BJP leader <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/will-power-admit-the-truth-chidambaram-on-yashwant-sinhas-attack-on-arun-jaitleys-economic-mess-20728">Yashwant Sinha&#39;s criticism </a>of the &quot;mess&quot; that finance minister Arun Jaitley had made of the economy.</p>

<p>In an editorial in The Times of India, Jayant Sinha countered his father&#39;s criticism that&nbsp;the slowdown in GDP growth rate was because of demonetisation and the recently-introduced Goods and Services Tax (GST).</p>

<p>Jayant Sinha said that demonetisation and the introduction of the GST were structural reforms that were necessary for transforming the economy in the long term and that GDP growth of one or two quarters was insufficient to ascertain the long-term impact of these measures.</p>

<p>The MoS Civil Aviation added that along with digital payments, GST and demonetisation would bring more people under the tax net and create transparency in the economy.</p>

<p>&quot;GST, demonetisation and digital payments are game-changing efforts to formalise India&rsquo;s economy. Transactions that were taking place outside of the tax net and in the informal sector are now being brought into the formal sector. In the long term, formalisation will mean (a) tax collections go up and more resources are available to the state; (b) friction in the economy is reduced and GDP goes up; and (c) citizens are able to establish credit more effectively as transaction records are digitised,&quot; Jayant Sinha wrote.</p>

<p>He said policy-making across industries had become more rules-based, auctions were more transparent and the Bankruptcy Code would provide relief to the long-standing problem of Non performing Assets in the banking sector.</p>

<p>Jayant Sinha also highlighted the benefits that the &quot;rules-based FDI regime&quot; and the linking of the Jan Dhan accounts with the Aadhaar Unique Identification Card had brought to the economy.&quot;</p>

<p>&quot;The Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile (JAM) trinity is powering Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and dramatically reducing leakages. Rs 1.75 lakh crore of benefits have been transferred directly to beneficiaries over the last three years. JAM is weeding out many ghost and fake beneficiaries and cutting out middlemen.&quot;</p>

<p>In an opinion piece in the Indian Express, Yashwant Sinha, former finance minister, criticised his own government, particularly Arun Jaitley and NJP chief Amit Shah, for sinking the economy.</p>

<p>In the opinion piece titled &quot;I need to speak up now&quot;, Yashwant Sinha also called PM Modi&#39;s demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes an &quot;unmitigated economic disaster&quot;. He also said the recently-introduced Goods and Services Tax (GST) was a &quot;badly conceived and poorly implemented&quot; havoc.</p>

<p>Jayant Sinha&#39;s editorial was on the lines of the BJP&#39;s response yesterday (September 27)in which it rejected Yashwant Sinha&#39;s criticism of the state of economy.</p>

<p>The party had said the Indian economy was the fastest growing in the world and some &quot;uncertainty&quot; was bound to occur when &quot;transformative&quot; measures like demonetisation and the GST are taken.</p>

<p>Top party leaders defended the economic situation. &nbsp;Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the Indian economy is the fastest growing in the world and the country&#39;s credibility has been established in the international arena under the Modi government.</p>

<p>&quot;The whole world admits that India is the fastest growing economy in the world. No one should forget this fact. In the matter of economy, in the international arena, India&#39;s credibility has been established,&quot; he told reporters in reference to Sinha&#39;s views.</p>

<p>Senior party leader and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said the government would not flinch due to some criticism and &quot;stay the course&quot; as it works to transform the economy.</p>

<p>&quot;There is bound to be some uncertainty when some transformative changes are made. It (economy) may take some amount of time to absorb these changes but this will pass. Challenges come but we will stay the course. The government is steadfast in its resolve to end black money and corruption. It won&#39;t flinch due to some criticism,&quot; he said.</p>

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&nbsp;</p>


Jayant Sinha said that demonetisation and the introduction of the GST were structural reforms that were necessary for transforming the economy

