QBiz: Apple’s India Setback; Govt Eyes Rs 25 Lakh Cr Investments

1. Apple’s Technology Not Cutting-Edge Enough for India Govt: Livemint

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook’s recent visit to India may have been in vain as the Finance Ministry has put it’s foot down and insisted that the Cupertino-based tech giant abides by the 30 percent local sourcing norm if it wants to open branded stores in India, Livemint reports.

Earlier, the industry department had recommended that an exception be made, and the norm be waived in the case of the California-based company.

In November, the government relaxed rules governing foreign investment in so-called single brand retail for companies bringing in what it called “state-of-the-art and cutting-edge” technology.

2. Government Eyes Rs 25 Lakh Cr Infrastructure Investments That Would Create 4 Crore Jobs

The government expects investments worth Rs 25 lakh crore in the infrastructure sector by 2019 which will help generate 4 crore jobs, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said.

The minister added that with the massive projects that are lined up, the country will witness at least 4 crore direct and indirect jobs and a boost in GDP by up to 3 percent by 2019.

Read more here.

3. El Niño Comes to an End, Lower Temperatures and More Rainfall on the Way: Livemint

The giant weather phenomenon that drove global temperatures to new highs, El Nino, has come to an end after a year, raising hopes of rain in severely drought-hit regions of the country, reports Livemint.

According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology with the ocean’s surface cooling, El Nino (Spanish meaning: the boy) is likely to be replaced by its opposite, La Nina (The girl) which typically brings with it good rainfall, and subsequent drop in temperatures.

The 2015-16 El Niño is said to have played a key role in the rainfall deficit of 14 percent in India, which has worsened the rural crisis in the country. This was the second consecutive monsoon failure after a 12 percent deficit in rainfall in the 2014 monsoon season.

4. Will New India-Mauritius Tax Treaty Turn India into a Fund Management Hub?: Livemint

The new tax treaty between India and Mauritius may achieve what last year’s Budget attempted to do, albeit unsuccessfully, that is encourage offshore fund managers to relocate to India, in the process making the country a fund management hub, argues a Livemint report.

5. Airtel Buys Videocon’s Airwaves in Six Circles for Rs 4,428 Crore: ET

Bharti Airtel has completed the acquisition of Videocon’s airwaves in six circles for Rs 4,428 crore, the two companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday, reports The Economic Times.

The two telecom giants have entered into a deal to trade airwaves in the 1,800 Mhz band across six circles of Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, UP (East) and UP (West).

As a result of the deal, Airtel will acquire 2X5 Mhz of airwaves in the 1,800 Mhz band.

6. Need to Empower Banks to Deal With Non-Performing Assets: FM Arun Jaitley: ET

Finance Minister Arun jaitley has stressed that India needs to act as a “mature democracy” and not treat every case of loan default as being due to corruption.

According to The Economic Times, Jaitley has suggested that the right response to the problem of mounting non-performing assets (NPAs) is to empower and strengthen banks so that they are able to strike deals based on “banking considerations” to tackle the problem of bad debt.

7. RBI May Have to Go Back to Diaspora if Stress on Rupee Persists: ET

The rupee has touched almost three-month low, but there is no buzz about dollar selling by the Reserve Bank of India to rein in the value of the local currency. The rupee closed at 67.75 on Tuesday, near the levels of September 2013 that had made the central bank come out with a special scheme for banks to attract NRI funds with higher returns on foreign currency (or, FCNR) deposits.

Governor Raghuram Rajan has ruled out a rollover of the FCNR deposits that will mature in September - the month his term also ends, The Economic Times reports.

8. Asset Value Math May Hit Black Money Window: BS

In what could deter people from declaring black money during the four-month window beginning next month, the tax liability on the declared asset will be on the appreciated value, reports Business Standard.

Although the government has attempted to balance it by extending the capital gains tax benefit when the asset is sold later, it may still create cash flow problems in paying the tax on the appreciated asset within two months of the scheme closing on September 30.

The scheme requires declaration of undisclosed assets at their fair market value on the date of commencement of the scheme, which is June 1, and will be regarded as cost of acquisition of the asset for any subsequent transfer.

9. Toyota May Not Launch New Models in India: ET

Japanese auto major Toyota in response to the ban on diesel vehicles with engines above 2,000 cc being extended to Kerala, is “re-looking” at its Indian operations claiming the orders are passed “against principle of natural justice”.

Although the company, which operates in India as a joint venture, Toyota Kirloskar Motor with the Kirloskar group is not considering shutting shop here, but is at the same time mulling over not launching new models in the country, reports The Economic Times.