News digest: Jio's fibre-to-home foray, new tax rules, PSB mergers and more

From Reliance Jio's decision to invest Rs 500 billion on fibre connectivity to homes to decrease in Indian money in Swiss banks, BS brings you top stories to keep up with the latest news.

Reliance Jio to invest Rs 500 bn in fibre-to-home foray; launch by year-end

Reliance Jio, which is set to disrupt the fixed broadband as well as media and content delivery platform segments with the launch of fibre-to-home (FTH) services, will invest Rs 500 billion on last-mile connectivity of 50 million homes with fibre over the next two to three years, according to sources close to the company.

A team of around 10,000 people was being put in place for the FTH roll-out, said sources, adding this would be one of the largest and fastest deployments of FTH broadband services anywhere in the world. Read more.

CBDT's decision to not pursue cases below Rs 2 mn may cost govt Rs 100 bn

The Central Board of Direct Taxes’ (CBDT’s) decision to not pursue pending cases of income tax (I-T) demand below Rs 2 million could deprive the exchequer of potential revenues of over Rs 100 billion, according to a senior tax official. 

Going by the new rule, the tax department will have to withdraw 90,536 appeals pending before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) and various high courts. The government’s objective behind changing the monetary limits for appeal is to reduce litigation by 50 per cent and allow the I-T department to focus on fewer but more important cases to recover taxes, said the official. Read more. 
 

Indian money in Swiss banks down 80% since 2014, says FM Piyush Goyal

Under fire for reports of a spurt in black money held by Indians in Swiss banks, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday such money decreased by around 35 per cent in 2017 year-on-year, and by 80 per cent since the Narendra Modi government took over in 2014.

“After the NDA came to power in 2014, deposits in Swiss banks have been reduced by 80 per cent till the end of 2017,” Goyal said in the Rajya Sabha. Read more.

Modi govt seeks RBI's views on specific public sector bank mergers

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for its suggestions on specific public sector banks (PSBs) that could be merged in a bid to achieve synergy.

“The government has requested the RBI for views as well as suggestions regarding specific possible combinations to achieve scale and synergy for appropriate consideration,” Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. The government felt there might be various approaches on the merger of PSBs, and the RBI’s views could act as a guiding principle, a senior finance ministry official said. Read more.