India News Round Up - July 2016

"In what is seen as preparations for crucial state elections in 2017 - elections that will have a bearing on how the nation perceives Prime Minister's Narendra Modi's invincibility - the Government carried its first big Cabinet reshuffle in two years by inducting 19 new Ministers and in the process invited criticism that the Prime Minister was going back on his word of 'minimum government, maximum governance'.The expansion factored caste and social diversity to expand the BJP's social support base. It also seemed to aim at improving efficiency by rewarding performers and punishing those who were considered controversial. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley lost the portfolio of Information and Broadcasting, ostensibly to free him up to focus on the economy.
Jaitley's main area of focus was the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax, considered key to the overhaul of the Indian economy. The GST finally got passed by the opposition dominated Upper House and awaits ratification by the states." -
Tony Khindria.

Nation

The Indian Parliament approves a controversial law to allow children to work for family businesses, despite widespread concern by the United Nations and other rights advocates that it will push more children into labour. Click for more >>>

In a major reshuffle, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inducts19 new Ministers into his Cabinet to bolster his two-year-old administration but draws criticism that he was backtracking on a promise of lean Government. Click for more >>>

India's progress is linked to that of all its neighbours, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, as he, along with his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina, inaugurate Petrapole-Benapole land port which will serve as a key trade route between the two countries. Click for more >>>

India's Upper House of Parliament passes a Bill that will give state governments more than $895 million a year to conserve and protect forests and wildlife even as analysts and activists say it ignores the importance of indigenous people in conserving land and tramples on their rights. Click for more >>>

Protesters from the low-caste Dalit community block roads and attack Government buses in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat in demonstrations over the flogging of four men accused of skinning a cow. Click for more >>>

The Supreme Court of India slams search engines Google, Yahoo and Microsoft for failing to keep out ads selling sex selection kits, and asks the Central Government and the intermediaries to immediately come up with technical solutions to prevent such ads from popping up during routine searches. Indian law bans sex determination tests and kits facilitating it. Click for more >>>

The World Bank announces plans to provide more than $1 billion to support India's solar initiatives. Click for more >>>

Economy, Finance and Tax

India to consider removing Cyprus as a non-cooperative jurisdiction for income tax purposes. Cyprus is the only country to have been blacklisted by India as a non-cooperative jurisdiction, due to lack of effective exchange of information.
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India to inject $3.41 billion into 13 state-run banks to help shore up the cash-strapped lenders and revive loan growth that has hit a two-decade low. Click for more >>>

India's 7.5 percent growth rate may be "overstated", the US says, underlining that the Narendra Modi Government has been "slow" in proposing economic reforms in some areas to match its "rhetoric". Click for more >>>

Money held by Indians in Swiss banks falls by nearly one-third to a record low of 1.2 billion francs amid a continuing global clampdown on the famed secrecy wall of Switzerland's banking system. Click for more >>>

Terming India's GDP number as "overstated", Morgan Stanley's Chief Global Strategist Ruchir Sharma calls for more private investment for the economy to get back on track. Click for more >>>

The Goods and Services Tax finally had its historic day in the Upper House of Parliament with the passage of the Bill to amend the Constitution, paving the way for what is popularly referred to as the concept of "one nation, one tax."
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi says the time for incremental change is long over, while seeking a vision document from the Niti Ayog (the institution that replaced the Planning Commission) that would reflect this and posit transformational change for the country. Click for more >>>

Industry

The Indian Government decides to allow individual foreign investors to hold up to 15 percent stake in Indian stock exchanges, up from the earlier 5 percent. Click for more >>>

Amazon, for the first time since 2014, surpasses domestic e-commerce giant, Flipkart, as the preferred online retail destination for consumers in India's metropolitan areas, according to Forrester's Consumer Technographics Asia-Pacific Online Benchmark Survey, 2016. Click for more >>>

Aurobindo Pharma Ltd, India's fourth-largest drug maker, to join the race to buy assets of over $1 billion from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd that are being divested by the Israel-based company in the UK, Ireland and Iceland.
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Boeing Co says it expects Indian airlines to order 1,850 new aircraft worth $265 billion over the next 20 years, up from an earlier forecast, thanks to the new aviation rules that the manufacturer says will boost demand. Click for more >>>

British explorer Cairn Energy seeks $5.6 billion in compensation from the Indian Government for raising a retrospective tax demand on a 10-year-old internal reorganization of its Indian unit. In a 'Statement of Claim' filed with an international arbitration panel, the company has sought withdrawal of the tax demand and declaring that India has "failed to uphold its obligations" under the UK-India Investment Treaty by not giving its investments in the country "fair and equitable treatment". Click for more >>>

Despite low crude oil prices, global companies in exploration and production are keen to tap opportunities in India, the "happening spot" for investments, says Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister for State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum and Natural Gas. Click for more >>>

India invites electric car maker Tesla Motors to open a manufacturing hub in India and offers land at major port cities to facilitate export of their cars to South East Asian countries. Click for more >>>

India makes changes in its rules for import of poultry to bring them in conformity with a World Trade Organization ruling after the US threatened to levy sanctions. This may pave the way for import of American chicken legs, which could be offered to Indian consumers at prices that are much lower than rates for local poultry, spelling trouble for over four hundred thousand local poultry farmers. Click for more >>>

India signs a contract to buy four maritime spy planes from Boeing Co for about $1 billion, to bolster the navy as it tries to check China's presence in the Indian Ocean. Click for more >>>

India's largest lender, the State Bank of India, and Brookfield Asset Management Inc. to launch a joint venture fund to which the Canadian partner has agreed to commit $1 billion to purchase distressed assets. Click for more >>>

Nirma Ltd agrees to buy Lafarge India's cement assets from LafargeHolcim at an enterprise value of $1.4 billion in what could be the largest deal financed by bonds in India. The company is best known for its success in the detergent business in the 1970s and 1980s. Click for more >>>

Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co. Ltd, the Hong Kong-listed company controlled by billionaire GuoGuangchang, to acquire 96 percent stake in India's Gland Pharma Ltd for $1.3-1.5 billion. The Hyderabad-based Gland Pharma is backed by global private equity firm KKR & Co. Click for more >>>

US-based magazine Newsweek to launch an India edition, owned under Newsweek Media Private Limited and incorporated in March this year. Click for more >>>

Miscellaneous

Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar scripts history as she becomes the first Indian to make the cut for the individual vault finals in her debut Olympic Games.
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Useful Links

www.livemint.com
in.reuters.com
www.thehindubusinessline.com
www.thehindu.com
economictimes.indiatimes.com

Disclaimer

We provide this review for general information purposes only and we do not vouch for the accuracy of the contents of the articles. The views contained in the articles are not necessarily those of the firm.