Government To Sell Residual Stake In Hindustan Zinc Ltd

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In this episode, find out about Standard Chartered Bank's move to settle the case with SEBI, and also find out why RBI canceled NBFC licenses linked to app-based lenders.

Business Term of the Day: Value Added Tax (VAT)
In this episode, find out about Standard Chartered Bank’s move to settle case with SEBI, also find out why RBI cancelled NBFC licenses linked to app-based lenders. Business Term of the Day:  Value Added Tax (VAT)     The Union government has decided to sell its residual stake in Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) and monetize the assets of defunct Bharat Gold Mines Ltd, a person aware of the development said. The two decisions were cleared at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday. Two decades after its strategic divestment to Vedanta group, the government continues to hold a 29.5% stake in HZL, among the world’s largest producers of zinc, lead and silver. The government had planned to sell this stake earlier, but the Supreme Court stayed the plan after its staff union alleged in 2016 that the company’s shares were undervalued in its strategic divestment. Finally, in November, the apex court allowed the government to sell the stake in the open market.   The market regulator Sebi exempted the government from making an open offer to the shareholders of Vodafone Idea pursuant to its proposed acquisition of over 33 per cent stake in the telecom operator on the conversion of dues into equity.   Infosys: The IT major has tied up with Palo Alto Networks, a global cybersecurity leader, to elevate the security-maturity of large enterprises with mission-critical digital landscapes and to help prevent the threat of cyberattacks on their critical infrastructure.   Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) paid ₹4.97 crore to settle a case with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for alleged violation of regulatory norms involving CG Power and Industrial Solutions Ltd. SCB had approached Sebi with a proposal to resolve a matter involving alleged Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices (PFUTP) violations, without admitting or denying the findings of fact and conclusions of law, through a settlement order.   The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday cancelled certificates of registration of five non-bank financiers citing violation of guidelines on outsourcing and fair practices code in their digital lending operations through third-party apps. This marks the second such step by the central bank after app-based lenders were accused of using unfair recovery means and charging usurious interest from borrowers.   Moving on to markets Domestic stock markets opened with gains on Thursday morning. S&P BSE Sensex rose more than 300 points or 0.5% to breach 54,000 again while the Nifty 50 index crossed 16,100, gaining 0.4%. Stocks in Asia opened with modest gains today after US equities advanced as Federal Reserve minutes struck a less hawkish note than markets had expected.   Business Term of the day Value-added tax (VAT) is a type of indirect tax levied on goods and services for value-added at every point of the production or distribution cycle, starting from raw materials and going all the way to the final retail purchase. VAT was introduced on April 1, 2005. Under it, the amount of value addition is first identified at each stage, and then tax is levied on the same. Ultimately, the end consumer has to pay the complete VAT while buying goods; buyers at earlier stages of production receive reimbursements for tax they have paid. Because the consumer bears the entire tax, VAT is also a consumption tax.