FAQ

The Central Board of Direct Tax (CBDT) has clarified in a circular issued on 13 September 2022  that the banks are not required to deduct 10 per cent Tax Deduction at Source (TDS) on one-time settlement (OTS) or loan waivers.

The CBDT said OTS on loan waiver by a bank will not be treated as a benefit or a perquisite and not face Tax Deduction at Source (TDS) as they would have to bear the additional cost of tax deduction along with the haircut. It will not pose an additional burden on the banks .

Who will benefit 

• This exemption from TDS includes public financial institutions, scheduled banks, cooperative banks, rural development banks, state financial corporations, and state industrial investment corporations.
• Others who are exempted from TDS 
• The CBDT also clarified that the  TDS provisions will not apply to the issuance of bonus/rights shares issued by a company in which the public is substantially interested, where bonus/rights shares are issued to all shareholders of such a company. 

Concept clearing 

One time Settlement 

• It is a scheme which is offered to the defaulters who are unable to repay their loans and does not seem in foreseeable future to generate enough resources to pay back the loans. 
• In these types of loan settlements  banks often take Haircuts on the loan .
• Haircut on loan settlement 
• Haircut  simply means that banks are willing to accept less than what is their due. For example if the person owes Rs 100 to the bank the bank accepts Rs 80 from the borrower and closes the loan . Here the bank is taking a hair cut of 20% . 

Tax Deduction at Source (TDS)

• It was introduced under the Income Tax Act 1961 to stop tax evasion . The concept of TDS was introduced with an aim to collect tax from the very source of income. 
• As per this concept, a person (deductor) who is liable to make payment of specified nature to any other person (deductee) shall deduct tax at source and remit the same into the account of the Central Government. The deductee from whose income tax has been deducted at source would be entitled to get credit of the amount so deducted on the basis of Form 26AS for TDS certificate issued by the deductor.
• For example a person opens a fixed deposit with a bank and deposits an amount . If the interest income on the deposit is more than Rs 5000 per year then the bank will deduct 10% TDS on the interest amount. So if the interest income is Rs 6000 per year then the bank will deduct 1000x10%= Rs 100 . 
• Here the bank is the deductor while the depositor is the deductee.
• The TDS rates are different for different financial transactions .

Bonus issues

When a company issues a new share of the company to its existing shareholder in the form of dividend then it is called as Bonus issues.

Right Issue 

When a company issues new shares to its existing shareholders at a price ,it is called Right Issues.

Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) 

• The Central Board of Direct Taxes is a statutory authority functioning under the Central Board of Revenue Act, 1963.

• The CBDT is a part of the Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance.

•  On one hand, CBDT provides essential inputs for policy and planning of direct taxes in India,at the same time it is also responsible for administration of direct tax laws through the Income Tax Department.

•  Chairperson: Nitin Gupta

The RBI has decided to launch pilot projects to digitize Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) in Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to transform rural credit delivery systems and to improve the quality of credit delivery in the rural areas .

The Digitisation Project 

• RBI will launch a pilot project for end-to-end digitalisation of Kisan Credit Card (KCC) lending, developed by the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) Bengaluru. 

• The pilot project would entail automation of various processes within banks and integration of their systems with the service providers. 

• The proposed digitalisation of the KCC lending process will make it more efficient, reduce costs for borrowers and reduce Turn Around Time (TAT) from loan application to disbursement  significantly.

Where it will be launched 

The pilot  project will commence in September 2022 in select districts of Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu with Union Bank of India and Federal Bank, respectively, as partner banks and with active cooperation of the state governments.

Kisan Credit Cards(KCC)

• It was introduced in India by banks  in August 1998 to meet the agricultural credit needs of the farmers.

• The model of KCC scheme was prepared by NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development)on the  recommendations of RV Gupta Committee.

• RBI set up a High Level Committee on Agricultural Credit Through Commercial Banks in 1997 . The committee was  headed by RV Gupta. 

