1. Government extends concessional import duty on edible oil till March 2023 to keep check on its prices
Tags: Economy/Finance
To keep a check on the price of the edible oils the government of India has extended the concessional duty on the import of edible oils by 6 months till 31st March 2023.
The notification to this effect was issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).
India is the largest importer of edible oil in the world and with the festive season in the coming months the government has decided to continue with the concessional duty regime for edible oils.
Current Import Duty Structure
Import of Crude palm oil, RBD Palmolein, RBD palm oil, crude soybean oil, refined soybean oil, crude sunflower oil and refined sunflower oil is zero percent.
However, the government has levied 5 % agricultural cess and 10% special social welfare cess on them. Thus the effective import duty on these crude oils work outs to be 5.5%
The basic customs duty on refined varieties of Palmolein and refined palm oil is 12.5 per cent, while social welfare cess is 10 percent. So, the effective duty is 13.75 per cent.
For refined soyabean and sunflower oil, the basic customs duty is 17.5 per cent and taking into account 10 percent social welfare cess, the effective duty comes to 19.25 per cent.
Source of Import
India imports palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, while other oils, such as soya and sunflower, come from Argentina, Brazil, Ukraine and Russia.
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC)
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (erstwhile Central Board of Excise & Customs) is a part of the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
It deals with the tasks of formulation of policy concerning levy and collection of Customs, Central Excise duties, Central Goods & Services Tax and IGST,
It also deals in prevention of smuggling and administration of matters relating to Customs, Central Excise, Central Goods & Services Tax, IGST and Narcotics to the extent under CBIC's purview.
Chairperson: Vivek Johri
2. Airtel becomes the first telecom company to launch 5 g services in India
Tags: National Economy/Finance
Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of Bharti Airtel has announced the launch of 5g mobile service in 8 cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Varanasi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Siliguri on 1 October 2022. He announced the launch of 5 g service from 1 October 2022 during the 6th Indian Mobile Congress being held in New Delhi from 1-4 October 2022. Airtel became the first telecom company to launch the 5g service in India. It intends to cover the whole of India by March 2024.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Mobile Congress on 1 October and the theme of the Mobile Congress is: ``New digital Universe".
Mukesh Ambani owned Jio Telecom has announced that it will roll out its services in the four metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai by Diwali and the whole country would be covered by December 2023.
Jio 5G will be the world`s largest and most advanced 5G network. Unlike other operators, Jiu’s 5G network will be stand alone with zero dependency on 4G network.
Vodafone Idea has not yet disclosed its 5g roll out plan.
3. RBI announces the list of 16 NBFC included in the NBFC-Upper Layer for enhanced supervision
Tags: Economy/Finance
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the list of 16 Non-Banking Finance Companies- Upper List (NBFC-UL) on 30 September 2022 for better and enhanced regulation of the sector.
In October 2021, RBI introduced scale based regulation for NBFC.
Scale Based Regulation
RBI introduced the concept of scale based regulation for the NBFC on the basis of the model developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Regulation (BCBS). The BCBS model provided for proportionality of regulation of banks according to the size of the Banks and its importance in the country’s economy.
If the bank was very big and if its collapses can badly affect a country’s economy, then those types of banks needed more supervision by the country’s central bank.
These types of banks in India are called Domestic- Systemically Important Banks (D-SIB). They are ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and SBI.
Types of NBFC and Scale Based Regulation
Similar concept has been introduced for NBFC in India. According to risk and their importance to the economy, RBI has divided NBFC into four layers: Base Layer, Middle Layer, Upper Layer and Top Layer.
NBFCs in the lower layer will be known as NBFC-Base Layer (NBFC-BL). NBFCs in the middle layer will be known as NBFC-Middle Layer (NBFC-ML), NBFCs in the Upper Layer will be known as NBFC-Upper Layer (NBFC-UL) and NBFCs in the Top Layer will be known as NBFC-Top Layer (NBFC-TL).
