Nasheman News : Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday hinted that the country may eventually have a single standard rate of GST through merging of 12 and 18 per cent slabs, adding that the 28 per cent slab will soon be phased out, except in case of luxury and “sin goods”.

He said the country should eventually have a Goods and Services Tax (GST) structure which would have only slabs of zero and five per cent and a standard rate, with luxury and “sin goods” as an exception. 

“A future roadmap could well be to work towards a single standard rate instead of two standard rates of 12 per cent and 18 per cent. It could be a rate at some mid-point between the two. Obviously, this will take some reasonable time when the tax will rise significantly,” Jaitley said in a Facebook post.

Regarding the highest tax slab of 28 per cent, the Minister said with the GST transformation completed, India was close to completing the first set of rate of rationalisation by phasing out the highest slab except in luxury and sin goods.

“The sun is setting on the 28 per cent slab… Today, barring tobacco products and some luxury goods, almost all items had been transferred from 28 per cent slab to 18 and 12 per cent. 

“Only cement and auto parts are items of common use which remain in 28 per cent slab. Our next priority will be to transfer cement into a lower slab. All other building materials have already been transferred to 18 and 12 per cent… The 28 per cent slab is now a dying slab,” he said.

Attacking the Congress and other opposition parties, Jaitley said their criticism of the GST was “ill-informed” and “motivated”.

He said during the pre-GST regime, a large number of commodities were taxed heavily and that the Congress legacy was a 31 per cent indirect tax. 

“Those who oppressed India with a 31 per cent indirect tax and consistently belittled the GST must seriously introspect. Irresponsible politics and irresponsible economics is only a race to the bottom,” he added.

Jaitley said the political noise outside the GST Council was inconsistent with the harmony inside as at its 31 meetings, the body has “behaved with utmost responsibility” taking several thousand decisions unanimously and with consensus. 

Referring to the government falling short of the collection targets, the Minister said the targets set in the GST regime were unprecedentedly high, with a 14 per cent increase over 2015-16 tax collections guaranteed. 

“Thus, even when 18 months have not been finished since the launch of GST, on this day every state has a target of improving its revenue with three 14 per cent increases compounded annually over the base year of 2015-16. This is close to a 50 per cent being reached in the second year itself,” he said.

“It is almost an unachievable target. Yet six states have already achieved it, another seven are within a striking distance of achieving it and only 18 are still more than 10 per cent away from achieving it.” 

Jaitley said that those states which do not achieve the target of 14 per cent are paid out of the compensation cess. 

“The requirement of compensation cess in the second year is expected to be much lower than the first year,” he said, adding the average monthly tax collected in the first year was Rs 89,700 crore as compared to Rs 97,100 crore per month in the second year.

“This increase in the tax collection has to be factored keeping in mind the significant rate reduction which has taken place in the GST” which amounts to about Rs 80,000 crore per year, he said.

 The Latest Info On Hyundai Santro 

Hyundai has recently launched their highly anticipated small family car, the 2018 Santro. Based on a new platform, the tallboy has transformed into a properly modern hatchback. It packs in quite a lot of kit, including a touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto & Apple CarPlay, a reverse camera, rear-AC vents as well as steering-mounted audio controls.

 Powering the new Santro 2018 is a 1.1-litre, 4-cylinder engine that makes 68PS/99Nm (petrol) & 58PS/84Nm (CNG) respectively. The petrol version will be available with a 5-speed AMT over & above the standard 5-speed manual gearbox. 

As expected Hyundai, has aggressively priced the Santro 2018 with prices starting at Rs 3.89 lakh, & topping out at Rs 5.65 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

 Hyundai Santro Variants 

Hyundai Santro prices start at Rs. 3.90 lakh for petrol & goes up to Rs. 5.47 lakh. Hyundai Santro is available in 9 variants & 7 colors. Santro is also a most trusted car, and even today many people have version 1 & 2 type of Santro. Many people have trusted this hatchback car & also known as the best hatchback car even today. 

Car Review By : Faizan Rizwan

In yet another interruption in service in the Purple Line of Bengaluru’s Namma Metro, trains running on Monday morning faced a brief technical snag. This resulted in unforeseen delays causing inconvenience to passengers. For a brief period between 10am and 11am, information boards in the train stations went blank and trains came to a halt or moved slower than usual. Some passengers were stuck in stations for more than 30 minutes.

