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A HELPing hand

BusinessLine FRIDAY • JUNE 30 • 2017

The worrying state of State finances The Pay Commission, UDAY, farm loan waiver and GST impact are expected to throw the consolidated fiscal deficit out of gear penditure will remain sticky this year and weigh on the FY17-18 fiscal balance. (As revised FY16-17 and budgeted FY17-18 data are not yet available for all States, my observations are based on budgets of 12 States.)

The shift to open-acreage for auctioning oil blocks is welcome, but more reforms are called for, especially in gas pricing

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he move to an open-acreage system from July 1 for auctioning oil and gas exploration blocks in the country is an important step in the ongoing reforms of the industry. The practice hitherto has been for the government to identify acreages with potential reserves for exploitation, which it then puts up for bidding. The NDA government, as part of its eforts to make the sector more attractive for investment, framed the HELP or Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy last year. Under the policy, acreages are to be ofered on revenue-sharing basis and successful bidders will have marketing and pricing freedom. Simultaneously, the Centre also announced its intention to move to an open-acreage system where an investor can apply to the government to explore any unexplored block. Once the investor identifies the block, it will be put up for auction, with the bidder who identified the block getting a small weightage in the bid evaluation. This is an important reform measure as prospective investors need not be tied down by the government’s time-table and their choice will also not be restricted to what’s put up for auction. If they identify a field or block that holds promise, they can apply to the government for exploration. With about 80 per cent of the country’s oil needs and half its gas requirements dependent on imports, the need for attracting investment into exploration for hydrocarbons cannot be over-emphasised. The shift to the open-acreage system has to be seen together with the other attractive features of HELP, including pricing and marketing freedom. In a world of falling oil prices and curtailed investments by major oil companies, it is all the more important that India loosens the shackles on the industry if it wants to attract global players. To its credit, the NDA government has unleashed important reforms in the oil and gas sector, especially in pricing of products and elimination of subsidies. It has carried forward the deregulation of petrol and diesel prices set in motion by the previous government to a stage where we have daily revisions at the pump level. Yet, one important area that needs working on is competition at the retail level. The coordinated price revision by the major retailing companies gives the impression of a cartel-like approach. Similarly, the Centre also needs to look at freeing natural gas pricing completely for all new fields sometime in the not too distant future. It is impossible to expect investors to queue up when gas prices are set through a complex formula that is not based on domestic market realities. As per the formula, producers will get no more than $2.48 per million metric British thermal unit for onshore fields and $5.56 per MMBTU for deepwater fields. These are not prices that will coax investments into the exploration business; to the contrary, they will drive away potential investors.

FROM THE VIEWSROOM

Making every drop count Wanted: A fuel price prediction mechanism for retail consumers

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onsumers in India are price-sensitive. So, as the country moves towards daily fuel-price revision, it would be good to have a government-sponsored mechanism, say, an app or a website, that informs consumers of real-time, regionspecific retail price changes. Granted, a few startups have launched similar apps and tools, but they lack credibility and accuracy. A government mechanism — informing consumers of the cheapest fuel prices that would be available in their vicinity or during the course of their journey just like the weather apps — can be of great help. It could also be similar to those that provide a comparison of airline fares over days and diferent operators, or dynamic pricing details of trains. It could also help users predict the petrol prices across or within a city and tell us where the cheapest petrol prices are, whether the prices are likely to fall or go up. With rapid growth in urbanisation and as sizes of cities increase, the average distance travelled by consumers also increases, with many commuting several kilometres across multiple cities. India is a large country where many price-conscious consumers check out the prices of the same products across different websites before making a purchase. There are some websites that provide city-based data on diferent fuel outlets, and respond to queries on where to refill their tanks when drive on long journeys. India’s consumption of petroleum products was about 194 million tonnes in 2016-17. Some 21 crore vehicles were registered in 12 years up to 2015, of which almost three-fourth were two-wheelers and another three crore were cars, jeeps and taxies, with a majority of vehicles being either diesel or petrol users, according to Road Ministry data. With urbanisation on the rise and a large section of the middle-class still dependent on personal transport for daily commute, consumers must get a fix on how they could lower their fuel bill.

