 "A customer waits to deposit 1000 Indian rupee banknotes in a cash deposit machine at bank in Mumbai")
Business Standard brings to you a list of five key developments across the country.
Govt ends exchange of old notes
The government on Thursday extended the last date for use of the denotified Rs 500 notes till December 15, and stopped the over-the-counter exchange of cash with immediate effect. According to the Finance ministry, Rs 1,000 notes would no longer be allowed to be used for the list of exemptions the government had announced. These notes can, however, be deposited in bank accounts.
Cabinet gives green signal to amend Income Tax Act
The Union Cabinet late on Thursday cleared a proposal to amend the Income Tax (I-T) Act to levy close to 60% deduction on unaccounted deposits in banks above a threshold, said sources. The decision was purportedly prompted by a surge in deposits — about ~20,000 crore, according to some reports — in Jan Dhan accounts since November 8, when the central government announced the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes. The amount deposited in this period is almost 50% of the total deposits in these accounts in the two years since their launch. The move is also aimed at preventing black money holders from circumventing existing I-T Act provisions.
Tata Sons is looking at restructuring chairman’s role
Tata Sons, the unlisted holding company of the Tata group, is looking at restructuring the chairman’s position and role. In a departure from the current practice, the new Tata Sons chairman may not head the boards of the group companies, it is learnt. It is possible that the chairmanship of the Tata group companies may be distributed so that there is no one power centre. Separate chairmen for each operating company would mean going back to JRD Tata’s days when professionals chaired group firms. Ratan Tata changed the policy, after which he became the chairmen of operating companies also, after becoming the Tata Sons chairman.
ALSO READ: Tata Sons may split chairman's power
IndiGo boards Travelport for fare, product distribution
IndiGo on Thursday tied up with Travelport, a global distribution service provider that will provide the airline access to 180 countries.Global distribution systems (GDS) are tools used by travel agents to make airline bookings. The trend earlier was that budget airlines did not subscribe to GDS because of the higher costs but this is changing with AirAsia, EasyJet, RyanAir and Tiger signing up with GDS providers.
Rupee hits record low
The rupee touched a record low on Thursday but retreated on intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) even though the central bank is unlikely to stem the slide against the dollar as the greenback is rising rapidly against all currencies in the world. The rupee may touch 70 a dollar or even break the level in the next few days, said most of the 10 currency experts polled by Business Standard on Thursday. But it would be wrong to assume that the rupee would be staying at those levels for long, they said. There could be technical correction and rupee may even strengthen from the present level.
