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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has called India’s economic slowdown just a “temporary blip” and promising a strong bounce-back in the coming quarters. Meanwhile, all eyes are on the 55th GST Council meeting. Big news might be on the horizon: lower taxes on food delivery charges could give consumers some relief, and there’s chatter about possible tax cuts on life and health insurance too.
Globally, SoftBank and Donald Trump are joining forces for a massive $100 billion AI push. In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in a bit of a political pickle after his finance minister stepped down, adding to his mounting troubles.
Back home, the Delhi High Court didn’t hold back, expressing shock over SpiceJet stripping parts from leased planes.
Meanwhile, the two bills for simultaneous elections were introduced in Lok Sabha, with 269 votes in favour and 198 against. Here’s what happens next!
Nifty 50 and Sensex hit two-week low on heavyweights losses
The benchmark indices, Nifty 50 and Sensex, declined up to 1.4% on Tuesday and hit a two-week low amid losses in heavyweight stocks, with investors also avoiding any risky bets on markets ahead of the crucial Federal Reserve rate decision due later today.
Investors are cautious ahead of the outcome of the Fed’s meeting, where a rate cut of 25 basis points is expected, analysts told Cogencis Information. However, there are worries that the Fed might signal a pause or a slowdown in the pace of rate cuts ahead, or that the Fed would give a cautious outlook for the policy meetings that follow, they said.
The Sensex falls 1,064 points to end at 80,684, while the Nifty declined 332 points to end at 24,336 points.
Q2 economic slowdown a temporary blip, GDP will grow in coming quarters: Nirmala Sitharaman
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman assured the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, December 17, 2024, that the recent slowdown in India’s GDP growth for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025 is merely a “temporary blip,” and that growth will pick up in the coming quarters.
Responding to a discussion on the Supplementary Demands for Grants – First Batch 2024-25, Sitharaman said that the drop in the GDP growth in the second quarter has to be understood in a “broader context.”
“Let us not pick on the one GDP drop. This year the government expenditure started effectively from August and between September and October, there was a downward bias for Q2 GDP growth. This lower growth situation is no different from the earlier years when Lok Sabha elections were conducted,” Sitharaman said.
GST Council may cut tax on delivery charges to 5%: Sources
The 55th GST Council meeting, scheduled for December 21 in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, could bring relief for consumers ordering food through e-commerce platforms by potentially reducing goods and services tax (GST) on delivery charges.
If the Council approves the recommendations made by the GST Council nominated fitment committee, “the 18% GST rate that we pay on delivery charges while ordering food via e-commerce platforms is likely to be brought down to 5%,” according to sources.
“The proposal will be applicable from January 1, 2022, retrospectively, and for business purposes—specifically for e-commerce operators—this reduced rate will, however, not allow them to take the benefit of input tax credit (ITC) when they file their GST returns,” sources added.
55th GST Council Meet | Cheaper life & health insurance has GoM’s blessings, final call on Saturday: Sources
Indians may soon get to pay less for life and health insurance, if the Goods & Services Tax (GST) Council accepts what we learn the Group of Ministers (GoM) on insurance will be recommending. Sources tell CNBC-TV18 that the GoM’s recommendations, which are to be submitted to the GST Council when it meets for the 55th time on Saturday, December 21, in Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, include a complete exemption of GST on individual term life insurance policies and their reinsurance.
However, we also learn that the report says, “the GoM is of a view that the current GST rate of 18% should remain on group term life insurance.” But the GoM has not closed the door on this matter completely, with the report going on to say, “if Council feels it appropriate, then it can mandate the Fitment Committee to look into this aspect in detail and can get it examined later on.”
SoftBank, Donald Trump team up on $100 billion AI push, promise 1,00,000 US jobs
Japanese tycoon Masayoshi Son and President-elect Donald Trump have announced plans for technology and telecoms giant SoftBank Group to invest $100 billion in projects in the United States over the coming four years.
Trump said the investments in building artificial intelligence infrastructure would create 100,000 jobs, twice the 50,000 promised when Son pledged $50 billion in U.S. investments after Trump’s victory in 2016.
Son, a founder and CEO of SoftBank Group, is known for making bold choices that sometimes pay big and sometimes don’t. SoftBank has investments in dozens of Silicon Valley startups, along with big companies like semiconductor design company Arm and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. The stock market rally and craze for AI has boosted the value of its assets, but it’s unclear whether its investments will create that many jobs.
Russian general, chief of nuclear protection forces, killed in Moscow explosion
A senior Russian general, in charge of nuclear protection forces, was killed in an explosion in Moscow on Tuesday, Russia’s investigative committee said.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was killed outside an apartment building on Ryazansky Prospekt that starts a road nearly 7 km (4 miles) southeast of the Kremlin, Reuters reported.
According to BBC, Kirillov was leaving a residential block on Tuesday when the device hidden in a scooter was detonated. He was serving as the chief of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops.
Justin Trudeau faces uncertain political future as Canada FM resigns
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faces the toughest political battle of his career following Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s unexpected resignation. Her departure highlights deepening divisions within his government and growing voter discontent.
Delhi HC expresses ‘shock’ over SpiceJet stripping parts from lessors’ planes, warns of action
It’s only Tuesday, and already it’s been a rough week in the courts for SpiceJet and its batting lessors. The day after the Delhi High Court issued summons to the CEO and COO, in a different case, the HC has now expressed “shock” at SpiceJet removing parts from planes that were returned to the lessor.
The HC was today, December 17, hearing a contempt plea filed by lessors TWC Aviation. The lessor had leased three engines and two airframes to the airline.
After a payment dispute, the Delhi HC intervened, directing that the engines and airframes be returned.
TWC Aviation now claims that while the engines and planes were returned, several parts were removed from the airframes.
One Nation One Election: 269 votes in favour, 198 against – what happens next?
The two bills aimed at establishing the mechanism for holding simultaneous elections were introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, December 17, after a heated debate.
The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and the Union Territories Amendment Bill were passed through a division of votes, marking the first use of the electronic voting system in the new Parliament House. The bills secured 269 votes in favour and 198 against, after which the proceedings were briefly adjourned.
The Cabinet had approved the bills last week, seeking to align the election processes of the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Puducherry, and the NCT of Delhi. However, the provisions of the amendment indicate that simultaneous elections will not take place until 2034.
One Nation One Poll: Former CEC TS Krishnamurthy calls for collaborative approach on simultaneous elections
The debate surrounding the One Nation, One Election Bill continues to intensify, with the government introducing the legislation in the Lok Sabha amidst significant opposition.
While the ruling BJP and its allies, along with 32 political parties, have backed the bill, opposition parties, including the Congress, have strongly criticised it. The Congress went as far as to label the bill “an assault on the constitution,” calling for its immediate withdrawal. After a contentious division of votes, the bill was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for further discussion.
Speaking to CNBC-TV18, former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) TS Krishnamurthy acknowledged the opposition’s concerns but called for a more balanced perspective, grounded in India’s electoral history.
India Inc sees fewer women directors and young independent directors in last 3 years: Survey
The number of women directors on the boards of top Nifty 100 companies in India has declined in the past three years; however, there has been a steady increase in the number of females taking Independent Director positions.
According to the fifth Corporate Governance Survey by Excellence Enablers, female directors on the boards fell from 57 in 2021 to 56 in 2022, 54 in 2023 and 53 in 2024. However, the average of women directors as a percentage of total directors remained the same at 20% in the last three years, as per the survey. Meanwhile, women independent directors rose from 101 in 2021 to 133 in 2022, 139 in 2023 and 147 in 2024.
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