According to a news report published by Bloomberg, India has overtaken the United Kingdom to become the 5th  largest economy in the world.

India is now ranked behind the United States, China , Japan and Germany .

 Main  highlights of the Bloomberg Report 

According to Bloomberg , the Indian economy overtook the United Kingdom economy at the end of December 2021.

According to Bloomberg at the end of March 2022, the Indian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was  $854.7 billion while the United Kingdom GDP was $$816 billion.

Gap between Indian and United Kingdom economy to grow 

Bloomberg expects the gap between the Indian and United Kingdom economy to grow in future .

The United Kingdom is facing the fastest inflation in four decades and rising risks of a recession that the Bank of England(Central Bank of the United Kingdom) says may last well into 2024. 

The United Kingdom economy has contracted by 0.1% in the  second quarter (April-June) of 2022.

On the contrary, India's economy is likely to grow by over 7% this year and it is expected to be one of the fastest growing economies in the world .

What is recession 

When there is a negative growth in the economy for the two consecutive quarters then the economy is in recession. 

Recession leads to large scale closure of factories, loss of employment , increase in unemployment ,poverty and spread in  social and political unrest in the country. 

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs headed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the disposal of Chana and other pulses to States and Union Territories at discounted rates to utilize for various welfare schemes on 31 August 2022.

The Chana and pulses will be released from the buffer stock of NAFED (National Agricultural Marketing Federation of India).

The disposal will be done from the stock of pulses procured under Price Support Scheme (PSS) and Price Stabilization Fund (PSF). 

Highlights of the cabinet decision :

• The Central government has offered the State government and Union Territories (UT) 15 metric tonnes of Chana.
• The Chana will be given to the State/UT at a discount of Rs 8 per kg over the issue price of the sourcing state on the first come first serve basis.
• It has also approved enhancement of the ceiling on quantity of procurement under PSS from existing 25 percent to 40 percent in respect of Tur, Urad, and Masur. 
• This will be a one-time dispensation for a period of 12 months or till the complete disposal of 15 lakh MT stock of Chana. 
• The centre will spend 1200 crore rupees for the implementation of this scheme.

Where will the State/UT will use these Chana and pulses :

The States and UTs will utilize these pulses in their various welfare schemes including Mid-Day Meal, Public Distribution System, and Integrated Child Development Programmes.  

Why government is coming up with the scheme ?

• Government maints buffer stock of crops to meet its various needs like price intervention, supply to fair price shops(ration shops). 
•  However due to passage of time the quality of the crops deteriorates  and also the government has to spend money on maintaining the stock.
•  Many times before the previous stock is exhausted , new crops are harvested and if it is a bumper harvest then the problem of storage and its cost increases .To solve this problem the government has come up with this particular proposal. 
• At present NAFED holds Chana stocks of 35.7 lakh metric tonnes against the required buffer stock of 23 lakh metric tonnes. A portion of the stock is more than 2 years old.
• The Agriculture ministry  fourth  estimates for 2021-22 season(July-June) expects 37.5 lakh metric tonnes production of Chana.
• To make storage space for the forthcoming harvesting of chana and pulses crops,  the government wants to clear the excess stock .

Government scheme to help farmers :

Price Support Scheme :

• It has been launched by the government of India. 
• Under this scheme when the prices of commodities fall below the Minimum Support price (MSP) , State and central notified procurement nodal agencies purchase commodities directly from the farmers at MSP under specified Fair Average Quality, 
• This helps and protects the farmers against the economic loss in farming.

Price Stabilization Fund (PSF) :

• It was set up by the government to deal with situations when there is an excessive change in the prices of specified agricultural commodities like onion, potatoes and pulses.
• Under the scheme the central or state agencies which buy such commodities from the farmer are provided interest free loans so that they can buy the agricultural commodities from the farmers.
• The agricultural commodities bought by the central and state agencies are used to build buffer stock.
•  The stock is released in the market when the prices of the agricultural commodities are high so as to increase the supply and bring down its prices.

The Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister, EAC-PM released the Competitiveness Roadmap for [email protected] in New Delhi on 30 August 2022. The document was released in the presence of Chairman EAC-PM Dr Bibek Debroy, India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, Member of EAC-PM Sanjeev Sanyal and Dr Christian Ketels from Harvard Business School.

India can become a developed country 

• India is currently the 6th largest economy in the world  after the United States of America, China, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom and is classified as a developing country .
• Speaking on the occasion, Bibek Debroy said that the country can become a 20 trillion dollar economy at a sustained growth rate of 7 to 7.5 percent for the next 25 years.
•  He said that India can become an upper-middle-income country by 2047 at this growth rate. 
• He said, even if India achieves relatively conservative rates of growth of 7 to 7.5 percent, the country will get to a per capita annual income of about 10,000 dollar.

Who has prepared the report 

The roadmap is a collaborative work between the EAC-PM and The Institute for Competitiveness, Gurugram. The report has been developed by Dr Amit Kapoor, Chair, and Institute for Competitiveness, Professor Michael E. Porter and Dr Christian Ketels of Harvard Business School.

Thrust of the report 

• The Government of India has set a target to become a developed country by 2047. 2047 is the year when India will be observing its 100th Independence Day.
• To become a developed country, productivity in the country has to increase and achieve an optimum level so that capital formation increases and it will become a driver of sustained prosperity.
• The report has prepared guidelines for the national government and the states to achieve the goal through sector-specific and region-specific policies based on the ‘4 S’ principles. 
• The ‘4 S’ guiding principles redefine our approach to attaining prosperity by stressing the need for prosperity growth to be matched by social progress, to be shared across all regions within India, to be environmentally sustainable, and to be solid in the face of external shocks.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid foundation stones for the EV battery unit at Hansalpur and Maruti Suzuki’s upcoming manufacturing plant in Kharkhoda, Haryana on 28 August 2022.He laid the foundation virtually at an event at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

The ceremony was held to mark 40 years of Maruti Suzuki in India. The Chairman of the Suzuki motors (Japan), T .Suzuki was also present on the occasion.

Suzuki to set up one of the largest passenger vehicles factory in the world    

• The passenger vehicle manufacturing facility at Kharkhoda, Haryana will have the capacity to manufacture 10 lakh vehicles per year.
• This would make the unit one of the largest passenger vehicle manufacturing facilities at a single location in the world.
•  The first phase of the project will be set up with an investment of over Rs 11,000 crore.

EV Battery Unit 

• Maruti Suzuki will also set up an Electric Vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing plant of the company at Hansalpur in Gujarat.
• The facility at Hansalpur will be set up with an investment of around Rs 7,300 crore. 
• It would manufacture advanced chemistry cell batteries for electric vehicles.

New R&D Center in India 

T. Suzuki announced that Suzuki Motor Company, Japan will set up a new company called Suzuki R&D Center India to help strengthen the R&D competitiveness and capabilities in new fields of technology not just for India but also for the global market.

Maruti Suzuki India Limited.

• It was set up in 1981 as a joint venture between the Government of India and Suzuki motors Japan.
• Initially the Government of India was the majority stakeholder but now Suzuki motors is the largest shareholder of the company.
• It is responsible for bringing revolution in the passenger vehicle segment in India.
• India is a major market and production center of Suzuki motors Japan. It produced 60 % of its global vehicles in India.
• It is the largest export of passenger vehicles from India and it exported around 2.4 lakh vehicles last year.

Chairman of Maruti Suzuki India ltd: RC Bhargava

Headquarter: New Delhi

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) subsidiary company, Reliance Retail has launched its WhatsApp-JioMart partnership, enabling customers to place orders on the messaging service. This was announced by the company director Isha Ambani at the 45th annual general meeting of Reliance Industries on 29 August 2022 held at Mumbai, Maharashtra.

