Top headlines: Credit cards to be linked to UPI, rate hike to push up costs

Real estate and capital goods companies are worried that the Reserve Bank of India’s rate hike on Wednesday will hurt their recovery as home and vehicle loans become costlier. With less than a month to go for the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) new card data storage norms to kick in, the ecosystem is better prepared this time around. However, the transition to the new regime may not be entirely seamless

RBI monetary policy: Missing inflation mandate now a 'fait accompli'

For the first time since the flexible inflation-targeting framework was put in place in October 2016 for monetary policy making, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in all likelihood, will fail to achieve its mandate, which is to keep average inflation at 2-6 per cent for three consecutive quarters. Consumer price index-based inflation, the yardstick of the RBI in monetary policy making, was, on average, above 6 per cent during the January-March quarter. Read more 

RBI's rate hike to push up costs: Realty, capital goods companies
 

Real estate and capital goods companies are worried that the Reserve Bank of India’s rate hike on Wednesday will hurt their recovery as home and vehicle loans become costlier. “A hike was inevitable, but we are now entering the red zone. Any future hikes will reflect markedly on housing sales,” said Anuj Puri, chairman of real estate advisory firm Anarock. Read more 

RBI allows credit cards to be linked to UPI; marks shift from 'pay now'

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday allowed linking of credit cards to Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which so far was being used as a ‘pay now’ facility, wherein money was debited from a customer’s bank account directly for any transaction. Initially, home-grown card network Rupay Credit cards will be linked with UPI. Read more

With month to go for card-on-file tokenisation, firms set up solutions

With less than a month to go for the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) new card data storage norms to kick in, the ecosystem is better prepared this time around. However, the transition to the new regime may not be entirely seamless. Teething problems may arise, given how complex the implementation process itself is. Come July 1, merchants, payment aggregators, and acquiring banks can no longer store card details of customers. Read more

Shanghai setback leaves Ludhiana's apparel industry staring at losses

Go to the narrow lanes of Ludhiana’s bustling Shahpur Road, and you will find them crammed with customers, salesmen and traders. But the seeming sense of normalcy in this crowded market for fabrics and garments belies the deep distress that the city’s textile industry finds itself in. Repeated supply shocks, the latest being the closure of the Shanghai port in China, have all but brought the industry to its knees. Read more

Goods or services? GST law committee's cryptocurrency dilemma

After taxing income from virtual digital assets, the government is looking to soon bring clarity on the applicability of the goods and services tax (GST) on cryptocurrency assets. At present, there is no specific provision for virtual assets in the GST regulations. It is levied at the rate of 18 per cent only on services provided by crypto exchanges, which are categorised as financial services. Read more