TMS Ep93: Netflix in India, PwC's Ranen Banerjee, markets, tax types

Its future is clearly tied up with smart TVs. And, with the viewers of course. Netflix Chairman and Co-CEO Reed Hastings had claimed last September that half of the US population still don’t own smart TVs, and there is a long way to go. Hastings has been saying the same about India too, where the penetration is much less. But, last week, the co-founder of the world’s largest streaming company, went on to say that lack of success in the Indian market was “frustrating”. What prompted Hastings to make such a statement and why Netflix is not able to penetrate beyond a fixed customer base here? 

Pandemic created several stars, like Netflix and Zomato. But overall, it spelled doom for several other sectors. Micro, small and medium enterprises or MSME was one of them. Thousands of small businesses were shut, and millions lost jobs. Ranen Banerjee of PwC India shares his views with Business Standard’s Krishna Veera Vanamali on what he expects from the upcoming Budget for the sector and what the government can do to boost demand at the bottom of the pyramid.  

After the budgetary expectations, let us move on to markets. Sensex and Nifty indices erased all the gains clocked this year amid soured global sentiment. The broader markets, too, have been knocked down as investors dump penny stocks. And if tech charts are anything to go by, another bout of selling can drag over 50% of Nifty500 stocks below their crucial support levels.  

We all know that the earnings from the stock market invite taxes. It comes under the direct tax category. There are two types of taxes which the government collects -- direct and indirect taxes. Find more about them in this podcast ahead of Union budget for 2022-23 which may keep modest targets for tax collections.

Watch video