Finance minister launches 102 trillion National Infra Pipeline plan:
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a National Infrastructure Pipeline coordination mechanism with an investment plan worth ?102 trillion in the next five years. The economic affairs secretary Atanu Chakraborty submitted its first report after consultation with 70 different stakeholders for four months. The task force set up after prime minister Narendra Modi to roll out an ambitious infrastructure push worth ?100 trillion over the next five years to make India a $5 trillion economy.
Project Details
The projects spread across 21 ministries and 18 states and Union Territories. The center and states will contribute 39% each of the project cost; private sectors contribute 22% of the cost. The projects included in the pipeline, 43% are under implementation, 33% are at a conceptual stage, and 19% are under development. The projects belong to sectors such as power, including renewable, railways, urban development, irrigation, mobility, education, health, water, and the digital industry.This will include reforming the PPP-based contracts, enforcement of agreements, and dispute resolution process.
Adani to buy 75% stake in Krishnapatnam Port:
India’s largest private sector port operator agreed to buy a 75% stake in Krishnapatnam Port Co. Ltd (KPCL) at an enterprise value of ?13,500 crores, APSEZ.
Krishnapatnam Port
The Krishnapatnam Port is located in southern Andhra Pradesh and is a multi-cargo facility. It handled 54 million tonnes (mt) of cargo in the year ended 31 March 2019. The purchase will accelerate the Adani Ports plan to expand its cargo-handling capacity to 400mt by 2025. The acquisition will be funded internal accruals and existing cash balances.The credit metrics of APSEZ consolidated to change with this transaction. The net debt-to-Ebidta of consolidated APSEZ, including KPCL, in FY21, is expected to be around 3.2x. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and the transaction to be completed within 120 days. The infrastructure and the distinct hinterland catered by KPCL, this acquisition will not just increase our market share to 27% add a remarkable value to our pan-India footprint. The APSEZ will look to expand cargo volume at KPCL to 100mt in around seven years and will double its Ebidta in about four years. This is the second acquisition by Adani Ports in the past seven days. On 27 December. The wholly-owned unit of Adani Ports will buy a 40.25% stake in Snowman from Gateway Distriparks Ltd.
No extra charge on digital payments via RuPay and UPI from 1st Jan 2020:
The central government decided to wave off the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) to promote digital payments. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently announced that the digital transactions using RuPay or UPI would not face additional charges from January 1, 2020. The central government amended two acts, Payments and Settlement Systems Act and the Income Tax Act. The Department of Revenue (DoR) will notify UPI and RuPay as the approved mode of payment for digital transactions without any Merchant Discount Rate (MDR).
MDR charge
When a person swipes card in any merchandise the shopkeeper has to pay to his service provider is called MDR Charge. The MDR charges can range from 0% to 2% of the transaction amount. MDR charge also has to be paid for online transactions based on QR Code.