Mamuni Das Deputy Editor

RADHIKA RAO

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ndia’s fiscal health is a twosided coin. While the Centre has consolidated its books, States have run in reverse. The aggregate States’ fiscal deficit widened from 2 per cent of GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) in FY11-12 to 3.6 per cent in FY15-16. These deficits are likely to stay wide this year, keeping borrowings high and delaying consolidation plans. This was not always the case. In the decade to 2014-15, States were more prudent than the Centre. The State-level Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) thresholds were adopted in a staggered fashion from the early 2000s. Consolidation got underway from 2005, leading to smaller revenue deficits and sub-3 per cent fiscal deficits. Reversal of trends Somewhat naturally, these deficits deteriorated during the 2008-09 crisis but stabilised thereafter until 2014-15. Strong growth, better collections with the value-added tax, lower interest payments and the shifting of some spending to the Centre’s books all helped keep deficits under control. The quality of expenditure amongst States was also more favourable than at the Centre. More recently, these trends have weakened. States’ spending commitments have risen as revenues stagnate. This is mainly due to higher revenue expenditure (i.e. recurring-committed expenses) which make up three-fourths of all spending, narrowing the scope for capital-productive expenditure. Consequently, the revenue-to-capital ratio has ticked up. Revenue ex-

Pressure points Ongoing and upcoming spending commitments include: A) Public sector wages-pensions increased in FY16-17, following the Seventh pay commission’s (PC) proposals. The burden is particularly high as States are bigger employers than the centre. The Fifth and Sixth Pay Commissions pushed up expenditure by 1.0 per cent and 1.4 per cent of GSDP over a two-year period. The Seventh PC was implemented last year and, given lower arrears, the cumulative impact will be within 1 per cent of GSDP over last and this year. With wages and pensions accounting for more than one-third of revenue expenditure, we see upside risks to the budgeted pace of 12 per cent YoY for FY17-18 (against vs 22 per cent in FY16-17). Accordingly, the revenue surplus will be smaller than the budgeted 0.5 per cent. B) The interest burden from a funding scheme for distressed power distribution companies (UDAY initiative) will also weigh on the books. Under this arrangement, States took over 75 per cent of the outstanding debt of the companies in a staggered manner in FY15-16 and FY16-17. Interest due on this debt will lift revenue expenditure from FY16-17 onwards. Currently, 27 States have agreed to be a part of the scheme, of which about half incur high distribution losses, according to industry reports. The Economic Survey estimates that fiscal deficits can widen by an average of 0.5 per cent of GSDP due to this initiative. In a few States

Loan waivers Will compound States’ woes AM FARUQUI

the adjustment could be higher. For instance, detailed budgets of one State points to a revised FY16-17 deficit of 4.3 per cent of GSDP including UDAY, double the budgeted scale. C) The rollout of the Goods and Services Tax in July 2017. D) Farm loan waivers add to the pressure. The Uttar Pradesh government was the first to outline such a waiver last month and could cost the exchequer an estimated ₹360 billion. Maharashtra and Punjab followed soon after, with Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu reportedly considering such an initiative. Demerits of such a scheme and resultant moral hazard is being debated. But that aside, if more States jump into the bandwagon, revenue spending is likely to accordingly rise further and widen states deficits; Given all this, it is reasonable to believe that above-budgeted revenue expenditure will keep the

FY17-18 deficit above 3 per cent of GDP. Revenue depletion At the other end of the equation, while State spending is rising faster than the Centre, revenue growth trails. More than half of the States’ total revenues are raised through taxes, primarily sales taxes and excise duties, which have been moderating in recent years. The other source of revenue support is aggregate transfers from the Centre, which comprises States’ share of central taxes and grants-inaid. Last year, the States’ share in the Centre’s pool of taxes was raised from 32 per cent to 42 per cent. Nevertheless, the benefit was ofset by lower grants. This meant that in exchange for higher tax transfers, the Centre lowered its funding support for centrally sponsored schemes (CSS), obliging States to fund their own programmes. Netting of the two, State revenues are estimated to have declined by 0.3 percentage

