RBI retracts - multiple deposits of demonetised notes allowed till Dec 30

Breaking News - A day after the Reserve Bank withdrew the notification that barred people from depositing old notes in bank accounts more than once, the central bank on Thursday clarified that people are free to make more than one deposit till December 30.

The old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes can be deposited at bank branches or in cash deposit machines more than once till December 30, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in the updated Frequently asked questions (FAQ).

The customers should use separate pay-in-slips for making deposits in the mixed bunch of demonetised and legal tender notes, it said.

Anybody depositing more than Rs 50,000 in cash in their bank account needs to submit a copy of the PAN card in case the bank account is not seeded with the information.

The clarification on the part of the RBI comes a day after it took a U-turn on its notification of December 19 after widespread protests from the public.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had clarified the same evening on December 19 that one-time deposit would not attract any scrutiny by bankers. However, on Tuesday, he had insisted that only a one-time deposit would be allowed till December 30. On Wednesday, the RBI withdrew its norms on KYC deposits, but left it unclear whether multiple deposits would be allowed.(Read More)

No vacation for ministers and bureaucrats this holiday season

Latest News - Ministers and bureaucrats in the Narendra Modi government have no time to let their hair down this holiday season. There’s nothing official about it, but the unwritten directive from the top is “no leave”, says a central government official. “Holiday is the biggest luxury in this government... there’s no platform for such thoughts at all,” is how the official describes the mood in the corridors of power. According to another official, “there’s an air of doubt and caution after demonetiSation. Nobody wants to risk going on an overseas trip at least, in the fear of attracting scrutiny.’’

Holidays have hardly been part of the narrative ever since Modi took charge as Prime Minister in May 2014. In fact, in reply to a Right to Information query a few months ago about Modi’s leave, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said he had not taken a single day off so far. However, this year-end might mean a greater work load on both ministers and bureaucrats as a lot of deadlines are bunching up.(Read More)

Modi's crackdown on cash imperils pivotal GST

Breaking News - Prime Minister Narendra Modi's crackdown on the cash economy has shattered the consensus needed for a new national sales tax, plunging his boldest reform into limbo and threatening to entrench an economic slowdown.

Modi's government already had its work cut out to finalise a deal with India's 29 federal states to launch a Goods and Services Tax (GST) on April 1 that would transform Asia's third largest economy into a single Share market for the first time.

But his decision to scrap 86 percent of the cash in circulation, in a bid to purge the economy of illicit "black money", has caused huge disruption.

A slump in business activity stemming from the cash crunch has caused the revenue of state governments, which collect value-added tax on goods and other duties, to slump by 25-40 percent.

The states won't risk another setback by rushing the sales tax into force.

"The investment and economic environment in the country is in bad shape," said West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra, who earlier head a panel tasked with building a consensus on the GST. "How is the country going to absorb the dual shock of GST and demonetisation?"(Read More).

Over 90% shareholders voted to oust Nusli Wadia at Tata Steel EGM

Nusli Wadia was removed as independent director of Tata Steel on Wednesday with more than 90 per cent of the shareholders voting in favour of his ouster.

According to the companies statement, 56.79 crore votes out of a total of 62.55 crore votes were voted in favour of the removal of Mr. Wadia. In other words, 90.80 per cent shareholders supported the resolution.  The balance 9.2 percent of the votes cast were in favour to retain him. 

Although this motion was an ordinary resolution which required a simple majority, it crossed the hurdle of 75 per cent vote share required for special resolution.

Nearly 82.5 percent of the institutional shareholders voted him out while 84.47 percent of the retail shareholders also supported the resolution. Overall 64.4 percent of shareholders voted (Read More).

RCom strikes Rs 11,000-cr tower deal with Brookfield Infra

Breaking News- Reliance Communications (RCom) today signed binding agreements with Canada-based Brookfield Infrastructure and institutional partners to sell its tower business for an upfront cash payment of Rs 11,000 crore.
RCom will "also receive B Class non-voting shares in the tower company, providing 49 per cent future economic upside from the business based on certain conditions", the company said in a statement.
RCom will utilise the cash proceeds solely to reduce debt, it said.
The tower business will be demerged into a separate company, to be 100 per cent owned and independently managed by Brookfield Infrastructure. The deal represents the largest-ever investment by an overseas financial investor in the infrastructure sector in India.(Read More)