BackNews in numbers | Andhra Pradesh shifts 14 departments to Vijayawada, Guntur
In other news, Amazon's GMV grew to $2.7 billion in May, up from $1 billion a year ago
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$10.2 billion
What is it? The total gross merchandise value (GMV) of the top e-commerce firms in India at the end of May 2016. GMV is the total value of goods sold, excluding discounts.
Why is it important? This is just a 13.3% growth from the GMV the top e-commerce firms recorded last May—and that primarily came from Amazon India, which grew from $1 billion to $2.7 billion in a year. Flipkart’s GMV has remained almost constant at $4 billion for the last one year and Snapdeal’s dropped 50% to $1.2 billion as of June, according to numbers collected by The Economic Times.
Tell me more: Due to the festive season and the discounts e-tailers offered, the total GMV clocked was $10.5 billion in December 2015. Of the total GMV of $10.2 billion recorded in May 2016, others such as ShopClues and Paytm accounted for 22.54% ($2.3 billion).
14
What is it? The number of Andhra Pradesh state government departments that shifted from Hyderabad to Vijayawada, Guntur and Mangalagiri on Monday.
Why is it important? It signals Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu’s anxiety to move out of Hyderabad (which went to Telangana following the bifurcation two years back) as early as possible. Technically, the AP government can function out of Hyderabad for the next eight years, and Amaravati, the new capital is not ready yet.
Tell me more: Government departments would relocate between 29 June and 21 July to the new capital region of Amaravati. However, the Andhra Pradesh government would have to make do with a scattered set-up until the administrative city in the core capital area is developed. The state government has pooled 33,000 acres of land for the development of Amaravati.
6
What is it? The number of members on the panel who will be responsible for maintaining inflation targets under the new monetary policy framework.
Why is it important? The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has initiated the process to set this panel up, marking it as one of the major changes the monetary policy saw under governor Raghuram Rajan.
Tell me more: The panel will have three members from the RBI and three recommended by the government. The panel’s main objective is to make sure inflation remains within the range agreed by them. Now, retail inflation is 5.76% (May). The committee may be formed before 9 August.
20
What is it? The number of educational institutions for which the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has sought greater autonomy from the Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry.
Why is it important? It is a sign that the PMO believes that educational institutions need more freedom to set their own course structure, fee and admission procedures, among other things. Finance minister Arun Jaitley had announced during Budget 2016 that easier rules would be provided for 10 public and private institutions to emerge as world-class teaching and research institutions.
Tell me more: The HRD had proposed lighter rules earlier for “world-class" institutions earlier, but the PMO has now suggested they relax it further.
272
What is it? The number of Income Tax Department appeals dismissed by the Delhi high court in a recent order.
Why is it important? The reason for the dismissal was because the department failed to do something simple: correct the defects in the appeals and re-file them without much delay. The errors included missing pages, illegible script, wrong font, lack of stamps and proper handing over of case records. The court has directed its registry to ensure that these appeals are not filed again, most of which have tax liability exceeding ₹ 20 lakh, leading to a likely revenue loss for the government.
Tell me more: The court was waiting since 2012 for the department to correct the errors in the 272 appeals.
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