News Broadcasting
CNBC-TV18 in association with PwC India successfully highlighted impact of GST in first-of-its-kind forum – ‘GST Decoded – 1 Year On’
MUMBAI: Marking 1 year of completion of India’s boldest tax reform – GST Act, CNBC-TV18, the country’s foremost business news brand, in association with PwC India successfully hosted a first-of-its-kind-initiative ‘GST Decoded – 1 Year On’. A special report from PwC India titled ‘365 days of GST: A Historic Journey’ was also launched at this unique forum. The keynote address by Dr. Hasmukh Adhia, Union Finance Secretary emphasized on the GST achievements as well as the foreseen challenges.
The prestigious conclave witnessed participation from key policymakers from the government such as Thomas Isaac, Minister of Finance – Govt. of Kerala, Manpreet Singh Badal, Minister of Finance – Govt. of Punjab and Mauvin Godinho, Panchayat Minister – Govt. of Goa and corporate luminaries Kabir Ahmed Shakir, CFO – Microsoft, Niranjan Gupta, CFO – Hero MotoCorp , Ashok Tyagi, Whole-time Director & Board Member – DLF, Nitin Saluja, Founder – Chaayos and Shyamal Mukherjee, Chairman – PwC who discussed and debated about the opportunities which can be tapped along with challenges that lay ahead.
With an objective to capture the implications of the GST, panelists addressed how sectors like software enterprises, automotive, real-estate, and hospitality amongst many others had been affected by the reform over the last one year.
Below are the key talk points from the panel discussions at the forum:
Dr. Hasmukh Adhia, Union Finance Secretary:
We have released Rs 50,000 cr out of the Rs 2 lakh cr IGST collections to states as a provisional settlement. We are holding Rs 1.16 lakh cr for settlements with taxpayers
We have to watch revenues before rationalizing the items under the 28% tax slab, removing items immediately is not feasible
States like Punjab may require compensation for more than 5 years, but many states may not require compensation from Centre after 2-3 years
Natural gas and aviation turbine fuel may come under GST
Claiming wrong input tax credit is an area that can be plugged. There is a great scope to improve revenue collection
Sugar cess has merits & demerits. Cess is not a bad idea if does not create compliance issues
There is scope to bring certain items from 28% bracket to 18%
First priority is to implement new #GST return forms. Second priority is compliance not with ‘danda’ but with ‘data analytics’… Data is the new ‘danda’
Thomas Issac, Minister of Finance – Govt. of Kerala:
The experience OF GST implementation in the first year has been rather disappointing for me
Anti-profiteering clause is ‘ineffective’
Small companies & unorganized businesses are in trouble
We can discuss bringing petroleum products under GST but states must be compensated
Centre should rollback fuel excise hikes, petrol, diesel price problem is solved
Manpreet Singh Badal, Minister of Finance – Govt. of Punjab:
40% of Punjab’s tax base has been subsumed. At the moment Punjab is a compensation state; worried about how we are going to run the state after 2022
I would give 8/10 for implementing GST but only 2/10 for the way it was implemented
Mauvin Godinho, Panchayat Minister – Govt. of Goa:
It’s a splendid legislation that’s working very well
Every political party should be complimented, all Indians united for one reform
Sugar cess decision will be taken only if everybody is on board. GST Council is not run by majority
Mahender Singh, Member (GST), CBIC:
Compliance from taxpayers is a concern. It is a great challenge to convince people to pay tax
If people don’t pay taxes they are causing harm to themselves. We will run out of patience with poor tax compliance
It has been a rollercoaster ride & a great success
Kabir Ahmed Shakir, CFO – Microsoft:
Global peers show disbelief that we have implemented GST in such a diverse country
News Broadcasting
Rajesh Sundaram joins NDTV Profit as senior editor, assignment
The 32-year newsroom veteran has launched channels on three continents and covered everything from 9/11 to South African television
MUMBAI: NDTV Profit has bolstered its newsroom with a hire who has done rather more than most. Rajesh Sundaram, a journalist with over three decades of editorial, managerial and consultative experience across India and international markets, joins as senior editor, assignment, tasked with sharpening the network’s newsgathering and real-time response.
Sundaram’s career reads like a tour of Indian media’s most formative moments. He began at Businessworld in 1994, moved to Zee News as bureau chief across Mumbai and Chennai, then joined NDTV in 2002 as part of its political bureau during a particularly febrile period in Indian politics. A stint as India correspondent for Al Jazeera International followed, where he covered key geopolitical developments and got his first serious taste of the global newsroom.
What sets Sundaram apart, however, is his serial channel-launching habit. At NewsX, he helped get the operation off the ground. At Headlines Today, part of the India Today Group, he served as editor. At News Nation, he helped launch the Hindi news channel and its digital ecosystem. He then crossed continents to lead the launch of ANN7 in South Africa as editor-in-chief, overseeing both television and digital. Back in India, he launched Tamil news channels News7 Tamil and Cauvery News, and later served as principal consultant for the launch of Marathi channel Lokshahi. Most recently, he helped build and lead the Press Trust of India’s video service and content studio, before stints consulting for Business Today and The Himalayan Times.
Rahul Kanwal, chief executive and editor-in-chief of NDTV, left little doubt about what Sundaram is expected to deliver. “The assignment desk is where a newsroom’s intent becomes action,” he said. “Rajesh brings a rare combination of field experience and leadership in building news operations at scale.”
Sundaram has reported from across India and the world, covering elections, civil conflicts, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 US presidential election.
At NDTV Profit, he will lead the assignment desk, driving editorial coordination and real-time response across markets and breaking developments. For a business news network sharpening its focus on speed and multi-platform delivery, it has hired a man who has built newsrooms from scratch on three continents. The assignment desk is in good hands.