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha today (September 28) defended his father and senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha's criticism of the "mess" that finance minister Arun Jaitley had made of the economy. In an editorial in The Times of India, Jayant Sinha countered his father's criticism that the slowdown in GDP growth rate was because of demonetisation and the recently-introduced Goods and Services Tax (GST). Jayant Sinha said that demonetisation and the introduction of the GST were structural reforms that were necessary for transforming the economy in the long term and that GDP growth of one or two quarters was insufficient to ascertain the long-term impact of these measures. The MoS Civil Aviation added that along with digital payments, GST and demonetisation would bring more people under the tax net and create transparency in the economy. "GST, demonetisation and digital payments are game-changing efforts to formalise India’s economy. Transactions that were taking place outside of the tax net and in the informal sector are now being brought into the formal sector. In the long term, formalisation will mean (a) tax collections go up and more resources are available to the state; (b) friction in the economy is reduced and GDP goes up; and (c) citizens are able to establish credit more effectively as transaction records are digitised," Jayant Sinha wrote. He said policy-making across industries had become more rules-based, auctions were more transparent and the Bankruptcy Code would provide relief to the long-standing problem of Non performing Assets in the banking sector. Jayant Sinha also highlighted the benefits that the "rules-based FDI regime" and the linking of the Jan Dhan accounts with the Aadhaar Unique Identification Card had brought to the economy." "The Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile (JAM) trinity is powering Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and dramatically reducing leakages. Rs 1.75 lakh crore of benefits have been transferred directly to beneficiaries over the last three years. JAM is weeding out many ghost and fake beneficiaries and cutting out middlemen." In an opinion piece in the Indian Express, Yashwant Sinha, former finance minister, criticised his own government, particularly Arun Jaitley and NJP chief Amit Shah, for sinking the economy. In the opinion piece titled "I need to speak up now", Yashwant Sinha also called PM Modi's demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes an "unmitigated economic disaster". He also said the recently-introduced Goods and Services Tax (GST) was a "badly conceived and poorly implemented" havoc. Jayant Sinha's editorial was on the lines of the BJP's response yesterday (September 27)in which it rejected Yashwant Sinha's criticism of the state of economy. The party had said the Indian economy was the fastest growing in the world and some "uncertainty" was bound to occur when "transformative" measures like demonetisation and the GST are taken. Top party leaders defended the economic situation. Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the Indian economy is the fastest growing in the world and the country's credibility has been established in the international arena under the Modi government. "The whole world admits that India is the fastest growing economy in the world. No one should forget this fact. In the matter of economy, in the international arena, India's credibility has been established," he told reporters in reference to Sinha's views. Senior party leader and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said the government would not flinch due to some criticism and "stay the course" as it works to transform the economy. "There is bound to be some uncertainty when some transformative changes are made. It (economy) may take some amount of time to absorb these changes but this will pass. Challenges come but we will stay the course. The government is steadfast in its resolve to end black money and corruption. It won't flinch due to some criticism," he said.

Structural reforms necessary: Jayant Sinha's rejoinder to father Yashwant Sinha

<p>Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday responded to allegations that he has &quot;botched&quot; the economy.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;Direct tax figures are 15.7% over and above last year&#39;s figure, so this so-called slowdown visualized by some, hasn&#39;t even impacted,&quot; he said.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Direct tax figures are 15.7% over &amp; above last year&#39;s figure, so this so called slow down visualized by some, hasn&#39;t even impacted: FM <a href="https://t.co/XdB6bNvWdE">pic.twitter.com/XdB6bNvWdE</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/913408652484083718?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WATCH</a>: FM Arun Jaitley addresses at a book launch event in Delhi <a href="https://t.co/1fE7SPNcdQ">https://t.co/1fE7SPNcdQ</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/913404768462106625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>The growth rate of the Indian economy has however fallen consistently over the last six quarters.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The blame for that has of late been directed at Jaitley, as has the blame for the two &quot;shocks&quot; of demonetisation and GST.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Jaitley said that demonetisation was meant to link the &quot;anonymous&quot; money operating in the market to its owner.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Demonetisation was to make sure that the anonymous tender which operated in market gets identified to its owner: FM Arun Jaitley <a href="https://t.co/BKndPtCmkm">pic.twitter.com/BKndPtCmkm</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/913406917732532230?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Jaitley added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi &quot;had a very strong agenda on creating a new normal as far as India&#39;s shadow economy was concerned&quot;.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Prime Minister had a very strong agenda on creating a new normal as far as India shadow economy was concerned: FM Arun Jaitley</p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/913408377161576448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Jaitley also took a potshot at former finance minister P Chidambaram.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;I must confess that I do not have the luxury as yet of being a former finance minister, nor do I have the luxury of being a former finance minister who has turned a columnist,&quot; he said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Chidambaram writes a weekly Sunday column for the Indian Express newspaper.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Jaitley also took a potshot at the Opposition Congress.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;I can conveniently forget a policy paralysis, 4 billion reserve left in 1991, and I can switch over and change a narrative,&quot; he said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;Small areas which paralysed, at least UPA 2, because of discretions being used and misused. We were completely able to distance ourself from these discretions,&quot; he added.&nbsp;</p>

