(May 22, 2017)
GST rates unlikely to hurt inflation:
A day after the GST council decided on the rates, domestic rating agency Icra today said, the structure is unlikely to fan inflation.

It said in a note, with the effective tax rate intended to be brought down on most items, as well as a large portion of the CPI basket being kept in the exempted category, there is likely to be a limited impact of the GST on goods inflation.

On services front, where the standard rate has been kept at 18 per cent, it said availability of input tax credit may soften the impact of GST on services inflation in the future.

Inflation to fall by 2%:
Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia has said, Inflation will fall by two per cent on implementation of the goods and services tax, GST, and will create buoyancy in the economy. In an interview to PTI, he said the all-powerful GST Council will meet next week to decide on tax rates of contentious items like gold, bidi and biscuits, just in time for its rollout from July 1.

Mr Adhia also expressed confidence that the requirement of compensation to make up for revenue loss of any state will be fulfilled from cess on demerit and luxury goods like car and tobacco.

With the stage set for the biggest overhaul of India’s tax system since Independence, the government will launch a massive awareness campaign to educate consumers about GST so that they are not fleeced by traders in the name of new tax.

The Council over the two days last week assigned tax rates to more than 500 services and 1,200 goods by setting them in five broad rates of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent.

GST will be a single nation-wide sales tax replacing astring of central and state levies.

Tejas Express to be flagged off today:
The high speed, air-conditioned Tejas Express will be flagged off today from Mumbai to Goa.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu will flag off the premium luxury train through video conferencing.

Having ultra-modern amenities like LED TV, wi-fi and CCTV, Tejas Express is a state of the art train capable of running at 200 kms per hour.

However, due to constraints related to rail tracks, it will run at a speed of 160 kilometres per hour.

The train will operate five days a week during non-monsoon period, and three days a week during monsoon period.

 
· Many big bang reforms implemented, more to follow, says Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry Smt Nirmala Sitharaman – The government has initiated a lot of big ticket and systemic reforms in the last three years and will continue efforts to consolidate the gains as also take up more economic measures in the remaining two years stated Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry Smt Nirmala Sitharaman. She said the government pursued reforms in a host of sectors, including banking, real estate, taxation, aviation and commercial dispute resolution and in the three years, both big ticket and systemic reforms have been taken in a calibrated fashion.
· India to have science infrastructure sharing policy soon – India is formulating a policy on maintaining and sharing science infrastructure so that R&D facilities do not remain limited to academia but are also accessed by industry, according to a senior bureaucrat of the Union Ministry of Science and Technology. The idea is to create infrastructure which becomes shareable, which becomes sustainable and is also accessible to our industry. A whole lot of scientific infrastructure is not available to our industry.
· Defence Acquisition Council Finalises Broad Contours of Policy to Engage Indian Private Sector in Manufacture of High-Tech Defence Equipment in India – Breaking new ground, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) under the Chairmanship of the Hon’ble Minister of Defence, Shri Arun Jaitley, finalized the broad contours of a policy aimed at engaging the Indian private sector in the manufacture of high-tech defence equipment in India. The policy is aimed at developing the defence industrial eco-system in the country through the involvement of both the major Indian corporates as well as the MSME sector. The policy will give a boost to the ‘Make in India’ policy in the Defence sector and set Indian industry on the path to acquiring cutting-edge capabilities which will contribute to the building of self-reliance in the vital sector of national security requirements.
 
 
· Shri Urjit Patel seeks exemption from parliamentary panel appearance; RBI governor to brief on demonetization on June 8 – Reserve Bank of India Governor Shri Urjit Patel will appear before a parliamentary panel for a second briefing on demonetization on June 8th 2017. The meeting was earlier scheduled to take place on May 25 but RBI Governor Shri Urjit Patel had sought exemption citing engagements. It has been learned that work on framing the monetary policy would be underway at that time. The June 8 meeting is likely to witness some tough questions being put to the RBI Governor by the Opposition.
 
 
· Less than 10 % corporate debt rated unsafe in FY17 – India Inc’s credit profile was at its strongest last fiscal with less than 10% of the corporate debt securities rated as unsafe for investment — the lowest level so far for such issues. Credit rating agencies (CRAs) including Crisil India Ratings and Research (formerly Fitch Ratings India), Icra, Credit Analysis and Research (CARE), Brickwork Ratings India and SMERA Ratings rated a total of 1,204 long-term corporate debt securities worth Rs 17 lakh crore in 2016-17, according to the latest data compiled by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Of these, a majority 1,087 issues (90.3%) worth Rs 16.88 lakh crore were rated “investment grade”.
Forex reserves down USD 443.6 million to USD 375.27 billion:
India’s foreign exchange reserves declined by USD 443.6 million to USD 375.27 billion in the week ended 12th May. A RBI press release has informed that foreign currency assets, a major part of the overall reserves dipped by USD 429.4 million to USD 351.10 billion. In the previous week, the reserves had touched a life-time high of USD 375.71 billion.

Gold reserves remained steady at USD 20.438 billion. India’s special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund decreased by USD 5.5 million to USD 1.454 billion, while the country’s reserve position also dipped by USD 8.7 million to USD 2.280 billion.

India’s export sector performs well:
Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said, India’s export sector has performed well despite the global slowdown. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on key initiatives taken by her Ministry during the last three years, Ms Sitharaman said, notwithstanding global headwinds, exports have shone in last 6 months.

Ms Sitharaman said, number of mandatory documents required for exports and imports have been reduced to three each. The Minister said, forms related to imports and exports have also been simplified.

The Minister said, Government e-Market place is a remarkable step towards fighting corruption and ensuring transparency in Government transaction.

She said, there is an increase in exports from special economic zone in the last three years. Exports were valued at 5.23 lakh