India Inc gets its mojo back

• The NDA government slashed corporate taxes in the boldest economic step yet in its second term in an attempt to awaken animal spirits and revive private investment
• Equity markets notched their best day in over a decade after the surprise cuts in corporate taxes

GST Council lowers tax rates but tries to protect fiscal health

• The Council also reduced tax rates on a host of services including on job work related to diamonds, which has been lowered from 5% to 1.5%
• Nirmala Sitharaman, who chaired the GST Council meeting, said that the tax rates as well as slabs applying to hotel accommodation has been changed

Revival in auto sector may be round the corner with the corporate tax cuts

• Vehicle prices may come down significantly following cut in corporate tax
• Auto firms looking to make in India will have to pay an even lower tax rate of 15%, provided they start by 31 March 2023

Political levee breaks over the levy breaks

• Ruling BJP calls move historic, while Cong-led Opposition terms it a U-turn
• Political tussle is significant as it comes in the wake of economic issues taking the centre stage in national discourse

Failed ATM services: RBI tightens norms for banks, up penalties

• RBI prescribed a turnaround time (TAT) for banks to settle failed transactions for customers and notified compensations payable for various types of customer complaints
• The compensation should be done suo motu by the bank, without waiting for a complaint or a claim by a customer

Saudi Arabia reveals damage to giant Khurais oil field

• The Khurais field has a maximum output capacity of 1.45 million barrels a day and processes all of its oil on site, according to Al Abdulkareem
• Saudi and US officials have said that the drones and missiles used to attack Abqaiq and Khurais were made by Iran

Welcome tail winds for an aviation sector facing turbulence

• Corporate travel should get a lift. Govt move will not lead to low fares, but better demand for airlines, say some analysts
• The tax relief is part of the government’s move to deal with the slowdown, after consultations with the industry on a weekly basis

Altico Cap seeks debt moratorium

• Firm in talks to monetize assets and infuse fresh funds
• The NBFC has ₹4,361.55 crore of principal outstanding on loans from 27 lenders

Tax cut seen making domestic firms more competitive globally

• Move to tax new manufacturing firms set up after 1 Oct at 15% is expected to strengthen the MSME sector
• The move is likely to help the Centre achieve the target of growing India’s exports to $1 trillion in the next five years, as lower taxes will help homegrown firms compete with global peers

Super relief for the super-rich class as surcharge goes for all classes

• The increase in surcharge, often referred to as the “super-rich tax”, stands withdrawn for all domestic and foreign investors, as far as income from listed equity shares is concerned
• The increase in surcharge will continue for income from salary, profession or rent above ₹2 crore

Lucknow-Delhi Tejas Express AC car fare ₹1125, executive car ₹2310

• The New Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express will be the first train of Indian Railways that will be fully run by its subsidiary IRCTC
• The train will cover the distance between Lucknow and Delhi in six hours and 15 minutes

Zomato rolls out 'Gold' program on delivery

• Zomato Gold users will be able to use their membership while ordering food delivery
• Zomato Gold was launched in 2017 as a membership program that would give diners ofders on eating out

Government to set up mechanism to monitor airfares

• The government will not interfere in the pricing mechanism of the airlines
• The aviation sector will benefit from the finance minister's decision to reduce corporate tax rate, Puri said

Amid tax euphoria, fiscal slippage concerns

• The yield on the 10-year government bond settled at 6.789%, up 15 basis points—its maximum gain since 7 Jan
• As a result of the revenue forgone, fiscal deficit can rise to 4% of GDP, compared with the projection of 3.3%

Govt cuts corporate tax rate to 22%, relief on buyback tax

• The finance ministry lowered the corporate tax rate to 22% for firms that do not avail tax incentives. New manufacturing companies will have to pay an even lower corporate tax rate of 15%
• Listed companies announcing share buybacks before 5 July to be exempt from buyback tax

Two things you need to ask yourself as you walk into the 'loan mela'

• 23% salaried millennials took short-term personal loans to refinance individual EMIs
• Taking on loans for discretionary spending and repaying other loans can be a slippery slope

Should your mobile and landline number be the same? TRAI wants to know

• The total number of telephone subscribers in India stands at 1186.63 million as of June end
• The government has already said that 13 digit numbers will be used for machine to machine communication

Some good news for struggling consumer goods companies

• Firms can now increase spend on promotions to stimulate demand during the ongoing festive season
• The FMCG sector had been struggling with consumers demand slowdown in daily staples and discretionary items

Big GST sop for small businesses as rates cut, compliance burden eased

• The council rejected proposals for tax cuts on automobiles and biscuits
• Hotels with daily tariff of up to ₹1,000 will continue to be exempted from GST, while those charging ₹1,000-7,500 will be taxed at 12%

Shaktikanta Das says more rate cuts hinge on incoming dataprints

• Since February, the RBI has reduced repo rate by 110 basis points in four successive actions with the last one being an unconventional 35 bps
• Das also said RBI started noticing signs of slowdown in the economy from February

As Lunar night falls, hopes of waking up Chandrayaan-2's lander is all but over

• The lander, designed to execute a soft-landing on the lunar surface, and rover have a mission life of one Lunar day, which is equivalent to 14 earth days
• Lander Vikram, with rover Pragyan housed inside it, lost communication with the ground station on 7 September during its final descent

