Industry experts are anticipating several key measures for women entrepreneurs in the upcoming interim budget. These measures include incentives for maternity leave benefits and a focus on skill training for young women. They also expect tax relaxations for women entrepreneurs and increased paid holidays for working mothers. The interim budget, to be presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, is expected to address these concerns ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Radhika Dalmia, chairperson of FICCI Ladies Organisation (Kolkata chapter), has highlighted the need to increase the allowances provided by the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana and enhance education benefits for girls. She emphasized that financial inclusion, healthcare infrastructure, and education, particularly for girls, are crucial for creating a more inclusive India.

Saloni Verma, co-founder and chairperson of Sunshine Corporate Creches, discussed the implications of the Maternity Act 2017, which made creche services and six months of paid maternity leave mandatory for companies with 50 or more employees. Verma proposed financial incentives for smaller companies to help cover maternity leave salaries and creche services. This aims to address concerns about reluctance to hire married young women and the gender imbalance in most companies.

Jyoti Bhandari, founder and CEO of Lovak Capital, called for the budget to prioritize skill training for young women, particularly through vocational programs after completing class 12. Bhandari also emphasized the importance of empowering women economically and supporting successful women entrepreneurs. She suggested facilitating their transition into larger producer organizations and exploring the role of women in agriculture and other non-farm sectors, contributing to India’s economic growth.

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 A fuel tanker operated by Trafigura was attacked by a missile in the Red Sea.This incident, coupled with the decrease in Russian refined products exports because of refinery repairs after drone attacks, caused the market to reassess the risk of disruptions.

 Both Brent crude futures and US West Texas Intermediate crude saw an increase, with Brent rising to $84.38 a barrel and US WTI reaching $78.79 a barrel. 

The attack on the Trafigura-operated tanker has raised concerns about the safety of oil tankers linked to the US and UK. Furthermore, Russia is expected to reduce its exports of naphtha by around a third due to refinery fires in the Baltic and Black Seas. 

Despite these developments, OPEC and its allies, including Russia, are to meet online on February 1 to discuss oil production levels for the future.

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Various suggestions have been made to streamline taxes, make compliance easier, and review certain tax reliefs and provisions related to TDS. In recent years, the government has made progress in simplifying the process of filing and processing tax returns. The Finance Minister’s focus in the interim budget may be on making structural changes to make it easier for taxpayers to operate rather than providing significant tax breaks, except for a few. 

The new tax regime is simpler and less burdensome, but many individuals still find the regular tax regime more financially advantageous due to the various tax reliefs available. More needs to be done to make the simplified tax regime more attractive, such as widening the tax slabs and reducing tax rates. 

The capital gains tax regime needs rationalization as it is complex and difficult to understand. It is challenging for taxpayers to comply with the different tax rates and classifications based on holding periods and tax residency. A reevaluation of the entire capital gains taxation structure is necessary to appeal to the capital markets. 

Under Section 80D, the deduction limit for medical expenses and insurance should be increased to reduce the financial burden on taxpayers. A level treatment for tax relief on savings and fixed deposit interest could be considered. The current threshold for deduction is very low, and an amendment is expected. 

Compliance for globally mobile employees availing relief under Double Taxation Avoidance Treaties needs to be simplified. The process of claiming foreign tax credits or treaty relief should be made easier, and treaty relief at the tax withholding stage can be enabled by amending certain forms. 

Tax compliance for overseas taxpayers can be made easier by allowing foreign bank accounts for tax payments, direct credit of tax refunds to overseas bank accounts, and implementing e-verification of tax returns via OTP to foreign mobile numbers or two-factor authentication. 

The scope of information covered in the Annual Information Statement can be widened to enhance the pre-filing of tax returns. 

The Finance Minister can introduce enabling provisions in the budget to ensure a smooth transition when the labor codes take effect, so that current tax relief for retirement benefits is not affected. 

Overall, simplifying processes, increasing deduction limits, and improving compliance are some of the key expectations for the upcoming budget.

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This is the 73rd occasion when a proposal moved by Guatemala, a Central American country, on behalf of 130 members was not able to launch the selection processes.

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A proposal backed by 130 World Trade Organization (WTO) members to restart the selection processes for filling vacancies on WTO’s Appellate Body was shot down by the United States (US) yet again in a sign that disputes may keep piling up at the top trade body, fueling further protectionism in global trade.

The Appellate Body is the apex institution for adjudicating trade disputes.

This is the 73rd occasion when a proposal moved by Guatemala, a Central American country, on behalf of 130 members was not able to launch the selection processes. The US has been blocking the appointment of new judges to the WTO’s seven-member appellate court since 2017 on grounds of judicial activism at the WTO and concerns over US sovereignty.

The lack of a functional Appellate Body is concerning as global trade is already slowing with growing geo-political tensions. Moreover, developed countries are turning inward with the introduction of several environment related trade measures such as carbon tax which could hurt India’s trade prospects. India’s goods exports have seen a decline during the better part of 2023 largely due to weakening demand globally.

