สรุปข่าวเศรษฐกิจอินเดียประจำวันที่ 26 พฤศจิกายน 2556

No relaxation in gold import curbs: Chidambaram

Union finance minister P Chidambaram reiterated the ministry's stand to restrain gold imports for jewellery manufacturing for the domestic market and said the government was fully aware of the affects to the jewellery industry. At the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) interactive session in Chennai, Bhaskar Bhat, managing director of Titan Industries, requested the government to review the customs duty. At the current level of customs, the country is witnessing significant gold smuggled in to the country. Responding to it, FM said, the government will not do away with the restrictions and has brought out the policy knowing well of the impact on the domestic jewellery makers. Union government and Reserve Bank of India have over the last four months imposed several measures to control the country's gold imports to arrest the rising current account deficit. Some of the measures have impacted the business of organised players like Titan very significantly. The other major issue that has “adversely” affected was the withdrawal of the “gold-on-lease” scheme. The scheme, while offering credit to the jewellery industry which operates on very low margins at affordable rates, also acted as the perfect hedging mechanism.

(Source: Business Standard)

Exports may get priority lending status shortly, says FIEO chief

Exports sector may soon get the priority sector lending status from the lenders as the discussions at the finance ministry and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on the issue are now at an advanced stage, says top official. The FIEO (Federation of Indian Export Organizations) president M. Rafeeque Ahmed said all the items in the export basket were doing well now. In the beginning of the year, gems and jewellery, oil, electronics and engineering goods suffered slowdown but they picked up momentum subsequently. Textiles, pharmaceuticals and leather were doing very good among the better performing sectors.. The FIEO president said the dollar to rupee at 60-62 would help Indian exporters to compete better in the market. The Federation expects the dollar to rupee will hover at around 62-64 over the next 3-4 months.

(Source: Economic Times)

Govt plans concessional GST for small business

In order to make the proposed Goods and Service Tax (GST) palatable to small businesses, the Union government is considering a GST rate much lower than the standard revenue neutral rate for businesses in the annual sales bracket of Rs 2,500,000-7,500,000.This incentive is in addition to the total GST waiver for businesses below the Rs 2,500,000 annual sales threshold. Also under consideration is a 10-year moratorium on subsuming petroleum products in GST. Sources privy to the development said the Centre’s proposals would be placed before states shortly. The move is expected to benefit the services sector greatly.

(Source: Financial Express)

No relaxation: Companies have to spend on CSR initiatives, rotate auditors

The corporate affairs ministry has rejected the industry's demand for a relaxation in the norms on mandatory CSR (corporate social responsibility) spending and rotation of auditors outlined in the new Companies Act. The ministry has decided to stick to the original draft of rules despite intense lobbying by industry bodies. The new Companies Act, which replaces the Companies Act of 1956, requires firms above a certain threshold to spend 2% of their average net profit on so-called corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. The Act also requires companies to rotate the auditors they use periodically. Industry had also sought relaxation and clarity on corporate governance; restriction on layers of subsidiaries; constitution of National Financial Reporting Authority, its oversight; appointment of auditors including mandatory firm rotation, limits on the number of audits; clauses on independent directors and the manner of their selection; power to compromise or make arrangements with creditors and members; merger and amalgamation of companies.

(Source: Economic Times)

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