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The finance ministry on Monday said the Union Budget would be growth-oriented, implicitly signalling that it will address the investment crisis in the Indian economy.
According to Das, the Budget will also detail new measures to support ongoing programmes such as Startup India, Standup India, Make In India, Digital India and the Skill mission – all of
which have a strong focus on creating jobs.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley will be presenting his third Budget on 29 February at a time when private investment has dried up and the exchequer has had to incur higher expenditure due to
implementation of the One Rank One Pension scheme for the armed forces and the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission.
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and state-run insurer Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) will assist states to clean up the books of their bleeding power utilities.
EPFO, the state-run retirement fund manager, and LIC will subscribe to the bonds to be issued by five state governments to raise Rs 60,000 crore under the debt recast scheme, Ujwal Discom
Assurance Yojana (Uday), launched on 5 November.
The money will be used to retire debt owed by the utilities to Rural Electrification Corporation and Power Finance Corporation, top government officials said.
The government wants to turn around debt-ridden distribution companies by letting states take over their collective debt of Rs 4.3 lakh crore, so that their ability to purchase power
improves – a key requisite to incentivise fresh investments in power generation, including in renewable energy.
Corporate India is looking to next week’s Budget for wide-ranging tax reforms like abolition of the Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) and clarification on the tax status for Special Economic Zones
(SEZs) apart from the government burying the ghost of retrospective tax once and for all.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had promised tax and banking reforms during their interaction with corporate leaders during Make-In-India week, to take the
manufacturing sector’s share in the gross domestic product from the current 18 percent to 25 percent.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, India’s biggest private port operator, is looking to complete its “string of pearls” ports strategy by plugging gaps that remain in a few coastal
states. In addition, the company is also eyeing overseas acquisitions.
The company, part of billionaire Gautam Adani-led infrastructure conglomerate Adani Group, is actively looking at acquisitions, two company executives said, adding that chief executive
officer Karan Adani is leading the drive. Karan is Gautam Adani’s son and took charge of Adani Ports on 1 January.
In India, the company is looking to expand its presence in Maharashtra and West Bengal. In overseas markets, the company is scouting for port opportunities in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the US
and Europe, apart from the ports planned in Australia.
Denting tall success claims of the Make in India campaign, data released by the government show investment proposals in the industrial sector, in value terms, were at an 11-year low in 2015.
While the number of proposals inched up by 8 percent to 1,990 in 2015, from 1,843 the previous year, it was the second lowest in more than 10 years – suggesting lack of investor confidence
among investors in taking up large, high-value projects.
Ride-hailing app Uber, the world’s most-valuable startup, plans to launch its own digital wallet in India, the first market where the San Francisco-based company is making such a move.
Uber had to start working with wallet services providers after the Reserve Bank of India in August 2014 ruled that a two-step authentication for credit card payments was necessary for
foreign companies like Uber as well.
Paytm could soon be foraying into the luxury space by launching an online and mobile ecommerce platform exclusively for luxury products, according to ET.
The Alibaba-backed digital payments and ecommerce company has roped in marquee luxury brands like Gucci, Fendi, Furla and Burberry for its mobile luxury platform Anasa and is courting more
brands.
A Paytm spokesperson, however, categorically stated that the company is not planning to enter the luxury space right now.
India’s second-largest IT services exporter, Infosys, will use higher automation within the company as it seeks to gain profitability.
Automation is one of Sikka’s key strategies ever since he took over as CEO. The IT major managed to free up over 1,100 people in the third quarter using these technologies.
Sikka said it plans to further reduce the number of people who are being engaged in its various projects and these employees will be used to drive the innovation.
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