Top headlines: Tax tweaks make PSUs more attractive, Gujarat's new CM

Business Standard brings the top headlines of the day

Bhupendra Patel is Gujarat's new Chief Minister, using his not-so-popular identity as an advantage to take the state's top job. The Centre's tweaks to tax laws is likely to make public sector undertakings more attractive to investors.

Read more on these and other top headlines of the day:
 

New CM Bhupendra Patel has a double advantage as he leads Gujarat

Few in Gujarat have heard of Bhupendra Patel. That’s his greatest strength. “His value lies in the fact that no one knows him," an experienced observer of Gujarat politics remarked.

As high flyers and heavyweights in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat found themselves wringing their hands, a relative non-entity — a first-time MLA who has no experience of running a government department — pipped them to the post of chief minister. Read more

Loss-making PSUs more attractive for buyers after income tax tweak

The government has tweaked the income tax laws to make it easier for the new owners of loss-making public sector undertakings (PSUs) to carry forward the accumulated losses and set them off against future profits.

This will result in significant tax savings for the new owners if they are able to turnaround operations of the ailing PSU within a few years. This will, in turn, boost the post-tax earnings and returns for the new owners. Read more
 

Clix Capital, Suryoday SFB in merger talks; deal in advanced stage

Clix Capital Services, a digital-lending shadow bank, is in merger talks with Suryoday Small Finance Bank (SSFB), a listed entity. The non-banking financial company (NBFC) is run by former GE Capital boss Pramod Bhasin and former D E Shaw & Co managing director (MD) Anil Chawla. Read more

Finance ministry dials Sebi on T+1, discusses peak margin implications

The Union finance ministry has asked the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) if the stock markets are prepared for the shorter trade settlement cycle (T+1) and whether this will lead to any sell-off or pruning of exposures by overseas investors, said two people in the know. Read more

Bollywood seeks to move past Covid-19 with $135 million film deal

Two of India’s biggest film studios have signed a silver-screen deal for about 10 billion rupees ($135 million), betting on a robust box-office recovery from a devastating Covid-19 wave as cinemas slowly reopen across the country. Read more