The Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by IHS Markit, jumped to 56.8 in September from 52.0 in August, above the 50-level separating growth from contraction for a second straight month. It was the highest reading since January 2012.
In a statement, the ministry said, the Board has provided financial assistance to 360 infrastructure development projects so far with an estimated cost of Rs 31,464 crore, out of which, Rs 15,105 crore has been sanctioned as loan.
The cities are Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai. House prices in Bengaluru, Kochi, Ahmedabad and Lucknow increased during the quarter on sequential basis.
The output of eight core infrastructure sectors dropped 8.5% in August compared to 8% contraction in July, data released on Wednesday showed.
Net tax receipts were 2.84 trillion rupees, while total expenditure was 12.5 trillion rupees, the data showed, indicating the government was facing a fall in tax receipts amid a rise in spending to combat the impact of the coronavirus.
"CBDT issues refunds of over Rs 1,18,324 crore to more than 33.54 lakh taxpayers between 1st April, 2020 to 29th September,2020. Income tax refunds of Rs 32,230 crore have been issued in 31,75,358 cases & corporate tax refunds of Rs 86,094 crore have been issued in 1,78,540 cases," the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) tweeted.
The All-India CPI-IW for August 2020 increased by 2 points to 338. On one-month percentage change, it increased by (+) 0.60 per cent between July and August 2020 compared to (+) 0.31 per cent rise between corresponding months of the previous year. The maximum upward pressure in current index came from Food group, contributing (+) 1.14 percentage points to the total change.
"The surplus in the current account in Q1 of 2020-21 was on account of a sharp contraction in the trade deficit to $10.0 billion due to steeper decline in merchandise imports relative to exports on a year-on-year basis," Reserve Bank of India said.
The economy has been in tatters ever since the pandemic set in, leading to all-encompassing lockdowns. As of now, jobless rates are hovering around double digits. GDP has just witnessed it worst trough in decades, with equally dire — if not worse — numbers forecasted for the rest of the year. Yet, the stock markets seem to be on an entrenched bull run.
The move will be beneficial for taxpayers, experts said. "Extension of GST annual compliances would give them some breathing space, else am sure not many would have been able to meet both the deadlines” said Harpreet Singh, partner for indirect tax at KPMG India.
The state ranks lowest in the country's discoms ratings and is among the large defaulting power consumers. It hasn't raised its tariffs in the last six years but will now have to bring in operational and financial efficiencies to meet loan pre-disbursement conditions, including reduction of the gap between revenue and costs in 3-4 years.
The MCA had introduced the schemes in March that provided companies and LLPs with an opportunity to make good on any delays in filings and reduced the burden of additional fees to enable them to be fully compliant with the law.
The road transport ministry has approved the formula for initiating the mandatory recall of vehicles of a particular model, if there are complaints of identical defects.
So far, 48 sections of the Act have been decriminalised and 23 of the remaining 66 compoundable offences can be dealt with by an in-house adjudicating mechanism. Total penal provisions under the Act have been brought down to 124 from 134 earlier. Fines for various offences have also been brought down in the latest set of changes.
Covid created various operational and financial challenges for Indian businesses. During the lockdown, approximately 71.31% of the businesses dealt with reduced cash flows with the manufacturing sector being the worst hit. Additionally, delay and cancellation of projects have also been a major cause of concern, especially in the tertiary sectors.
The letter also gave a proposal to initiate a quarterly reconciliation process and instruct all the departmental offices to complete the reconciliation process at the earliest for the first quarter of the current fiscal.
Under the scheme, the government has extended twice the interest subvention that comes up to Rs 4,600 crore for a loan amount of Rs 22,000 crore.
The latest amendments coming to effect from Monday also allowed a certain class of public companies to list overseas directly, increasing the range of foreign funds Indian companies can access.
Many Indian companies with foreign subsidiaries whose directors or senior executives are stranded in India due to the pandemic are now worried that they may have domestic tax implications under the place of effective management (PoEM) rule.
Only about 50% or less of the household income of cultivating farmer comes from farming with the rest made up of wages, off-farm and non-farm work. Therefore, nonfarm sources of income are suggested to be crucial for small farmer families to escape poverty or earn a decent livelihood.
India's geostrategic position and massive market size give it an edge over its global peers amid the fundamental political realignment of nations taking shape, Adani said adding opportunities for India are likely to accelerate on the other side of the pandemic.
Experts feel while certification is important to help our existing workforce get better work and wages, the rush to achieve targets has come at the cost of skilling, which was the main focus under the Skill India Mission.
While the Centre’s deficit is expected to touch Rs 17.8 lakh crore against the target of Rs 8 lakh crore, the states are likely to record a deficit of Rs 7.73 lakh crore over the budgeted Rs 6.35 lakh crore, the agency said in a report on Monday.
The term of the three external members in the MPC which are appointed by the government ended earlier this month and the government has not yet made any fresh appointments.
