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ASSOCHAM & Videocon pledge GST summit across 200 towns
MUMBAI: In a view to generate awareness and educate retail partners around GST implications, ASSOCHAM and the leading Consumer Electronics and Home Appliances Company, Videocon, organized the first-of-its-kind GST Summit for traders. The daylong ASSOCHAM Videocon GST Summit for traders witnessed deep discussions around GST, addressing retailers’ queries, and offering them a clearer understanding of the GST concept.
The seminar was inaugurated by the chief guest Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for Finance, Ministry of Finance. The Seminar was also addressed by R. N Dhoot, Member of Parliament and Manish Sharma, President, CEAMA.
Being the most pro-active Chamber of Commerce, ASSOCHAM has taken a step towards imparting knowledge on immediate as well as far reaching impact of GST on the businesses through the ASSOCHAM Videocon GST Summit. Emerging as the fountainhead of Knowledge for Indian industry, ASSOCHAM has always worked towards creating a conducive environment for India business to compete globally.
Congratulating on organising the GST Summit and taking it to over 200 districts, Meghwal said, “GST will be beneficial in promoting level playing field and giving an overall boost to supply. In the context of traders, GST will bring down logistics costs massively and bring us at par with the developed nations. It will also simplify filling returns. With India’s biggest tax reforms of the 21st century, the country will be known for its leadership, and the year 2017 will be marked for bringing wholesome economic betterment. While there is an opportunity there is also a need to generate awareness and such seminars are the need of the hour. As a representative of the Government, I promise that businesses will be simplified including the MSMEs. With GST, India will rise up to paying taxes than evasion.”
Dhoot said, “Announcement of GST in the country has been a revolutionary step. Not only will it lead to lower tax burden on several commodities, but will also bring ease of doing businesses in the country. I congratulate ASSOCHAM and Videocon to take this initiative and address retailer queries related to implementation of GST.”
Sandeep Jajodia, President ASSOCHAM, said, “It’s a nationwide observation that in general, the trade (mostly MSMEs) are not in line with knowledge with GST. Therefore, ASSOCHAM & Videocon have embarked upon the process of training and awareness of GST in a big way, which will be of paramount importance in the smooth roll-out of GST. As the contours of GST law are more or less known, the purpose of such programs is to sensitize the trade across India to make them aware of the salient features of GST.”
C. M Singh, COO Videocon, said, “We plan to hold more than 200 of such seminars to raise GST awareness across the country. Videocon has always taken initiatives to ensure industry growth and welfare. Through these GST Summits, Videocon will try to ensure that all queries of consumer electronic traders with regards to GST implementation are resolved and they are GST ready. Videocon is happy to contribute in its small way in the smooth implementation of GST.”
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Google nears Nvidia in race for world’s most valuable company
Market cap gap narrows as Google hits $4.65 trillion, Nvidia at $4.86 trillion.
MUMBAI: In the AI gold rush, even the giants are sprinting and Google is suddenly gaining ground. Google is rapidly closing in on Nvidia in the race to become the world’s most valuable publicly listed company, with the gap between the two narrowing sharply amid diverging stock momentum. The tech giant’s market capitalisation has surged to around $4.65 trillion, following a more than 140 per cent rise in its share price over the past year.
That rally has added over $2.6 trillion in value in just 12 months, including nearly $900 billion since January alone. Its stock recently hovered at $381.80, slipping marginally by 0.04 per cent, but still reflecting strong upward momentum.
Nvidia, meanwhile, continues to hold the top spot with a valuation of approximately $4.86 trillion. The chipmaker crossed the $5 trillion milestone in October last year and peaked at $5.27 trillion on 27 April. However, its shares have largely plateaued over the past six months, rising just 0.2 per cent recently to $199.99.
The contrast in trajectories is striking. While Nvidia has seen relatively flat movement, Google has gained over 36 per cent in the same six-month period. Barron’s estimates suggest that if current trends hold, the valuation gap could shrink to as little as $190 million by the time Nvidia reports its first-quarter earnings on 20 May.
Daily momentum paints a similar picture. Nvidia recorded average daily gains of about 0.66 per cent last month, compared to Google’s stronger 1.42 per cent, an edge that could prove decisive in the short term.
Driving Google’s resurgence is its aggressive push into artificial intelligence across its ecosystem, from search and YouTube to cloud computing. The company has already invested $144 billion in capital expenditure over the past two years and plans to deploy a further $490 billion over the next two.
Its cloud division is also gathering pace. Google Cloud reported an order backlog of nearly $220 billion in the latest quarter, with total backlog touching a record $462 billion, around half of which is expected to be realised within two years. The company’s entry into chip sales is also beginning to factor into its growth narrative.
The last time Google briefly topped the S&P 500 by market value was in February 2016, when it edged past Apple for just two days. This time, the stakes and the numbers are far higher.
At the heart of the contest lies a single force: artificial intelligence. As both companies pour billions into infrastructure, chips and platforms, the leaderboard is no longer just about size, it is about who can scale the future faster.
