Apple to make iPhones in Bengaluru

Breaking News - The world's most valuable company Apple is looking at Bengaluru to set up an iPhone manufacturing plant, as it looks to replicate its China success in the fastest growing smartphone market in the world.

Apple is turning to Taiwanese contract manufacturer Wistron, which will utilise PC-maker Acer's facility, a top government source confirmed. Wistron was spun off as a separate legal entity from Acer in 2002, focusing on the original device manufacturer market.

"They have taken an Acer facility here. The initial plan is to make iPhones for the domestic market and then we can look at exports," said a government official, who did not want to be named. "The domestic manufacturing policy is clear.. they will be entitled for all incentives under that," the official added.

Wistron has, in the past, won contracts to build Apple's affordable iPhone 5c and iPhone SE models. According to a recent report in Chinese publication Economic Daily News, Wistron would be the third assembler of iPhones for upcoming models, joining Pegatron and Foxconn.

Wistron's board approved the proposal for the Bengaluru unit early this week and it would take around four months to begin production, another official said.

Foxconn, another Taiwanese firm, is also looking at setting up factories for Apple in India, but has not firmed up any plans.(Read More)

Post demonetisation: UP elections will be the real test for Modi and BJP

Breaking news - In the normal course, politics is a careful, cautious and calibrated profession. When in the government, politicians tend to turn even more conservative and risk-averse. Given this context, the demonetisation announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not fit the conventional mould. Why did he go ahead with it? What were his motivations?

As even his opponents have been forced to concede today, the economy had been repaired significantly in the past two years. The fiscal health of the government was an ocean apart from the profligacy of the UPA years. Foreign investment had picked up. Consumption was slowly beginning to regain lost ground. Domestic private sector investment and job creation remained a problem, but there was hope that the passage and implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) would indicate a more broad-based recovery by 2019, when Modi led the BJP into its re-election campaign.

Modi was in as sweet a spot as is possible for an Indian prime minister in mid-term. Why then did he plunge into this massive disruption, one that was unprecedented in a healthy as opposed to a collapsing or inflation-assaulted economy and the consequences of which could be guessed and surmised but never accurately forecasted? The answer lies in a single word: belief.(Read More)

Immediately return confidential papers: Tata Sons to Mistry

Breaking News - After accusing former chairman Cyrus Mistry of breaching confidentiality rules, Tata Sons on Thursday asked the ousted chairman to return all classified papers and sign an undertaking within 48 hours that he would not disclose such information in future.

In the second legal notice in three days, Tata Sons alleged that Mistry had "wrongfully and dishonestly" taken confidential information out of the company premises without consent.

It asked him to "immediately return to the company all confidential information" in his possession and "not retain copies" of the same.

Asking him to cease from use or disclosure of confidential information, the holding company of the $103-billion salt-to-software group also asked Mistry to sign an undertaking within 48 hours that he "shall preserve the confidentiality of all the confidential information and not use or disclose" to anyone, including affiliates, relatives and family members.(Read More)

Deadline for depositing your old Rs 500, Rs 1,000 notes ends today

Breaking News -The deadline to deposit old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in banks ends on Friday. From next week onward, those still holding the scrapped currency can deposit it only with the Reserve Bank of India till March 31, 2017.

After March 31, holding demonetised notes would be illegal and could invite hefty fines, according to an ordinance passed by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address the nation on Saturday after his self-imposed deadline of 50-days for the situation to return to normal ends.

While some people are hoping for an extension in the deadline, the government maintained it had no plans to do so.

Modi had on November 8 announced that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 rupee notes would no longer be legal tender.(Read More)

Demonetisation: As Indian tourists stay home, Dubai's gold trade suffers

Breaking News - Demonetisation's impact has travelled all the way to Dubai as Indian tourists are avoiding foreign tours since November. Among popular destinations, Dubai has been one of the easiest, nearest and cheapest. The immediate casualty has been gold demand in Dubai by Indian tourists.

Dubai’s famous Gold Souq, a prime market for the yellow metal and similar to India's Zaveri Bazar in Mumbai or Manek Chok in Ahmedabad, which houses many prominent wholesale and retail jewellers, has seen a plunge in gold jewellery demand from Indian tourists. 

