The 1-month non-deliverable forward indicated that the rupee will open flat-to-slightly-higher to the US dollar

Rs, Rupee, Indian Currency, 500 Rs

The GST Council on Sunday constituted a 13-member Group of Ministers (GoM) to suggest GST rate on premiums of various health and life insurance products and submit its report by October 30.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary is the convenor of the GoM. The members of the panel include members from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Meghalaya, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
The 54th GST Council meeting on September 9 decided to set up a GoM to examine and review the present tax structure of GST on life and medical insurance. A final call by the Council on the taxation of insurance premiums is likely to be taken in the next meeting in November based on the GoM report.
Currently, 18 per cent of Goods and Services Tax (GST) is levied on insurance premiums.
The Terms of Reference (ToR) of the panel also include suggesting tax rate of health/medical insurance including individual, group, family floater and other medical ..

In 2023-24, the centre and states collected Rs 8,262.94 crore through GST on health insurance premiums, while Rs 1,484.36 crore was collected on account of GST on health reinsurance premiums

The Reserve Bank plans to comprehensively revamp its currency management infrastructure over the next 4-5 years, mainly to ensure adequate storage and handling capacity to cater to the future cash needs of the growing economy.
The creation of greenfield currency management centres, the introduction of warehouse automation, the installation of security and surveillance systems, an inventory management system, and a centralised command centre are being mooted to modernise the existing infrastructure, according to an RBI document.
The expected timeline for the whole project is 4-5 years, according to the expression of interest (EoI) issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for procurement of consultancy and project management services for the modernisation of currency management infrastructure.
"Despite moderation in the growth rate of NIC (Notes In Circulation) in the last three years, analysis indicates that the growth will continue to be positive over the foreseeable future though

RBI, Reserve Bank of India

The RBI, according to the document, is interested in modernisation of the currency (banknotes and coins) management infrastructure across India to create adequate state-of-the-art storage

The Group of Ministers on reworking the nomenclature for GST compensation cess is likely to be convened by Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and include members from states, an official has said.
The official further said the Terms of Reference (ToR) and the members of the GoM are in the process of getting finalised.
"The GoM will have to suggest how the cess collected on demerit and luxury goods will be apportioned between Centre and states and suggest the legal changes that would be required to enforce the change," the official said.
The members of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on GST compensation cess are in the process of being decided. But, since the issue is with regard to cess, which is collected by the Centre, and its apportionment, the GoM would have a member from the Centre as well, the official explained.
Generally, the senior-most member of the GoM is made its convenor. So, the Union Minister of State for Finance is likely to be the convenor of the GoM

GST council meeting

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman last week said the loan and interest are expected to be repaid as early as December 2025 or January 2026

Investigation arm DGGI has detected 6,084 cases involving Rs 2.01 lakh crore of GST evasion in 2023-24 fiscal, with online gaming and BFSI in services and iron, copper, scrap and alloys in goods emerging as the sectors most prone to evasion.
The amount is double of over Rs 1.01 lakh crore detected in 2022-23 in 4,872 cases.
Out of these, voluntary taxes of Rs 26,605 crore was paid in 2023-24, up from Rs 20,713 crore in 2022-23.
As per the annual report of the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), about 46 per cent of the evasion cases related to non-payment of tax (through clandestine supply and undervaluation), 20 per cent related to fake Input Tax Credit (ITC), and 19 per cent to wrong availment/non-reversal of ITC.
In 2023-24, online gaming sector saw maximum evasion with Rs 81,875 crore in 78 cases, followed by Banking, Financial and Insurance (BFSI) with Rs 18,961 crore evasion in 171 cases. Works contract services and pharmaceutical had 343 cases and 22 evasion case

The amount is double of over Rs 1.01 trillion detected in 2022-23 in 4,872 cases. Out of these, voluntary taxes of Rs 26,605 crore was paid in 2023-24, up from Rs 20,713 crore in 2022-23

This strategic move is part of Indian Bank's efforts to mobilise resources for credit growth and refinancing of infrastructure projects

Indian bank

'We still have distance to cover,' Das says on inflation

Shaktikanta Das, Shaktikanta, RBI Governor

Life Insurance

Experts say they may now be slightly better placed as customers looking for tax-free returns under Rs 5 lakh investment a year may now choose their guaranteed products

IncomeTax Return, ITR

Here are some of the key ones you need to accomplish

boxing

Fitness, will and long hours of training are needed to make a mark in a sport that is gaining viewers in India

Index funds, such as the Nifty 500, are passively managed and seek to replicate the performance of the underlying index.

