1. Government Establishes Rs. 40k Crore Fund for Infrastructure
The government has recently announced the creation of a Rs. 40,000-crore National Infrastructure Fund which includes Rs. 20,000-crores each from the Union Budget and other private investors.
2. Rupee Value Fell by 5% in 2015
The Indian Rupee has fallen by 5% through 2015 to 66.1 against the US Dollar because of increased outflow from foreign investors.
3. India Post Set to Open a Payments Bank
Indian Telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has recently revealed that India Post is gearing up to launch its own payments bank by March 2017. The department is also preparing to introduce devices for electronic transactions.
4. No LPG Subsidy for people drawing income over Rs. 10 lakh
Consumers falling under the tax bracket of income that is over Rs.10 lakhs will not be permitted to avail subsidy on LPG from January 2016 onwards.
5. All Government Services to Have Single Page Forms
Tired of filing multiple pages of forms for government services? Now, the government has announced that forms for all government services will be reformatted to a single-page format within a year.
6. Gold Imports Dip by 36.5% in November
India’s gold imports have seen a 36.5% dive year-on-year to $3.53Bn in November as a result of decreasing prices. The period between April-November saw a drop of 7.5% in gold imports.
7. Mutual Funds Invest RS. 70k Crore in Equity Markets in 2015
According to reports from SEBI, Mutual Fund houses have bought approximately Rs. 70,000-crore in shares in 2015.
8. Gold ETF’s Record Outflows for 3rd Year
The gold exchange-traded funds saw net outflows for the third straight year in 2015 with investors withdrawing Rs. 845-crore between the period January to November. The withdrawal pace has decreased from Rs. 1,651 crore last year.
Additional Reading: Prime Minister’s Gold Schemes
9. Global Growth will be Uneven in 2016
The International Monetary Fund Chief Christine Lagarde recently said that the global economic growth will be disappointing in 2016 due to ageing population, more rate hikes in the United States and the slowdown of the Chinese economy.
Additional Reading: Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rates
10. New mothers May be Permitted to Work from Home for 2 Years
An amendment to the Maternity Benefit Act by the government will allow new mothers the option of working from home after a proposed maternity leave period of 26 weeks. This will be a change from the present 12-week maternity leave in private sector companies.
11. Government Permits Filing of Cheque Bounce Cases Locally
In an approval to the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act 2015, the government has announced that cases against cheque bounce can be filed at the place where the cheque is presented rather than the place of issue.
12. India’s Fiscal Fundamentals Strong
The Finance Minister Arun Jaitley recently stated that India’s fiscal fundamentals and growth prospects are strong, in spite of a slump in the global economy. Tax reforms such as the Goods & Services Tax Bill were expected to further boost the country’s economy.