Business News at 10:00 am on 6th March, 2024

Let’s begin – With the intervention of the communications and IT minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Google on Tuesday reinstated all the apps in its Play Store, which it had removed on March 1 over non-payment of commission charges for in-app purchases. The development is significant because the reinstatement is on the same terms and conditions which existed as on March 1. This means that the users of these apps can make in-app purchases either by using Google’s payment system or third party billing. Google had reinstated several apps between March 2-4 but these were on consumption-only basis, which means that purchases could be made outside the Play Store.

Up next – The Centre hopes to achieve its revised direct tax collections target for the current fiscal year, but personal income tax mop-up could be slightly lower than the respective revised estimate, a senior official told FE on Tuesday. “We are witnessing a slower growth in PIT collections, so we might miss the revised estimate target for FY24 by a slight margin,” the official said. The growth in direct tax collections, net of refunds, between April 1-March 4 has slowed down to 17.4%, the official added. The interim Budget has pegged the FY24 direct tax collections to come in at Rs 19.45 trillion, which is 17.2% higher than the actuals of FY23

Moving on – Tata Sons, the investment-holding arm of Tata group companies, could fetch valuation of Rs 7-8 trillion in an initial public offering, based on the current market capitalisation of group firms, according to a report. The market value of Tata Sons’ listed investments is estimated at Rs 16 trillion. The group could derive another Rs 1-1.5 trillion of value from unlisted investments and step-down subsidiaries such as Tata Technologies, Tata Metalliks and Rallis, according to a report by investment banking firm Spark PWM. Investors are likely to give a holding company a 30-60% discount when calculating the equity value, and Tata Sons’ value would be Rs 7.8 trillion, factoring a 60% discount, it said.

In other news – Central public-sector entities – companies and undertakings – achieved 92% of their combined capital expenditure target for FY24 in April-February by spending Rs 6.8 trillion, maintaining their acceleration in capex in the current financial year. On an annual basis, these entities’ capex grew by 21% on year in the first eleven months of the current financial year compared with Rs 5.6 trillion in the year-ago period which is 87% of the FY23 target. The capex target for the CPSEs and other agencies was set at Rs 7.42 trillion as per the FY24 revised estimate, 14.5% higher than the achievement of Rs 6.48 trillion in FY23.

Moving ahead – The ministry of corporate affairs has begun a comprehensive review of the rules and regulations, including the norms for accounting and auditing practices. According to Manoj Govil, secretary-MCA, extensive public consultations would be carried out for the review, which is aimed at making compliance easier, and more system-driven and effective. The review is expected to cover the entire gamut of laws that come under the MCA such as Companies act, LLP Act, and the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code. Also, it would encompass all regulatory bodies concerned such as the National Financial Reporting Authority, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Competition Commission of India, Institute of Company Secretaries of India, and Institute of Cost Accountants of India.
“Meanwhile – The Food Corporation of India may raise around Rs 15,000 crore through short term loans in the current fiscal to bridge the gap between food subsidy allocated and actual expenses in handling and distribution of grains under free ration scheme. Sources told FE that as a cabinet nod for the increasing authorised capital of the FCI to Rs 21,000 crore from the Rs 10,000 crore is yet to be received, the corporation may seek short term loans to finance its activities of procurement and distribution of foodgrains to states. As per the revised estimates for 2023-24, out of the total allocation of Rs 2.11 trillion under the food subsidy expenses, Rs 1.39 trillion is routed through FCI.

Lastly – GIFT Nifty indicated that Indian equity indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 may see a negative opening on Wednesday. Stocks in Focus: GIFT Nifty traded down by just 4.50 points or 0.02% at 22,435 indicating a negative opening for domestic indices NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex on Wednesday. Previously, on Tuesday, the NSE Nifty 50 ended down by 49.30 points or 0.22% to settle at 22,356.30, while the BSE Sensex dropped 195.16 points or 0.26% to 73,677.13. The key stocks to watch in trade are JM Financial, Wipro, JSW Energy, NHPC, Bharti Airtel, IRCTC, Sonata Software, Bank of India, Signature Global, Bharat Forge, Force Motors, and Aditya Birla Fashion among others.