Corporate tax rates brought down to 22% for domestic firms

  • The measure was announced by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a fresh bid to promote economic growth.
  • The government will forgo a revenue of Rs 1.45 lakh crore per year due to the slashed corporate tax rates.
  • The minister said the reduced tax rate for manufacturing companies will help boost the Make in India campaign by bringing in investments, and will also boost employment and economic activity.
  • Following the news, the BSE Sensex rose over 1650 points and Nifty 50 was up 434.20.

Kerala High Court says access to internet is a fundamental right

  • The court was hearing a petition of Faheema Shirin, a BA English student of Sree Narayana College in Kozhikode, alleging that she had been expelled from the college for not following the restrictions on the use of her mobile phone. The plea said that the restriction hampered their learning process by blocking access to information.
  • Based on the ruling, the court struck down rules framed by the Sree Narayana College in Kozhikode, which had prohibited inmates of the girls’ hostel from using their mobile phones between 6 pm and 10 pm.
  • Justice PV Asha relied Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Issac’s on Budget speech in 2017, in which he had said that the state government recognised the “right to internet” as a human right.

RBI governor asks government for structural reforms to protect economy from global conditions

  • The governor Shaktikanta Das said that despite rising external risks, the Indian economy was resilient as foreign debt was only 19.7% of the GDP and the inflation rate is expected to remain below 4% for the next 12 months.
  • The governor also added that the rise in oil prices due to drone strike in Saudi Arabia will have limited impact on inflation.
  • The Indian economy grew at a low rate of 5% in the April-June quarter.