points last year, according to the central bank. This is likely to impact this year’s finances as well as the CSS list expands. The next thing to watch is the rollout of the GST. The GST is meant to be revenue-neutral but some gains will accrue with a lag. States have been assured compensation for five years if revenue growth falls below 14 per cent. There will, nonetheless, be inter-State variations. My observation of pre and post GST of revenue sub-heads suggests the States’ share might rise from the present 42:58 share of the pool. In the long term, this move to consolidate the tax structure is expected to help boost India’s tax to GDP ratio. In view of higher spending requirements and easing revenue growth, we expect fiscal consolidation to take a backseat this year. The FY16-17 deficit is likely to average 3.5 per cent of GSDP, well above the budgeted level of less than 3 per cent. The aggregate FY17-18 fiscal deficit is likely to average 3.0-3.2 per cent of GSDP, breaching the FRBM threshold for a third consecutive year. The government has approved a leeway of 50-75 bps in the fiscal targets until 2019-20, provided certain pre-conditions are met. The majority of the States however don’t qualify. Consolidated deficit levels are likely to be elevated at 6.5 per cent this year and above 6 per cent of GSDP next year. This has two implications. Firstly, higher deficits have led to a steady climb in the States’ borrowings. These threaten to harden borrowing costs and crowd out the private sector. Secondly, India’s cumulative fiscal deficit has been a constraint on the sovereign’s credit rating. This is one of the reasons why, despite the positive reform momentum, rating agencies have been reluctant to raise India higher in the investment grade status. The writer is an economist and vicepresident of DBS Bank, Singapore

Costly metro rail is no silver bullet It should be viewed in conjunction with other public transport options. Buses shouldn’t be entirely overlooked SUBIR ROY

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oreign investment has been invited and 50 cities are ready to implement metro rail projects, the prime minister said, while inaugurating the first phase of the Kochi metro rail recently. He thereby underscored the aspiration of every city worth its salt to be able to boast its own metro rail. But in order to plan for a cost effective and eicient public transport system across urban India it is critical to have an idea of what the metro rail can and cannot do, how much it costs, and how it can fit into the overall scheme of urban transport which is typically undertaken through multiple modes. Costly deal First, metro rail is hugely expensive to build. A kilometer of metro rail requires an investment of around ₹200 crore, compared to around ₹10 crore for a kilometer of bus rapid transport route. As opposed to this, a low floor city bus using existing roads, can be had for around

₹50 lakh. What is the bang for the buck under these diferent modes of transport? Delhi metro, the country’s most elaborate metro rail system, constructed in three phases (last will be over shortly), bears a price tag of over ₹70,000 crore and carries 2.76 million passengers per day. Against this, the over 5,500 buses which ply in Delhi and would have cost under ₹3,000 crore to acquire, carry nearly four million passengers per day. So, buses, which require under 5 per cent of the investment needed for metro rail, carry 40 per cent more passengers! This is, of course, not the total picture. Buses require roads to travel on and road space is in severe short supply (witness the traic jams.) Also, pollution per passenger trip on metro rail is less than of the pollution from a bus trip, even if run on CNG. It is logical to say that metro rail makes sense in high traic density routes which typically run to and through the central business district and inner city areas. But to minimise disruption to existing

LET TERS TO THE EDITOR Be flexible

This refers to the editorial “A bumpy ride” (June 29). The ouster of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick illustrates that a toxic leadership style may be appropriate for highly ambitious startups but such a top leader has to transform his style. Kalanick’s passionate leadership was a winner when he co-founded Uber, but he needed to be dispassionate in promoting the right workplace culture. Uber leadership had become a prime example of Silicon Valley start-up culture gone awry. His ouster marks a new awakening among shareholder-investors, to rein in overconfident and reckless CEOs. Y G Chouksey

In a dog eat dog world of intense competition with only growth and large sales volume being the driving force, corporate governance

way of life and traic patterns, the metro rail line through these parts needs to go underground. Once you do that costs shoot up. The underground section of phase III of Delhi metro will cost a whopping ₹552 crore per km to build, against the average cost of ₹200 crore. But there is one other point in favour of a metro rail. All metro rails, which initially run over short distances and are really showpieces, begin with low occupancy. But as the network grows, and draws passengers from a bigger hinterland, occupancy goes up and cost per passenger trip goes down. So for the

cost of a metro rail to slowly become afordable, it should keep growing! Long lasting Plus, the life of a metro rail is enormous. The first trains ran in what is now the London Underground, the world’s first, in 1863. Of course, a lot has changed and gas lit wooden carriages and steam locomotives are no longer there but investment in a metro rail project has a far longer payback period longer than for any other mode of transport. A cost efective urban public

The writer is a senior journalist and the author of Made in India: A Study of Emerging Competitiveness

Send your letters by email to [email protected] or by post to ‘Letters to the Editor’, The Hindu Business Line, Kasturi Buildings, 859-860, Anna Salai, Chennai 600002.

