India giving World Bank all evidence of improved ease of doing business

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India is providing detailed evidence to the World Bank on ease of doing business as it seeks to break into the top 100 countries on the bank’s index from its current rank of 130.

Officials said logs of construction permits, containerised cargo movement at ports and setting up of a company are being provided to World Bank as part of the Narendra Modi government’s efforts to ensure it does not miss any point to score to improve India’s rank.

World Bank officials had a few queries for the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) when they met on August 1 after completing field inspection and verification of claims over the 14 parameters on ease of doing business.

While the World Bank does not share its findings, one observation made by its team was that people were carrying paperwork to the offices of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation even as registration was made free of all physical touch-points. “We clarified that it is only for claims that one needs to file the papers,” said a senior DIPP official, who did not wish to be identified.

Besides, DIPP is now gathering its own evidence for cases where it feels respondents have not have kept in mind the assumptions made by the World Bank study.

“In case of construction permits the study is limited to warehouses or buildings on the outskirts or setting up of a company parameter is only for domestic enterprises and not how long it takes for a foreign entity,” the official said.

DIPP is taking a proactive approach to provide evidence on its part even after the field investigations have been wrapped by the World Bank team. Final rankings will be announced in October. The ranking considers business environment in Delhi and Mumbai. India compares unfavourably even with countries such as Mexico, which is ranked 38, and Russia, which is at 51. Prime Minister Modi has set a target for India to be in the top 50 in three years.

Specific areas DIPP has targeted are starting business, insolvency procedures, construction permits, ease of trade across borders and electricity connections. According to the department, total number of days required to start a business has been reduced to 12 from 29 in the past year. A team of researchers spent two weeks in Delhi and Mumbai talking to actual users and stakeholders to study and verify implementation of reforms, officials said.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/53716006.cms

Forex reserves at record high of $ 365.74 billion

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Continuing the rising trend, forex reserves increased by USD 253.6 million to touch record high of USD 365.749 billion in the week to August 5, the Reserve Bank said today.

The reserves increased despite decline in foreign currency assets (FCAs), a major component of the overall reserves.

In the previous week, the reserves had jumped by a healthy USD 2.81 billion to USD 365.49 billion.

FCAs declined by USD 765.4 million to USD 340.278 billion.

FCAs, expressed in dollar terms, include the effect of appreciation/depreciation of non-US currencies such as euro, pound and yen held in the reserves.

After remaining steady for many weeks, gold reserves shot up by USD 1.008 billion to USD 21.584 billion 20.58 billion.

The country’s special drawing rights with International Monetary Fund rose by USD 4.1 million to USD 1.488 billion, while the reserve position soared by USD 6.7 million to USD 2.397 billion.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/53672836.cms

Xiaomi, Foxconn to set up two more units in India

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Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi today said it is looking to set up two more manufacturing facilities in India through its Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group.

Manu Jain, Xiaomi’s India Chief, said they are in talks with various state governments for finalising the land and other issues for the plants.

In August last year, Xiaomi, together with Foxconn, started assembling phones locally in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh.

“We have not finalised the locations for the facility yet. We are talking to multiple governments to see where we should be setting up (the plants). The factories are owned and operated by Foxconn, but dedicatedly (make production) for us. It is not a joint venture. We have some sort of financial arrangement between us,” Jain said.

Jain said the company may also launch air purifiers in India before the beginning of winter season.

“We think that it is a category which is about to take off. We are trying to bring that this year. The perfect time to launch is before winter, because that is when fog combines with smoke and becomes smog,” he said.

Xiaomi, which presently registers 90 per cent of its sales from online channel in India, is planning to double offline presence over the next few months.

Xiaomi recently launched Redmi 3S and Redmi 3S Prime in the country priced at Rs 6,999 and Rs 8,999, respectively. The phones will be initially available at Mi.com and Flipkart. The handset maker sells over one million phones a quarter in the country.

Source: http://www.newindianexpress.com/business/news/Xiaomi-Foxconn-to-set-up-two-more-units-in-India/2016/08/13/article3576806.ece

Parliament passes bill for easier debt recovery

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Parliament today passed a bill which empowers banks to confiscate security in the case of loan default, a development that assumes significance in view of the episode surrounding industrialist Vijay Mallya.
The Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws and Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Bill, 2016, will not, however, apply to loans for agricultural land as well as student loans.
The bill, approved by Lok Sabha last week and cleared by Rajya Sabha today, amends four laws — Sarfaesi Act, DRT Act, Indian Stamp Act and Depositories Act. Replying to a debate on the bill, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley emphasised the need for “firmness coupled with fairness” in recovering bad loans. He said the banks must be empowered to take effective legal action against defaulters and the insolvency law, securitisation law and DRT law are steps in that direction.
“So far the laws were in favour of the defaulters. We tried to correct the balance. There should be firmness, coupled with fairness in recovery of loans,” he said. He said banks should take a “compassionate view” on education loan defaults but there will be no waiver and somebody will have to pay. The Minister further said that fears regarding farm and education loans are “exaggerated”.
Jaitley said banks are supposed to give loans and “if banks start squeezing loans”, there will be no economic growth.
“The cause of worry is when loan becomes either NPA or stressed asset or the activity in which the loans are invested is not generating money,” he said adding in some cases there will be willful default.
The development assumes significance as it comes against the backdrop of the episode involving Mallya, who owes Rs 9,000 crore to banks, but has left the country to take refuge in England.
Jaitley said if loan has been taken it must be repaid. The Minister said stressed assets were mostly in sectors such as steel, power and textile.
The law simplifies the procedure which ensures quick disposal of pending cases of banks and financial institutions by Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT). DRTs will have to dispose a case in 180 days and the affected party will have to deposit 25 per cent of the amount if he or she chooses to appeal against the order.