Trains have been plying at intervals of 15 minutes since December 12 when structural damage in the metro track’s bridge near the Trinity Metro Station were spotted. Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has already announced that trains will not run between MG Road and Indiranagar from 8pm on December 28 to December 30.

A metro passenger said, “Not only are the trains running late, but it is stopping for more than three-five minutes in every station.” The metro officials and security personnel in the stations were not informed of the problem.

“There is a technical glitch in Purple Line between MG Road to Baiyappanahalli. Trains will be running slow till restored in this section. Hence expect delays in this line . Inconvenience regretted,” Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited tweeted.

The resultant delays in the stretch in turn caused a disruption in the services along the entire stretch between Mysore Road and Byappanahalli. Train services along the Green Line were, however, unaffected.

After the issue was resolved, the Chief Public Relations Officer Chavan told media, “Our priority is to ensure that the rest of the services are running smoothly. We are trying to ascertain what caused the problem.”

BMRCL officials said that the delays were caused due to a problem in the metro’s signaling system in both directions between the two stations. Informed sources said the snag was caused by an interruption of power supply but it is yet to be ascertained.

Nasheman News : A day ahead of the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, his successor Narendra Modi on Monday released a commemorative Rs 100 coin to honour the late leader, who passed away in August.

Addressing a gathering at the Parliament House Annexe here, Modi said Vajpayee never compromised on the ideologies of the party and always spoke about national interest.

“For some people, power is oxygen…they can’t live without it…A long part of Atalji’s career was spent in the opposition benches but he spoke about national interest and never compromised on the ideology of the party. 

“For long, the voice of Atalji was the voice of the nation,” Modi said.

“I assume that there must be invitations from other ideologies for joining hands to remain in power. Such things must have happened. But he never compromised. 

“He was among those who could die for the nation, but would never compromise on the ideologies,” Modi said.

Vajpayee wanted democracy to be supreme. He built the Jana Sangh but when time came to rescue democracy he and others went to the Janata Party, Modi added.

“Likewise, when the choice was between remaining in power or comprising on ideology, he left Janata Party and formed the Bharatiya Janata Party” which “has become among the largest of political parties”, the Prime Minister said.

Hailing Vajpayee as “the best orator”, Modi said “the mind is not ready to believe that Atalji is no longer with us. He was a stalwart loved and respected across all sections of society.

Modi said e would go to Vajpayee’s memorial on Tuesday — his birth anniversary — to reiterate his commitment to the ideology and path shown by the leader.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Minister of State for Culture Mahesh Sharma, BJP national President Amit Shah and veteran BJP leader and Vajpayee’s contemporary L.K. Advani were also present at the event to release the coin.

Commemorative coins are usually issued to celebrate some special occasion or to mark a special event. They also have been issued as a mark of respect towards some distinguished individuals or monument.

The coin, Modi said, is a small effort to show our respect to the former Prime Minister, “whose life is a message for all of us”.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee passed away on August 16 at the age of 93 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here following a prolonged illness.

GST, the government’s biggest tax reform, sets rates from 28 per cent to 5 per cent on most items, replacing an array of central and state duties.

To simplify the indirect tax regime, the government moved most goods to a reduced GST rate.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council removed seven items from the 28 per cent tax bracket, the government said in a statement on Saturday. Six items – such as pulleys gear boxes, monitors and TVs (up to 32 inches), digital cameras  and video game consoles – moved from 28 per cent to 18 per cent while one item – parts and accessories for carriages for people with disabilities – moved from 28 per cent to 5 per cent, the release added. Now, the 28 per cent slab is restricted to only luxury and sin goods, apart from auto parts and cement — tax rates on which could not be cut due to the high revenue implication. The new GST rates will be effective from January 1, 2019, Finance Ministry Arun Jaitley said while briefing reporters after the 31st GST Council meeting.

The GST Council has also removed four items from 18 per cent slab. Three items – such as articles of natural cork – moved from 18 per cent to 12 per cent while one – marble rubble – moved from 18 per cent to 5 per cent.  Total four items have been moved from 12 per cent slab while three items have been moved to 5 per cent such as natural cork and walking stick

GST rate reduction will have an overall impact on revenue of Rs. 5500 crore, said Mr Jaitley. 

Due date for GST annual return and audit report has also been extended till June 30, 2019. 

