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Four years after demonetisation, cash is majorly still used for low-value transactions such as buying groceries and making payments to domestic staff. According to a latest survey conducted by community social network LocalCircles, the top categories of purchases for which citizens paid the most amount in cash without a receipt were grocery (for 39 per cent respondents), and salaries for domestic staff (for 31 per cent out of the 15,376 respondents) in the last 12 months. Even though these categories of payments are considered to be of low-value, Income Tax laws in India have prescribed that payments in cash cannot be made to an individual beyond a daily limit of ₹ 10,000. Similarly, laws have prescribed different restrictions on payments in cash without receipt which applies to businesses as well as individuals. Four years ago, on this day (November 8, 2016), Prime Minister Narendra Modi had demonetised ₹ 500 and ₹ 1000 notes, to curb the black money problem that has been among the pr

The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indexes rallied for a fifth session in a row on Friday led by strong gains in Reliance Industries, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank. The benchmarks opened higher and extended gains in noon deals on the back of strong buying interest in banking and financial services shares. The Sensex rose as much as 615 points and Nifty 50 index moved above its important psychological level of 11,250 for the first time in nine months to trade above pre-Covid-19 levels. The Sensex ended 553 points or 1.34 per cent higher qt 41,893 and Nifty 50 index climbed 1.18 per cent or 143 points to close at 12,264. For the week, Nifty rallied 5.33 per cent, Sensex advanced 5.75 per cent and the gauge of banking shares Nifty Bank index surged 10 per cent. During the session, fifteen off 19 sector gauges compiled by the BSE ended higher led by S&P BSE Energy index’s 3.2 per cent gain, Banking, real estate, financial services, information techno

Reliance Industries Ltd. on Thursday said that the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia will invest ₹ 9,555 crore for an equity stake of 2.04 per cent in Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) valuing the company at ₹ 4.59 lakh crore. “This investment will further strengthen PIF’s presence in India’s dynamic economy and promising retail market segment,” the Mukesh Ambani-led company said in a statement. “The transaction is in line with PIF’s strategy as a leading global investor with a proven track record of investing in innovative and transformative companies globally and develop strong partnerships with leading groups in their respective markets,” Reliance Industries said. With PIF’s latest investment Reliance Retail Ventures has raised ₹ 47,265 crore from leading investors like Silver Lake, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and KKR among others. PIF had earlier acquired 2.32 per cent stake in Jio Platforms, the digital services arm of Reliance Industries. PIF is one of the lar

The rupee depreciated 30 paise to 74.40 against the US dollar in opening trade on Monday tracking muted domestic equities and strong American currency amid global risk aversion. The local unit opened at 74.40 at the interbank forex market, down 30 paise over its last close. On Thursday, the rupee had declined further by 23 paise to close at a two-month low of 74.10 against the US currency. Forex market was closed on Friday on account of Id-E-Milad. Losses in domestic stock markets and uncertainty ahead of US presidential election weighed on the investor sentiment, traders said. “We may continue to see bids in USD/INR on account of overall global risk aversion. 74.95 is an extremely crucial resistance. 73.65 is now likely to act as a support. We expect an intraday range of 74.25-74.65,” said Abhishek Goenka, Founder and CEO, IFA Global. Goenka further added that “we have the US presidential election on November 3rd (Tuesday), Reserve Bank of Australia rate decision on Tuesday, Bank of E

Domestic stock markets nosedived on Wednesday on the back of weak global cues after European equity markets fell sharply as coronavirus infections grew rapidly in Europe and the United States, igniting fears of possible strict lockdown measures that could damage already fragile economic recoveries. Uncertainty over the impending US presidential election also weighed on investors’ sentiment. The BSE benchmark – S&P BSE Sensex slumped as much as 747 points or 1.85 per cent and National Stock Exchange benchmark – Nifty 50 index – tumbled 205 points to fall below its important psychological level of 11,700. The Sensex ended 600 points or 1.48 per cent lower at 39,922 and Nifty 50 index dropped 160 points or 1.34 per cent to close at 11,730. European shares fell on reports of potential lockdowns in Germany and France, losing 2.5 per cent to hit five-month lows, rattled by a media report that France might bring in a national lockdown from midnight on Thursday. The Paris index was among t

Future Retail will go into liquidation if its deal to sell assets to Reliance Industries fails, the group told a Singapore arbitrator while arguing against Amazon.com Inc’s bid to scupper the deal, a legal order seen by news agency Reuters showed. Amazon on Sunday won an injunction from a Singapore arbitrator to halt Future Retail’s deal to sell assets to Reliance. Amazon alleged Future Retail had breached certain contract provisions it entered into last year in a separate deal with the US firm. The dispute centres around Future Retail’s decision in August to sell its retail, wholesale, logistics and some other businesses to Reliance Industries for $3.38 billion, including debt. Amazon argues that a 2019 deal it had with a Future unit had clauses saying the Indian group couldn’t sell its retail assets to anyone on a “restricted persons” list including any firms from Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani’s group. The deal specified any disputes would be arbitrated under Singapore Inte

Angel Broking shares gained 20 per cent in intra-day trading after the retail broking house reported the highest-ever quarterly profit, at ₹ 74.47 crore, in the second quarter ended September 2020. At 1:00 pm, the shares were trading higher by 19.30 per cent at ₹ 296.65 on the BSE, after touching an intra-day high of ₹ 298.35. But after being listed on bourses on October 5, the stock is still to surpass its issue price of ₹ 306 per share. The retail broking house reported profit of ₹ 74.47 crore in the September 2020 quarter, a 47.3 per cent rise compared to ₹ 48.3 crore in the June quarter. Its consolidated revenue from operations grew by 30 per cent to ₹ 309.85 in Q2FY21.