The Base layer NBFC are considered to be less important and less risky and the upper layer has the highest risk of affecting the economy if they fail.
The level of supervision of the NBFC by the RBI will depend on the risk as per the principle of proportionality of regulation. It means the Upper layer NBFC will be very closely regulated by the RBI and they will have to follow extra guidelines of the RBI.
The level of regulation will relax as one goes down the list.
RBI does not expect any NBFC to be put in the top layer.
List of the companies
The 16 companies in the NBFC-UL list are:
LIC Housing Finance, Bajaj Finance, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services, Shriram Transport, Tata Sons, L&T Finance, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Piramal Capital & Housing Finance, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Co., Shanghvi Finance Pvt. Ltd, Muthoot Finance, PNB Housing Finance, Tata Capital Financial Services, Aditya Birla Finance, HDB Financial Services and Bajaj Housing Finance.
Regulation of NBFC by RBI
NBFC has been mentioned in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act 1934. However, it got the power to regulate and supervise the NBFC only in 1964 when Chapter III-B was inserted in the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (‘RBI Act’). The RBI’s power to regulate and supervise the NBFC has been enhanced by various amendments to the act later on.
4. SEBI includes mutual fund units in Insider Trading regulations
Tags: Economy/Finance
Capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in its board meeting on 30 September 2022 decided to include mutual fund units in the SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015.
This means that penal action can be taken against the officials of the fund house who use unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI) pertaining to mutual funds, which is not yet publicly available to the unit holders.
An insider means who is a connected person or has possession of UPSI pertaining to the mutual fund schemes.
Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) was set up on 12 April 1988 and it was given statutory status by the SEBI Act 1992 on 30 January 1992.
- It comes under the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
- It is the regulator of the Capital market and Commodities market in India.
- The first SEBI chairman was Dr S A Dave (1988-90)
- Madhabi Puri Buch is the current and 10th Chairperson of the SEBI.
- Headquarters : Mumbai
5. Government’s ambitious ONDC platform launched in Bengaluru
Tags: place in news Economy/Finance
The Government of India ambitious Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) started its live beta testing on 30 September 2022 across 16 pin codes in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
In April 2022, the Government launched the pilot phase of the open network for digital commerce in five cities – Delhi, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Shillong and Coimbatore.
ONDC is being launched to take on the multinational e-commerce giant Amazon and Flipkart which control around 60 % of the Indian e- commerce market.
What is ONDC?
What is Open Network for Digital Commerce(ONDC)
It is an ecommerce platform built by the government of India to enable the small kirana stores to access processes and technologies that are typically deployed by large e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart.
Unlike Amazon or Flipkart which is a closed system, ONDC is an open system with interoperability.
Who has set up the ONDC?
Open Network for Digital Commerce is a private non-profit company established by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Union Ministry of Commerce and industry to develop open networks for e-commerce. It was founded in April 2022.
Many companies like Microsoft, Paytm, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India, Bank of India, Phone Pe and others have invested in the project.
Target of the ONDC
The government wants to raise the e-commerce reach in the country to 25% of the population in the next 2 years as compared to 8% at present. ONDC will play a key role in achieving the target.
It is targeting to sign 900 million buyers onboard and targeting 1.2 million sellers on the shared network within the next 5 years, while achieving a gross merchandise value of 48 billion dollars.
6. PFRDA observe 1 October as the National Pension System Diwas
Tags: Economy/Finance Important Days National News
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is observing 1st October as the National Pension System Diwas (NPS Diwas) to promote pension and retirement planning among the citizens of India.
Important facts
PFRDA is promoting this campaign on its social media platforms.
PFRDA is organizing this campaign under 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav'.
The objective of the pension regulator, PFRDA is to encourage every citizen, be it working professionals or self-employed professionals, to plan for building a pension corpus after retirement to ensure a financially sound future.