There are around 70,000 loan related cases pending in the DRTs. To further stress his point, he said 20 people sitting on bank money prevent the lender from giving credit to another 20,000 people. It should not happen that a bank manager has to keep awake all night after he clears a loan, he said.

Source : http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/economy/parliament-passes-bill-for-easier-debt-recovery_7238101.html?utm_source=ref_article

Over 75 lakh taxpayers availed e-verification facility for filing Income Tax Returns

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Over 75 lakh taxpayers availed the e-verification facility of their income tax returns filed till August 5 against around 33 lakh taxpayers last year till September 7, which will ensure faster processing of their returns. In all 226.98 lakh e-returns were filed in FY 2016-17 as compared to 70.97 lakh for the same period in FY 2015-16. The number is higher because last year the date of filing had been extended to September 7.

By September 7, 2015 nearly 207 lakh returns had been filed, which yields 9.8% rise in e-filing this year. Aadhaar based e-verification was used by 17.68 lakh taxpayers during the current year as against 10.41 lakh taxpayers during the same period in 2015-16, finance ministry said in a statement.

“In addition to these, 3.32 lakh returns were digitally signed. Thus, over 35% of taxpayers have already completed the entire process of return submission electronically,” it added. The forms that are not electronically verified have to be physically mailed to processing centre in Bengaluru before they can be processed.

The revenue department is encouraging all taxpayers who have submitted their returns to e-verify them as an easy alternative to sending their ITR-V form to CPC, Bengaluru.

The government said tax refunds of Rs 14,332 crore have been issued this year till August 5. “The Central Processing Centre (CPC) Bengaluru has already issued over 54.35 lakh refunds totaling to Rs 14,332 crore have been issued this year till August 5. “The Central Processing Centre (CPC) Bengaluru has already issued over 54.35 lakh refunds totaling to Rs 14,332 crore which includes 20.81 lakh refunds for AY 2016-17 (current year returns) totaling to Rs 2,922 crore till August 5, 2016,” the statement said.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/53607133.cms

 

Forex reserves hit life-time high at $365.49 bn

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Country’s foreign exchange reserves rose by USD 2.81 billion to reach a life-time high of USD 365.49 billion in the week to July 29, helped by rise in foreign currency assets, the Reserve Bank said today.

In the previous week, the reserves had dropped by USD 664 million to USD 362.69 billion.

Foreign currency assets (FCAs), a major component of the overall reserves, rose USD 2.79 billion to USD 341.04 billion in the reporting week, RBI data showed.

FCAs, expressed in dollar terms, include the effect of appreciation/depreciation of non-US currencies such as euro, pound and yen held in the reserves.

Gold reserves remained unchanged at USD 20.58 billion.

The country’s special drawing rights with International Monetary Fund increased by USD 8.5 million to USD 1.48 billion while the reserve position rose by USD 13.6 million to USD 2.39 billion, RBI said.

Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/industry/banking-finance/forex-reserves-hit-life-time-high-at-365-49-bn/339688/

RBI launches website Sachet to tackle fraud

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday launched a website from which anyone can obtain information regarding entities that are allowed to accept deposits, lodge complaints, and share information regarding illegal acceptance of deposits by unscrupulous entities.

 

Named Sachet, the website is expected to be helpful in coordination between regulatory authorities and law enforcement agents throughout the states so any unscrupulous money-raising activities can be curbed. Collective investment schemes (CISs) have come under the scanner and the regulators, particularly Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has cracked down on such activities after millions were duped by Sahara, Sarada, Pearl Agro, and such schemes.

 

Launching the website, RBI governor Raghuram Rajan once again warned the public not to fall prey to phishing emails that solicit money from unsuspecting people, in return for a fortune. Phishing is the activity of tricking people by getting them to give their identity, bank account numbers, etc over the Internet or by email, and then using these to steal money from them. “Please don’t fall prey for these fly-by-night operators who promise you the moon,” Rajan said. “Every day I get five or six such emails asking me the money I apparently promised … Reserve Bank does not give money. I don’t give my money to anyone,” Rajan said. The RBI governor stressed the need to stop such crime in progress and sites like Sachet will help curb that, Rajan said. Sebi wholetime member S Raman said the markets regulator has almost eliminated illegal CISs and complaints regarding these are now a trickle.

 

“The push factor behind these schemes was the agent commission. We have found that 30-35 per cent as agent commission was being given. And of course, legal loopholes were exploited too,” Raman said.

 

“The push factor we brought to the notice of the standing committee of the Parliament, which has recently submitted a report for a new legislation to the central government. One of the factors they have accepted is the existing of this push factor. And now, very soon, if the legislation is passed and when it is passed, commission of anything more than 3-5 per cent of any types of raising funds in this country will be deemed illegal,” Raman said.

 

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/article/finance/rbi-launches-website-sachet-to-tackle-fraud-116080500030_1.html