COMPANIES | PAGE 4 COMPANIES | PAGE 5 Pvt jet hangars in demand at Navi Mumbai airport INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 7 Infy announces 80% performance bonus HYDERABAD, THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2025 Global students’ chances of US study dim inTrump reign FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL. NO. XXII 95, 26 PAGES, `12 P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K ATA , L U C K N O W, M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E SENSEX: 81,857.88 ▲ 213.49 NIFTY: 25,050.55 ▲ 69.90 NIKKEI 225: 42,888.55 ▼ 657.74 HANG SENG: 25,165.94 ▲ 43.04 `/$: 87.08 ▼ 0.12 `/€: 101.39 ▲ 0.17 BRENT: $66.56 ▲ $0.77 GOLD: `98,365 ▼ `337 IN THE NEWS Shah and Rajnath to head panels for reforms TWO NEW INFORMAL groups of ministers have been formed by the Centre under home minister Amit Shah and defence minister Rajnath Singh to prescribe reforms in the economic and social sectors, respectively, reports Anil Sasi. ■ PAGE 3 Russia expects India to keep buying its oil RUSSIA EXPECTS TO continue supplying oil to India despite warnings from the United States, Russian embassy officials in New Delhi said on Wednesday, reports Reuters. TARIFF TREMORS GROUND IMPACT-IV Ludhiana textile units on edge US CUSTOMERS HAVE put shipments on hold & asked the companies to wait till there is clarity on tariffs, reports Manu Kaushik. ■ PAGE 24 TAX COUNCILTOTAKE FINALCALL GoMproposesGST waiveroninsurance ● Revenuehitlikely PTI at`9,700crore PRASANTA SAHU New Delhi, August 20 AGROUP OF ministers (GoM) reviewing the manner the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is levied on individual health and life insurance onWednesdayresolved to give taxwaiver for both. Currently, the GST is levied at 18% on the gross health insurancepremium;inthecase of endowment life insurance policies, the gross premiums minus the savings are being taxedatthesamerateonasliding path. Revenue implication of the tax exemption is pegged at `9,700 crore annually. According to government sources, removal of GST on health and life insurance could reduce premiums, make policies more affordable and help increaseinsurancepenetration in the country. However, a concern still remainsasanexemptionwould still entail cost to insurers and byextensionhealthcareservice providers, in the form of input taxeswhich can't be offset. Experts said the benefit of a GST rate reduction for policyholders will be higher if health and life insurance services are Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman addresses the Group of Ministers (GoMs) constituted by the GST Council in New Delhi on Wednesday REPORT, PAGE 2 WELL-TIMED MOVE ■ Currently, the GST is levied at 18% on the gross health insurance premium ■ All in the group of ministers agreed with the proposal ■ Retail policies accounted for 40% of the industry’s gross health insurance premium »INSIDE« FULL GSTWAIVER COULD PUSH UP COSTS: INSURERS PAGE 17 classified as ‘nil-rated,’ rather than ‘exempt’. This is because input tax credit (ITC) will be available if these are nil-rated. Some insurance companies have been asking for a 5% GST onthehealthandlifeinsurance policies,saying this would help mitigate input tax costs. In fact, healthcare service ■ In life insurance, individual policies accounted for over 60% of new business premium providers like hospitals and diagnostic units have been asking for a 5% GST on their services, instead of the current waiver citing the same logic. Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema said ITC could be available for health and life insurance, as otherwise the policyholders might not get the full benefit of the tax waiver. Continued on Page 7 LS PASSES BILL PROPOSING BAN ON ONLINE MONEY GAMES Social good gets Industryweighs legal options priority: Govt OJASVI GUPTA New Delhi, August 20 THE LOK SABHA on Wednesdaypassed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill,2025,recognising esports and social games while banning real-money formats.The Bill was tabled by the government earlier in the day. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) officials said the step prioritises public welfare over revenue,noting that online money games were causing losses of over »INSIDE« ASHWINI VAISHNAW, IT MINISTER Addiction to online money gaming has led to middle class families losing their entire life savings `20,000 crore annually to users, prompting many to take drastic measures, including taking one’s life. Continued on Page 7 IPL STARES ATA HIT P4 OJASVI GUPTA& ANANYAGROVER, New Delhi/Mumbai, August 20 STOCKS REACT Nazara Technologies AFTER THE GOVERNMENTunveiledasweeping ban that could wipe out theirbusinessesovernight,a shell-shocked online gaming industry has requested the government to reconsider and take a more calibrated stance on banning real moneygaming(RMG).Someare alsoweighing the option of taking legal recourse. The Esports Players Welfare Association (EPWA) on Wednesdaywrote to ▼ 12.82% Delta Corp OnMobile Global ▲ ▼ 0.59% 3.42% PM Narendra Modi expressingconcernsoverthe Bill, cautioning that it could threatenthelivelihoodsofIndia’s growing community of professionalgamers. Continued on Page 7 BLANKET BAN INEFFECTIVE: RAMEESH KAILASAM P8 LEGAL EXPERTS CALL IT 'DRACONIAN' P4 Centre red-flags Vedanta demerger ● SetbackinSCtoo forthegroupover projectinPunjab URVI MALVANIA Mumbai, August 20 THE PROPOSED DEMERGER of Vedanta, which will split the company into five specialised verticals, has run into fresh turbulence after objections from the central government were presented in WEB OF TROUBLE VEDANTA ■ Govt has raised concerns about guarantees provided by the company 450 Aug 19 (close) ■ The regulatory challenges come at a critical juncture forVedanta Anil Agarwal, chairman, Vedanta the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Mumbai on Wednesday. The ministry of petrole- 445 Aug 20 (close) 1.03% um and natural gas opposed the restructuring plan, raising concerns about guarantees provided by the compa- HYDERABAD ny to the government, sources said. Officials argued that the demerger created uncertainty over the enforceability of these guarantees. According to a report by CNBC TV18, the government also claimed Vedanta had concealed key information regarding the liabilities arising from the demerger, and that the firm has shown inflated revenues. Continued on Page 7
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