 "From Niti Aayog meet to National Herald case: 5 key developments")
PM Modi's Niti Aayog meet
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and finance minister Arun Jaitley will get views on the Budget for 2017-18, job creation through skill development and other issues at a meeting with experts on Tuesday. There will be 13 people —from the NITI Aayog, economists and others with expertise — who will make presentations. The Aayog wanted to hold a pre-Budget meeting with the PM but the latter’s office suggested the agenda be broadened to the overall economy, sources said.
Law against benami property
Lauding the public for their support in exposing the wrong-doings of the corrupt post-demonetisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday promised to operationalise the law to deal with 'benami' properties as part of the government's crusade against corruption. "You are possibly aware of a law about Benami property in our country which came into being in 1988, but neither were its rules ever framed nor was it notified. It just lay dormant," Modi said in his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' radio address.
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STCG tax rate
The government is mulling a hike in the short-term capital gains (STCG) tax rate, and also a higher levy on dividends earned by individuals. At present, the STCG (profits on sale of shares held for less than 12 months) tax rate is 15%; the government is planning to increase it to 20%, according to sources in the know. The Centre has already started gathering feedback from key market participants.
Newsmakers of the year
Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder and CEO of Paytm, a mobile wallet company that is also into e-commerce and a payments bank, turned a celebrity after Prime Minister Narendra Modi demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 8. Almost overnight, a fledgeling business model in search of critical mass found a robust market. In a recent interview with Business Standard, Sharma happily recalled how people asked for selfies with him since Paytm had suddenly become the easiest mode of payment for people in these “cashless” times.
National Herald case
A court here on Monday dismissed the plea of BJP leader Subramanian Swamy seeking summoning of documents of Congress party and Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) related to the National Herald case. Metropolitan Magistrate Lovleen rejected the plea in which Swamy sought the Congress party's balance sheet of 2010-2011 and other documents relating to Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) in the case, and listed the matter for a February 10 hearing.