generally becomes the least priority for companies. The $69-billion (valuation) Uber is not an exception. Kalanick’s resignation came after a wide-ranging probe into Uber’s practices on tackling issues such as sexual harassment at the company and the professionalism and ethics of its leaders. The departure of Kalanick should truly act a lesson for not only Silicon valley companies but Indian startups as well, as there is a huge price a company has to pay if it takes corporate governance lightly.Kalanick’s resignation may impact the company’s business in India.. Bal Govind Noida

Pune

A lesson for all leaders

On track Only if it remains viable and cost-effective

transport system has to strive to minimise journey time and cost while maximising comfort. This has to be done within constraints created by built-up cities. Even if you built a brand new city such as Chandigarh today, in it metro rail would remain one of many modes that a citizen would use to get from door to door. A journey usually begins on foot down narrow congested roads which lead to bigger roads of varying dimensions and then maybe ends on a smaller road. A metro rail can help you skip a bit of the inbetween road travel. To this has to be added the growing additional concern of controlling and reducing automobile pollutio. Metro rail can win on the basis of comparative cost advantage. It should not remain a high tech, flashy must-have status symbol for citizens even though it may cost a bomb.

thirds of its managers in positions of authority for the first time leading to a gamut of organisational issues. Wild and mammoth venture funding fuelled Uber’s profligacy. It culminated in mal-treatment of employees and pursuit of profit alone. R Narayanan Ghaziabad

Wrong model

Kalanick turned himself a billionaire having operated the startup Uber worldwide, but without sharing the profits, leaving the safety and security of the passengers to the winds. To allow an individual to run an organisation on whims and fancies of his idiosyncratic style will result in nemesis.

Gone awry

B Rajasekaran

Uber is a technology genie let of by one man’s genius that lacked a well-thought out guidance system. It’s staf grew from 600 to 12000 in less than two years, two-

Bengaluru

Trouble makers

The woes of Aam Aadmi Party have spilled into the Delhi Assembly

with its MLAs allegedly thrashing the two people sitting in the visitors’ gallery who threw paper missiles inside the august House besides sloganeering ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ (’AAP vs AAP’, June 29). Undoubtedly the duo should not have chosen Assembly to vent their ire as its sanctity is of paramount importance. It is the duty of the marshals to deal with the socalled ‘trouble makers’.

Air India decision

It is learnt that the Centre has instructed all hospitals and orphanages to put up cradles so that parents can give up unwanted babies safely. One hopes that this would not force the hospitals to increase the cradles in the long run. In India, these types of laws might be misused by not-so-normal people!

The Cabinet’s nod for privatisation of debt-ridden state air carrier Air India and its five subsidiaries is a bold move. The once high-flying ‘Maharaja’ was brought down to earth by mounting losses and huge debts, inviting the scorn of all stakeholders. With the bankers and the investigating agencies turning the heat on Mallya’s ailing Kingfisher Airlines, it was only obvious that Air India would come under the scanner. The airline has run up a whopping ₹52,000 crore in debts and is surviving on a ₹30,000 crore bailout package ofered by the UPA government in 2012. Though the fineprint for the airline’s strategic sale is yet to be worked out, it will certainly be a tall order for any buyer to turn around the airline and make it fly high again.

S Ramakrishnasayee

NJ Ravi Chander

Ranipet

Bengaluru

HP Murali Bengaluru

Legitimising illegitimacy

Published by N. Ram at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002 on behalf of KASTURI & SONS LTD., and Printed by D. Rajkumar at Plot B-6 & B-7, CMDA Industrial Complex, Maraimalai Nagar, Chengleput Taluk, Kancheepuram Dist., Pin: 603209. Editor: Raghavan Srinivasan (Editor responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act).

CM YK

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BusinessLine FRIDAY • JUNE 30 • 2017

Bidding adieu Time some archaic tax laws exited the scene MOHAN R LAVI

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here is enough literature on the pluses and minuses of GST. So let’s now focus on bidding adieu to the Central Excise Act, Finance Act 1994 and VAT Acts of State governments. Though these Acts will continue to be used for goods and services that have not been subsumed under GST (petroleum products) and for the existing cases pending, they will no longer be used on a day-to-day basis from July 1. The Central Excise Act is the oldest of the lot — it has lived for 73 years. When introduced, it was called the Central Excise and Salt Act. It introduced us to the concept of manufacture and got us used to an extremely detailed tarif list that seemed very particular on taxing diferent types of the same product diferently; this is something that the GST Act has picked up efortlessly. We were told that manufacture means a new product coming into existence and that excise duty gets attracted the moment the goods leave the factory gate. Credits were permitted through what was called Modified Value Added Tax (MODVAT), which later rechristened itself to Cenvat Credit. It also decided to introduce the concept of valuation of manufactured goods. Each one of these areas was disputed all the way till the Supreme Court, and litigation on some areas will continue well into the GST era.

