1. Net Direct Tax collections for the Financial Year 2022-23 grown at over 45%
Tags: Economy/Finance
Net direct tax collection till mid-June of this fiscal grew by 45 per cent to over Rs 3.39 lakh crore.
The net direct tax collection of over ₹3.39 lakh crore includes Corporation Tax at over Rs 1.70 lakh crore and Personal Income Tax, including Security Transaction Tax, at over Rs 1.67 lakh crore.
Advance tax collection in the first quarter of the current fiscal stood at Rs 1.01 lakh crore as against Rs 75,783 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, showing a growth of over 33 per cent.
This comprises corporation tax at ₹78,842 crore and Personal Income Tax at ₹22,175 crore.
What Is a Direct Tax?
Direct tax is a tax that is paid by an individual or company directly to the implementing entity.
An individual taxpayer pays direct taxes to the government for various purposes.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes deals with matters relating to the levy and collection of direct taxes.
A taxpayer pays direct taxes to the government for various purposes, including real wealth tax, personal wealth tax, income tax, gift tax, capital gains tax, etc.
2. Anand Mahindra, Venu Srinivasan nominated to join RBI board
Tags: Economy/Finance Person in news
The central government has nominated three industrialists – Anand Gopal Mahindra, Venu Srinivasan, and Pankaj Ramanbhai Patel and an educationist (Ravindra H. Dholakia) as part-time non-official directors on the central board of the Reserve Bank of India.
Anand Gopal Mahindra is chairman of Mahindra Group.
Venu Srinivasan is chairman of TVS Motor Company Ltd.
Pankaj Ramanbhai Patel is chairman of Zydus Lifesciences.
Ravindra H. Dholakia is a retired professor of IIM, Ahmedabad. He is a former member of the Monetary Policy Committee.
The appointment of new part-time non-official directors is for a period of four years with effect from June 14 or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
After the above appointments, the Central Board of RBI now has 15 members, in which five official members and 10 non-official members.
The tenure of non-official part-time directors is four years.
Central board of the Reserve Bank of India
The central government appoints the Board in accordance with the RBI Act, 1934.
The total strength of the board is 21, consisting of governors and a maximum of four deputy governors.
The Board is required to meet at least six times a year and at least once in every quarter.
The board usually meets at least once in Delhi when the finance minister addresses the entire board after presenting the budget for the coming year.
Apart from Delhi and Mumbai, the board usually meets in various state capitals.
The governor takes the advice of the board, but ultimately his decision is unanimous.
Deputy governors and government nominees may attend any or all meetings of the Central Board, but are not entitled to vote.
About Reserve Bank of India
Established on April 1, 1935 as per the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
The central office of the Reserve Bank was initially established in Calcutta but was permanently shifted to Mumbai in 1937.
In the Central Office the Governor sits and policies are formulated.
The affairs of the Reserve Bank are handled by a central board of directors.
3. India's coal imports may drop by 11% to 186 MT in FY23
Tags: Economy/Finance
India's coal import is likely to decline by 11.4% to 186 million tonnes (MT) in the current financial year.
India imported 210 MT of coal in 2021-22.
According to the Coal Ministry, in the current financial year, the company is expected to import 186 MT of coal of which 130 MT is non-coking coal and 56 MT is coking coal.
Non-coking coal is aboundently used as thermal coal for power generation.
India imported 215 MT of coal in FY'21 and 249 MT of coal in FY'20.
India will import 172 MT of coal in 2024-25, 173 MT in 2027-28 and 170 MT in 2029-30.
Coal India last week floated its first tender for import of 2.416 million tonnes of coal and also floated two international competitive bidding e-tenders for 3 million tonnes.
Coal India Limited (CIL)
It is an Indian government’s owned coal mining and refining corporation.
It is owned by the Ministry of Coal, Government of India.
It was established in November 1975
Headquartered - Kolkata, West Bengal
Coal India is the largest producer of coal in the world.
It contributes around 82% to the total coal production in India.
4. Retail inflation eases to 7.04% in May
Tags: Economy/Finance
Retail inflation has come down to 7.04% in the month of May. At the same time, it had reached a record 7.79% in April.
Food price inflation, which hit a 17-month high of 8.31% in April, eased slightly to 7.97% in May.
Rural food inflation has come down to 7.76% from 8.5 percent.
