ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
India's slowdown to be unprecedented in post-war history, says Goldman Sachs- US investment Bank Goldman Sachs has followed its peers in revising its India growth forecast for the second time in less than a month. It has forecast India's growth to slow down to 1.6 per cent in FY'21. But it expects a strong sequential recovery in the second half. It justified the downward revision as in In India, the spread of the virus, announcements of a nationwide shutdown from March 25, social distancing measures, and fears among consumers and businesses, have all escalated sharply over the past two weeks. Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/indias-gdp-may-plummet-to-multi-decade-low-of-1-6-per-cent-in-fy21-goldman-sachs/articleshow/75047904.cms
About 400 million workers in India may sink into poverty: UN report- About 400 million people working in the informal economy in India are at risk of falling deeper into poverty due to the coronavirus crisis which is having catastrophic consequences, and is expected to wipe out 195 million full-time jobs or 6.7 per cent of working hours globally in the second quarter of this year, the UN's labour body has warned. Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/about-400-million-workers-in-india-may-sink-into-poverty-un-report/articleshow/75041922.cms
Infrastructure
Government may allow highway construction work to resume after April 14- The government may allow highway construction work April 15 onwards in a bid to kick start economic activity in the country. In a meeting held recemtly, Shri Nitin Gadkari, Hin’ble Union minister of road transport and highways, asked officials to explore ways to restart construction work on big highway projects where labourers are still available on site. Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/infrastructure/government-may-allow-highway-construction-work-to-resume-after-april-14/articleshow/75052972.cms
Finance
Ministry of Finance allows states to borrow Rs 3.20 lakh crore from market- The Ministry of Finance has allowed all states to borrow a cumulative Rs 3.20 lakh crore from market between April-December. The move comes amid states' demand for higher funds from the Centre to meet the expenses in dealing with COVID-19 pandemic. In a letter to the RBI, the ministry said that the Centre has decided to permit states to raise open market borrowing on the basis of 50 per cent the Net Borrowing Ceiling fixed for the year 2020-21 for financing the states' annual plan for the fiscal. Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/finance/finance-ministry-allows-states-to-borrow-rs-3-20-lakh-crore-from-market/articleshow/75049770.cms
Trade
Shri Piyush Goyal calls upon the Exporters to think big and be ready for harnessing the potential in the post-Covid era; Says that we are globally responsible citizens- Ministry of Commerce and Industry today held interaction, through Video conferencing, with various Export Promotion Councils of the country to assess the ground situation and problems being faced by them in the wake of Covid-19 and subsequent lockdown. Calling upon the exporters to think big, and be ready to harness the opportunity in the post-Covid era, Shri Goyal, Hon’ble Minitser of Commerce and Industry, said that that if India improves its quality, build capacity, bring in economies of scale, improve price competitiveness, then it can grow and harness the potential in post-Covid world. Read more at: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1612335
Taxation
IT Department to release all pending income tax refunds up to Rs 5 lakhs immediately- In the context of the COVID-19 situation and with a view to provide immediate relief to the business entities and individuals, it has been decided to issue all the pending income-tax refunds up to Rs. 5 lakh, immediately. This would benefit around 14 lakh taxpayers. It has also been decided to issue all pending GST and Custom refunds which would provide benefit to around 1 lakh business entities, including MSME. Thus, the total refund granted will be approximately Rs. 18,000 crore. Read more at: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1612291
Centre releases Rs 14,103 crore GST compensation to states; more to be released soon- The central government released the second installment of goods and services tax (GST) compensation to states, of over Rs 14,100 crore, for the October-November period. According to the officials, the funds were released earlier this week, completing the full tranche of Rs 34,503 crore for the two months. Centre had given me ven Rs 19,950 crore as the first installment in February. Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/finance/centre-releases-rs-14103-crore-gst-compensation-to-states-more-to-be-released-soon/articleshow/75048328.cms
Corporate
MCA allows companies to hold Extraordinary General Meetings (EGMs) through VC or OAVM complemented with e-Voting facility/simplified voting through registered emails- The General Circular No. 14/2020 dated 08.04.2020 issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) allows listed companies or companies with 1,000 shareholders or more which are required to provide e-voting facility under the Companies Act, 2013 to conduct EGM through VC/ OAVM and e-Voting. For other companies, a highly simplified mechanism for voting through registered emails has been put in place for easy compliance. The framework leverages the strengths of digital India by using a combination of VC and e-Voting/simplified voting through registered emails to enable companies conduct their EGMs. As the meetings will be conducted over VC/ OAVM, the facility for appointment of proxies has been dispensed with, while representatives of bodies corporate will continue to get appointed for participation in such meetings. Read more at: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1612341
Agriculture
Centre gives states 90-day open window for procurement of pulses and oilseed- The centre gave states 90-day open window for the procurement of pulses and oilseeds from the day of start of the purchase. Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Hon’ble Agriculture Minister, announced to extend the procurement period of pulses and oilseeds which was scheduled to end on April 30, allowing states to complete their procurement exercise within 90 days. States procure 25% of the total output of oilseeds and pulses from farmers at the minimum support price (MSP) fixed by the centre. Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/centre-gives-states-90-day-open-window-for-procurement-of-pulses-and-oilseed/articleshow/75055364.cms
States
MHA writes to States to ensure availability of Essential Goods, by invoking provisions of the Essential Commodities (EC) Act 1955, under Lockdown to fight COVID-19- As part of maintaining smooth supply of essential items in the country, Union Home Secretary, Shri Ajay Kumar Bhalla has written to all State Chief Secretaries to take urgent steps to ensure availability of essential goods, by invoking provisions of the Essential Commodities (EC) Act 1955. These measures include fixing of stock limits, capping of prices, enhancing production, inspection of accounts of dealers and other such actions. Read more at: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1612154
Miscellaneous
NGOs permitted to buy food grains directly from FCI for Relief operations- NGOs and Charitable Organizations are playing important role in providing cooked food to thousands of poor and needy people during this time of nationwide lockdown. To ensure uninterrupted supply of foodgrain to these organization Government has directed FCI to provide Wheat and Rice to such organizations at the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) rates without going through the e-auction process. Hitherto only state governments and registered bulk users were allowed to buy stock from FCI under OMSS rates. Read more at: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1612361IC OUTLOOK
Collated from different studies, sources mentioned. We do not bear any responsibikity for this data or its accuracy.