NPS subscribers will get the benefit of tax deduction on their contributions and regular income after retirement.
About PFRDA
It is the regulatory body under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India for overall supervision and regulation of pension system in India.
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Act was passed on 19 September 2013 and was notified on 1 February 2014.
It regulates the National Pension System (NPS), subscribed by employees of Govt of India, State Governments and by employees of private institutions/organizations and unorganized sectors.
As on 24 September, 2022, total number of subscribers under NPS is 571.86 lakhs (5.72 crores) and total Assets Under Management (AUM) is 7,99,467 crore (7.99 trillion).
7. Colourful silver commemorative coin issued on ‘Mata Sherawali’ by SPMCIL
Tags: Economy/Finance
For the first time, a colourful commemorative coin on the theme of Mata Sherawali, on the auspicious occasion of Navratri festival has been issued by the Alipore (Kolkata) mint of the Government of India. The Alipore mint is owned by Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL).
The silver coin of 40 grams with 999 purity is being sold at the price of Rs.3, 453/- (inclusive of taxes).
Concept clearing about Coins in India
- Coins are issued in India by the government of India under the Coinage act 1906(as amended in 2011).
- The Government of India has the right to mint coins of 50 Paise to upto Rs 1000.
- The circulation of Coins in the market is done by the Reserve Bank of India. Coins to the Reserve Bank of India are provided by the Government of India.
- Coins upto 50 paise are called 'small coins' and coins of Rupee one and above are called 'Rupee Coins'.
The Coins are minted by the Government of India at
- Mumbai,
- Alipore(Kolkata),
- Hyderabad and
- NOIDA (UP).
Commemorative Coins
- Commemorative coins are released to mark some special events. Commemorative coins sport a distinct design to talk about the occasion on which they are issued.
- They are normally not issued for circulation purposes but for collection purposes and unless the government notifies, it is not a legal tender.
- The first commemorative coin in India was issued in 1964 with the image of Jawaharlal Nehru, to commemorate his birth anniversary.
- The first colourful commemorative coin to be issued was on Panchatantra. It was released on 11 February 2022 by Nirmala Sitharaman.
Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL).
It was set up in 2006 under the administrative control of the Union Finance Ministry. Its headquarters is at New Delhi
SPMCIL was set up by the government of India to bring all its production units engaged in minting of coins, production of security papers and currency notes printing units under one company.
SPMCIL includes the following units
4 Coin minting units , where coins are minted ;
- Indian Government Mint Mumbai,
- Indian Government Mint Hyderabad,Telangana
- Indian Government Mint Kolkata,West Bengal
- Indian Government Mint Noida,Uttar Pradesh
Currency Notes Press ,where currency notes are printed:
- Currency Notes Press(CNP), Nashik, Maharashtra
- Bank Note Press(BNP) ,Dewas, Madhya Pradesh
Security Printing Press
- India Security Press (ISP), Nashik,Maharstara . It is the only organisation in India which prints Passports and other travel documents for the government of India .
- Security Printing Press (SPP),Hyderabad, Telangana. It is engaged in the supply of security documents such as postal stationery items,Central excise stamps ,Non-Judicial Stamps,Court Fee Stamps, Indian Postal Orders etc.
Security Paper mill
Security Paper Mill, Narmadapuram, Madhya Pradesh is the only paper mill in the country which produces high quality Bank Note and other Security Papers.
Papers manufactured by this unit are used for printing of currency notes by CNP, Nashik & BNP, Dewas and for Non-Judicial Stamps being printed by ISP, Nashik & SPP, Hyderabad.
8. Amitabh Kant led the Indian delegation at the G-20 Sherpa meeting in Indonesia
Tags: place in news Economy/Finance Summits Person in news
The Indian delegation led by Indian G20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant participated in the third G20 Sherpa meeting organised by Indonesia at Yogyakarta, from 26th to 29th of September 2022.