<p>He also said that the Opposition had pushed for a delay of the GST rollout.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;Those who had pushed the country into policy paralysis, when they saw it (GST) coming, asked to postpone it,&quot; he said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>On India&#39;s black economy, Jaitley said &quot;It had corrupted us as a society, tarnished our image globally&quot;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;There was no way in India you could do business without relying on alternate mechanisms of payment,&quot; he added.&nbsp;</p>

<p>He also said that &quot;We gave opportunity to people to come clean about their accounts held abroad&quot;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>He added, &quot;Had announced this year, how do we legitimise political funding in India so underground funding itself comes to an end; now in final stages.&quot;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Had announced this year,how do we legitimize political funding in India so underground funding itself comes to an end;now in final stages:FM <a href="https://t.co/ZIhN2XFLks">pic.twitter.com/ZIhN2XFLks</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/913408058847518720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Jaitley had been&nbsp;speaking in Delhi at the launch of the book &quot;India at 70&quot;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;Probably a more apt title for the book would&#39;ve been &#39;India at 70, Modi at 3.5 and a job applicant at 80&#39;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Jaitley has come under severe attack of late for his handling of the economy.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The latest salvo was fired by former NDA finance minister Yashwant Sinha.</p>

<p>Sinha&#39;s salvo came in the form of an opinion article in Wednesday&#39;s Indian Express newspaper.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Sinha, in his piece, blamed Jaitley squarely for botching up the economy.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Sinha started his piece by saying: &quot;I shall be failing in my national duty if I did not speak up even now against the mess the finance minister has made of the economy. I am also convinced that what I am going to say reflects the sentiments of a large number of people in the BJP and elsewhere who are not speaking up out of fear.&quot;</p>

<p>He then went on to ask: &quot;So, what is the picture of the Indian economy today?,&quot; Sinha asked in his piece.</p>

<p>And to answer: &quot;Private investment has shrunk as never before in two decades, industrial production has all but collapsed, agriculture is in distress, construction industry, a big employer of the work force, is in the doldrums, the rest of the service sector is also in the slow lane, exports have dwindled, sector after sector of the economy is in distress, demonetisation has proved to be an unmitigated economic disaster, a badly conceived and poorly implemented GST has played havoc with businesses and sunk many of them and countless millions have lost their jobs with hardly any new opportunities coming the way of the new entrants to the labour market. For quarter after quarter, the growth rate of the economy has been declining until it reached the low of 5.7 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal, the lowest in three years.&quot;&nbsp;</p>

<p>The other person who has relentlessly attacked Jaitley recently is BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan&#39;s exit had also been preceded by a relentless attack on him by Swamy.&nbsp;</p>


Finance minister Arun Jaitley has recently been attacked relentlessly for his handling of the economy

Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday responded to allegations that he has "botched" the economy. "Direct tax figures are 15.7% over and above last year's figure, so this so-called slowdown visualized by some, hasn't even impacted," he said. Direct tax figures are 15.7% over & above last year's figure, so this so called slow down visualized by some, hasn't even impacted: FM pic.twitter.com/XdB6bNvWdE — ANI (@ANI) September 28, 2017 × #WATCH: FM Arun Jaitley addresses at a book launch event in Delhi https://t.co/1fE7SPNcdQ — ANI (@ANI) September 28, 2017 × The growth rate of the Indian economy has however fallen consistently over the last six quarters. The blame for that has of late been directed at Jaitley, as has the blame for the two "shocks" of demonetisation and GST. Jaitley said that demonetisation was meant to link the "anonymous" money operating in the market to its owner. Demonetisation was to make sure that the anonymous tender which operated in market gets identified to its owner: FM Arun Jaitley pic.twitter.com/BKndPtCmkm — ANI (@ANI) September 28, 2017 × Jaitley added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "had a very strong agenda on creating a new normal as far as India's shadow economy was concerned". Prime Minister had a very strong agenda on creating a new normal as far as India shadow economy was concerned: FM Arun Jaitley — ANI (@ANI) September 28, 2017 × Jaitley also took a potshot at former finance minister P Chidambaram. "I must confess that I do not have the luxury as yet of being a former finance minister, nor do I have the luxury of being a former finance minister who has turned a columnist," he said. Chidambaram writes a weekly Sunday column for the Indian Express newspaper. Jaitley also took a potshot at the Opposition Congress. "I can conveniently forget a policy paralysis, 4 billion reserve left in 1991, and I can switch over and change a narrative," he said. "Small areas which paralysed, at least UPA 2, because of discretions being used and misused. We were completely able to distance ourself from these discretions," he added. He also said that the Opposition had pushed for a delay of the GST rollout. "Those who had pushed the country into policy paralysis, when they saw it (GST) coming, asked to postpone it," he said. On India's black economy, Jaitley said "It had corrupted us as a society, tarnished our image globally". "There was no way in India you could do business without relying on alternate mechanisms of payment," he added. He also said that "We gave opportunity to people to come clean about their accounts held abroad". He added, "Had announced this year, how do we legitimise political funding in India so underground funding itself comes to an end; now in final stages." Had announced this year,how do we legitimize political funding in India so underground funding itself comes to an end;now in final stages:FM pic.twitter.com/ZIhN2XFLks — ANI (@ANI) September 28, 2017 × Jaitley had been speaking in Delhi at the launch of the book "India at 70". "Probably a more apt title for the book would've been 'India at 70, Modi at 3.5 and a job applicant at 80'. Jaitley has come under severe attack of late for his handling of the economy. The latest salvo was fired by former NDA finance minister Yashwant Sinha. Sinha's salvo came in the form of an opinion article in Wednesday's Indian Express newspaper. Sinha, in his piece, blamed Jaitley squarely for botching up the economy. Sinha started his piece by saying: "I shall be failing in my national duty if I did not speak up even now against the mess the finance minister has made of the economy. I am also convinced that what I am going to say reflects the sentiments of a large number of people in the BJP and elsewhere who are not speaking up out of fear." He then went on to ask: "So, what is the picture of the Indian economy today?," Sinha asked in his piece. And to answer: "Private investment has shrunk as never before in two decades, industrial production has all but collapsed, agriculture is in distress, construction industry, a big employer of the work force, is in the doldrums, the rest of the service sector is also in the slow lane, exports have dwindled, sector after sector of the economy is in distress, demonetisation has proved to be an unmitigated economic disaster, a badly conceived and poorly implemented GST has played havoc with businesses and sunk many of them and countless millions have lost their jobs with hardly any new opportunities coming the way of the new entrants to the labour market. For quarter after quarter, the growth rate of the economy has been declining until it reached the low of 5.7 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal, the lowest in three years." The other person who has relentlessly attacked Jaitley recently is BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy. Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan's exit had also been preceded by a relentless attack on him by Swamy.

WATCH: 'Slowdown visualised by some has not even impacted', says Arun Jaitley

<p>The Nifty rose 0.7 per cent on Monday to close above 10,000 points for the first time in more than a month, as automakers such as Maruti Suzuki Ltd gained after an increase in the goods and services tax was less wide-ranging than expected.</p>

<p>The BSE Sensex climbed 0.61 per cent to 31,882.16, while the broader NSE Nifty rose 0.72 per cent to 10,006.05, closing above the 10,000 level for the first time since August 7.</p>

<p>Shares of Maruti Suzuki closed 2.15 per cent higher. Meanwhile, IndusInd Bank Ltd rallied 5.6 per cent after saying it had entered into exclusive talks with Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd for a potential merger.</p>


Automakers such as Maruti Suzuki Ltd gained after an increase in the goods and services tax was less wide-ranging than expected.