• Isha Ambani, daughter of RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani, leads the retail business, and is expected to be appointed the next chairman of the company.
• Jio Mart is the e-commerce venture of Reliance Retail headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• People can browse the grocery catalogue, add items to the cart, make payment and place an order on JioMart through WhatsApp.
• WhatsApp is owned by Meta (formerly Facebook)
• Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO, Meta, said in a press release, “This is our first-ever end-to-end shopping experience on WhatsApp — people can now buy groceries from JioMart right in a chat.”

The government of India owned Public sector Bank, Union Bank of India has opened its first specialised start up branch at Koramangala, Bengaluru, and Karnataka on 30 August 2022.

Koramangala along with neighbouring HSR Layout and Indira Nagar is the Startup hub of Bengaluru city.

Earlier, State Bank of India launched India's first dedicated branch for the startups called ‘SBI Startup Hub’ branch on 16 August 2022.

Union Bank of India 

• It is a public sector Bank owned by the Government of India.
• It was set up on 19 November in 1919 in Bombay (now Mumbai).
• It was nationalized by the Government of India in 1969.
• Andhra Bank and Corporation bank was merged with Union Bank on 1 April 2020.
• The bank has 3 overseas branches  at Hong Kong, Dubai (UAE) & Sydney (Australia) and one  representative office in Abu Dhabi (UAE).
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra 
• MD and CEO: A. Manimekhalai
• Tagline of the Bank : Good people to Bank with 

Important for Exam 

National Startup Day is observed in India on 16 January.

The Union Ministry of Roadways and Highways on 29 August 2022 has issued a notification on standardizing the process for issuance of International Driving Permit (IDP).

International Driving Permit

• It is a document which allows the holder of the permit to drive a private vehicle in foreign countries which recognises such a permit. 
•  It is not a driving license. It is issued to a holder of a legal driving license. 
• Under the Convention on International Road Traffic of 1949 (Geneva Convention), India is required to issue IDP for the acceptance of the same in other countries.

Need for the issuing standardized process

• Internationally the IDP has a standardized format.
• In India the state government has the power to issue permits and currently the permits issued by the various states have different format, size, and colours. This creates problems for the Indians when they go abroad and many countries refuse to recognise it. 
• Now with a standardized format there will be no such issues.
• The IDP issued by the state governments will be valid for one years.

Union Minister for Roadways and Highways: Nitin Gadkari

The Government of India has decided not to proceed with privatisation of Pawan Hans and Central Electronics Ltd. due to questions raised on the integrity of the winning bidders.

Pawan Hans 

• Star9 Mobility, a consortium led by Almas Global Opportunity Fund, had won the bid by quoting Rs 211 crore for the government’s 51% stake in the Noida based, loss-making helicopter firm Pawan Hans . 
• On 29 April, the empowered ministerial panel of the Government of India had approved the winning bid by Star9. 
• However, on April 20, the Kolkata bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) passed an order against Almas Global for failing to honour its winning bid to acquire EMC Limited, a Kolkata-based power system solutions company. NCLT had sought action against the management of the Almas under section 74(3) of the Bankruptcy Code that could land the officials of the company in jail for 1-5 years. 
• Following the development, the government had put on hold issuing a letter of award to the consortium.

Central Electronic Limited 

• In January this year, the government also put on hold the sale of New Delhi based, Central Electronics Ltd (CEL) to a Delhi-based firm Nandal Finance and Leasing following allegations of undervaluation by the employees’ association.
• On November 29, the empowered ministerial panel approved the highest price bid of Nandal Finance and Leasing for the sale of 100% government stake in CEL for Rs 210 crore.

 Government of India Disinvestment target for the financial year 2022-23

• In the 2022-23 Union Budget the Government of India has set a disinvestment target of Rs 65,000 crores.
• In 2021-22 the total money raised by the Government of India through disinvestment was Rs 13,531 crore against the target of Rs 78,000 crore.