Amitabh Kant was appointed as India’s G20 Sherpa by the Government in June 2022 in place of the Union Commerce and Industry minister Piyush Goel.
They met in Yogyakarta to discuss the agenda of the forthcoming G20 summit meeting to be held in Bali, Indonesia in November 2022.
Role of the Sherpa’s
The G20 process is led by the Sherpa’s of member countries, who are personal emissaries of the Leaders. The Sherpa’s oversee negotiations over the course of the year, discussing agenda items for the Summit and coordinating the substantive work of the G20.
Group of 20 or G-20 is a multilateral organisation of 19 countries and the European Union was set up in 1999. India has been a member of the G20 since its inception in 1999. India will be holding the G20 Presidency from 1 December 2022 and will convene the G20 Leaders’ Summit in 2023 for the first time..
9. PM Modi to officially launch ‘5G mobile service’ on 1 October 2022
Tags: place in news Economy/Finance Summits
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will officially launch the 5G (5th Generation) telecom mobile service in India on 1 October 2022. The commercial launch of the service is expected in Diwali.
The Prime Minister will inaugurate the service at the 6th Indian Mobile Congress being held in New Delhi from 1-4 October 2022.
The Theme of the 6th Indian Mobile Congress 2022: New digital Universe".
The top three telecom companies which have been granted 5g licenses; Jio, Airtel and Voda Idea will be present there.
Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, Bharti Group chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, and Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla will be present at the ceremony and will represent their respective telecom companies.
Commercial Launch of the 5g Service
Mukesh Ambani had announced at the 45th annual General Meeting of Reliance Industries Limited that its telecom company Jio will launch the 5g services in the four metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai by Diwali and the whole country would be covered by December 2023.
Sunil Mittal owned Airtel plans to launch its services in October and extend them pan-India around the same time frame.
Birla owned Voda Idea has not yet announced its plan on 5g services
10. SBI to finance the Adani Enterprise Ganga Expressway Project
Tags: Economy/Finance State News
The State Bank India has agreed to provide a loan of Rs 10,238 Crore to the Adani Enterprises Limited for its Ganga Expressway project .The 594 Km long Ganga expressway will connect Meerut with Prayagraj.
However the Adani Company will construct only 464 km out of the 594 long Ganga expressway. It will construct part of the expressway which connects Budaun to Prayagraj.
Adani Enterprises has set up three subsidiaries, Budaun Hardoi Road Private Ltd (BHRPL), Hardoi Unnao Road Private Ltd (HURPL) and Unnao Prayagraj Road Private Ltd (UPRPL) to implement the project.
SBI will provide a loan of Rs 10,238 Crore to these three companies combined.
Ganga Expressway
- The Ganga Expressway is a Uttar Pradesh government project which will start from Meerut, National Highway (NH) 334 and end at NH 2 bypass in Prayagraj District.
- It will be a six lane access controlled Highway.
- It is the largest Greenfield expressway which is being built on the Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (“DBFOT”) model.
- It means the designing and construction of the road will be done by the Adani Company and it will have the right to collect tolls for the next 30 years. After 30 years it will transfer the expressway to the government.
- Greenfield means that it will be a totally new road project and there are no roads where it is being built.
Operational Expressway in Uttar Pradesh
- Yamuna Expressway -- 165 km from NOIDA to Agra
- Noida-Greater Noida Expressway -- 25 km. It connects Noida to Greater Noida.
- Agra-Lucknow Expressway -- 302 km
- Delhi-Meerut Expressway -- 96 km
- Purvanchal Expressway -- 341 km. It starts from Chand Saray village, Lucknow district and ends at Haydaria village, NH-31, Ghazipur district. It is the largest expressway in India..
- Bundelkhand Expressway -- 296 km. It connects Gonda village on NH-35 in Chitrakoot district with Kudrail village on Agra–Lucknow Expressway in Etawah district
Total operational expressways – 1,225 km
