Biz Updates: India’s foreign exchange reserves down $5.69 billion to $634.58 billion, Vodafone gets new update
New Delhi| The country’s foreign exchange reserves declined by $5.69 billion to reach $634.58 billion in the week ending January 3. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gave this information on Friday. Last week, foreign exchange reserves were down by US$ 4.11 billion to US$ 640.28 billion. Foreign exchange reserves have been declining for the last few weeks. The reason for this fall is believed to be RBI’s intervention in the foreign exchange market as well as valuations to reduce rupee fluctuations.
Foreign currency assets denominated in dollar terms include the effects of fluctuations in non-US currencies such as the euro, pound and yen held in foreign exchange reserves. The value of gold reserves increased by $824 million to $67.09 billion in the week under review. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) declined by $58 million to $17.81 billion. According to Reserve Bank data, India’s reserves with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) declined to $4.199 billion in the week under review.
At the end of September, foreign exchange reserves had increased to an all-time high of US$ 704.88 billion. According to data released by the RBI on Friday, foreign currency assets, a major part of foreign exchange reserves, declined by $6.44 billion to $545.48 billion in the week ending January 3.
Demand to extend the deadline for filing GSTR-1
The Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has sent a report to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on technical glitches in the system, seeking extension of the date of filing of GST sales return or GSTR-1.
GSTN wrote on social media platform ‘X’ through its official handle GST Tech, “GST portal is currently facing technical problems and is being maintained. It is expected that the portal will be operational by 12 noon. Incident report being sent to CBIC to consider extending filing date.”
The GST network has been facing technical glitches since Thursday. Taxpayers were not able to prepare a summary of GSTR-1 and file returns. The deadline for filing GSTR-1 for the month of December, 2024 is January 11, 2025.
Vodafone sold the entire stake of Indus Towers for Rs 2,800 crore
UK telecom company Vodafone has sold its entire stake in Indus Towers for Rs 2,800 crore. Vodafone said in a filing to the stock market on Friday that it has sold 7.92 crore shares or three per cent stake in Indus Towers and has used Rs 890 crore of the proceeds to clear the dues of the lenders.
“Vodafone Group has announced that it launched Indus Towers Ltd. on December 5, 2024, the company said. Has successfully completed the planning of its remaining 7.92 crore shares in (Indus), which is 3.0 per cent of the remaining share capital of Indus.” The company held a three percent stake through its indirect wholly owned subsidiaries – Omega Telecom Holdings Pvt Ltd and Usha Martin Telematics Ltd.
It said, “balance (Rs 19.1 billion or $225 million) has been used to acquire 1.7 billion equity shares in Vodafone Idea Limited through preferential allocation of shares (capital increase), increasing Vodafone’s stake in Vi from 22.56 per cent to 24.39 per cent.” Vodafone Idea has used the amount received from this capital raised from Vodafone to pay the dues of the service agreement to Indus.
Government will buy three crore tones of wheat in Rabi season
The government has set a target of purchasing three crore tones of wheat for the Rabi marketing season 2025-26. Sources said on Friday, the procurement target has been set after discussion with the food secretaries of the states. The minimum support price of wheat has been fixed at Rs 2,425 per quintal for the Rabi marketing season 2025-26 starting from April.
The Ministry of Agriculture has projected a record production of 115 million tones of wheat in the Rabi crop season 2024-25. In this context, this target of wheat procurement of the government is much less.
India will remain the fastest growing economy in the world
The National Statistical Office’s first advance estimates for 2024-25 state that real GDP growth will be 6.4 per cent in the current fiscal year. On the supply side, high growth is projected in the agricultural sector. On the demand side, the growth rate in private and government consumption is also expected to be high. Economist Sandeep Venpati says that amidst all this, India will remain the fastest growing economy in the world in the current financial year. The economy draws its strength from sound macroeconomic fundamentals, effective monetary policy and fiscal prudence. There is no sign of any slowdown in economic and business activities.
Record 11.2 crore e-way bills issued for the second time
The number of e-way bills issued by businesses to transport goods within and between states increased to 11.2 crore in December, 2024. This is the highest e-way bill released for a record second time in 24 months.
According to the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) portal, e-way bills gained 17.6 per cent year-on-year and 10 per cent monthly. The effect of this rise will be visible in the GST data for January coming in February. According to the data, e-way bill in November was the lowest in five months at 10.18 crore. However, it rose to a record high of 117 million in October. E-way bills are mandatory for movement of goods worth more than Rs 50,000. It is an early indicator of demand and supply trends in the economy. The rise in e-way bills reflects the increase in economic activity. Especially during festivals, the manufacturing sector booms to meet the increasing demand. This provides resources to the government to invest in infra projects and meet the basic needs of the poor.