GST, the government’s biggest tax reform, sets rates from 28 per cent to 5 per cent on most items, replacing an array of central and state duties.

Mumbai,  The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) on Friday opened on a negative note during the morning trade session.

The Sensex of the BSE which had closed on Thursday at 36,431.67, opened on Friday at 36,449.27, touched a high of 36,450.36 and a low of 36,327.31.

The Sensex is trading at 36,394.06 down by 37.61 points or 0.10 per cent.

On the other hand, the broader 50-scrip Nifty at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) opened at 10,944.25 points after closing at 10,951.70 points.

The Nifty is trading at 10,938.20 points in the morning.

New Delhi, Dec 20 (IANS) Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said the government will infuse Rs 83,000 crore in public sector banks in the remaining part of the fiscal taking the total recapitalisation of banks during the year to Rs 1.06 lakh crore.

“Today we have asked for the parliamentary sanction for (issuing) additional recapitalisation bonds of Rs 41,000 crore… As of today, of the Rs 65,000 crore recapitalisation plan for 2018-19, Rs 42,000 crore is still remaining. 

“Therefore, with this additional Rs 41,000 crore, we will now have Rs 83,000 crore for the balance year and that will make this year’s recap to a total of Rs 1.06 lakh crore,” Jaitley said after tabling the Supplementary Demands for Grants in the Lok Sabha.

The second batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2018-19 involving a gross spending of Rs 85,948.86 crore includes the package of Rs 41,000 crore for banks. It will not require any additional cash outgo as the capital infusion is planned through bonds.

Jaitley said the distribution process for the Rs 83,000 crore capital infusion in state-run banks will be decided on the basis of performance of banks by the Department of Financial Services (DFS). About Rs 23,000 crore have already been infused this fiscal.

Capital infusion will be done under four heads to help banks meet regulatory capital norms, help better performing banks under RBI’s Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) to get out of it, facilitate non-PCA banks that are near the “red-line” and to strengthen amalgamated banks.

Financial Services Secretary Rajeev Kumar said the capital infusion will help at least four of the total 11 PCA banks meet their regulatory capital norms. Overall strengthening of the banks will encourage lending and thereby economic growth of the country.

“We have made provisions to give capital to 4-5 banks (in PCA) depending on performance and on the Q2 and Q3 results. The figures will be decided (later) but there are chances that we equip at least 3 to 5 banks to meet the norms,” he said.

As per the current regulatory norms, the PCA banks will have to achieve 9 per cent Capital to Risk-weighted Asset Ratio (CRAR), 1.875 per cent Capital Conservation Buffer and the 6 per cent net non-performing assets (NPA) threshold to come out of PCA and restart lending.

“About the PCA banks, the performances we are looking at is the lower level and declining trend of net NPAs, whichever PCA bank has shown better performance in terms of reduction in NPAs and the improvements in return on assets. Name of these banks will be worked out.”

Kumar said there are three non-PCA banks that are near the threshold and in the danger of falling into the PCA category. These banks, including Punjab National Bank, will be provided capital to strengthen their base, he said.

There are three to four banks namely State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Indian Bank and Vijaya Bank that have maintained regulatory capital even higher than the prescribed minimum and would not need any capital infusion.

“The process of NPA recognition that started in 2015 is almost complete. The last quarter has showed improved performance. While recognition of NPAs peaked at 7 per cent in March 2015, it has now come down to 0.59 per cent as of September 2018,” Jaitley said.

The government had initiated a comprehensive clean-up of the banking system under its 4R’s approach of recognition, resolution, recapitalisation and reforms. Since 2015-16 till end of this fiscal, the total capital infusion in public sector banks will be over Rs 3 lakh crore.

“The NPAs recognition is complete, recapitalisation is in full swing, it has been enhanced further, recovery is also in full swing, the last H1 (April-September 2018) recovery is to the tune of Rs 60,726 crore,” Kumar said.

The trend is likely to continue as the creditor-debtor relationship has changed because of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and debarment of the connected parties, he said.

“PSBs are showing tremendous improvement in terms of recognition, in terms of provisioning, recovery, reforms and therefore this is the time that we empower them and equip them with the capital so that the banks are ready to support the fastest growing economy,” he added.

Chennai,  With the failure of conciliation talks, about 10 lakh bankers in private and government banks will go on strike on December 26 protesting against the merger of Bank of Baroda, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank, the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) said on Thursday.

