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Once notes are cancelled, Reserve Bank can pay the amount to the government as dividend The government may issue an ordinance to provide clear legal support for extinguishing the demonetised Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes that are not returned by December 30. The government wants to amend the Reserve Bank of India Act to this effect and ordinance route may be opted for as Parliament would not be in session immediately after the last day of surrender.The ongoing winter session of Parliament -disrupted by protests as it has been -ends December 16 and the budget session will start only late January . An ordinance will pave the way for cancelling the said currency once the amount of money returned becomes clear on December 31.“We could look at it (an ordinance),“ said a government official. Only when the unreturned currency is cancelled can it be made available to the government, possibly via a dividend paid by RBI.Once this is done, the government could consider the amount so recovered...

The RBI today auctioned the 35 days Cash Management Bills worth Rs 60,000 crore under government's Market Stabilisation Scheme (MSS) to mop up extra liquidity from the system against the backdrop of demonetisation. The central bank will also conduct an auction of 35 days Cash Management Bills under the MSS for Rs 60,000 crore tomorrow. On Friday, the central bank had auctioned MSS worth Rs 20,000 crore, after MSS ceiling was raised to Rs 6 lakh crore. The Cash Management Bills for a notified amount of Rs 60,000 crore was done using "Multiple Price Auction" method. The bids for the auction were submitted in electronic format on the Reserve Bank of India Core Banking Solution (E-Kuber) system. The Cash Management Bills have the generic character of Treasury Bills. After the withdrawal of the legal tender character of the Rs 500/1,000 denomination notes with effect from November 9, there has been a surge in deposits with the banks, the RBI had said. There has been ...

The finance ministry on Monday asked all government departments to make electronic payments to suppliers, contractors or institutions, if the order value exceeds Rs.5,000.To attain the goal of complete digitisation of government payments,the ministry has lowered the threshold for making such payments from Rs.10,000 to Rs.5,000,it said in a statement. Business Standard New Delhi,06th December 2016

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)monetary policy committee is likely to consider a 25 basis point rate cut on Wednesday, followed by another in the first quarter of 2017,amid downside risks to growth following the notes ban and subdued inflation, says a DBSreport. According to the global financial services major, the RBI policy committee is expected to take a ‘growth-supportive’ stance,as the Centre’s recent bank note ban has raised downsiderisks to growth for at least two quarters,beginning the October-December quarter.Moreover,the subdued inflationis also expected to keep the door open for an easy policy bias. Business Standard New Delhi,06th December 2016

The government is consider in gaproposal to hike wage ceiling for coverage under social security schemes run by there tirementfund body Employees’Provident Fund Organisation(EPFO) to Rs.25,000 per month, from the existing Rs.15,000, Parliament was informed on Monday.The increase in wage ceiling for coverage under EPFO schemes to Rs.25,000 could add five million additionalformal sector workers to around 40 million contributing subscribers. Business Standard New Delhi,06th December 2016

This is twice the Rs.67,000 crore disclosed in the income disclosure scheme that ended in September this year The government expects this financial year’s second and final black-money disclosure scheme to get twice the amount declared under the previous disclosure scheme, which ended on September 30. The informal target for the scheme is believed to be between Rs.1.3 lakh crore and Rs.1.5 lakh crore, indicated the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). “Coupled with the demonetisation, the new scheme will be the last window to come clean. The government’s intention is very clear: There is no room for black money,” said CBDT Chairman Sushil Chandra in an interaction with Business Standard. “It (the disclosure) should be double of the previous scheme. Now, all the money has to come to the surface. Everyone now wants to clean their money because only then will they be able to utilise it. Besides, we are moving fast with digitisation. We are sure that once the new Bill is passed b...

The income tax (I-T) department has rejected two sets of suspicious high value declarations under the income disclosure scheme (IDS) which ended in September, including one made by Mahesh Shah, the Ahmedabad-based property dealer who was detained by the income tax department on Saturday. In the first instance, declarations were made by a family of four based in Mumbai, named Abdul Razzaque Mohammed Sayed, Mohammed Aarif Abdul Razzaque Sayed, Rukhsana Abdul Razzaque Sayed, and Noorjahan Mohammed Sayed, amounting to a total of Rs2 trillion and in the other instance, the declaration was made by Shah, an Ahmedabad-based individual amounting to Rs13,860 crore. In both instances, after investigations, it was established that these people were of ‘small means’ and these declarations could have been misused, the tax department said in a statement. These numbers were also not included while arriving at the final numbers under the income disclosure scheme, it added. The total declaration...

In a bid to bring more workers from unorganised sector under the health insurance scheme,the Employees State Insurance Corporation has increased the monthly wage limit to  Rs.21,000,Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya( pictured )said on Sunday.“Coverage under ESIC scheme was enhanced to Rs.15,000 in 2010.Now,government has taken a decision to hike the coverage from Rs.15,000 to Rs.21,000,”he said.He said the government was also strengthening the health infrastructure for the benefit of workers.The upward increase in revision would add about 3.5 million new members to the ESIC pool. The  government is keeping a close watch on temperature-sensitive wheat cropas the Met Department has predicted warmer winter this year, Agriculture Secretary ShobhanaK Pattanayak  said  on Sunday. He also said the ongoing rabisowing has not been impacted much due to demonetisation.A central team sent to rural areas has found no significant impact on so wings of ar.Sowing of wheat,the m...

The Reserve Bank of India on Suday said it will issue new currency notes Rs.20 and  of Rs. 50 denominations with numerals in ascending size in the number panels and without intaglio printing. The old notes of Rs. 50 will Rs.20 and ` remain legal tender. These new notes come against the backdrop of government last month scrapping  Rs.1000 . 500.currency notes to crack down on black money. “The Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue Rs.20 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005, with inset letter `L' in both the number panels, bearing signature of Dr Urjit R Patel, Governor, Reserve Bank of India, and the year of printing `2016' printed on the reverse of the banknote,“ the RBI said in a statement. The Economic Times New Delhi,05th December 2016

The six-member monetary policy committee headed by Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel is likely to cut the policy rate by at least 25 basis points in the December 6-7 policy review. But, the case for a pause is equally strong, say economists. However, the central bank is unlikely to pause, given a demonetisation-induced slowdown. "Demonetisation and its impact would justify a rate cut," says Upasna Bharadwaj, economist at the Kotak Mahindra Bank. "The market has largely factored in a 25-basis-point rate cut. If the central bank sounds dovish and realistic about future rate cuts, the market would take comfort from that," she added. Two out of the 12 economists, bond market dealers and rating agency officials polled by Business Standard say the RBI will go for at least a 25 basis-point cut. The economic slowdown due to demonetisation is expected to shave off a percentage point from the gross domestic product growth and so a rate cut at this point t...

Measures may include taxs lab & rate revisions for individuals,companies To soften the “pain” of demonetisation,the central government might announce a number of direct taxs ops for individuals as well as the corporate sector in the Union Budget for 2017-18,which is likely to be presented on February 1— earlier than usual. The Budget might have revisions of the taxs labs,reductions in the corporate tax rate,and more tax exemptions or  rebates in certain cases.While a clearer picture is emerging,nothing is likely to befinalised till mid-January. Policy makers have stated—publicly and off there cord—that the Prime Minister’s Office and Union finance ministry are working on certain “populist” measures on taxes.This would fit in with the now expected “feel-good” Budget. Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal had told Business Standard earlier that there was scope for reduction in direct taxes in the Budget.“There is a likelihood of reduction indirect taxes next f...