Page 12 - Banking Finance September 2024

ROUNDUP

tity or proof of address documents and Rs. 1 lakh crore fund to Science Education and Research (IISER)
such connections are flagged to the in Bhopal.
telecom service providers (TSPs) for re- create opportunities for Normally, Indian firms take tested for-
verification. youth: FM eign technology as they don't explore
Till date, DoT has identified about 8.1 The Anusandhan Kosh of Rs 1 trillion untested local technology with the
million such suspected mobile connec- will provide long-term financing to sup- same enthusiasm.
tions, the details of which have been port research and innovation in sunrise By giving the concessional window of
forwarded to TSPs for re-verification, domains, which will create new av- financing, companies can take the In-
the DoT said. enues for India's tech-savvy youth, fi- dian technology for their product de-
nance minister Nirmala Sitharaman velopment with lesser risk because
Top 3 family business val- said. they could get long-term loans at low
ued close to Singapore The fund was announced in the interim or nil rates of interest with a morato-
Budget for FY25. The Centre is in the rium, etc.
GDP process of drawing up a comprehensive
The Bajaj family ranks second on the scheme to provide concessional capital Net direct tax mop-up
list with a valuation of Rs. 7.13 trillion. support to the private sector to en-
Led by Niraj Bajaj, their Pune-based courage it to adopt indigenous deep rises 22.5%
automobile business is a third-genera- tech and cutting-edge technologies in The Centre's direct tax collections, net
tion enterprise, according to the re- defence, energy and electronics. of refunds, as of August 11 in the cur-
port. The Birla family is third at Rs. "We are strengthening deep tech, rent financial year stood at Rs 6.93
5.39 trillion, led by fourth-generation which will help the defence sector be- trillion, which is 22.5% higher than the
Kumar Mangalam Birla. The business come aatmanirbhar. Innovation, re- corresponding period of last year, an
focuses on metals, mining, cement, official release said.
search and development are among
and financial services.
the key priorities of our government's Refunds during April 1 - August 11
The top three family businesses are policies for making sure India becomes stood at Rs 1.2 trillion, which is 33.5%
valued at $460 billion, equivalent to a developed nation by 2047," higher than last year.
the GDP of Singapore, according to the Sitharaman said addressing the 11th The direct tax data mop-up till August
report. convocation of the Indian Institute of 11 accounted for 31% of the total tar-
get for the current fiscal. Whereas,
Govt signals relief for lnfosys in Rs. 32000 crore GST last year, collections in the same period
accounted for 29% of the target. This
case indicates robust tax collections, and
The over Rs 32,000-crore Infosys tax controversy may not drag on for too shows that the mop-up may surpass
long, with the finance ministry keen to ensure that there is no adverse the full-year's target, say experts.
impact on overall business sentiment and the tech major too dropping plans The Budget 2024-25 expects gross di-
of moving court after the Karnataka GST authorities "stepped back" and rect tax collections (net of refunds but
withdrew their "pre-show cause" notice. before devolution to states) to grow at
While Infosys will respond to the pre-show cause notice from Directorate 13.3% on year.
General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), it is unlikely to rush to court until fresh Access to large amounts of data with
action is initiated by the agency, sources familiar with the plan. the authorities coupled with interplay
DGGI's actions are in any case seen to be "over-interpretation", given that of exchange of information with vari-
tax officers as well as consultants said the law is clear on how to deal with ous regulators and other bodies is one
transactions between branches and headquarters. In any case, they pointed of the key factors, which has led to
out that a circular issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Cus- higher compliance, and thereby collec-
toms on June 26 had sought to remove ambiguities. Industry lobby group tions say experts.
Nasscom had cited the circular, while taking up cudgels on behalf of Infosys. "Ease of compliances including pay-

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