Morning Brief: Crucial GST Council Meeting Today; India To Auction 55 Oil And Gas Blocks; Missile Deal Back On Track: Netanyahu

Good morning, dear reader! Here’s your morning news and views brief for today.

Crucial GST Council Meeting Today: The goods and services tax (GST) Council, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, will hold its 25th meeting in New Delhi today, 15 days ahead of the Budget 2018. It is likely to take decisions on key issues: inclusion of real estate under the new tax regime, tax rate cut on 70 more items and simplification of filing of returns. The GST Council may cut tax rates on as a many as 70 items and offer simpler GST returns filing. Of these 70 items, 40 are likely to be various services. The GST Council is also likely to cut rates on agriculture-related products, reports said. The GST Council may also discuss bringing natural gas and jet fuel under the GST, while the chances of bringing, petrol, diesel and electricity are thin. The Council meeting comes against the backdrop of lower GST collections and higher than the budgeted fiscal deficit.

India To Auction 55 Oil And Gas Exploration Blocks: India will begin the auction of 55 oil and gas exploration blocks from Thursday under new rules, the country's first licensing round after eight years. The identified blocks, spread over a 59,000 square kilometre area, will now go under the hammer with some advantages given to companies that first identified the area. "We are now putting up the blocks for bidding to ensure transparency and greater participation," Atanu Chakraborty, head of India's Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, said. In previous licensing rounds, India had muted response from global oil firms but Chakraborty is hopeful of getting a good response as oil prices are moving up. About 65 per cent of the 55 blocks are on land and mostly in the northeastern state of Assam and western states of Gujarat and Rajasthan. India is estimated to hold 42 billion tonnes or 315 billion barrels of oil and gas resources, he said.

India Expected To Become $5 Trillion Economy In Nine Years, Says Prabhu: India is expected to become a $5 trillion economy in the next eight-nine years with the manufacturing sector contributing 20 per cent to that, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said on Wednesday. “India is going to be $5 trillion economy in eight-nine years and $1 trillion will come from manufacturing. Therefore we are preparing a detailed plan what will be going in that manufacturing,” Prabhu said and added that if manufacturing alone is digitised it will create huge opportunity for technology firms. “Sixty per cent of the $5 trillion will come from services. This includes various services which are not being even thought of at present. Like home care services have tremendous scope,” he said. Another revenue contribution to the economy, he said, will be farming sector where lot of transformation can be done.

Panic Buttons And GPS A Must For Public Transport Vehicles From 1 April: The Road Transport Ministry has reiterated that all taxis, buses and public transport vehicles will have to install location tracking device or GPS and an alert button from 1 April. "From 1 April, 2018, passenger transport vehicles including taxis and buses are to be mandatorily equipped with GPS devices," the ministry tweeted on Wednesday. A senior official said there will be no extension to roll out these passenger safety measures in public transport vehicles. These devices shall be fitted by the manufacturer or dealer or the operators. "Three-wheelers have been kept out of these mandatory installation of GPS and alert button since they are open. Passengers are more vulnerable in vehicles with closed structure," the official said. According to sources, the state transport departments are responsible for putting a system in place for tracking public transport vehicles. When any passenger presses the alert button, both the transport department and police control rooms will be alerted for taking quick action.

Sri Sri Tattva To Open 1,000 Stores, Eyes Rs 500 Crore Revenues This Year: Sri Sri Tattva, spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s consumer goods and wellness brand, is planning to expand its presence with 1,000 retail stores by end 2018. It is targeting Rs 500 crore revenue from them, a senior company executive has said. “We’ve tied up with Franchise India, and will launch 1,000 odd stores in the next one year and have set a target of clocking Rs 500 crore revenue from this,” Arvind Varchaswi, managing director of the FMCG brand said. The company will have three type of stores – Sri Sri Tattva Mart, Sri Sri Tattva Wellness Place, and Sri Sri Tattva Home and Health, he said on the sidelines of the India Food Forum. The company currently operates in 33 countries and the focus will shift this year to Latin America, West Asia, the Far East, Russia and East Europe, he indicated. The brand, which so far has limited online presence, though sells through its own website, today also tied up with online retailer BigBasket.

Padmaavat Makers Move SC Against Ban By States: The producers of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat have moved the Supreme Court against the film being banned in six states after receiving a clearance from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana governments have banned the movie saying its release may pose law and order problems. Originally titled Padmavati, the film’s name was changed to Padmaavat as suggested by the CBFC. The board recently cleared the film for release with U/A certificate and a set of five modifications. The movie has been facing violent protests by Shri Rajput Karni Sena which blames the director and lead actors of insulting Rajputs and the community’s honour – a charge the filmmakers have denied.

$500 Million India-Israel Missile Deal Back On Track, Says Netanyahu: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday he had been informed by the Indian government that it had decided to put a major anti-tank missile deal back on track. Earlier this month, Israel’s state-owned defence contractor Rafael said India’s Defence Ministry had cancelled the deal worth about $500 million to buy Spike anti-tank guided missiles. “Following talks I have held with my friend, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Indian government has informed us that it is putting the Spike deal back on track. This is very important and there will be many more deals,” Netanyahu said in a brief video statement during his five-day visit to India. Israel has emerged as one of India’s biggest suppliers of weapons alongside the United States and long-term partner Russia.

World's Largest Underwater Cave Discovered, May Shed Light On Maya Civilisation: In a discovery that could help shed new light on the ancient Maya civilisation, a group of divers has connected two underwater caverns in eastern Mexico to reveal what is believed to be the biggest flooded cave on the planet. The Gran Acuifero Maya (GAM), a project dedicated to the study and preservation of the subterranean waters of the Yucatan peninsula, said the 347-kilometre cave was identified after months of exploring a maze of underwater channels. GAM director and underwater archaeologist Guillermo de Anda said the “amazing” find would help to understand the development of the rich culture of the region, which was dominated by the Maya civilisation before the Spanish conquest. “It allows us to appreciate much more clearly how the rituals, the pilgrimage sites and ultimately the great pre-Hispanic settlements that we know emerged,” he said.

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