BackNews in numbers | 7 telecoms are bidding to acquire spectrum in 7 bands
In other news, Donald Trump's net worth is $3.7 billion, primarily from the real estate properties he owns or has a stake in, according to 'Forbes'
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₹ 65,250 crore
What is it? The value of assets declared under the Income Disclosure Scheme (IDS), 2016.
Why is it important? This is said to be the biggest black money disclosure and will fetch the government over ₹ 29,000 crore in taxes. This might take some sting away from the criticism that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government was going too slow on black money. One of its main poll promises was to crack the whip on tax evaders. Under this scheme, there were 64,275 declarants with an average disclosure of more than ₹ 1 crore.
Tell me more: The government had given a four-month window for people to declare their undisclosed assets, which closed at midnight on Friday. The taxpayers could escape prosecution by paying tax at 30%, a penalty at 7.5% and a surcharge at 7.5%, taking the total to 45% of the undisclosed income. In comparison, the income declared under the Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme, 1997, was over ₹ 33,000 crore.
₹ 53,531 crore
What is it? The value of bids received by the government from telecom companies on the first day of the latest spectrum auction.
Why is it important? This is India’s biggest spectrum auction and is expected to help the firms in providing better quality services amid intensifying competition, especially with the entry of Reliance Jio’s 4G services at competitive rates. However, there were no takers for the 700 megahertz (MHz) band of airwaves, which has been put on sale for the first time and is considered to be the most efficient for offering high-speed broadband services. The reserve price—at ₹ 11,485 crore per MHz—is considered expensive by the bidders.
Tell me more: Seven telecom firms—Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Tata Teleservices, Idea Cellular, Reliance Communications, Reliance Jio Infocomm and Aircel—are bidding to acquire airwaves in seven bands (700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz and 2,500 MHz).
₹ 21,000 crore
What is it? The divestment proceeds collected by the Indian government between April and September this year.
Why is it important? This is over 37% of the total disinvestment target of ₹ 56,500 crore for 2016-17. It has also exceeded the previous high in the first six months of 2015-16 by over ₹ 8,000 crore. This indicates that 2016-17 may be the year when it either achieves its targets or comes closer in reaching them, after having missed it for the last six years straight and for the 16th time last year in disinvestment’s quarter-century history.
Tell me more: Of the total funds raised so far this year, ₹ 16,500 crore is from buybacks initiated by five public sector units.
500,000
What is it? The number of products Flipkart said it sold in the first hour on the first day of its special Big Billion Days sales event on Sunday. Amazon said it sold 100,000 units on the first half hour of its Great Indian Festival sales, which started a day earlier.
Why is it important? This highlights the stiff competition between the two companies as they try to capture India’s e-commerce market. Amazon India has the financial backing of its parent in the US. Flipkart is reportedly in talks with Wal-Mart for a billion dollar investment in the company. The sales metrics the companies shared underscored the difficulty in assessing who is ahead in the race.
Tell me more: Snapdeal, the third big player in the market, said more than 2 million users logged on during the first hour of sale.
18
What is it? The number of years for which US presidential candidate Donald Trump might not have paid any income tax, according to a New York Times story.
Why is it important? Trump’s finances has become an important issue in the ongoing election campaign in the US, because he hasn’t yet released his tax returns yet, defying a norm among presidential candidates. His tax returns for 1995 showed a loss of $195 million, which “could have allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years", the newspaper said. The revelation is likely to help Hillary Clinton, and there are speculations that releasing his returns could be devastating for Trump’s campaign.
Tell me more: According to a Forbes magazine calculation, Donald Trump’s net worth is $3.7 billion, primarily from the real estate properties he owns or has a stake in.
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