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PEs, NBFCs move to take more control of real estate projects Private equity firms and NBFCs are taking more control in real estate projects, tightening underwriting norms and taking stock of the overall financial health of the developer in transactions As defaults rise and balance sheets of real estate firms weaken, private equity (PE) firms and non-banking financial companies (NBFC) are taking more control in projects, tightening underwriting norms and taking stock of the overall financial health of the developer in transactions Since project financing is the lifeline of residential projects and new real estate regulations come with stiff penalties, it is imperative that the investment strategy is recalibrated, investors said. “While investing these days, realty funds, particularly equity investors, pay significant attention, in their due diligence process, to the developer’s overall ability to raise money in the proposed investment and see that their investment may not get

Sebi seen facing hurdles in implementing proposals of Uday Kotak committee There has been criticism that many recommendations of the Udak Kotak committee on corporate governance will drive up compliance costs and encroach into other regulators’ turf Two months after the Uday Kotak committee on improving corporate governance at listed companies submitted its report, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is finding it hard to implement its recommendations, following criticism that many of them will drive up compliance costs, and encroach into other regulators’ turf, two people aware of the matter said. An email sent to Sebi on Tuesday was not answered until press time. However, Ajay Tyagi, chairman, Sebi said that the regulator is seriously considering the recommendations. “We have received hundreds of comments on the report; the examination is on,” Tyagi said at a conference organized by Association of Investment Banks of India on Tuesday. Sebi panel recommendation

Auto industry seeks two GST rates for passenger vehicles Automobile industry body SIAM is seeking two tax rates for passenger vehicles under the GST regime instead of multiple rates levied currently, as part of its wish list for the upcoming budget.The industry body has also sought from the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley a special tax rate of 12 per cent for electric and hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles. "The automotive industry has been suggesting two rates for cars in place of multiple tax rates, and requests the government to keep only two rates for vehicles under the GST regime," Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said in its suggestions for the Union Budget 2018-19. Currently, under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, small petrol cars with engine capacity less than 1200cc attract 1 per cent cess, while diesel cars with engine capacity of less than 1500cc attract 3 per cent cess, on top of the 28 per cent tax. Similarly, cess on hybrid car

GSTN plans data scan to detect tax evasion The GST Network (GSTN) will soon float a request for proposal from data analytics companies to analyse data for tax evasion With nearly 10 million taxpayers registering themselves on the goods and services tax (GST) network, or GSTN, the information technology backbone of the new indirect tax regime is initiating the process of mining data to detect tax evasion and analyse taxpayer behaviour.GSTN will soon float a request for proposal (RFP) from data analytics companies to analyse data after meeting central and state government officials and understanding their requirements. To be sure, GSTN will start data analytics when it has sufficient data spanning a year.GST was rolled out in July this year and the tax returns started coming in August.“We are in the process of drafting an RFP because we want the tools and manpower for data analytics. We should be able to slice and dice the data whichever way we want,” said Prakash Kumar, chief ex

Cabinet okays Bill to replace Medical Council of India The Union cabinet has approved a bill to replace the much criticised medical education regulator Medical Council of India (MCI) with a new commission to ensure transparency and reform.The National Medical Council Bill, 2016 will be tabled in Parliament in the current session, law and justice minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a briefing shortly after the cabinet meeting on Friday The draft bill, proposed by a fou rmember Niti Aayog committee in 2016, was modified by a Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted to relook it in July 2017. It has been awaiting approval for some three months. MCI has long been criticised for rampant corruption and a lack of accountability which, according to a parliamentary standing committee report on health last year, would lead to great social, financial and political cost if unchecked. "The MCI as the regulator of medical education in the country has repeatedly failed on all its mandates ove

Exports jumps 30%, trade defict high at Rs 13.8 bn Non oil ,non gold imports up 23%,showing signs of industrail recovery The GST Council´s efforts to resolve exporters´ woes on refunds seem to have started yielding results.Exports grew 30.55 per cent in November,amonth after it contracted 1.1 per cent, also due to the low base effect and rising petroleum prices. In fact, petroleum products, along with engineering goods, gems and jewellery, and chemicals, drove nearly 80 per cent of the rise in merchandise exports.The outbound shipment stood at Rs    26.19 billion in November against Rs 20.06 billion a year ago. To put things in context, exports had declined by 24.43 per cent in November 2016, the steepest that year. Exports rose 12.01 per cent at Rs 196.48 billion during the first 11 months of the current financial year.But exporters complained that their funds were still stuck and demanded government intervention to address their concerns including issues related to the good

Growth slowdown bottoming out, says RBI governor  While expectations on price rise remain stable for the moment, “considerable caution and vigilance is warranted on the inflation front” but the slowing in growth could be over, said Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Pate “Recent success in containing inflationary pressure needs to be viewed in the broader context of entrenching macroeconomic stability, in which the government has play edacrucial part,” Patel said in opening remarks at a recent conference on ´Financial System and the Macroeconomy´. The consumer price index (CPI)based inflation rate quickened to 4.88 per cent in November, from 3.58 per cent in October.The rate in June had fallen to a record low of about 1.5 per cent.The central bank works within a framework that aims to keep inflation anchored around a central 4 per cent, in a range of another two percentage points either way. The government has actively managed price pressure on some key food items, th