Amendment May Allow LTCG Regime With Two Options; Nobel Laureate Yunus To Lead Bangladesh Govt

Centre To Move Amendment On LTCG Calculation After Public Outcry

In a big relief to taxpayers, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will move an amendment in the Finance Bill to let taxpayers select either 12.5 per cent long-term capital gains rate without indexation or 20 per cent rate with indexation for property acquired before July 23, 2024, the Economic Times reported.

The move of Centre will likely mean that transfer of a long-term capital asset, being land or building or both, by an individual or HuF, which is acquired before the 23rd day of July 2024, the taxpayer can compute his taxes under the new scheme [12.5 per cent without indexation] and old scheme [20 per cent with indexation] and pay such tax which is lower of the two. The development comes after the government faced backlash by the real estate sector. Read more 

Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus To Lead Interim Bangladesh Government 

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has been appointed as the head of Bangladesh's interim government by President Mohammed Shahabuddin, the Economic Times reported. 

The decision, made during a meeting with Anti-Discrimination Student Movement coordinators and military leaders, will be followed by consultations with political parties to finalise the rest of the interim government members. Yunus, the founder of the much feted Grameen Bank,  is currently out of the country but welcomed the ouster of Sheikh Hasina's regime, describing the development as the "second liberation" of the country. Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for pioneering the use of microcredit to help impoverished people, particularly women. More here 

Nirmala Sitharaman To Review Public Sector Banks Performance

Union Finance Minister  Nirmala Sitharaman will review the performance of public sector lenders over the past year, including on the non-performing asset (NPA) front, in a meeting with bank chiefs on August 19, Business Standard reported.

“The meeting is likely to focus on reviewing the banks' performance over the past year, as well as discussing cybersecurity and the digital infrastructure of banks,” said an official. Sitharaman had last chaired a meeting with heads of public sector banks (PSBs) in December 2023. Another official said a review of ongoing financial inclusion schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Atal Pension Yojana, and Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana. More here

Over 2,616 Lives Lost In Rain-Related Disasters In 2023-24: Centre In Parliament

The financial year 2023-2024 has seen the most devastating losses due to hydrometeorological disasters, with a staggering 2,616 lives lost, which is a record high in the past five years, Business Standard reported.

This figure represents over 25 per cent of the 10,206 reported fatalities from 2019-2020 to 2023-24, according to latest government data. This revelation comes on the heels of the recent deadly landslide in Kerala’s Wayanad that claimed over 400 lives, underscoring the urgent need for enhanced disaster preparedness. The information was disclosed to Parliament on Monday by Kirti Vardhan Singh, minister of state in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), in response to a query regarding the loss of lives and property due to landslides. More here 

84% Indian Districts Prone To Heatwaves: Report On Climate Change

 Over 84 per cent of India’s districts are prone to extreme heat waves and 70 per cent of those are witnessing increased frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events, Business Standard reported quoting a study by IPE-Global and GIS company Esri India. 

The study projects that eight out of 10 Indians will be exposed to extreme events by 2036. IPE Global, Climate Change and Sustainability Practice, Head Abinash Mohanty, said the current trend of catastrophic extreme heat and rainfall events is a result of 0.6 degree Celcius temperature rise in the last century. The Kerala landslides caused by incessant and erratic rainfall and cities getting paralysed with sudden and abrupt downpour is a testament that climate is changed, he said. More here

Reduction In LPG Output Feared As Oil Majors Shift Focus To Profitable Petrochem

India may have to lean more on West Asian nations for supplies of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a cooking fuel, in the coming years after Indian state-run refiners drew up big plans to diversify into producing more profitable petrochemicals, Business Standard reported.

This shift leads to reduced LPG output, Indian refining executives said. The mantra for state-run oil companies, from Indian Oil Corporation to liquefied natural gas importer Petronet LNG, which are looking to diversify their businesses from lower-margin fuels, has been value-added petrochemicals. Domestic LPG production declined by 4.5 per cent in the April-June quarter from a year earlier, sending imports higher by 21 per cent to meet the growing demand for the fuel. Imports accounted for around 65 per cent of the country’s consumption of LPG. More here