A no-Act Act Service tax was unleashed upon the nation in 1994. It has had a tumultuous 23 years. This is probably one of the few laws in the country that does not have an Act against its name even after two decades.

When it was introduced, a service was not defined and a threshold exemption limit was not given. Having not defined a service, the tax department had to face litigation from mandap keepers and retailers. A threshold exemption limit in 1994 would have ensured that the exemption limit under GST would have been at least ₹40 lakh — a figure close to what the Arvind Subramanian Committee recommended. For a long time since Independence, State Governments had their own Sales Tax Acts. Haryana took the lead in introducing VAT in 2003 — over the years, all other States followed suit. VAT introduced us to the concept of transfer of title and later some Governments introduced e-way bills. VAT also gave us one of the most controversial areas of taxation — taxing works contracts. It began in 1959 when the Supreme Court in State of Madras v. Gannon Dunkerley & Co. (Madras) Ltd., 1959 SCR 379 held that in a building contract which was one and entirely indivisible, there was no sale of goods and it was not within the competence of the State Provincial Legislature to impose a tax on the supply of materials used in such a contract, treating it as a sale. Decades later, the Supreme Court would reiterate the decision in Kone Elevators. GST has fixed the problem of works contracts by classifying it as a supply of services. Each of the above Acts has served its purpose in some manner or the other and taxpayers will certainly miss them. However, since the GST law is modelled on these laws to a large extent, we may not miss most of the issues that they engaged the taxpayer, department and courts with. The writer is a chartered accountant

9

Decoding the Qatar ultimatum The Saudi Arabia-sponsored charter of demands reflects the monarchy’s paranoia and dubious geopolitical ambitions D SUBA CHANDRAN

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he recent demands from Saudi Arabia-led group within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) against Qatar, are not aimed at resolving the current crisis. Though Qatar has already called them not reasonable, how sensible are these 13 demands? What do Saudi Arabia and its coalition want to achieve by presenting an unachievable and humiliating set of demands? The demands presented by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and UAE can be classified into four categories: anti-Iran, counter-terrorism, curbing independent media, and submission of Qatari sovereignty. While few demands have substance and Doha needs to attend to them, rest are prejudices of Saudi Arabia wrapped under principles.

Against sovereign rights The two demands that are related to Iran and Turkey are against Qatar’s sovereign rights as an independent State. Saudi Arabia wants Qatar to “curb diplomatic ties with Iran and close its diplomatic missions there”; the language that “only trade and commerce with Iran that complies with US and international sanctions will be permitted” is not only humiliating, but also attempts to bring the US in. Saudi Arabia is manipulating the antiIran sentiments of President Trump and is attempting to bring the US into Gulf politics, besides aiming to curb Qatar-Iran bilateral relations. The demand “to terminate the Turkish military presence currently in Qatar and end any joint military cooperation with Turkey inside Qatar” is unreasonable as well. Why would Saudi Arabia want Qatar to end Turkish military presence but not the American? The US has one of the largest military bases in Qatar; if a foreign military presence in the Gulf

undermines Saudi Arabia and its anti-Qatar coalition, then it should be across the board. Reasonable, hypocritical The second set of demands against Qatar is relatively reasonable, though hypocritical — relating to terrorism. Saudi Arabia expects Qatar to “sever all ties to terrorist organisations, specifically the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIL, Al Qaeda, and Hezbollah” and formally declare “those entities as terrorist groups”. It also asks for stopping “all means of funding for individuals, groups or organisations that have been designated as terrorists by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain, the US and other countries.” The Taliban is missing from the list of Saudi demands, but that’s not surprising. Qatar’s policy towards the above groups has been criticised. While one could understand the demands against the ISIL and Al Qaeda, it would not be easy to club the Muslim Brotherhood to the same group. Saudi Arabia and its anti-Qatar coalition, especially Egypt, are more worried about the Muslim Brotherhood, for obvious political reasons. However, before asking Qatar to stop all means of funding groups and individuals, Saudi Arabia should look inwards first. The spread of radical ideologies in South Asia and South-east Asia have their roots in Saudi Arabia. Many even question Saudi Arabia’s role, especially some of its individuals in supporting the Al Qaeda. Perhaps, Riyadh may have selective amnesia in forgetting the role of Saudi nationals in the 9/11 attack. Many in the US and elsewhere have been critical of Saudi Arabia’s support to radical groups and movements. President Obama understood Saudi Arabia’s actions and inactions towards curbing the spread of radical ideologies outside West Asia. Trump, with his own political ji-