Participating in the webinar 'India- Arkansas Partnership: Food Processing, Logistics and Manufacturing', Governor Hutchinson said trade opportunities in Arkansas and India, and collaboration in them would be beneficial for both economies.
Parliament had last week passed the three labour bills related to industrial relation, social security and occupational safety, health and working conditions. Following this, all trade unions including the RSS-affiliate Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh have opposed the bills saying they will firm up plans to protest against these bills in coming days.
Chief Minister Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chauhan presided over the function, attended by Union Ministers Faggan Singh Kulaste, MoS Road Transport and Highways V K Singh, local MPs, MLAs, senior officers from the centre and the State.
Some mills faced difficulty in exporting during the current COVID-19 pandemic as they could not move their stock due to movement restrictions in some places, said Joint Secretary, Food Ministry.
A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan noted that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta has informed the court that the issues are under active consideration by the government, and it is likely that a decision may be taken within two or three days.A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan noted that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta has informed the court that the issues are under active consideration by the government, and it is likely that a decision may be taken within two or three days.
Modi’s government didn’t invent the capricious Indian state, but it hasn’t lessened uncertainty or cut red tape. Neither for small startups, nor for large global investors.
These proposals, ranging from early to growthstage investments, are on hold or are being moved between various departments and ministries as the government continues to maintain strict curbs on capital inflow from Beijing and Hong Kong.
High Covid-19 cases and localised lockdowns to contain the spread are dampening demand, according to most of the respondents in an ET poll of 10 economists.
Adani Wilmar, which sells cooking oil under Fortune brand, and Mother Dairy that markets edible oils under Dhara brand, hailed the decision, saying it will benefit both farmers and consumers.
"Each ministry has been sent those sectors to identify their response. What incentives they (sectors) need, what policy tweaking is required, they (respective ministries) should do that. We have given them a preliminary action plan and the ministries will work on that. Each ministry will bring its own policy on these sectors," the commerce and industry ministry official said.
"Maharashtra produces 90 to 100 lakh tonnes of sugar every year. We are moving ahead to cut the production by 10 lakh tonnes every year, and take up ethanol production and provide it to petroleum companies," Maharashtra State Co-operative Sugar Factories Federation Chairman Jayprakash Dandegaonkar said.
The investigation by India's Directorate General of Trade Remedies, the investigative arm of the commerce ministry, could result in these imports facing countervailing duties, said a government circular posted on Friday.
"This is a new retail price intervention mechanism which has been approved by the Group of Ministers recently. Under this initiative, the central government will provide processed moong and urad to state governments either in bulk quantity or in one or half kilo pack for retail sale," Consumer Affairs Secretary Leena Nandan said.
Parliament in its just concluded session passed three labour code bills: the Industrial Relations Code, the Social Security Code, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code.
Vast sums are being spent on expensive western-type infrastructure, without any visible improvement in people’s lives. The Rs 600 billion Golden Quadrilateral connects the four largest Indian cities with high-speed 6-lane highways. Rail expansion is also underway. Manufacturing hubs and industrial zones continue to be established in ecologically sensitive areas in Himachal and the Northeast.
Surveys show 42% of farmers want to move out of it. Between 1970-71 and 2015-16, the number of farms more than doubled from 71 million to 145 million while the average farm size more than halved from 2.28 hectares to 1.08. The main solution lies in moving people out of agriculture into manufacturing and services. Other measures are only palliatives.
The existing legislations mandate the RBI to come out with a growth and inflation forecast twice in an interval of six-months in the monetary policy report.
Orders have also been issued for grant of family pension to a 'divyang' child or sibling even if the disability certificate is produced after the death of the pensioner parent but the disability had occurred before the death of the parents, the minister said.
As the grandfathering is to be allowed by comparing different values (such as cost, sale price and market price as on 31 January 2018) for each shares or units, there is a need to capture the scrip wise details for computing capital gains of these shares or units, the Board added.
Fortification of edible oil will ensure that people belonging to different socio-economic strata have easy access to fortified edible oil across the country, FSSAI CEO Arun Singhal said.
Sri Lanka owes about $960 million to India and earlier this year India agreed to a $400 million currency swap facility for Sri Lanka until November 2022. An additional request for a bilateral currency swap arrangement worth around $1 billion by the Sri Lankan side remains under discussion.
"In all earnest there has been no diversion of funds... the time taken in reconciliation of compensation receipts can’t be termed as diversion of GST Cess Fund when the dues to states were fully released by the Central government," a senior official said.
The two sides will draw up a biennial work plan to implement the MoU which will include detailed planning for carrying out cooperation activities, including scope of action, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said in a statement.
According to the ministry, state procuring agencies including Food Corporation of India (FCI) are in a state of readiness for smoothly undertaking procurement operations. The Centre has fixed MSP for 'common variety' paddy at Rs 1,868 per quintal and for 'A' grade variety at Rs 1,888 per quintal for the current year.
UK businesses such as BT, Diageo, Chivas Brothers, PwC, HSBC and Standard Chartered are already significant investors in West Bengal.