Indian Air Force 'accepts' Rafale, formal hand-over on Dussehra

• The jet will be formally handed over to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for induction into the IAF when he visits France
• The IAF has said that the occasion of Dussehra was chosen for receiving the first Rafale jet because it falls this year on 8 October which is also celebrated as Air Force Day

Opinion | FM’s move a boost for India’s tax competitiveness

It’s now over to India Inc to utilize the extra cash flow through this tax savings bonanza

Film review: ‘The Zoya Factor’ is likeable but lightweight

• Abhishek Sharma’s film is set in the world of international cricket
• Sonam K Ahuja stars as the good luck charm of the Indian team

Many challenges before international community: PM Modi ahead of US trip

• India will also host at the UN an event to celebrate the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi
• PM Modi will have a bilateral meeting with US president Trump in New York

Opinion | It’s a transformational change, but reforms are a continuous process

The proposed tax rate will be attractive for US MNCs shifting manufacturing base from China

GST Council Meet highlights: Cuts rates on various items

• The revised GST rates would become effective from 1 October
• The key sectors which would benefit from GST rate cuts are hotels, gems & jewellery, defence and automobiles.

'DL, vehicle papers on DigiLocker or mParivahan at par with original documents'

• The ministry issued a detailed standard operating procedure (SOP) for the acceptance of transport-related documents presented in electronic form
• The mParivahan mobile app is being provided by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways through NIC

Ambit of corporate social responsibility spending widened in scope

• CSR funds can now be spent on incubators funded by the Centre or state or any state-owned entity
• This is expected to attract more funds on research and development in India

Biggest stock markets rally in 10 years; investor wealth up ₹7 trillion

• The Sensex closed at 38,014.62, up 1921.15 points, or 5.32%, while the Nifty ended at 11,274.20, up 569.40 points, or 5.32%
• The BSE Midcap was up 4.76% and BSE the Smallcap jumped 2.80%

Opinion | Sensex: Up, up and away

• Investors grew richer by ₹5 trillion within minutes of finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing cuts in corporate tax

Anand Mahindra comes to Nirmala Sitharaman's defence, shuts trolls

• Anand Mahindra, who is in the US right now, also praised Sitharaman for reducing corporate tax
• Anand Mahindra said the country has sent an invitation letter to global investors by taking the step

₹17.6 trillion investor wealth wiped off since 3 June

• Indian stocks have plunged more than 10% since their record highs in June
• Experts say the recent fall signals uneasiness among the market participants

Opinion | Sitharaman hits her stride with a big-bang mini budget for India Inc

FM Nirmala Sitharaman slashed corporate tax rates across the board —lowering it to 15% for companies incorporated after 1 October — sending the markets soaring by 1650 points — the highest one-day gain

Yes Bank assures investors amid stake sale by promoter

• On Thursday MCPL owned by Yes Bank Ltd co-founder Rana Kapoor’s family sold its 2.3% stake in the bank to an undisclosed buyer
• With the stake sale Kapoor’s holding in the private sector bank stands reduced to 7.4%

Breather for Essel as lenders give six more months to clear its debt

• A February deal to extend the repayment deadline had been criticized by Sebi and investors
• The Essel group has embarked on sales of non-media assets, particularly those housed under Essel Infra

RIL replaces TCS as top firm in market capitalisation

• The market capitalisation (m-cap) of companies changes daily with stock price movement
• The m-cap of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was at ₹7,75,092.58 crore, which is ₹20,087.04 crore less than that of RIL's

Crop production to be higher than 2018 due to active monsoon: MoS Agriculture

• The arrival of the southwest monsoon was delayed this year, leading to a wide deficit of nearly 33% across the country at the end of June
• At present, the country wide monsoon rainfall is excess to the tune of 5%

The story of LCA Tejas so far

• The Tejas is an indigenous light weight, multi role supersonic aircraft developed in both fighter and trainer versions
• The Tejas is designed to carry a veritable plethora of air-to-air, air-to- surface, precision guided and standoff weaponry

Migrant flows to Delhi, Mumbai ebbing

• Among the six largest metropolitan cities, Hyderabad saw the biggest inflow of migrants in the 2001-11 period, followed by Chennai and Bengaluru

Push to free up cash will help companies improve creditworthiness

• A lower cash outgo because of lower tax rate frees up cash and improves companies’ creditworthiness
• The Friday announcement, the latest in a series of fiscal measures announced by the FM to fuel economic growth

GST Council to opt for just minor tax tweaks

• GST Council will also consider states’ demand for extending cess on select products like automobiles beyond 2022
• The Council will also consider a uniform tax rate for lottery tickets, which are currently taxed at 12% or 28%

Sensex soars, giving Sitharaman’s gambit a 1,921-point thumbs-up

• BSE Sensex gained 1,921.15 points, or 5.32%, to close at 38,014.62, while the National Stock Exchange’s Nifty index advanced 569.40 points to 11,274.20
• Smaller stocks joined the rally as well, with the mid-cap and small-cap indices gaining between 4% and 6%