Dalal Street rallied on Monday, starting the week with strong gains. Both the Sensex and the Nifty surged as the market gave a thumbs up to Prime Minister Modi’s GST announcement, and cheered the rating upgrade by S&P.
In his Independence Day speech, PM Modi promised a Diwali dhamaka with lower GST rates. The Centre has proposed a two-tier GST structure of 5% and 18% instead of the current structure with multiple slabs. Besides the two key rates, a few products are proposed to be taxed at 40%.
The proposal is expected to be discussed at the two-day meeting of the GST Council on 20 and 21 August in Delhi. The move, if approved by the GST Council, is expected to boost the economy.
S&P rating upgrade for India
The other factor that boosted market sentiment was the credit rating upgrade for the Indian economy. S&P Global Ratings has upgraded its rating on India to BBB from BBB negative.
The sovereign rating upgrade by S&P has come after a gap of almost two decades.
A higher credit rating reflects the improved strength of the Indian economy and allows for cheaper borrowing, both for the government and businesses.
EC publishes list of names deleted
The Election Commission of India on Monday published the names of 65 lakh people who have been removed from the draft electoral rolls of Bihar. The removal was part of the special intensive revision of voter rolls carried out in the state.
The poll body published the names as the Supreme Court had directed it to do so by August 19 and file a compliance report by August 22. The EC is publishing the names of Absentee, Shifted, and Dead voters across polling booths. It is expected to do so online as well, as per the directions of the apex court.
Opposition’s accusations
Meanwhile, the opposition continues its protests against the SIR inside and outside Parliament. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has once again accused the Election Commission of acting in favour of the ruling BJP.
Speaking to the media inside the Parliament complex, Yadav alleged that names of voters belonging to several backward groups were being struck off the rolls to benefit the BJP.
Yadav claimed his party had identified constituencies where they lost by a narrow margin and where voter deletions played a role. The Election Commission has refuted such allegations on multiple occasions in the last few days.
Asia Cup: Bangladesh to replace...
Bangladesh is likely to replace Pakistan in the men’s Asia Cup hockey tournament to be held in Rajgir, Bihar, from 29 August. According to a PTI report, a top Hockey India official said that if Pakistan fails to confirm participation in the next couple of days, Bangladesh will likely replace it.
The Indian government has expressed its willingness to provide visas to Pakistani players for the Asia Cup. However, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has refused to travel, citing security concerns.