The Nifty rose 0.7 per cent on Monday to close above 10,000 points for the first time in more than a month, as automakers such as Maruti Suzuki Ltd gained after an increase in the goods and services tax was less wide-ranging than expected. The BSE Sensex climbed 0.61 per cent to 31,882.16, while the broader NSE Nifty rose 0.72 per cent to 10,006.05, closing above the 10,000 level for the first time since August 7. Shares of Maruti Suzuki closed 2.15 per cent higher. Meanwhile, IndusInd Bank Ltd rallied 5.6 per cent after saying it had entered into exclusive talks with Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd for a potential merger.

Nifty closes at over one-month high

<p>Teary-eyed commentators have already beaten their chests hollow on how the twin curses of Demonetisation and implementation of the Goods &amp; Services Tax have slowed India&#39;s economic engine to a mere 5.7 per cent expansion. The Opposition has already gone for the government&#39;s jugular for these two apparent self-goals and everyone on Dalal Street is anxious to know whether the ongoing bull market in stock prices will continue or not.&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>The economy is in a temporary trough and just paused a bit in a bid to accelerate further.</h5>
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<p>So, what really happened and what is in store for India&#39;s economy, arguably the finest that is there in the global space as of now. Well, some of the brightest are missing the fine print: the economy is in a temporary trough and just paused a bit in a bid to accelerate further. It&#39;s the proverbial arrow that is pulled back on the bow before it hits the Bulls Eye.</p>

<p>Often, when all the chips are down, it is Bollywood that saves the day: Therefore, &quot;Picture abhi baaki hai, mere dost&quot;! Such is the resilience of the Indian economy that it will ensure growth returns in leaps and bounds. And there are enough economic indicators that are pointing to it.</p>

<p>True, second quarter GDP slowed to 5.7 per cent as companies cleaned up inventories and refused to manufacture on a large scale as the newly minted GST came into effect on July 1st. Since tax rates were to change largely<strong> </strong>for the better, sensible manufacturers thought it best to pause their production units for a while. That is the reason why you see manufacturing slowing to just 1.2 per cent growth during April-June versus 5.3 per cent in January-March.</p>

<p>There are two parts of the story: the reasons why GDP expansion slowed to its lowest since October 2014 are heavy interest burden on leading corporates owing to large borrowings; an appreciating rupee that has hit exports and, in turn, lowered capacity utilisation and banks that are under severe stress and are unable to lend due to ballooning non-performing assets.&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>The manufacturing PMI index for August, one of the most important measures to track economic expansion, is at 51.2, indicating that the underlying GDP is alive, well and, in fact, growing.</h5>
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<p>These factors have more or less stalled investments in capacity expansion. Therefore, growth slowed on the industrial side. A booming agricultural production also ensured that food prices at the farm level fell, thereby, resulting in agricultural growth slowing as well in the months of April to June.</p>

<p>In any case, most economists had more or less written off two-quarters of GDP expansion post-November 2016, when the government introduced demonetisation by sucking out 86 per cent of the currency float.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Now, look at how high-frequency economic indicators, such as monthly sales of motorcycles, personal vehicles, medium and heavy vehicles, diesel and petrol consumption, steel and cement sales/production, coal and rail freight statistics etc have been performing during July and August. They are all trending HIGHER. Similarly, the manufacturing PMI index for August, one of the most important measures to track economic expansion, is at 51.2, indicating that the underlying GDP is alive, well and, in fact, growing.</p>

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<h5>My bet is that GDP will accelerate to an average 7.4 per cent in the next two quarters.</h5>
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<p>And how does the economic landscape look from here till March 2018?</p>