Demonetisation - Buying jewellery from Dubai was lucrative for Indian tourists due to the trustworthy purity of gold and ease of using unaccounted money by buying Dubai's currency, the Dirham, with some premium in the hawala market. Further, Customs duty of 10 per cent can be avoided when reasonable jewellery is worn by tourists. 

A Dubai-based jeweller, who runs a chain of jewellery shop including a show room in Dubai's gold souq, said on the condition of anonymity that "Indian tourists' share in Dubai gold demand is around 15-20 per cent and that has been affected." He said that the overall flow of Indian tourists has come down in Dubai. Other than jewellery, electronic gadgets like costly cell phones, laptops and DSLR cameras etc are the other items on an Indian tourist's shopping list in Dubai.(Read More)

2016: Demonetisation, piracy disappoint Bollywood box office result

Breaking News - Only eight out of the approximately 230 Hindi films released in 2016 surpassed the glorified Rs 100 crore ($14.5 million) club in India, giving the industry only an average tally of around Rs 2,700 crore, according to industry insiders.

This, in a year when the central government's demonetisation move in early November disturbed the projected earnings for some movies, when piracy ate into some films' business and when some producers got into a tussle with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

Barring Shah Rukh Khan, whose "Fan" did not prove to be like most of the superstar's box office wonders, Bollywood other A-listers, including Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar, had a bright year with their films raking in the moolah and making it to the Rs 100 crore club.

There is no centralised agency to record Bollywood's box office numbers. But going by film trade experts and industry sources, Salman registered good returns with "Sultan", Akshay won the audiences' hearts with "Airlift", "Housefull 3" and "Rustom", and Aamir's "Dangal" Christmas release added to the festive season's celebratory mood.(Read More)

Apple's iPhone, iPad a big hit this holiday season, beat Samsung

Breaking News - The holiday season was a big hit for Apple's iPhone, as Yahoo-owned research firm Flurry revealed that during the critical shopping period between December 19 to 25, Apple's iPhone and iPad accounted for 44 per cent of all mobile activations - much higher than Samsung.

The research firm also revealed that Samsung saw its many devices combine to account for 21 per cent of all activations during the period, while Huawei was in third place with three per cent market share, followed by several other manufacturers, including LG and Amazon, at two per cent share each.

According to a report in the Fortune on Thursday, Apple appears to be the single leader during the last week of holiday shopping as the data shared by the Flurry gives a picture from December 19 only, therefore not offering any clear idea about the rest of the holiday shopping season.

Last year, Apple's devices accounted for 49.1 per cent of all activations during the same period while Samsung last year accounted for 19.8 per cent of all activations.

"Part of Apple's troubles in 2016 might have been a shift in how consumers are spending money on new mobile devices. Between December 19 and 25, full-size tablets like the iPad Pro or iPad Air 2 only accounted for 9 per cent of all mobile device purchases. In 2013, their share of sales stood at 17 per cent," the report added.(Read More)

Demonetisation: PM Narendra Modi to address nation before New Year

Breaking News - With the 50-day period for depositing of demonetised notes expiring tomorrow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address the nation before the dawn of the New Year.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address the nation before dawn of the New Year," sources said.

However, it was not clear as to whether he would address the nation on Friday or Saturday.

In his address, the Prime Minister may speak about the roadmap post the demonetisation period especially on the steps likely to be taken to ease cash flow that has been a major problem ever since demonetisation took place.

He may also speak on the steps to deal with the problems the economy faces after the demonetisation was announced on November 8.

The Prime Minister in his public meetings in the last few weeks has been urging the people to bear with the pain following the government's decision and that it would start easing gradually once the 50-day period is over.

On Tuesday, Modi met economists and experts at a meeting in Niti Aayog to discuss the current economic situation.(Read More)

HUL pads up to take on Ramdev's Patanjali

Breaking News - As Patanjali Ayurved, Baba Ramdev’s pet project to counter growing influence of the multinational corporates in the domestic consumer goods space, continues to bombard the market with new products, rivals are gearing up to throw a tough challenge to the challenger. 

