Ahmed Patel's win, record mobile subscriptions and Google's internal memo

1. Direct tax collections rise

On Wednesday, the Central Board of Direct Taxes said that net receipts from corporate and personal income tax rose 19.1% in the April-July period to Rs1.9 trillion. More than 28.2 million taxpayers had filed income tax returns (ITRs) for FY16-17 by 5 August, up 24.7% from the previous year. The current direct taxes account for about a fifth of the total expected tax collection of Rs8.4 trillion for the entire financial year.

2. India records highest rise in new mobile subscriptions

The Ericsson Mobility Report Q1 2017 noted this week that 107 million new mobile subscriptions were added in the first quarter worldwide. This took the global total of mobile subscriptions to 7.6 billion. The largest addition to new subscribers in the March quarter came from India, with the country seeing the addition of 43 million new subscribers due to a new offer by Reliance Jio.

3. Fake students struck out from Mid-Day Meal scheme

Three states—Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur—have struck out 272,000 fake students who were availing of the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) scheme. The discovery was made after the human resource ministry decided to link Aadhaar with the Mid-Day Meal scheme to reduce theft and improve monitoring of the programme.

4. London’s vaults hold world’s third-largest gold stock

The London Bullion Market Association this week released data on the amount of gold stored in the city’s vaults. London’s record of an estimated 596,000 gold bars weighing 7,449 tonnes is rivalled only by the US government and Indian households, with most of the gold being stored in the Bank of England.

5. Tata Motors posts weak Q1 results

On Wednesday, Tata Motors reported a 41% increase in profits in the June quarter even as consolidated revenue fell by 10% to Rs58,651 crore. The rise in profits came on account of a one-time gain of Rs3,609 crore due to a change in the pension plans at Jaguar Land Rover. While sales expanded in China and the US, it fell in the UK and remained stagnant in the US.

6. Titan announces partnership with Amazon

On Wednesday, Titan announced a partnership with Amazon to enter the US market, with the possibility of the partnership being expanded to other markets such as the European Union and Japan. Amazon will sell Titan watches under its global selling programme, allowing merchants in India to sell in other countries. Last week, Titan posted strong June quarter results.

7. Ahmed Patel retains Rajya Sabha seat

On Tuesday, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel secured 44 votes and managed to retain his Rajya Sabha seat from Gujarat in a tense election that saw the Election Commission reject the votes of two dissident Congress MLAs. The election also saw BJP leaders Amit Shah and Smriti Irani win their first Rajya Sabha seats.

8. Google fires writer of anti-diversity memo

On Monday, Google announced the dismissal of an employee, James Damore, who had written an internal memo against the company’s policies directed towards enhancing workplace diversity. Damore’s memo had argued that biological differences were to blame for women’s low representation in tech. His dismissal comes amidst the backdrop of increasing spotlight on sexual harassment and gender pay gap in tech firms.

9. Bajaj to partner with Triumph Motorcycles

On Tuesday, Bajaj Auto Ltd announced a partnership with the UK’s Triumph Motorcycles Ltd to manufacture middleweight (engine capacities of between 250cc and 600cc) motorcycles. The move is expected to help Bajaj compete with Eicher Motors Ltd’s Royal Enfield motorcycles that are growing in popularity in India and the world.

10. Flipkart raises funds from Softbank

On Thursday, SoftBank Vision Fund invested at least $2.6 billion in Flipkart Ltd, providing a partial exit to existing investors, namely Tiger Global Management, Accel Partners and IDG Ventures. The funding saw Flipkart’s cash reserves rise to more than $4 billion. With the latest investment, Flipkart has raised more than $6 billion in cash since its beginnings in 2007.

Graphics by Prajakta Patil

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