Today Sector News – 24.04.2018
* AUTOMOBILES: The government plans to double the mandatory local content in electric vehicles to 70% in three years and impose heavy duties on imports to ensure that domestic manufacturing gets a big boost from the 87.30-bln-rupee proposal to shift public transport to battery-operated vehicles.
* BANKING: The Reserve Bank of India has agreed to use the more assertive 'shall' in its circulars and notifications as against the current usage of 'may' following feedback from the Basel committee and the Bank for International Settlements.
-Higher house rent allowances of state government employees could have an upward impact on retail
headline inflation until 2020 depending on how the allowances are implemented, according to a paper by a director in the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Department.
-The tax department has asked the country's top lenders, including STATE BANK OF INDIA, HDFC
BANK, ICICI BANK, AXIS BANK, and KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK, to pay tax, which could run into thousands of crores, on 'free services' provided to customers maintaining a minimum account balance, with retrospective effect.
* COMMODITIES: Group of ministers has proposed an output-linked subsidy, imposition of cess on sugar, and revamp of the ethanol policy to help boost sugar prices and reduce cane arrears that topped 180 bln rupees by mid-April.
* E-COMMERCE: Minister of Commerce & Industry Suresh Prabhu will on Tuesday conduct the first meeting on national policy for e-commerce.
* ENERGY: Solar energy majors are making a beeline for putting up units in Odisha after Gridco, the state's bulk power trader, invited bids to select 200 MW of grid-connected solar power projects.
* INFRASTRUCTURE: Road Minister Nitin Gadkari has said the country should push for regional rapid transit system to provide cheap and comfortable travel and reduce traffic congestion, pollution, and road accidents.
-Analysts are pessimistic about the government meeting its target on awarding and constructing roads in 2018-19 (Apr-Mar) due to hurdles in land acquisition and difficulty in availability of funds.
-The government is planning to raise 1.5 trln rupees by monetising all existing national highways, making it the largest ever divestment drive, road transport and shipping minister Nitin Gadkari told.
* OIL AND GAS: The finance ministry is not in favour of cutting excise duty on petrol and diesel to provide relief to the common man from a spike in prices but wants states to cut sales tax or VAT on fuel, a senior official said. Rising crude oil prices could become a concern for the Indian economy with the government expecting the oil import bill to rise by 20% in the current year to $105 bln, up from $88 bln in 2017-18 (AprMar).
* STEEL: The National Company Law Tribunal found the option of inviting fresh bids from investors interested in Essar Steel to be more "sound", "reasonable" and "legally transparent", the order passed by the Ahmedabad bench of the NCLT on April 19 showed. The committee of creditors for Essar Steel will meet today to take a call on the bids after Thursday's order by the Ahmedabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal.
-ArcelorMittal and Numetal Mauritius must clear debts in defaulting companies where they hold stakes before bidding for Essar Steel, and merely selling stakes in those companies won't make them eligible, details from the bankruptcy court's Thursday order show.
The Centre will introduce a steel scrap policy this year which, in conjunction with the much-awaited vehicle scrappage policy, will lay out the rules and regulations for using scrap from old vehicles to produce steel.
* TAXATION: The government will roll out the e-way bill system for intra-state movement of goods in five more states from Wednesday.
* TELECOMMUNICATION: The norms to measure quality of services on the 4G-long term evolution networks are likely to be released in a month, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Chairman R.S. Sharma said. The telecom regulator has asked Aircel to refund security deposits of all post-paid subscribers and submit compliance report by May 10, besides preparing a list of pre-paid subscribers having ported out to other carriers between December and Mar 10, along with unspent balance.
* TRADE: India would lodge a trade dispute against the US at the World Trade Organization if Washington does not grant it exemptions from higher tariffs on steel and aluminium, three government officials involved in trade talks said.
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* BANKING: The Reserve Bank of India has agreed to use the more assertive 'shall' in its circulars and notifications as against the current usage of 'may' following feedback from the Basel committee and the Bank for International Settlements.
-Higher house rent allowances of state government employees could have an upward impact on retail
headline inflation until 2020 depending on how the allowances are implemented, according to a paper by a director in the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Department.
-The tax department has asked the country's top lenders, including STATE BANK OF INDIA, HDFC
BANK, ICICI BANK, AXIS BANK, and KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK, to pay tax, which could run into thousands of crores, on 'free services' provided to customers maintaining a minimum account balance, with retrospective effect.
* COMMODITIES: Group of ministers has proposed an output-linked subsidy, imposition of cess on sugar, and revamp of the ethanol policy to help boost sugar prices and reduce cane arrears that topped 180 bln rupees by mid-April.
* E-COMMERCE: Minister of Commerce & Industry Suresh Prabhu will on Tuesday conduct the first meeting on national policy for e-commerce.
* ENERGY: Solar energy majors are making a beeline for putting up units in Odisha after Gridco, the state's bulk power trader, invited bids to select 200 MW of grid-connected solar power projects.
* INFRASTRUCTURE: Road Minister Nitin Gadkari has said the country should push for regional rapid transit system to provide cheap and comfortable travel and reduce traffic congestion, pollution, and road accidents.
-Analysts are pessimistic about the government meeting its target on awarding and constructing roads in 2018-19 (Apr-Mar) due to hurdles in land acquisition and difficulty in availability of funds.
-The government is planning to raise 1.5 trln rupees by monetising all existing national highways, making it the largest ever divestment drive, road transport and shipping minister Nitin Gadkari told.
* OIL AND GAS: The finance ministry is not in favour of cutting excise duty on petrol and diesel to provide relief to the common man from a spike in prices but wants states to cut sales tax or VAT on fuel, a senior official said. Rising crude oil prices could become a concern for the Indian economy with the government expecting the oil import bill to rise by 20% in the current year to $105 bln, up from $88 bln in 2017-18 (AprMar).
* STEEL: The National Company Law Tribunal found the option of inviting fresh bids from investors interested in Essar Steel to be more "sound", "reasonable" and "legally transparent", the order passed by the Ahmedabad bench of the NCLT on April 19 showed. The committee of creditors for Essar Steel will meet today to take a call on the bids after Thursday's order by the Ahmedabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal.
-ArcelorMittal and Numetal Mauritius must clear debts in defaulting companies where they hold stakes before bidding for Essar Steel, and merely selling stakes in those companies won't make them eligible, details from the bankruptcy court's Thursday order show.
The Centre will introduce a steel scrap policy this year which, in conjunction with the much-awaited vehicle scrappage policy, will lay out the rules and regulations for using scrap from old vehicles to produce steel.
* TAXATION: The government will roll out the e-way bill system for intra-state movement of goods in five more states from Wednesday.
* TELECOMMUNICATION: The norms to measure quality of services on the 4G-long term evolution networks are likely to be released in a month, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Chairman R.S. Sharma said. The telecom regulator has asked Aircel to refund security deposits of all post-paid subscribers and submit compliance report by May 10, besides preparing a list of pre-paid subscribers having ported out to other carriers between December and Mar 10, along with unspent balance.
* TRADE: India would lodge a trade dispute against the US at the World Trade Organization if Washington does not grant it exemptions from higher tariffs on steel and aluminium, three government officials involved in trade talks said.