Mutual Fund, AUM, Asset Under Management

The case, involving a string of agents and victims duped by the promise of easy overseas travel, has shocked authorities and the public alike

fake

This comes on the back of Thailand expanding its visa exemption to more countries in July 2024

thailand

The rupee appreciated by 5 paise to 83.87 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday supported by weakening of the American currency in the overseas market and significant foreign fund inflows.
Forex traders said market participants are eagerly awaiting cues from the US Fed policy on Wednesday, with a rate cut all but certain. However, the magnitude of the cut remains uncertain.
Moreover, the rupee continues to hold steady within a well-defined range on active intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), they added.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.89, then inched further to touch 83.87, registering a rise of 5 paise from its previous close.
On Friday, the local unit settled higher by 4 paise at 83.92 against the US dollar.
"Despite a significant drop in the dollar index and crude oil prices remaining under control in recent sessions, alongside inflation figures staying below the Central Bank's 4 per cent target for the second consecuti

Rupee, Rs, Indian Currency

Forex traders said market participants are eagerly awaiting cues from the US Fed policy

Many engineering graduates lack the practical skills and industry-specific knowledge required to meet the demands of employers

Engineering students

Bajaj Housing Finance is looking to raise Rs 6,560 cr, of which fresh issues are for Rs 3,560 cr and offer for sale is for Rs 3,000 cr. Bidding for the IPO opens on Sept 9 and closes on Sept 11

Sanjiv Bajaj, chairman & managing director, Bajaj Finserv (left); and Atul Jain, managing director, Bajaj Housing Finance

We plan to finish at around Rs 42,000-43,000 crore for FY25, up 15-16 per cent from last year at Rs 37,000 crore, driven by the health segment to a great extent, said GIC CMD Narayanan

Ramaswamy Narayanan, Chairman and Managing Director of General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re)

We don't set up physical branches, and this allows us to reach more locations compared to the larger banks and NBFCs, he says

Ritesh Jain, Co-founder of Flexiloans.com

The only available yardstick for evaluating the tightness of monetary policy is the real interest rate. The nominal repo rate is useless for this purpose

Jayanth Varma, Jayanth R Varma, MPC

"In the long run, the payments ecosystem has to be viable in a country of our scale," said Bulusu

UPI, UPI payments, UPI payment

Power Tiller; Image courtesy: Greaves Cotton

Currently, overall power tiller industry in India is around 60,000 units and it is expected to grow to 100,000 units by the year 2025, VST Tillers said.

TikTok

Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of Chinese short-form video platform, which faces a nationwide ban in the US, has warned users as he prepares to appear before the US Congress on March 23

Mahindra

The Rs 600 crore investment will result in an ownership of between 9.97 per cent to 13.64 per cent for IFC in NewCo.

Donald Trump

But, no big crowd was seen in New York City on Tuesday despite a heavy presence of media representatives on the venues

Elon Musk

Elon Musk's unilateral decision-making, which more often than not is opposite to the official stance of the US, has caused a headache for the Biden government, and it is difficult to shrug off

Experts suggest that if you decide to reduce your cover, you should supplement the TP cover with at least a fire and a theft cover

motor insurance, Car insurance

There are many different types of car insurance policies available, each with its own set of coverage options. It is important to choose a policy that meets the needs of the car owner

Illustration: Ajay Mohanty

Aim is to bring down regulations and promote innovation in the sector

This product was developed in response to the government's vision to upscale infrastructure development, SBI General Insurance, whole-time director Anand Pejawar said

IRDAI

Regulator Irdai has constituted a task force to facilitate ease of doing Know Your Customer (KYC) by insurers using Aadhaar, the 12-digit individual identification number

Removes 30% exposure limit on each contract

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