<p>* My bet is that GDP will accelerate to an average 7.4 per cent in the next two quarters.<br />
* Companies, stores, malls and mom-and-pop shops will restock goods. The good effects of the ongoing remonetisation are already visible in hotels, construction and transportation sectors.&nbsp;<br />
* Consumption enters a higher trajectory as states implement salary increases recommended by the 7th Pay Commission. Therefore, disposable incomes rise.<br />
* The lag effects of lower interest rates start reflecting on corporate balance sheets, consumption levels and on banks&#39; non-performing assets.<br />
* The government kick starts spending, thanks to higher tax collections and aggressive asset sales in the stock markets.<br />
* The markets head higher as the government implements more reforms, further liberalises FDI and clamps down on black money.<br />
* And finally, a normal monsoon, inflation targeting by the central bank, ongoing digitisation and financial inclusion will go a long way in improving GDP in the medium term.</p>

<p>Great nation-states and sustainable economies are not made or broken in one or two quarters. India&#39;s economic trajectory is up despite minor blips. For those of us who have been watching this great nation take massive economic strides in the past three decades, a modest pull back is an opportunity to load up on some serious stocks. And for those who have perennially waged a war on the state, may I say: you shall lose again. No one has won a bet by going short in India. No one will.</p>


For those of us who have been watching this great nation take massive economic strides in the past three decades, a modest pull back is an opportunity to load up on some serious stocks.

Teary-eyed commentators have already beaten their chests hollow on how the twin curses of Demonetisation and implementation of the Goods & Services Tax have slowed India's economic engine to a mere 5.7 per cent expansion. The Opposition has already gone for the government's jugular for these two apparent self-goals and everyone on Dalal Street is anxious to know whether the ongoing bull market in stock prices will continue or not. The economy is in a temporary trough and just paused a bit in a bid to accelerate further. × So, what really happened and what is in store for India's economy, arguably the finest that is there in the global space as of now. Well, some of the brightest are missing the fine print: the economy is in a temporary trough and just paused a bit in a bid to accelerate further. It's the proverbial arrow that is pulled back on the bow before it hits the Bulls Eye. Often, when all the chips are down, it is Bollywood that saves the day: Therefore, "Picture abhi baaki hai, mere dost"! Such is the resilience of the Indian economy that it will ensure growth returns in leaps and bounds. And there are enough economic indicators that are pointing to it. True, second quarter GDP slowed to 5.7 per cent as companies cleaned up inventories and refused to manufacture on a large scale as the newly minted GST came into effect on July 1st. Since tax rates were to change largely for the better, sensible manufacturers thought it best to pause their production units for a while. That is the reason why you see manufacturing slowing to just 1.2 per cent growth during April-June versus 5.3 per cent in January-March. There are two parts of the story: the reasons why GDP expansion slowed to its lowest since October 2014 are heavy interest burden on leading corporates owing to large borrowings; an appreciating rupee that has hit exports and, in turn, lowered capacity utilisation and banks that are under severe stress and are unable to lend due to ballooning non-performing assets. The manufacturing PMI index for August, one of the most important measures to track economic expansion, is at 51.2, indicating that the underlying GDP is alive, well and, in fact, growing. × These factors have more or less stalled investments in capacity expansion. Therefore, growth slowed on the industrial side. A booming agricultural production also ensured that food prices at the farm level fell, thereby, resulting in agricultural growth slowing as well in the months of April to June. In any case, most economists had more or less written off two-quarters of GDP expansion post-November 2016, when the government introduced demonetisation by sucking out 86 per cent of the currency float. Now, look at how high-frequency economic indicators, such as monthly sales of motorcycles, personal vehicles, medium and heavy vehicles, diesel and petrol consumption, steel and cement sales/production, coal and rail freight statistics etc have been performing during July and August. They are all trending HIGHER. Similarly, the manufacturing PMI index for August, one of the most important measures to track economic expansion, is at 51.2, indicating that the underlying GDP is alive, well and, in fact, growing. My bet is that GDP will accelerate to an average 7.4 per cent in the next two quarters. × And how does the economic landscape look from here till March 2018? * My bet is that GDP will accelerate to an average 7.4 per cent in the next two quarters. * Companies, stores, malls and mom-and-pop shops will restock goods. The good effects of the ongoing remonetisation are already visible in hotels, construction and transportation sectors. * Consumption enters a higher trajectory as states implement salary increases recommended by the 7th Pay Commission. Therefore, disposable incomes rise. * The lag effects of lower interest rates start reflecting on corporate balance sheets, consumption levels and on banks' non-performing assets. * The government kick starts spending, thanks to higher tax collections and aggressive asset sales in the stock markets. * The markets head higher as the government implements more reforms, further liberalises FDI and clamps down on black money. * And finally, a normal monsoon, inflation targeting by the central bank, ongoing digitisation and financial inclusion will go a long way in improving GDP in the medium term. Great nation-states and sustainable economies are not made or broken in one or two quarters. India's economic trajectory is up despite minor blips. For those of us who have been watching this great nation take massive economic strides in the past three decades, a modest pull back is an opportunity to load up on some serious stocks. And for those who have perennially waged a war on the state, may I say: you shall lose again. No one has won a bet by going short in India. No one will.

