Mahua Venkatesh

6 months of demonetisation: Cash back to being king, shortage at ATMs continues

Prominent Indian banks have claimed there is no cash crunch, but fact remains that ATMs run dry during long weekends. The crisis began in November when the Union government pulled 500 and 1000 rupee banknotes from circulation as a part of its crackdown on black money.

Demonetisation: Cash withdrawals in March nearly the same as last year

Withdrawals from ATMs in March this year stood at 2,259 billion — 0.6% more than what people withdrew in the same month last year.

Govt working on plan to turn seized benami properties into houses, offices

In one of his weekly radio address, Mann Ki Baat, last year, Modi said the governnment will soon implement the benami transaction law to target other forms of illegally accumulated wealth.

Cabinet gives RBI more teeth to tackle bad loans in banks

The amendment in the banking law will enable the setting up of a committee to oversee companies that have been the biggest defaulters of loans.

Modi asks taxmen to get GST ready, wants action on benami properties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked taxmen to take necessary steps against those with benami properties and focus on broadening the tax net. In a review meeting with officials of the tax department on Tuesday, the Prime Minister, sources said, also underlined the need to reduce human interface and adopt measures that do not lead to harassment.

Deposits under PMGKY: Second black money amnesty scheme gets a tepid response

The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana was availed only by 24,000 people.

Taxmen searches dubious firms suspected of laundering black money

After swooping on shell companies last week, the income tax department cracked down on finance companies selling ponzi schemes.

GST council to debate tax on services, fitment of items on April 18-19

The Narendra Modi government will like to see a seamless transition to GST, which will not hurt the poor and at the same time protect the revenues of the Centre and states.

70% of India’s small, mid-sized firms yet to start GST preparations

Industry insiders said that many of these firms, due to uncertainty, had been postponing the exercise required to move towards adopting the new system

Demonetisation: Rs 10K cr undisclosed income detected, plans 60,000 tax notices

Under Operation Clean Money, more than 60,000 persons, including 1,300 high risk persons, have been identified for investigation into claims of excessive cash sales during the demonetisation period.

Cash crunch may hit you this long weekend amid short supply from RBI

Banking sources said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is supplying only about 25% of the cash required for ATMs in several states such as Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Kerala.

Mudra loans to small borrowers tops Rs 1.8 lakh crore in 2016-17

No self-certification? Accounts used for overseas transactions to be blocked

The account holder will have to provide all details of transactions that were undertaken outside India besides updating the KYC data.

ATMs running 30% short of cash 5 months after note ban: Is this the new normal?

The use of cash is back in circulation and increasing with the removal of withdrawal restrictions. This is causing a shortage as the remonetisation exercise is yet to be completed.

Petrol pumps threaten to remain shut on Sundays from May

Petrol pump owners want an eight-hour, six-day work schedule for their employees, saying it is getting difficult to employ staff for longer hours without an increase in their margins.

Paid all your taxes? Govt may still decline a ‘certificate of appreciation’

All those paying an annual tax of Rs 1-10 lakh are given a bronze certificate, while those pay between Rs 10-50 lakh get a silver note and those paying taxes between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore falls under the gold category. Those paying Rs 1 crore and above are categorised as platinum tax payers.

Only 35% of the total farm credit goes to farmers

Many farmers still take loans from money-lenders and not from the formal banking channel, resulting in suicide and distress.

Demonetisation: RBI wants to circulate new Rs 200 notes through banks, not ATMs

The new Rs 200 banknotes -- proposed to plug the paucity in lower denominations -- are likely to be printed from June this year.

Cut EPFO rate upward of 50 basis points: Finance ministry tells labour ministry

The Union labour ministry recommendations come at a time when the government is trying to raise the salary ceiling of its mandatory coverage to ensure more workers get retirement benefits.

Modi’s demonetisation helped India leap frog into digital banking era, Kamath says

New Development Bank president Kamath says the government must address the non-performing assets problem of public sector banks at the earliest.

Amid govt’s push to go cashless, remonetisation process to wrap up this month

The remonetisation process could be completed in the first fortnight of April. According to a report, the Reserve Bank will not need to print the entire amount of demonestised currency.

Deposited Rs 2L or more during note ban? Get ready to mention it in new I-T return form

A simpler, one-page income tax return form unveiled by the government on Friday includes a separate section for deposits of Rs 2 lakh and more in banned currency notes between November 9 and December 31.

Interest rates on small savings schemes cut by 0.1%: PPF, Kisan Vikas Patra hit

For April-June, these have been lowered by 0.1% across the board compared to January-March

Transferring more than Rs 2.5 lakh online might invite income tax scrutiny

The income tax department will be looking at high-value transactions, i.e., transactions above Rs 2.5 lakh by an individual, and may investigate these.

Have a bank account? It may soon become your KYC proof for other savings product

Government plans to make KYC linked to a person’s bank account standard proof for buying financial products such as mutual funds and insurance and for investing in pension schemes. The move will make the KYC process uniform and simpler across financial sectors.

Your bank account number could become common identity platform for financial products

Finance minister Arun Jaitley has already directed financial sector regulators, including the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), to chalk out a plan to move towards a single uniform KYC norm.

Your PAN card could be invalid without Aadhaar by December. Here’s what to do

Permanent account numbers (PAN) not linked to Aadhaar cards will likely become invalid after December 31, a government source said on Thursday, as the Centre pushes to widen the use of the 12-digit biometric identity project.

Demonetisation woes: NRIs, resident Indians to wait more to get money transferred

Rough estimates suggest that the amount of demonetised cash that has come in from the section is minuscule — not exceeding Rs 10,000 crore. The total amount expected from this window is about Rs 15,000 crore.

Cabinet clears GST Bills to ensure roll out from July 2017

The GST Council headed by finance minister Arun Jaitley has cleared all the five draft laws--CGST, IGST, Compensation Rule, SGST and UT-GST bills.

Cabinet clears GST Bills to ensure rollout from July 2017

The GST Council headed by finance minister Arun Jaitley has cleared all the five draft laws--CGST, IGST, Compensation Rule, SGST and UT-GST bills.