Finance
External debt up 6 per cent to $663 billion as of March 2024
In March 2024, India's external debt reached $663.8 billion, showing a $39.7 billion increase from the previous year. The valuation effect and a decline in short-term debt share contributed to this change, with debt service ratio rising to 6.7% of current receipts. Additionally, the ratio of international financial assets to liabilities increased to 74.0%.
India’s external debt stands $663.8 billion at end-March 2024, rise of $39.7 billion from year before
Exploring India's external debt dynamics, the recent data highlights a growing financial obligation, with varying debt compositions dominated by US dollar-denominated debt. Analyzing the trend pre and post-pandemic offers insights for strategic debt management and economic resilience.
In Graphics: GST Council’s new steps to simplify tax processes
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on Saturday, in its first meeting after the new government took charge at the Centre, announced several measures to ease tax compliance and provide tax certainty to industry. ET reviews the steps taken:
Centre may prepay market loans taken to compensate states for GST revenue loss during Covid years
The compensation cess was initially brought in for five years to make up the revenue shortfall of states, following the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The compensation cess expired in June 2022, but the amount collected through the levy is being used to repay the interest and principal of the Rs 2.69 lakh crore that the Centre had borrowed during COVID-19.
GST Council fixes monetary limit for filing of appeals before various legal forums
The Council has also recommended that the maximum amount for pre-deposit for filing appeal before the appellate authority be reduced from Rs 25 crore CGST and Rs 25 crore SGST to Rs 20 crore CGST and Rs 20 crore SGST, she said. The Finance Minister also informed that services provided by the Indian railways like sale of platform tickets, facility of retiring rooms, waiting rooms, are exempted from GST.
GST Council recommends reduction of GST on carton boxes from 18 pc to 12 pc
Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan, representing the State, thanked the council for taking the decision unanimously on the proposal of the state. He said that the decision would also help the industry reduce working capital costs.
PFRDA to introduce new life cycle fund option by September
Life cycle fund provides an option of investment to subscribers and allocation of equity and debt depends on the option chosen by them. There are different investment choices (Auto/Active) for tier-1 and tier-2 National Pension Scheme (NPS) accounts.
RBI's timely action reduced vulnerabilities in unsecured loans: Shaktikanta Das
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das announced on Thursday that timely actions by the central bank have helped in moderating vulnerabilities related to unsecured loans. This statement was made during the Second Global Conference on Financial Resilience organized by the College of Supervisors.
Centre monetizes assets worth Rs 3.85 lakh crore; Coal and Roads ministry top contributors
The government has monetized Rs 3.85 lakh crore through core assets of various ministries and Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) since FY22 under the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP). In FY23-24, against a target of Rs 1.8 lakh crore, the government achieved Rs 1.56 lakh crore, with top-performing ministries being Road Transport and Highways and Coal, collectively monetizing Rs 97,000 crore.
Cabinet approves Rs 2,254 crore scheme to expand forensics infrastructure
Financial outlay of the Central Sector Scheme will be provisioned by the MHA from its own budget.
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Assets worth Rs 1.56 lakh crore monetised in 2023-24 as against the target of Rs 1.8 lakh crore under NMP: NITI Aayog
According to NITI Aayog, the government has monetized assets worth Rs 3.85 lakh crore in the first three years under the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) while the four-year target under the plan, ending in 2024-25 is Rs 6 lakh crore.
April-June direct tax mopup rises 21% to Rs 4.62 lakh cr
The Indian government's direct tax collection increased by 20.99% YoY to ₹4.62 lakh crore from April 1-June 17, boosted by a 27.34% increase in advance tax collection. The gross direct tax collection was ₹5.15 lakh crore, up 22.19% from the previous year. The income tax department issued refunds totaling ₹53,322 crore, 33.70% higher than the previous year.
Advance tax numbers bring cheer to the economy
Advance tax collection in FY till June 15 surged 27.6% to ₹1.48 lakh crore, with ₹1.14 lakh crore as corporate tax and ₹34,362 crore as personal income tax, indicating a strong economy and corporate performance.
100-Day action plan: DPIIT looking to start up funding & spur manufacturing push
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in India is planning to focus on easing early-stage funding for startups, reducing compliance burdens, and reducing logistics costs as part of its 100-day action plan. The plan includes a policy for deep-tech startups, reforms for ease of doing business, and a public-private partnership model of governance.
Cash spending during elections 22 per cent higher this time
Incremental currency in circulation since the election commission announced the election date in March till the last phase of election at Rs 89,080 crore as of June 7 was 22 percent higher than Rs 72,680 crore in the same period of 2019 elections. This could be probably due to the impact of COVID related disruptions and the surge in inflation over the five year period.
Modi govt releases Rs 1.4 lakh crore installment of tax devolution to states
The Ministry of Finance on Monday announced the release of an additional installment of tax devolution to states for June 2024. The objective of the move is to support state finances and spur economic development, it said.