“Guatemala said that on behalf of the 130 members it regretted that for the 73rd occasion members have not been able to launch the selection processes. Ongoing conversations about reform of the dispute settlement system should not prevent the Appellate Body from continuing to operate fully, Guatemala said for the group,” an official WTO statement released late on Friday read.

This comes ahead of the 13th ministerial conference (MC) of the WTO in Abu Dhabi on February 26-29 where India is set to bat for a resolution of the system. The US repeated that it does not support the proposed decision to commence the appointment of Appellate Body members as its longstanding concerns with WTO dispute settlement remain unaddressed.

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Talwar, who was unwell, was a former Standard Chartered Bank CEO.

Rana Talwar, the first person from Asia to head a global bank (Standard Chartered) passed away on Saturday at the age of 76 after being unwell for some time.

“We regret to inform about the sad demise of non-executive director Gurvirendra Singh (Rana) Talwar, which was intimated to the company by the family members,” real estate giant DLF said in a regulatory filing, reported the Times of India.

Talwar was a board member at DLF, having joined the realty major in 2006. He will be cremated at Delhi’s Lodhi Road cremation ground on Sunday.

Who was Rana Talwar?

(1.) He began his career with Citibank India in 1969, swiftly ascending through the ranks to lead its retail businesses in Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Europe, and North America.

(2.) Then, in the summer of 1997, the St Stephens alumnus joined Standard Chartered, assuming the position of CEO after some months, becoming the first Asian to head an international bank.

(3.) There, he was instrumental in major acquisitions, including the Trade Finance business of UBS, Grindlays Bank in India and the Middle East from ANZ, and the Credit Card business from Chase Manhattan in Hong Kong.

(4.) After moving on from Standard Chartered in 2002, the veteran banker founded Sabre Capital, a private equity firm. Interestingly, ‘Sabre’ means a sword, which translates to ‘Talwar’ in Hindi.

(5.) He is survived by his wife, Renuka, whose father is DLF Group chairman emeritus KP Singh. The couple’s son, Rahul, is also involved with DLF.

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 The FPI  vend- off in January was also one of the reasons for the fall in  standard  indicators, Sensex and Nifty, which had  collapsed around 2 per cent in a  largely  unpredictable month. 

  After two months of  successive buying, foreign portfolio investors( FPIs) have come net  merchandisers in January as they  unloaded Rs 24,734 crore worth of Indian equities so far in the month amid  enterprises over  detention in interest rate cuts by the United States( US) Federal Reserve and high valuation of domestic shares.  

 The selling of stocks by foreign investors in the current month( till January 25) comes after heavy buying witnessed in November last time at Rs 9,001 crore and in December at Rs 66,135 crore. In October 2023, FPI exodus stood at Rs 24,548, according to the data from the National Securities Depository Ltd( NSDL). 

  The FPI  vend- off in January was also one of the reasons for the fall in  standard  indicators, Sensex and Nifty, which had  collapsed around 2 per cent in a  largely  unpredictable month.   According to V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, FPIs continued to be  merchandisers in the cash  request having  vended equity worth Rs 27,664 crore through January 25.

  “FPIs were  merchandisers in  motors and  bus ancillary, media and entertainment and  hardly in IT. They bought  oil painting and gas, power and widely in  fiscal services, ” he said.   commentary from Federal Reserve System’s Governor Christopher J Waller, on January 16, that interest rate cuts need to be calibrated and not rushed counted on the investors ’ sentiments as it dampened expedients of early rate cuts by the US central bank, performing in heavy selling by FPIs in the domestic shares. 

There was a stopgap  before that the US Federal Reserve may start cutting interest rates as early as March this time.

 The negative sentiments about interest rates in the US likely to remain advanced- for- longer- than- anticipation led to a rise in the yield on the US 10- time bond to over4.18 per cent, compared to3.18 per  “ The rising bond yields in the US is a matter of concern and this has  touched off the recent bout of dealing  in the cash  request, ” Vijayakumar said. requests will  nearly watch the US Federal Reserve’s  financial policy  advertisement on January 31, judges said.

    “ Another critical event to watch is the  outgrowth of the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting  listed for January 31st, which could  give  perceptivity into the implicit timing of interest rate cuts, ” said Santosh Meena, Head of Research, Swastika InvestmartLtd.  

 Domestically, the sell- off by FPIs was driven by  enterprises over advanced valuation of shares despite the frugality doing well and  enhancement in the commercial earnings. 

Dealing by overseas investors in the current month comes ahead of the January- end deadline set by the Securities and Exchange Board of India( Sebi) for certain FPIs to  expose  fresh details, including their power and  profitable interest.

  Still, FPIs, who have been  commanded to liquidate their  effects as per the Sebi’s January- end deadline, will have seven months more to  give  fresh  exposures, which will give some respite to the overseas investors. 

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