Top headlines: DPE to come under FinMin; Tata-Mistry case verdict today

From FinMin mulling bringing DPE under itself ahead of privatisation drive to top corporate houses pay 20% more tax this fiscal, here are top headlines this morning

FinMin mulls bringing DPE under itself ahead of privatisation drive

In order to better control public sector undertakings (PSUs), the finance ministry is considering bringing the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) under itself as it ge­ars up for the ambitious privatisation exercise. The Department of Economic Affairs has written to the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) to explore the option, pointing to overlapping of some functions between the two bodies, according to a senior government official. Read More

Govt mandates companies to disclose investments in cryptocurrencies

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has made amendments to rules in the Companies Act, mandating firms to disclose their investments in cryptocurrencies, spend on corporate social responsibility (CSR), and benami property transactions, among others, in their financial statements from the next financial year. Read More

Finance Bill amendment eases Mauritius funds' path for India shift

An amendment to the Finance Bill has allowed a wholly-owned special purpose vehicle (SPV) of an offshore fund to transfer securities to an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) fund in Gujarat, while also enabling the IFSC fund to issue units either to investors in the offshore fund or to the offshore fund itself. This, said experts, will make it easier for Mauritius funds investing in India to shift to the IFSC. Read More

DFI goes back to the future: Will changes boost infra funding in India?

The government has gone back to the drawing board with its new development finance institution (DFI), learning from recent experience to include control mechanisms and safeguards. India’s DFI model worked till the economic liberalisation of the early nineties forced them to fend for themselves. For such an institution to succeed now, the government must stand like a rock behind it and be patient, said experts and bankers who have spent their careers engaged in infrastructure funding. Read More

Supreme Court to deliver judgement in Tata-Mistry case on Friday

The Supreme Court will pronounce its judgment in the four-and-a-half year-old corporate war between Tata Group and the Mistrys on Friday. A bitter legal and public battle between the two sides erupted when Cyrus Mistry, the scion of the Mistry family, was removed from Tata Sons’ board as chairman in October 2016 by its board. Read More

Top corporate houses pay 20% more tax this fiscal, shows CBDT data

Top corporate houses have paid over 20 per cent more tax this financial year than the corresponding period last year, according to data available with the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) as on March 25. HDFC Bank leads the top 10 list, and has paid Rs 12,050 crore in taxes, which is an 18.5 per cent increase over the Rs 10,170 crore it paid in the corresponding period last year. Read More

Byju's in talks to raise up to $700 mn, valuation may cross $15 bn

Edtech start-up Byju’s is in talks to raise $500-700 million from new and existing investors in a fresh funding round, which, if successful, would lift the Bengaluru-based firm’s valuation to about $15 billion from $12 billion at present, sources close to the development said. Byju’s is closing in on Paytm, which is the most valuable start-up in the country with a valuation of about $16 billion. Read More
 

Second Covid wave unlikely to derail India's growth: RBI Governor

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday expressed confidence that the second wave of Covid infections will not derail India’s economic journey. He maintained the RBI’s recent 10.5-per cent growth forecast for the coming fiscal year (2021-22, or FY22). His assurance assumes significance amid apprehensions about surging new Covid infections and resultant lockdowns being clamped in many cities. Read More