Mahua Venkatesh

GST council may reconsider products under 28% slab, ease filing returns

The glitch in the GST network portal, where all traders and businesses have to mandatorily file their returns, is one of the major challenges.

Demonetisation: Bank employees, yet to be paid for overtime, threaten strike

The government’s November 8 decision to scrap bank notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 triggered a country-wide rush as millions ended up in banks to exchange their notes for legal tender

New Rs 100 notes coming next year, printing to begin in April

RBI officials old notes will continue to be valid and will gradually be replaced without disrupting cash flow

GST confusion could hit India’s quest to improve ease of doing business ranking

With a ranking of 130 out of 190 countries, India is still adrift of its target to be among the top 50 countries in relation to the ease of doing business.

Dalits, tribals prefer loans for home than education

The rise in housing loans coincides with the construction of more houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, a programme in which eligible recipients get money from the government.

Cabinet clears 1% DA hike; good news for 49 lakh staffers, 61 lakh pensioners

The central government employees and pensioners will get the hiked salaries from July 1, 2017. The move can mildly support the economy that is seen reeling from the affects of note ban.

Amid Doklam standoff, Chinese imports to India up by 33% in April-June quarter

The rise in imports is on the back of a stronger rupee that has appreciated about 5.5% against the US dollar and 3.7% against the Chinese yuan since February.

Achieving high end of 6.75-7.5% growth difficult: Economic Survey

The government presented a second or a mid-year economic survey for the year 2017-18 highlighting the new factors that the economy faces since the last such exercise in February.

Confusion over GST prevails, this festive season gift hampers may cost you dear

Shopkeepers are not clear about the new tax rate applicable on a basket containing assorted goodies with different tax slabs under the goods and services tax regime.

Lessons from Saradha & Rose Valley? New law to regulate chit funds soon

Chit funds are registered under the Chit Funds Act, 1982 but the absence of a regulator and a nationwide framework of guidelines makes investors vulnerable.

Scam alert: Beware of fake mails from Income Tax dept seeking bank details

Experts advise looking carefully at e-mails resembling official I-T dept accounts

Maharashtra tops the list of fresh GST registrations, Gujarat comes second

Ten lakh applications for new GST registrations under unified tax regime have been received from across the country

I-T dept doubled its haul in 2016-17; seized cash, jewellery worth Rs 1,469 crore

The Income Tax department, which has intensified its drive against black money hoarders, carried out 1,152 searches.

Six telecom companies under-reported revenue by over Rs 61,000 crore: CAG

The CAG audited six telecom companies — Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Aircel, Idea, Reliance Communication and Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd — and said they under-reported their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) by Rs 61,064 crore during 2010-2015.

Govt goes after tax cheats in new SMS drive

The government has launched a fresh drive to catch tax cheats, identifying thousands of people who made big investments over the past two years but neither paid income tax nor filed I-T returns.

Loan waivers help less than 10% of farmers in distress, says NITI Aayog member

The NITI Aayog member pitches for targeted relief for those who take loans from moneylenders.

Allow people with genuine reasons to deposit banned notes: SC to govt

The Supreme Court’s is hearing petitions challenging the government’s notification that disallowed citizens from depositing old notes.

Over 1 crore PANs linked to Aadhaar in June, those not linked remain valid for now

The government earlier said the PANs not linked with the Aadhaar numbers would eventually become invalid and will not be considered for identification purposes.

Day 1 of GST rollout: No major panic barring few lapses as businesses transition

The transition to GST meant businesses had to overhaul their accounting to a new format that millions of traders and merchants seemed unable to have done.

Jammu and Kashmir to switch to GST by July 6: State finance minister

GST, India’s biggest tax reform, launched at midnight; PM Modi says ‘Good and Simple Tax’ will help poor

India’s biggest tax reform, Goods and Services Tax (GST), which was launched at midnight on Friday, will replace some 20 federal and state levies.

Jammu and Kashmir yet to implement GST, aims to build broader consensus

Unlike other states, it would take a legislative amendment to adopt GST in the state.

Customers forced to pay transaction fee for using cards in small towns

Shop owners in many parts of the country are unlawfully charging a premium from customers who pay with cards.

Farmers’ protests fallout: Govt extends interest subsidy on short term crop loans

Farmers will also get loans for post-harvest storage of their produce at a subsidised interest rate of 7% for six months.

Steel houses to be pivot of govt’s low-cost housing scheme

Govt’s black money account got 45,000 emails from whistleblowers, only 6,000 genuine

The government, after the announcement of the demonetisation exercise in November last year, set up an email account — blackmoneyinfo@incometax.gov.in —  to encourage common citizens to pass on critical information about black money and demonetisation.

Just 6.2 crore out of 29 crore PAN cards linked with Aadhaar so far

Of the 29 crore PAN card holders in the country, only 5.2 crore filed their tax returns last year. However, 98% of the Indians have the 12-digit unique biometric Aadhaar number.

I-T dept sets eyes on benami assets acquired in past 3 years

Government sources said that depending on the response the department receives, it will decide whether or not to probe into cases that are beyond the three-year period.

India ranks 120th among 131 nations in women workforce, says World Bank report

It said the country had one of the lowest female participation in the workforce.

World Bank: India growth slowed to 6.8% in 2016-17 on note ban, to rebound to 7.2% this year on reforms

World Bank says the demonetisation drive impacted the poor and the vulnerable the most