Hindustan Unilever (HUL), the largest Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) firm in the country is latest to join the battle. The FMCG major which already has a vast portfolio of personal care brands — from shampoos and anti-aging creams to toothpastes and deodorants — is set to enter Baba’s den with mass market herbal-natural portfolio. And to counter the surging tide of herbal-natural products in the country, led by Patanjali, HUL is banking on an old horse from its stable–Lever Ayush. It plans to launch a range of personal care products, priced between Rs 30 and Rs 130, under the brand.

Once launched, the range will directly compete with Patanjali’s personal care products that are priced below its competitors’. It has a wide range of such products – from face pack, face wash and winter creams to shaving gel, body lotion and lip balm. According to Ramdev, its current supply fails to feed the market demand and the firm is thus coming up with new manufacturing facilities across the country to meet growing demand.(Read More)

Failed expectations? Tax mop-up may decline in new amnesty scheme

Breaking News - The government might receive Rs 5,500 crore as tax by those declaring hitherto undisclosed in the amnesty scheme that closes next March.

The government received Rs 6,800 crore as tax in a scheme that ended in September, lower than the initially expected Rs 7,500 crore.

Those declaring unaccounted wealth till September were allowed to pay 25% of the tax amount in two installments by November 30 and March 31 and 50% in a third installment by September 30, 2017. Many evaders paid the entire tax due by using demonetisation Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, an official said. “Many people have overpaid the first instalment. 

Some have even paid the full amount due, while others have paid 50% or 70%. They used this as an opportunity to discard their old notes,” the official added.

Those declaring undisclosed income in the previous scheme had to pay 45% of the declared amount as taxes, penalty and surcharge. Although the government earlier said it had verified disclosures of Rs 67,382 crore, declarations of over Rs 10,000 crore were cancelled. This was higher than the Rs 65,250 crore announced by the government a day after the scheme closed.(Read More)

Cabinet clears Ordinance, heavy fine for holders of old notes

Breaking News - Two days before the deadline for depositing old 500- and 1,000-rupee notes expires, the Cabinet on Wednesday approved promulgation of an Ordinance to make possession of a large number of scrapped banknotes a penal offence that will attract monetary fine.

The Specified Bank Notes Cessation of Liabilities Ordinance makes holding of old 1,000- and 500-rupee notes after March 31 beyond a threshold amount a criminal offence that will attract a monetary fine of Rs 10,000 or five times the cash held, whichever is higher.

Furnishing wrong information while depositing the old currency between January 1 and March 31 will attract a fine of Rs 5,000 or five times the amount.

Official sources said the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Ordinance, but did not say if the penal provisions will apply to holding the junked currency after the 50-day window to deposit them at banks ends on December 30 or after March 31, till which time deposit of old currency notes at specified branches of the Reserve Bank after submitting a declaration form is open.

The Ordinance also provides for amending the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act to provide legislative support for extinguishing the demonetisation banknotes that are not returned.

While the high-denomination currency ceased to be a legal tender from midnight of November 8, 2016, a mere notification was thought to be not enough to end the central bank's liability and avoiding future litigations.(Read More)

Demonetisation was a move towards formal economy: Arvind Panagariya

Breaking News - Expressing their support for the November 8 demonetisation of high-value currency that has resulted in a major cash crunch, a group of experts on Tuesday told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the move help to strengthen the process of formalising the Indian economy, the major part of which is organised informally.

"Demonetisation was discussed as a move towards formal economy," NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya said, briefing reporters following Modi's interaction here with a set of noted economists at a session on "Economic Policy - The Road Ahead" organised by the think-tank.

"All the speakers stressed the need to bring workers and activity into the formal sector," Panagariya said in reference to the stated aims of the November 8 demonetisation announcement for curbing corruption, black money, counterfeit currency and terror financing.

Complementing the demonetisation process is the government's drive to promote digital transactions and a less cash economy so as to move from the informal to greater formalisation of the economic system.(Read More)

Price wars: Reliance Jio versus the rest in telecom battle

Breaking News - For a sector seeing double-digit revenue growth over recent years, FY16 marked a reversal. At Rs 2 lakh crore, the sector grew by six% ; it was nearly double this in FY11-15. Revenue growth for the September was only 4.3% over the year-ago period.

