Higher consumption to offset losses: Piyush Goyal

NEW DELHI: Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said any potential losses from GST rate rationalisation were accounted for and higher consumption would offset such losses.“With such a big reduction in the tax rate, imagine how much the market will increase and due to that increase, the tax will also increase,” he said….

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Government allows one-time pension scheme switch: UPS members can move to NPS; deadline fixed for September 30

The Finance Ministry has launched a single-use, unidirectional switch option for central government employees who opted for the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) to return to the National Pension System (NPS). The move gives staff and eligible retirees more clarity on their pension choices as the September 30, 2025 deadline approaches.Strict rules for switchingAccording to the…

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Higher tax for tobacco: Centre mulls new bill for Parliament’s winter session; compensation cess stays for now

The central government is likely to propose legislation during Parliament’s winter session to implement a tax on tobacco and related products, potentially replacing the existing GST compensation cess levied on these items.The present compensation cess, applied alongside the 28% GST, is expected to remain for a minimum of three months, allowing the government to complete…

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India’s forex reserves rise by $3.5 billion: RBI reports higher gold holdings; IMF reserve position also improves

India’s forex reserve surges India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $3.51 billion, reaching $694.23 billion for the week ended August 29, as reported by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday. This follows a decline of $4.386 billion to USD 690.72 billion in the preceding week.The data for the week ended August 29 revealed…

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Rupee slips to a fresh low of 88.27 against $

MUMBAI: The rupee bucked the trend among Asian peers on Friday, slipping to a record low even as most emerging market currencies strengthened against the dollar. It closed at 88.27 after touching an intra-day low of 88.36, weaker than Thursday’s close of 88.15.The fall came amid concerns over US tariffs, while intervention by Reserve Bank…

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