The signs Of a tumultuous time in the Gulf region

had against Iran, is only glad to overlook the larger Saudi role on this point. Media paranoia The third set of demands is directed against Qatar’s support for independent media in the region. The Saudi coalition wants Qatar to “shut down Al Jazeera and its ailiate stations” and other media groups. In fact, this is one of the primary reasons that has ruptured Doha-Riyadh relations. Qatar’s objective is to make Al Jazeera a voice of West Asia and compete with the BBC and CNN at the global level. In this context, one has to really appreciate the emergence of Al Jazeera as an alternative voice from the region. The House of Saud and other monarchies in West Asia are extremely scared of an independent media. These are anti-democratic regimes and against any liberal voices. The ruling elite in these countries see independent media as providing a voice to the common men and are mobilising their opinion. They would like to insulate from any second wave of the Arab spring; the current demands against Qatar should be

AFP

seen as counter-revolution by the ruling elite of West Asia. The last set of demands impinges directly on Qatar’s sovereignty. It demands that Qatar “align itself with the other Gulf and Arab countries militarily, politically, socially and economically.” Worse is the ultimatum asking Qatar to “agree to all the demands within 10 days”. Even worse is the final demand, asking Qatar to “consent to monthly audits for the first year after agreeing to the demands, then once per quarter during the second year”. No self-respecting country would agree to the above, especially auditing the foreign policy every month. This is nothing but asking Qatar to surrender its sovereignty to Saudi Arabia and be its vassal state. Perhaps, Bahrain and UAE are willing to toe this line. But expecting Qatar to agree to those demands, as Doha has already responded, is unreasonable. The Saudi endgame Why would Saudi Arabia make those unreasonable demands? Clearly, they are not aimed at resolving the crisis; rather, they will escalate it further. So, what is

the larger endgame for Riyadh? Saudi Arabia wants to be the GCC hegemon, with other countries tailoring their foreign policy to what Riyadh wants. Qatar wants to pursue its own foreign policy; Riyadh should have been waiting for an opportunity to bring down the former. Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia and his participation in the US-Arab summit would have convinced Riyadh about this. The second concern is based on fear; not only the House of Saud; the ruling elite in Bahrain, UAE and Egypt is also afraid of independent media for obvious reasons. Al Jazeera and other media organisations that the Saudi Arabia accuses have been critical of many developments within West Asia and are proving to be an alternative voice. The autocratic elite wants to muzzle any opposition within. Saudi Arabia wants to set the foreign policy priorities of the entire GCC. And also wants to prevent Arab Spring 2.0. The writer is a professor and dean at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore

BusinessLine TWENTY YEARS AGO TODAY june 30, 1995 B

The Centre will roll out the much-awaited Goods and Services Tax at a special midnight meeting in Parliament today in the presence of President Pranab Mukherjee. The Congress TMC and CPI, however, have decided to keep away from the meeting.

High exposure norm likely for FI nominees on boards

The Indian financial institutions are set to revise the guidelines for its nominee-directors, whereby they will exercise their right to appoint directors in corporates which have a loan exposure to them of Rs. 5 crores or more selectively. The institutions are close to finalising a plan to raise this threshold limit of Rs. 5 crores significantly, to ensure that their nominee-directors are appointed to only select corporates where either the institutional equity holding is high or the loan exposure is fairly large. Govt. may modify rules on leasing of aircraft

B

B

To restore some of the confidence of global aircraft leasing companies in India, the Civil Aviation Ministry is planning to revoke certain clauses of the Indian Aircraft Rules which stand in the way of the lessor re-possessing the aircraft and taking it out of the country for non-payment of dues by the user. It may be mentioned that India’s image in the global aviation market had taken a beating in the recent past after leasing agencies such as the US-based PLM Leasing and German airline Lufthansa had got locked in legal disputes with the users — East West Airlines, NEPC and ModiLuft — on default in payment of lease rentals, etc.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to open the country’s first mega trade fair for the textiles sector in Gandhinagar today. Textiles India 2017 will showcase the nation as a global sourcing hub and investment destination for manufacturers worldwide.