However, the Consumer Food Price Index surged further for urban India from 8.09% in April to 8.2% in May.
A rise in tomato prices as well as a rise in potato prices pushed up inflation in vegetables, with wheat and rice prices also rising, keeping grain inflation high.
Food continued to be the main inflation driver, contributing around 50%.
Inflation is expected to hover in the 6.75%-7% range in June as well.
Inflation in vegetables rose to 18.26 per cent in May from 15.41 per cent in April, while that of meat and fish rose to 8.23 per cent from 6.97 per cent.
The pace of increase in the prices of milk and related products was 5.64% in May from 5.47% in April.
pulses and eggs recorded negative inflation of 0.42% and 4.64%, compared to 0% and 1.86% in April, respectively.
Food inflation eased slightly from 5.96% in April to 5.33% in May.
The highest inflation rates in states are as follow-
Telangana (9.45%), Maharashtra (8.52%), Andhra Pradesh (8.49%), West Bengal (8.27%), Jharkhand (7.51%) and Gujarat (7.48%).
The lowest inflation rates in states are as follow-
Kerala (4.82%), Delhi (5.57%), Himachal Pradesh (5.63%), Tamil Nadu (5.72%) and Punjab (5.77%).
Rates above RBI's fixed rate
The government has asked the RBI to keep retail inflation at 4 to 2 per cent. In such a situation, the rate recorded in May is much higher than the margin of RBI.
What is CPI based inflation or retail inflation?
CPI (Consumer Price Index) monitors retail prices at a certain level for price movement of a particular commodity, goods and services at rural, urban and all India levels.
The change in the price index over a period of time is known as CPI-based inflation, or retail inflation.
CPI formula - (Price of basket in current period / Price of basket in base period) x 100
5. Tata Steel unveils 7 mn pound green investment plan for UK steel tube mill
Tags: Economy/Finance
Tata Steel has unveiled a 7-million pound investment plan for its Hartlepool Tube Mill in north-east England.
It will cut carbon emissions, improve capacity and reduce costs to strengthen its UK business.
The investment will allow the Hartlepool site to process coils of steel delivered from Tata's Port Talbot steel making site in South Wales.
The all-steel product manufacturing on site employs approximately 300 people to produce 200,000 tons of steel tubes a year.
These are 100 percent recyclable.
This will improve efficiency and reduce overall CO2 emissions from steel processing as well as reducing the total costs across the business.
The new project is expected to take more than a year to complete.
It is the second major investment announced by the Indian company in the UK this year after an investment plan for its site at Corby in the north-eastern England region.
Tata Steel's ambition in the UK is to produce net-zero steel by 2050 and reduce CO2 emissions by 30 per cent by 2030.
What is Green Investment?
The business practices that have a favourable impact on the natural environment are called green investment.
Green investing focuses on companies or projects committed to the conservation of natural resources, pollution reduction, or other environmentally conscious business practices.
6. Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurates CPSEs exhibition in Gandhinagar
Tags: National Economy/Finance
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 9 June inaugurated a Mega exhibition on Nation Building and Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar Gujarat.
The event has been organised as part of the ongoing celebrations of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
During this, the Finance Minister was apprised about the various major initiatives of CPSEs and their contribution in nation building.
During this four day exhibition all the participating CPSEs will showcase their contribution in the development of the country to achieve self-reliant India.
About 75 CPSEs are participating in this exhibition.
Some CPSEs including NTPC and BEL will inaugurate the activity related to converting their townships into mini smart cities at Solapur and Bengaluru.
These townships will be part of 27 townships belonging to 15 CPSEs which are being converted into mini smart cities.
Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs)
These are those companies in which the direct holding of the Central Government or other CPSEs is 51% or more.
As on 31 March 2020, there were 366 CPSEs (excluding insurance companies).
Objectives of Setting up CPSEs
generate better quality of employment
creation of an industrial base in the country
development of basic infrastructure in the country
promotion of exports and reduction of imports
providing resources to the government
To reduce inequalities and accelerate the economic growth and development of the country.
7. RBI proposes to link credit cards with UPI
Tags: Economy/Finance
The Reserve Bank of India has proposed to allow linking of credit cards with Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the integration will first start with the indigenous RuPay credit card.
Both RuPay and UPI are managed by the same organisation, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
Significance of this move
The linkage of UPI and credit cards may result in increased usage of credit cards in India.