What is hurting the sector, riding high on strong voice growth and robust subscriber addition, is intense competition over the past 18 months. What has aggravated this is the entry of Reliance Jio (RJio), offering free voice and data services, from September. Despite reduction in the number of operators in the recent mergers of Reliance Communications-Aircel and Airtel acquiring spectrum from Videocon, competitive intensity remains high.

Amid all this, the top three have consolidated their market shares and now account for 75% of the overall revenue pie. The September quarter number is up 200 basis points (bps) over the year-before period.
In fact, Bharti’s market share at 33% is at a seven-year high. Among the others, Vodafonehas held on to its share of about 23.4%; Idea Cellular has slid. Revenue market share for Idea was down 50 bps year-on-year in the September quarter to 18.7%, partly attributable to its decision to raise prices in the March quarter.(Read More)

Burden of proof on Mistry as battle lines form for Tata legal showdown

Breaking News - As India's biggest corporate showdown heads from the boardroom to the courtroom and brings in a Who's Who of the country's legal profession, ousted Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry vows a multi-layered battle for governance reforms at the $100 billion conglomerate, people close to him say.

Mistry, who was dismissed from his post in October and has since left boards at other Tata group companies, will step up his legal fight with patriarch Ratan Tata and others and make his case in any regulatory investigations into the Tata group, three people familiar with Mistry's strategy said.

Mistry has so far broadly laid out three sets of allegations: breaches of governance within the Tata group; misconduct at Tata ventures; and the illegality of his ouster.

"If all of those are put together, it paints a picture - of mis-governance and misappropriation," said one of those people. "I think there will be different elements, which will all be looked at in different forums."

Tata Sons, the holding company with stakes in listed firms operating in a range of industries, denies Mistry's allegations and says it has followed the highest standards of corporate governance.(Read More)

Penalty for old notes? Cabinet to take up Dec 30 cut-off ordinance today

Breaking News - The Union Cabinet is likely on Wednesday to take up an ordinance to extinguish the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes not returned to banks by Friday, December 30.

Such a move will help bring a much-needed clarity to the centre’s estimates of the demonetisation amount that has come back to the banking system a senior official said. The ordinance will likely specify December 30 as the deadline to deposit the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes that the government had rendered invalid with Modi’s announcement on November 8.

"It is important to specify December 30 as the deadline as we will count the money till that date that has come back to the banking system for our future calculations,” the official told reporters in New Delhi and added that this would bring more certainty to the Budget calculation for 2017-18.

“If we do not put an end date on the legal character of the old notes, they can be infinitely valid as a legal tender. The government wants certainty on the estimate of the money flowing back. A cut-off date for all deposits will help,” the person said.(Read More)

Apple aims to expand in Southeast Asia, partners with Foxconn

Breaking News - In an effort to expand its market to Southeast Asia, technology giant Apple has partnered with Taiwanese electronics major Foxconn, media reports said.

According to a report on DigiTimes on Monday that cited a Chinese-language Economic Daily News report, Apple is expected to begin constructing two new Research and Development centres in Asia in 2017 located in Indonesia and Shenzhen, China.

Foxconn has already been working with local Indonesian brand vendors Luna and Huawei for few years.

It is believed that Indonesia will witness a rise in demand for 4G smartphones in 2017 as the government will push policies to encourage citizens to upgrade from 2G to 4G services.(Read More)

Nose wheel snag, pilot error may have led to Jet flight veering off runway

Breaking News - A snag in nose wheel steering or a pilot error may have led to the veering of Jet Airways Mumbai-bound Boeing 737 flight at Goa airport on Tuesday morning.

The incident took place  at 4.45 am  when the aircraft carrying 154 passengers and seven crew was lining up for take off at the runway. Ten passengers were hurt during evacuation.

An investigation is underway to find the reasons behind the incident. Investigators will check the aircraft digital flight data recorder to know the cause.

Investigators will also check runway surface conditions and the work patterns of the pilots.

The Boeing aircraft veered 250 metres off the runway and its nose gear collapsed after getting bigger down in soft ground.

Human error may have led to the incident. An incorrect application of take off go around thrust (TOGA) can lead to runway excursions. "If the switch is pressed at an inappropriate time, before stabilising of thrust  and proper line up on the runway, the aircraft can achieve take off thrust and lose directional control," a senior commander said.