The worst is over when it comes to slowing GDP growth

<p>The Union Cabinet has approved a GST Council proposal to<a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/suvs-luxury-cars-to-cost-more-as-gst-council-approves-hike-in-cess-18666" target="_blank"> hike cess on mid-sized, large cars and SUVs</a> to 25 per cent from 15 per cent.</p>

<p>Under the GST regime, cars are taxed at the highets tax bracket of 28 per cent. The cess is over an above that and helps in buildinga corpus to compensate the states for any loss in the implementation of GST.</p>

<p>The earlier cess of 15 per cent led to a reduction in prices vis-a-vis total incidence in pre-GST regime.</p>

<p>After the GST was introduced, prices of most of the SUVs were cut between Rs 1.1 lakh and Rs 3 lakh.</p>

<p>With the additional cess getting Cabinet&#39;s nod, the prices of SUVs and luxury segment vehicles are set to rise.<br />
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The rate has been hiked to 25% from the earlier 15%

The Union Cabinet has approved a GST Council proposal to hike cess on mid-sized, large cars and SUVs to 25 per cent from 15 per cent. Under the GST regime, cars are taxed at the highets tax bracket of 28 per cent. The cess is over an above that and helps in buildinga corpus to compensate the states for any loss in the implementation of GST. The earlier cess of 15 per cent led to a reduction in prices vis-a-vis total incidence in pre-GST regime. After the GST was introduced, prices of most of the SUVs were cut between Rs 1.1 lakh and Rs 3 lakh. With the additional cess getting Cabinet's nod, the prices of SUVs and luxury segment vehicles are set to rise.

Union Cabinet approves hike in cess on luxury cars, SUVs

<p>The government has managed to mop-up a revenue of Rs 92,283 crore in the first month of the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/india-finalises-four-gst-rates-15791" target="_blank">Goods and Services Tax</a> which came into effect from July 1 this year.</p>

<p>The revenue figures came from just 64.42 per cent of the total taxpayer base.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;The 64.42 per cent taxpayers have paid Rs 92,283 crore in taxes for July,&quot; finance minister Arun Jaitley said.</p>

<p>The implementation of the Goods and Services tax, which replaced most of the indirect taxes, is one of the biggest tax reforms in the country.</p>

<p>The GST regime is expected to usher in more compliance by taxpayers and increase the economic growth rate of the country.<br />
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The revenue figures came from just 64.42% of the total tax payer base

The government has managed to mop-up a revenue of Rs 92,283 crore in the first month of the Goods and Services Tax which came into effect from July 1 this year. The revenue figures came from just 64.42 per cent of the total taxpayer base. "The 64.42 per cent taxpayers have paid Rs 92,283 crore in taxes for July," finance minister Arun Jaitley said. The implementation of the Goods and Services tax, which replaced most of the indirect taxes, is one of the biggest tax reforms in the country. The GST regime is expected to usher in more compliance by taxpayers and increase the economic growth rate of the country.

Government mops up Rs 92,283 crore in first month of GST

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