Purnartha - 18-Dec-2014 - Important news (India & Global) (To - TopicsExpress

Purnartha - 18-Dec-2014 - Important news (India & Global) (To receive these updates in your mailbox every morning - just call our toll free number: 1800 - 266 - 0161 or send an e-mail to support@purnartha with your name and phone number) INDIA 1) In a big step forward for the long-delayed goods and services tax (GST), the Union Cabinet gave its assent late on Wednesday to the constitutional amendment bill that needs to be approved before the levy can become reality, with the Centre having made significant concession to get states on board. The bill is likely to be introduced in Parliament on Thursday and the government hopes to roll out GST on April 1, 2016, replacing a range of indirect taxes levied by the Centre, states and local bodies with one unifying levy. The bill has been cleared, said a government official. The development marks a key milestone, one expert said. 2) Japanese brokerage firm Nomura has said, Indias current account deficit is likely to be around 1.6 per cent of GDP in the current financial year amid higher imports. The global financial services major revised its current account deficit forecast upwards to 1.6 per cent of GDP in FY15 (year ending March 2015) from its previous forecast of 1.3 per cent. The largest component in computing CAD is trade deficit. Indias trade deficit widened to one-and-a-half year high of $16.86 billion in November due to over six-fold jump in gold imports even as merchandise exports grew by 7.27 per cent. GLOBAL 1) The Federal Reserve on Wednesday offered a strong signal that it was on track to raise interest rates sometime next year, altering a pledge to keep rates near zero for a considerable time in a show of confidence in the U.S. economy. Closing out a two-day meeting against a backdrop of solid domestic growth but trouble overseas, the U.S. central bank said it would take a patient approach in deciding when to bump borrowing costs higher. Fed Chair Janet Yellen told a news conference that patient meant the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee was unlikely to hike rates for at least a couple of meetings, meaning April of next year at the earliest. Based on its current assessment, the committee judges that it can be patient in beginning to normalize the stance of monetary policy, the Fed said. Significantly, it said the statement was consistent with its prior guidance that it would wait a considerable time before hiking rates.