The other probability could be a malfunction in aircraft auto throttle system which is designed to provide the required level of thrust to engines in various stages of flight(Read More).

Withdrawal limits from banks, ATMs won't be lifted anytime soon

Breaking News - The Narendra Modi government has asked for time till late December to mid-January for the 'pain' of demonetisation to ease out. However, a major reason for the inconvenience -- withdrawal limits from banks and ATMs -- is likely to stay for longer.

After announcing his demonetisation drive on November 8, Modi has time and again asked for 50 days from the public. While no explicit instructions have been issued as to when the limits of Rs 24,000 per week for savings accounts and Rs 50,000 per week from current accounts, and Rs 2,500 per day from ATMs will be lifted, a large section of the public is hoping that these restrictions will be eased after December 30.

However, these limits will certainly not be lifted anytime soon. Even if the situation eases by mid-January, as per a statement by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley a couple of weeks back, the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India will take their time assessing the situation before lifting the caps, Business Standard has learnt from senior government sources (Read More).

From Paytm to Freecharge, feature phones get a digi-wallet push

Breaking News - In an effort to bring every mobile phone user into the fold of the digital economy, mobile wallet companies are churning out a host of digital wallets that work on feature phones.

From state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to mobile wallets such as FreeCharge, Oxigen and Paytm, every player is either coming out or already has introduced mobile wallets for feature phones. Feature phones incorporate the ability to access the Internet and store and play music but lack the advanced functionality of smartphones.

In India, around 140 million feature phones are sold in a year and these constitute nearly half of the total mobile phone user base. According to industry experts, to make digitisation a success it is extremely important to reach out to this market. Most of the users of feature phones are in small towns and rural areas but a chunk is also found in cities (Read More).

Owing to ill-health, Mithun Chakraborty resigns from Rajya Sabha

Breaking News - Actor-turned politician Mithun Chakraborty who was elected to the Rajya Sabha by Trinamool Congress (TMC), on Monday resigned from the Upper House citing health reasons.

He has submitted his resignation to Rajya Sabha Chairman, sources in TMC said.

Mithun, whose alleged involvement in Saradha scam made news in 2015, had attended the Upper House for three days only.

He has written to the Chairman that because of his health condition he is not been able to fulfil his duty in Rajya Sabha and that is why he is relinquishing his seat, sources added.

Chakraborty was elected to the Rajya Sabha in April 2014.(Read More)

McDonald's, Pizza Hut & KFC are empowering Indian women; here's how

 Latest news today - American fast-food chains have become an unlikely source of female employment and empowerment in India, a country where traditionally most women are kept from working outside the home.

The increasingly female face of a new Indian workforce shines at suburban Delhi’s Mall of India. Close to half of the employees in its five floors of newly opened food and fashion outlets are women. Just across the street in the old shopping district, females are few and far between. Even the women’s clothing stores are almost entirely manned by men.
“I wouldn’t feel comfortable working with so many other men there,” said Poonam Rawat, a 21-year-old woman who works at Wendy’s in the mall. “Besides, my family would never give me permission.”
Despite great progress in recent decades, India is still a tough place to be a woman. The country has one of the most-skewed sex ratios in the world, with men significantly outnumbering women, the result of selective abortion and infanticide. Girls suffer disproportionately from malnutrition and are less likely than in most other countries to be found in the best universities, parliament or the boardroom. They are even missing from the internet: There are three Indian men for every Indian woman on Facebook, for example, partly a result of women being denied access to technology (Read More).

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Paytm launches 100-member merchant helpdesk to educate on digital payments

 

Breaking News - Mobile payment and e-commerce platform Paytm on Monday announced a 100-member 'merchant helpdesk', announcing that it will invest Rs 50 crore towards educating merchants on digital payments across the country.

The helpdesk will educate users about why the delay in transfer in a few cases, which happens due to the banking systems that are going through stress owing to load spikes or may not respond due to downtime or network fluctuation at the their end.

"It is our utmost priority to educate our partners who accept payments using Paytm," said Sudhanshu Gupta, Vice President of Paytm, in a statement.