Central Depository Services (India) will make its stock market debut today after successfully concluding its initial public ofer last week. The IPO of BSE’s depository arm received an overwhelming response, being oversubscribed a staggering 170.16 times during June 19-21.

B

Presidential hopeful Meira Kumar, who has been fielded as a UPA candidate supported by 17 Opposition parties, will commence her election campaign by visiting Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad today.

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India will look to take a 2-0 lead against the West Indies in the third ODI of the five five-match series, in Antigua today. The visitors lead the rubber 1-0 after winning the second game in Port of Spain by 105 runs. The opening match of the series was rained of after only 39 overs of play at the Queen’s Park Oval. CM YK

Autonomy package for ‘Navratnas’ ready

The autonomy package for the Navratnas, the nine bluechip PSUs, proposes to delegate most of the Government’s powers over the corporation to its own nominee-directors on boards of the companies. Sources in the Department of Public Enterprises said the package would empower the nominee-director to be the final point for according oicial sanctions, including the major investment proposals of the corporations for which the companies have to seek the Government’s permission till now.

bl two-way crossword 883

easy

not so easy

ACROSS

DOWN

ACROSS

01. Floor- covering (6) 08. Prepare as athlete (5) 09. Expressed in few words (7) 11. The common people (8) 12. Arrive at as logical conclusion (5) 15. Look threatening, sullen (4) 16. Brief curtsey (3) 17. Unconstrained (4) 19. Erica (5) 21. Conspicuous (8) 24. A couple (7) 25. Apart, not participating (5) 26. Liquid measure (6)

02. With full force (5) 03. Is a forerunner (8) 04. Excursion (4) 05. Walk in a swaggering way (5) 06. Festivity, sporting occasion (4) 07. As soon as (4) 10. Element, part (9) 12. Of-handedly (4) 13. A setting-back (8) 14. Ancient traditional story (4) 18. Be carried by the tide (5) 20. Speed for playing music (5) 21. Of a grandparent (4) 22. Push with finger (4) 23. Small shoot, branch (4)

01. Give one a dressing-down at Axminster? (6) 08. Prepare for it to be run on the right lines (5) 09. Sententiously brief, it can coil around (7) 11. The people who couple Pa with commotion (8) 12. Take it from what’s said it wouldn’t go foreign (5) 15. Look sullen in colouring (4) 16. Plumb weight of the oldfashioned 5p piece (3) 17. Comfortable, though seasick on yacht at first (4) 19. One-time premier barren country (5) 21. Seeming use of part neap can play (8) 24. The couple most woe comes to (7) 25. Without participation a silly fellow may make a comeback (5) 26. Some liquid bitterness there’s no comeback for (6)

SOLUTION: BL Two-way Crossword 882 ACROSS 1. Restoration 8. Railings 9..Else 10. Testy 13. So-so 16. Lair17. Slur 18. Arts 20. Fetch 24. Echo 25. Prie-dieu 26. Threatening DOWN 2. Evil 3. Trite 4. Right 5. Ideas 6. Promulgated 7. Resourceful 11. Scof 12. Yeast 14. Oily 15. Kilt 19. Scour 21. Egret 22. Clean 23. Lion

DOWN

02. How violently one will get a man out (5)

03. Those involved in early stages if one’s ripe for development (8) 04. Lose one’s footing on the journey (4) 05. Some support for a cocky sort of walk (5) 06. Festive occasion for Georgia and Los Angeles (4) 07. At one time was it not repeated? (4) 10. A part for a politician not once removed (9) 12. After a loss daily is edited in a nonchalant way (4) 13. Annulment of French poetry in real situation (8) 14. Legendary story may lose heart, this being halved (4) 18. Sense of argument will go the way current takes it (5) 20. It’s time for me to start playing perhaps (5) 21. Make use of one loss of a grandparent (4) 22. Jab it right inside the protective housing (4) 23. Cotton on to what comes between branch and leaf (4)

. ..... .. . ...CH-X