 "No collapse, rupee taking its natural course, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman")
Amid concerns over the decline in the value of the rupee against the US dollar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday asserted there is no collapse of the unit and it is actually finding its natural course.
Sitharaman informed the Rajya Sabha that the Reserve Bank of Indi (RBI) was continuously monitoring the local currency and intervening only if there is volatility.
"The RBI interventions are not so much to fix the value of the Indian rupee because it is free to find its own course," the minister told the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour.
Replying to supplementaries, she said interventions that are happening from the RBI side are more for containing volatility that is happening between the Indian rupee and the US dollar and so on.
‘Targeted approach to tame inflation’
Sitharaman said the government had adopted a targeted approach, based on ground-level inputs, to tackle retail inflation which is ruling at around 7 per cent.
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The minister was replying to a short-duration debate on price rise in the Rajya Sabha.
Sitharaman stressed that the fundamentals of the Indian economy are strong.
Indian economy compared to the situation prevailing in peer-group nations and even developed countries is definitely "much better", she said.
However, the minister also acknowledged that global factors are impacting the economy, and said "these are realities". Sitharaman said GST Council had not imposed any new levy on essential items consumed by the poor, though such products were taxed in one form or the other by almost all states in the pre-GST era.
The minister aid GST had not increased the burden on families. She also said there was no GST on cash withdrawal from banks and that the tax only on bank purchasing cheque book from printer.
Dubious digital loan apps
The government is taking action against dubious digital loan apps, including those originating from outside the country, and also Indians who helped in setting them up, she informed the Rajya Sabha.
Most of the digital lending apps are not registered with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and operate by themselves. There have been cases of alleged suicides of borrowers due to harassment by a few of the operators of digital lending apps. During the Question Hour, the minister was asked about reports of dubious digital loan apps backed by Chinese entities which do not follow RBI guidelines in giving loans.
She said the government was consciously taking action against Indian citizens who have also helped in establishing these companies and also what may be broadly defined as shell companies through which they are operating.
Tax evasion by Chinese mobile firms
The government is looking into cases of alleged tax evasion by three mobile companies of China — Oppo, Vivo India, and Xiaomi — and notices have been given to them, Nirmala Sitharaman said in the Rajya Sabha. The Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has issued a notice to Oppo for Customs duty of Rs 4,389 crore and these are on the grounds of mis-declaration of certain goods leading to a short payment in customs duty, she said, adding, "duty evasion we think is about Rs 2,981 crore". “Undervaluation of imported goods for the purpose of payment of Customs duty, that we think is an evasion of Rs 1,408 crore.” She said voluntarily they have come about to deposit Rs 450 crore, much against the demand of Rs 4,389 crore.
She said Xiaomi is another mobile company which deals with assembled MI mobile phones. “Three show-cause notices have been issued to them and the approximate duty liability there is about Rs 653 crore. For the three show-cause notices, they have been issued, they have deposited only Rs 46 lakh,” the minister said. The third company is Vivo India, for whom also there is a demand notice issued for Rs 2,217 crore for which they have deposited Rs 60 crore as voluntary deposit.