 "Arun Jaitley")
Xmas gift for middle class
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on Saturday cut tax rates on 17 goods and six services, ranging from cinema tickets, televisions, digital cameras and Jan Dhan accounts to frozen vegetables, a move that will cost the Union and state governments about Rs 55 billion in one year and Rs 13.75 billion in the remaining three months of the current financial year. Read more
5G business at stake, Huawei soothes security concerns
In a bid to allay fears that Indian national security could be at risk, Huawei India has said it is willing to place its software code (source code) in an escrow with the government. “In 2010, we were the only equipment company which offered to place the software code of the equipment in an escrow to the Indian government, when similar questions on security were raised. We are willing to do the same again for 5G so that there are no apprehensions,” said CEO Jay Chen. Read more
India’s stock market is now seventh biggest in the world
India’s ranking has improved two notches in the league table of the world’s biggest stock markets. Currently, India ranks seventh with a market cap of $2.1 trillion. At the end of 2017, India was at the ninth position despite its market cap being $2.4 trillion. Read more
Fiscal slippage would affect investment climate: N K Singh
Finance Commission Chairman N K Singh on Saturday sounded a note of caution against fiscal slippage, saying it would adversely impact India’s macroeconomic stability as well as investment climate. Read more
Trump discusses firing Fed’s Powell afterlatest rate hike
US President Donald Trump has discussed firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as his frustration with the central bank chief intensified following this week’s interest-rate increase and months of stock-market losses, according to four people familiar with the matter. Read more