The company has also launched a toll-free number 1800 1800 1234 that helps non-smartphone and non-internet users to pay or receive money using Paytm.(Read More)

PM misinterpreted: Jaitley calms nerves, says no plan to tax market gains

Breaking News - In a bid to calm frayed nerves of stock market players, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday clarified the government has no intention to impose a tax on long-term capital gains from trading in shares. He went on to blame “some sections” of the media for “misinterpreting” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech in Mumbai on Saturday.

Jaitley said: “The Prime Minister’s speech in Mumbai on Saturday has been misinterpreted in some sections of the media, which have started speculating this is an indirect reference to the fact that there could be long-term capital gains (tax) on securities transactions.”

He said such an interpretation was “absolutely erroneous,”, adding the “Prime Minister had made no such statement directly or indirectly... and therefore, I wish to absolutely clarify there is no occasion or opportunity for anybody to reach such a conclusion because this is not what the Prime Minister said, nor is the intention of the government as has been reported.”In a bid to calm frayed nerves of stock market Players, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday clarified the government has no intention to impose a tax on long-term capital gains from trading in shares. He went on to blame “some sections” of the media for “misinterpreting” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech in Mumbai on Saturday.

Jaitley said: “The Prime Minister’s speech in Mumbai on Saturday has been misinterpreted in some sections of the media, which have started speculating this is an indirect reference to the fact that there could be long-term capital gains (tax) on securities transactions.”

He said such an interpretation was “absolutely erroneous,”, adding the “Prime Minister had made no such statement directly or indirectly... and therefore, I wish to absolutely clarify there is no occasion or opportunity for anybody to reach such a conclusion because this is not what the Prime Minister said, nor is the intention of the government as has been reported.”(Read More)

Movie review: Dangal aims high but misses the gold medal

Breaking News - It’s not often that the opening credits of a Bollywood film make you smile. Quite early in Dangal, when the names of different production members come on screen, at one point, we see the credit ‘wrestling coordinator’. The name under it is Kripa Shankar Bishnoi, followed by Arjuna Award in brackets. Bishnoi, a coach of the Indian women’s wrestling team, trained Aamir Khan and other actors for the film. It’s heartening to know that Dangal — a film centred on wrestling, detailing the struggles of Indian wrestlers – cares about a real-life wrestler, too, taking an extra step to highlight his achievement. This gesture’s all the more important, because in a country like India, recognition in a sport, other than cricket, is hard to come.

Dangal cares about the world it’s set in, achieving much by trying little. When Mahavir Singh Phogat (Khan), a famed wrestler, expecting his second child to be a boy, gets to know that his wife has given birth to a girl, his friend says, “Koi na (it’s okay)” – a more gentle way of saying “shit happens”. It’s a blink-and-miss moment in the film, but at the same time, a much-needed and quiet indictment of patriarchy. When Mahavir’s girls, Geeta and Babita, wear shorts for the first time, so that they can jog easily, they look visibly embarrassed, worried whether their knees are visible. When Mahavir’s wife (Sakshi Tanwar) apologises to him for not giving birth to a son, he says, “Isme teri galti thodi na hai (its not your fault)” This scene, too, is an important moment in the film, because it talks about a certain kind of Indian man, who isn’t a misogynist, but being deeply entrenched in notions of patriarchy, hasn’t come to terms with gender equality, either.(Read More)

Feel good budget: Social outlay may go up, health & education a priority

Breaking News - As part of a post-demonetisation gift, the government could increase spending for the coming financial year in health, education, women & child development and related social sector schemes by 10-12 per cent, Business Standard has learnt.

This would run concurrently with the increased layout on social sector by state governments, after the Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC) recommended the latter spend more on schemes in health, education and similar segments. Most of these areas are state subjects.
The FFC had increased the devolution of taxes to states from the divisible pool, from 32 per cent to 42 per cent. However, it had reduced non-tax transfers. In its report, the 
Read our full coverage on Union Budget 2016

Y V Reddy-headed commission had said, “We urge state governments to use the additional fiscal space provided by us in the tax devolution to meet such requirements.” After it accepted the FFC recommendations, the Centre had slightly reduced some of its budgeted spending in social sector schemes for 2015-16 and 2016-17. That is set to reverse. Budget makers believe proceeds from the latest voluntary disclosure scheme, income tax raids and whatever dividends the Reserve Bank of India can pass on will enable that extra spending, government sources said.  (Read More)