Business News at 10:00 am on 28th June, 2024

Let’s begin with the top news. Real estate projects saw Rs 1-trillion investments in the past two years. That is set to go up by three times over the next couple of years as developers bet big on the boom in residential property and sustained leasing activity in commercial property. Virtually every company in the space is spending crores to buy land parcels and to develop them. Anand Kulkarni , director, Crisil Ratings, points out the capital committed across residential and commercial properties in FY24 and FY25 would be around Rs 3 trillion. So promising is the outlook that last year alone about 1,185 acres was picked up while 410 million sq ft of residential properties were launched.

Meanwhile, The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs on Thursday clarified that if an MNC subsidiary in India as service recipient is eligible to claim full input tax credit under the GST, the value declared by the overseas affiliate in the invoice will be treated as the taxable value. But in cases, where the foreign affiliate does not raise an invoice, it would be presumed that the value of services is nil and no GST is required to be paid. Companies had earlier raised concerns about tax demands arising from the reverse charge mechanism for such services, where no consideration was made. “The clarification will help in avoiding misinterpretation and litigation on this issue by the GST authorities,” said Darshan Bora, partner at Economic Laws Practice.

Elsewhere, Water levels in the country’s 150 major reservoirs on Thursday stood at 22% below the previous year’s level and 15% below 10-year average, against 21% a week ago, despite revival of monsoon rains in the last one week, reports Sandip Das. However surplus monsoon rains of 16% more than the benchmark long period average so far in the southern peninsula has led to marginal improvement in water reservoirs in southern states. As many as 42 southern dams currently have 16% capacity filled as against 14% a fortnight ago, as per the Central Water Commission. Reservoir levels have been dropping for the 35 weeks in row till June 6 because of deficient monsoon last season, scanty rainfall in winter months and prolonged heatwaves in several parts of the country.

Furthermore, The first Budget of the new government will unveil “far-reaching policies and a futuristic vision”, President Droupadi Murmu said on Thursday, adding that it would also contain “major economic and social decisions” and “many historic steps”. Murmu’s statement during her customary address of the joint session of Parliament heightened the expectations from the Budget, likely to be presented in the second half of July, amid persisting concerns that a broad-based economic revival may be yet to take root. Achieving the goal of Viksit Bharat will be possible only when the poor, youth, women and farmers of this country are empowered, Murmu said. “Therefore, topmost priority is being accorded to these four pillars in the schemes of my government,” calling the Budget to be an “effective document” in this regard.

Moving on, Foodtech major Zomato has introduced a ‘Restaurant Services Hub’ to support its restaurant partners with various operational needs. The new platform, accessible through Zomato’s restaurant partner app or dining app, offers services such as hiring, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) registrations, taxation, and trademarking. The company reports that it has already assisted over 3,200 restaurant partners during a six-month pilot phase. Participating restaurants include Havmor, Dastaan-e-Dawat, Berry on Top, Nutri Bar, and Cheelizza. For hiring services, Zomato has partnered with vendors including Apna, WorkIndia, Shiftz, Rozgaar, and Kaam.com. The cost for these services ranges from Rs 299 to Rs 5,250. FSSAI registrations, trademark security, and GST registrations are facilitated through partnerships with vendors such as SRV Taxcon, GoAuditz, and Plans4U.

Elsewhere, Germany-based Bosch is said to be contemplating a takeover of US white goods maker Whirlpool, a move which could bolster its India position in the appliances segment, industry experts said. Media reports have indicated that Bosch is looking to make a multi-billion-dollar offer for Whirlpool, which is currently in discussion with advisers. The potential deal has India implications since the Bosch group runs BSH Home Appliances in India, a company which manufactures and sells products under the Bosch, Siemens and Gaggenau brands. The company, an unlisted entity, is a subsidiary of BSH Hausegerate Gmbh, the appliances arm of the Bosch group and the largest appliance maker in Europe. The company declined comment when contacted about the likely acquisition of Whirlpool and its impact on India.

Lastly, the stocks in focus. These include Reliance Industries, Telecom Stocks, Wockhardt Hospitals, BHEL, JSW Infra, India Cements, Raymond. Reliance Jio announced on Thursday, June 27, a tariff hike of 12% to 25% on its prepaid and postpaid plans, marking the first price increase in two and a half years. The new plans will take effect from July 3. This announcement follows Jio’s acquisition of 14.4 MHz of spectrum in the 1800 MHz band for Rs 973 crore in the recent auction. Other major telecom operators, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, are also expected to raise their tariffs soon.