It also opens the way to build credit on UPI through credit cards in India.
As of now, UPI has been linked only with debit cards and bank accounts.
This will provide additional convenience to the users and widen the scope of digital payments.
About UPI
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a single platform that integrates various banking services and facilities under one umbrella.
It is developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
The names of the top UPI apps currently are – PhonePe, Paytm, Google Pay, Amazon Pay and BHIM.
NPCI launched UPI in 2016 with 21 member banks.
for more update please visit news of 23 april
8. Cabinet approves increase in MSP for various Kharif crops
Tags: Economy/Finance National News
The Union Cabinet on June 8 approved an increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for various Kharif (summer) crops for the year 2022-23.
In the cabinet meeting, the MSP of 14 kharif crops was approved.
The approved rates are at least 1.5 times the All India Weighted Average Cost of Production.
MSP of common grade variety of paddy - increased to ₹2,040 per quintal for the 2022-23 crop year from ₹1,940 in the previous year.
The support price of 'A' grade variety of paddy - increased to ₹2,060 per quintal from ₹1,960.
The increase in MSP over the previous year is recommended by -
Sesamum 523 rupees per quintal
Moong 480 rupees per quintal
Sunflower seed 385 rupees per quintal
Tur, Urad and Groundnut 300 rupees per quintal
Cotton (Medium Staple) 354 rupees and Cotton (Long Staple) 355 rupees
Farmers benefit from increase in MSP
It will provide assured remunerative prices to the farmers and will help in achieving the goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
It will also lead to more investment and production.
It will empower crores of farmers of the country.
What is the Kharif Season?
It starts in June and ends in October where monsoon crops are cultivated and harvested.
Some important Kharif Crops
Bajra
Jowar
Maize
Millet
Rice (paddy and deepwater rice)
Soybean
What is Minimum Support Price (MSP)?
MSP is the rate at which the government buys food grains from farmers.
This is based on the calculation of at least one and a half times the cost of production incurred by the farmers.
The Government of India fixes the MSP for 24 items twice a year.
When the market price falls below the declared MSP, the government buys food grains from the farmers at the MSP rate.
9. Amazon India signs MoU with Manipur govt to sell Panthoibi Emporium products
Tags: Economy/Finance State News
E-commerce Amazon and the Manipur government inaugurated Panthoibi Emporium, an online platform for the display and sale of handlooms and handicrafts from the state.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed for this online store between e-commerce Amazon and the Manipur government.
The initiative will benefit about 300,000 artisans, weavers and members of tribal communities in the state.
Operated under the aegis of the Directorate of Handlooms and Textiles, Panthoibi Emporium is a part of Manipur Handloom and Handicrafts Development Corporation Limited (MHHDCL), a government enterprise for the development of local artisans.
Panthoibi Emporium on Amazon.in includes hand woven clothing, handcrafted hats and bags, terracotta products as well as kauna crafts – a unique handicraft of Manipur in which kauna wood is used to make baskets, purses, bags etc.
The Manipuri queen Phi, a hand-woven shawl made of silk, can also be found on the website.
In addition, food items typical of Manipur, including black rice, tea, GI tagged chillies, lemons and oranges, will also be available for sale.
About Manipur
Manipur is also called the 'Orchid Basket' of the country. 500 species of orchid flowers are found here.
This northeastern state is described as Swarna Bhoomi or 'Suvarnabhu'.
The major population here is Manipuri people known as Meiti.
Loktak Lake is an important lake here.
The language of the people here is Manipuri, which was added to the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India in 1992.
Capital- Imphal
Governor- L A Ganesan
Chief Minister- N Biren Singh
10. Nirmala Sitharaman reviews NARCL progress
Tags: Economy/Finance
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reviewed the progress of setting up the National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL).
With the completion of account-wise due diligence, the first set of accounts is expected to be transferred in July 2022.
The balance accounts are proposed to be taken up within the third quarter of the current financial year.
About National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL)
It is a part of a new Bad bank structure that was announced in the Budget 2021.
It has been incorporated under the Companies Act.
In this, it is proposed to acquire stressed assets of about Rs 2 lakh crore in phases under the existing rules of RBI.
It intends to acquire stressed assets through 15% Cash and 85% in Security Receipts (SRs).
PSBs will maintain 51% ownership in NARCL.