“During the conciliation meeting held in Delhi today (Thursday), the Additional Chief Labour Commissioner advised the three banks and IBA (Indian Banks Association) to hold negotiations with the unions and convey the Union’s concerns to the government,” AIBEA General Secretary C.H. Venkatachalam told IANS.

“No assurance came from either IBA or the government. Hence the conciliation talks failed and the December 26 strike stands,” Venkatachalam added.

The AIBEA is part of the nine unions in the banking sector under the umbrella body of United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU).

According to Venkatachalam, the strike was only against the bank mergers and there was no deadlock on the wage revision talks with IBA.

India is largely unbanked or underbanked with low density of banks. Mergers will kill bank branches while the focus should be on recovering the huge outstanding loans, the AIBEA said.

With Christmas on December 25, banks would effectively be closed for two days, affecting the banking public.

Though the bankers had wanted the strike on December 24, a Monday, for a bigger impact as the banks would then be closed for four consecutive days (December 22-25), the unions decided to strike on December 26 to lessen the impact on public.

Ahead of the strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) on December 26, one of the bank officers’ union has called a strike on December 21, demanding an unconditional mandate for the XIth bipartite wage revision talks, officials said on Wednesday.In the wake of strikes and holidays, the banks will remain closed from next Friday to Wednesday, except Monday and the banking services could adversely be affected on these days.The banks will remain closed on December 22 and 23 on account of fourth Saturday and Sunday respectively. December 25 will be a national holiday for Christmas.“We called the strike on December 21 demanding a full and unconditional mandate for the XIth bipartite wage revision talks based on a charter of demands submitted in May, 2017. No headway has been made in the process so far even after 19 months since discussion on wage revision began,” All India Bank Officers Confederation’s (AIBOC) Assistant General Secretary Sajay Das said.According to him, over 3.2 lakh officers of the union would participate in the strike as “no perceptible initiative” was observed from Indian Banks’ Association to impress upon the five banks who have not yet submitted the unconditional mandate”.The union opposed the current move to restrict the salary settlements only up to Scale III by citing non-receipt of the ‘unconditional mandates’ from five banks as a reason whereas 15 banks from the public sector and two private banks have already given ‘unconditional mandates’.“AIBOC believes that it is nothing but a farcical logic to restrict the wage negotiations up to the officers in scale III whereas the entire officer community is covered under unified Service Regulations,” the statement said.During the strike on Friday, services at ATMs are expected to be “normal” while on December 26, ATM services would also be affected.The strike call also features “the burning issue of the announcement proposing to merge three public sector banks – Bank of Baroda, Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank — and the consolidation of Regional Rural Banks, union’s West Bengal unit President Subhujyoti Chattopadahyay said.

San Francisco,  Google has denied it altered YouTube code to break Microsoft Edge, thus slowing down its performance while users streamed YouTube videos — a claim made by a former Microsoft intern.

Microsoft Edge is a graphical web browser included in Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile and Xbox One devices, replacing Internet Explorer as the default web browser.

According to a report in The Verge on Wednesday, Google disputed the claims made by Joshua Bakita, a former software engineering intern at Microsoft, who said that the company added a “hidden empty div over YouTube videos” that slowed down streaming on Microsoft Edge.

According to Google, it merely fixed a bug in YouTube.

“YouTube does not add code designed to defeat optimizations in other browsers, and works quickly to fix bugs when theya¿re discovered,” a YouTube spokesperson was quoted as saying.

Microsoft, however, was yet to comment on the specific claim made by its former intern.

“Google has been a helpful partner and we look forward to the journey as we work on the future of Microsoft Edge,” it told The Verge.

Earlier, in a post on Hacker News, Bakita revealed details of a YouTube incident that convinced some Edge browser engineers that Google added code to purposely break compatibility.

“One of the reasons we (Microsoft) decided to end EdgeHTML was because Google kept making changes to its sites that broke other browsers, and we couldn’t keep up,” claimed Bakita.

Google added a “hidden empty div over YouTube videos” that affected Microsoft’s hardware acceleration for videos, he added.

A Mozilla Firefox programme manager also claimed recently that a separate YouTube redesign made the site “5x slower in Firefox and Edge.”

Earlier this month, Microsoft said it plans to adopt the Chromium open source project for the development of its Edge browser.