The government on Saturday extended the due date for furnishing annual GST or goods and services tax returns for financial year 2018-19 by two months. The new deadline is December 31, instead of October 31. This is applicable to businesses filing annual returns as well as audit reports for the year to March 31, 2019. Earlier, the taxman had extended the due date by a month till October 31. Now, businesses can file the annual return, using Form GSTR-9, and the reconciliation statement, Form GSTR-9C, for financial year 2018-19 by December 31. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said the government has been receiving a number of representations on the need to extend the due date, on account of obstruction to business due to COVID-19-related restrictions. Form GSTR 9 is used by registered taxpayers to file a GST return every year. The return contains details on inward and outward supplies under different heads.

Domestic stock markets fell on Thursday tracking weakness in broader Asian equities, as investors fretted over the slow pace of US stimulus talks and an increase in the global spread of coronavirus pandemic. The S&P BSE Sensex index fell 316.1 points – or 0.78 per cent – to 40,391.21 at the weakest level of the day, as losses in bank, automobile, pharmaceutical and IT shares dragged the markets lower. The broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark declined to as low as 11,845.65, down 92 points – or 0.77 per cent – from its previous close. However, gains in metal shares limited the downside.

Bajaj Finance on Wednesday reported a net profit of ₹ 964.88 crore in the July-September period, marking a fall of 35.94 per cent compared to the corresponding period a year ago. In a regulatory filing, the non-banking financial company said its total income came in at Rs 6,523.29 crore in the second quarter of current financial year, up 3.17 per cent from the year-ago period. Shares in Bajaj Finance ended 0.88 per cent lower at Rs 3,233.25 apiece on the BSE, having declined as much as 4.92 per cent after the announcement during the session.    Pune-based Bajaj Finance said the coronavirus pandemic, which has affected several countries including India, and the consequent lockdown has considerably impacted its group business operations in the April-September period. The pandemic has also resulted in a significantly lower business acquisition and put constraints on recovery of overdues from customers, the company said. Net interest income – a measure of profitability – increased 4.13 per

India’s exports increased 5.99 per cent year-on-year to USD 27.58 billion in September, according to the government data released on Thursday. Exports stood at USD 26.02 billion in September 2019. The country’s imports declined 19.6 per cent to USD 30.31 billion in September. It was USD 37.69 billion in the same month last year. The trade deficit in September was USD 2.72 billion, compared to USD 11.67 billion in the year-ago month.

Hong Kong’s central bank has sold more of its local currency so far this year than it did in any full year since the global financial crisis, in a bid to stop the unit strengthening and breaking its peg with the greenback. Capital has flown into the Asian financial hub in 2020, initially due to comparatively high interest rates, and subsequently attracted by a series of large initial public offerings, analysts said. Ant Group’s looming $35 billion joint listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai, for example, is expected to keep demand high. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) sold HK$10.9 billion ($1.41 billion) on Tuesday in interventions in Hong Kong and U.S. trading hours. That brings its total so far this year to HK$230.6 billion, beating the HK$227 billion for the full year of 2015, which was previously the highest since 2009, according to official data and Reuters calculations. This is a sharp turnaround from 2019, when some feared political uncertainty would drive money out of Hong

In order to stimulate consumer demand in the economy the government on Monday announced Special Festival Advance scheme wherein all the central government employees will be eligible for an interest free loan of ₹ 10,000 which they will have to utilize on festival related spending up to March 31, 2021. The loan will be given to central government employees by the way of a prepaid RuPay card which would be used at point of sale machine and money cannot be withdrawn from ATMs. The loan will be repaid to the government in 10 monthly instalments, the government said. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the prepaid RuPay card will remain active till March 31, 2021. Special Festival Advance scheme is a one-time advance scheme for central government employees and was revived after it was discontinued after the recommendations of Sixth Pay Commission were accepted, Ms Sithraman said.

Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 100 points in opening trade on Friday ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy decision. The 30-share index was trading 103.44 points or 0.26 per cent higher at 40,286.11, and the NSE Nifty rose 34.85 points or 0.29 per cent to 11,869.45. Tata Steel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 3 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel, L&T, M&M, Bajaj Finance and HDFC. On the other hand, HUL, Reliance Industries, TCS, Nestle India and Tech Mahindra were among the laggards. In the previous session, Sensex ended 303.72 points, or 0.76 per cent, higher at 40,182.67, while the broader Nifty climbed 95.75 points, or 0.82 per cent, to finish at 11,834.60. Exchange data showed that foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 978.37 crore on a net basis on Thursday. According to Arjun Mahajan, Head – Institutional Business – at Reliance Securities, Indian equities continue to look resilient at the moment ahead of the Rese

Domestic equity benchmarks staged their best winning streak of 2020 as benchmark indices extended gains to a seventh straight session on Friday, after the Reserve Bank of India announced a series of measures to boost liquidity in the banking system. The S&P BSE Sensex index rose as much as 390 points and the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark reclaimed its important psychological level of 11,900. In the last seven sessions, the Sensex has rallied 6.68 per cent and Nifty has surged 6.16 per cent.  The Sensex ended 327 points or 0.81 per cent higher at 40,509 and Nifty climbed 80 points to close at 11,914. The central bank kept the key policy rates on hold citing inflationary pressures, but vouched to stay “accommodative” as long as necessary to rescue the economy from the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das announced on-tap Targeted Long-Term Repo Operations (TLTRO) with tenors of up to three years for a total amount of up to ₹ 1 lakh crore at a float

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) – the country’s largest software services company – on Wednesday announced a buyback of shares worth up to ₹ 16,000 crore. The buyback comes at a time when TCS parent Tata Sons is engaged in a fight with one of its oldest shareholders, the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, which recently said “a separation from the Tata Group is necessary”. The IT major also reported a net profit of ₹ 7,475 crore in the July-September period, missing analysts’ estimates. Tata Consultancy Services’ board approved a plan to buy back 5.33 crore shares at ₹ 3,000 apiece, amounting to 1.42 per cent of its paid-up equity capital, subject to shareholders’ approval, the IT bellwether said in a regulatory filing after market hours. TCS reported a net profit of ₹ 7,475 crore in the July-September period, marking a rise of 6.66 per cent compared to the previous quarter. Analysts on average had expected a profit of ₹ 7,805 crore, news agency Reuters reported citing Refinitiv data. “Driving

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) – the country’s largest software services company – on Wednesday announced a buyback of shares worth up to ₹ 16,000 crore. The buyback comes at a time when TCS parent Tata Sons is engaged in a fight with one of its oldest shareholders, the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, which recently said “a separation from the Tata Group is necessary”. The IT major also reported a net profit of ₹ 7,475 crore in the July-September period, missing analysts’ estimates. In a regulatory filing after market hours, the IT bellwether said its board approved a plan to buy back 5.33 crore shares of the company at ₹ 3,000 apiece, amounting to 1.42 per cent of its paid-up equity capital, subject to shareholders’ approval. TCS reported a net profit of ₹ 7,475 crore in the July-September period, marking a rise of 6.66 per cent compared to the previous quarter. “Driving accelerated business value realization of our customers’ digital investments has resulted in broad-based revenue growth.

Finance ministry sources have countered CAG audit finding of central government wrongly retaining Rs 47,272 crore of GST compensation cess meant for states, saying temporary retention cannot be termed as diversion. Days after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) flagged that the Centre in the first two years of the GST implementation wrongly retained GST compensation cess that was meant to be used specifically to compensate states for loss of revenue, ministry sources said compensation due for the year 2017-18 and 2018-19 was fully paid to states. Time taken in reconciliation of compensation receipts can’t be termed as diversion of GST cess fund when the dues to states were fully released by the central government, they said. Sources said that in 2017-18, Rs 62,611 crore was collected, out of which the government released full compensation dues of Rs 41,146 crore to the states and union territories (UTs). In 2018-19, an amount of Rs 95,081 crore was collected, out of which Rs 69,2

The rupee depreciated 26 paise to 73.83 against the US dollar in opening trade on Thursday as selloff in domestic equities and significant foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiment. At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened on a weak note at 73.82, then fell further to 73.83, registering a fall of 26 paise over its last close. On Wednesday, the rupee appreciated by one paisa to close at 73.57 against the US dollar. “Given the uncertainty to economic outlook from the second wave of COVID-19 cases, US presidential elections and US stimulus package, investors are shunning risky assets. Commodities and equities have sold off,” Abhishek Goenka, Founder and CEO, IFA Global. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.03 per cent to 94.41. On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 510.46 points lower at 37,157.96 and broader NSE Nifty plunged 155.45 points to 10,976.40. F

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries said on Wednesday that the US-based investment firm KKR will buy a 1.28 per cent stake in its retail arm, Reliance Retail Ventures, for ₹ 5,550 crore. The transaction gave Reliance Retail an equity value of ₹ 4.21 lakh crore, Reliance Industries said in a regulatory filing before market hours on Wednesday. The deal is likely to bolster oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries’ retail presence in the domestic market. Here are 10 things to know: KKR will make its investment from its Asia private equity funds, and the transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals, Reliance Industries said. This marks the second investment by KKR in a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, following a ₹ 11,367 crore investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year. KKR follows the US-based private equity firm Silver Lake, which agreed to take a 1.75 per cent  stake in Reliance Retail Ventures for ₹ 7,500 crore earlier this mon