The recent India Art Fair in New Delhi generated greater interest than before in local contemporary artists among a growing cohort of Indian collectors, including millennials. But growth in Indian art is not restricted to that alone. This year saw 91 exhibitors, a much higher number than 63 in the previous edition – indicating a flourishing market. While live auction sales were largely suspended during Q2 of 2020 due to Covid-19 precautions, global fine art auctioneer Christie’s says online-only sales were up 262 per cent in 2020 to $311 million), marking a record total for the channel.
Posts tagged Rediff
FM meets chiefs of govt banks amid US financial stress (25-03-2023)
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday reviewed the performance of public sector banks (PSBs) on various financial health parameters and their resilience in the wake of the current global financial scenario emanating from the failure of some international banks in the US and Europe.
DA for central govt employees, pensioners hiked by 4% (24-03-2023)
The Union Cabinet on Friday increased the dearness allowance and dearness relief by 4 per cent to 42 per cent to benefit 47.58 lakh central government employees and 69.76 lakh pensioners. The combined impact on the exchequer on account of both Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief will be Rs 12,815.60 crore per annum, I and B Minister Anurag Thakur told reporters after the meeting of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).
F and O contracts: Securities transaction tax to be hiked (24-03-2023)
The government on Friday proposed hiking the securities transaction tax on Futures and Options (F and O) contracts, a move that will increase the trading costs in the derivatives segment as well as help in curbing excessive trades. In the Finance Bill 2023, passed by the Lok Sabha on Friday, the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on options is proposed to be increased to 0.0625 per cent from 0.05 per cent and on futures contracts to 0.0125 from 0.01 per cent. Analysts opined that higher STT will shore up the government’s revenues to some extent and also discourage excessive trading since a large number of retail traders are losing money in the segment.
India’s forex kitty jumps by $12.8 bn to $572.8 bn (24-03-2023)
India’s forex kitty rose by $12.80 billion to $572.80 billion in the week ended March 17, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the reserves had dropped by $2.39 billion to a three-month low of $560.00 billion. It can be noted that in October 2021, the country’s forex kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion.
Markets fall nearly 1%; Sensex ends down 398 points (24-03-2023)
Bajaj Finserv was the biggest loser among the Sensex constituents, sliding 3.81 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, HCL Tech, SBI, Larsen and Toubro and Mahindra and Mahindra, Axis Bank and Titan. On the other hand, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Power Grid, Asian Paints and Wipro were the gainers.
Credit card payments on foreign tours to attract TCS (24-03-2023)
Credit card payments for foreign travel will be brought under the purview of the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) of the Reserve Bank, to ensure that such expenses do not escape TCS (Tax Collection at Source). While moving the Finance Bill 2023 for consideration and passage in the Lok Sabha on Friday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Reserve Bank has been asked to look into ways to bring credit card payments on foreign tours under the LRS. “It has been represented that payments for foreign tours through a credit card are not being captured under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) and such payments escape tax collection at source (TCS),” she said.
The Banking Accidents Have Started (24-03-2023)
The failure of SVB was due to idiosyncratic reasons, but shows how higher rates can expose fault lines in unforeseen places, observes Neelkanth Mishra.
Finance Bill passed in LS with 64 amendments (24-03-2023)
Lok Sabha on Friday passed the Finance Bill 2023 with 64 official amendments, including the one that seeks withdrawal of long-term tax benefits on certain categories of debt mutual funds and another for setting up the GST Appelate Tribunal. The Finance Bill that gives effect to tax proposals for fiscal year starting April 1 was passed without a discussion amidst ruckus by opposition members demanding a JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee) probe into the allegations against the Adani group of companies. While moving the bill for passage and consideration, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman also announced the setting up of a committee under finance secretary to look into pension issues of government employees.
SIP pie in mutual fund AUM clocks fresh highs in Feb (24-03-2023)
The steady inflows from systematic investment plans (SIPs) into mutual funds (MFs), coupled with outflows from debt schemes, has propelled the share of SIPs in the total assets being managed by the industry to a new high of 17.1 per cent in February. SIPs are used predominantly by retail investors. Nearly seven of every 10 SIP accounts are in equity-oriented active MF schemes.