With Budget set to be announced on February 1, Rashesh Shah, CEO, Edelweiss Group on Monday said that government may give a strong fiscal push in the annual Budget. He also hoped for steps to up infrastructure spending. Speaking on the likely course of interest rates, Shah said, “I expect RBI to cut interest rates and I believe it will ensure re-monetisation to be done as fast as demonetisation”. “I don’t expect to see long term damage on demonetisation,” he said. When asked about the market sentiment, he said that markets are in a correction phase due to both demonetisation & global uncertainty. “Market uncertainty will continue between now till March and it’s a good time for long term investors,” he said.
Meanwhile Modi government, recently, decided that no service charge will now be levied for use of debit cards. Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said that till December 31, 2016, no service charges will be levied on debit cards and that the move is meant to ensure greater penetration of digital transaction. Meanwhile, to encourage digital transactions, the RBI has increased the doubled the limit on the balance that one can keep in e-wallets. The limit has been enhanced from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000. The Narendra Modi government has come under severe criticism from the Opposition for its move to demonetise old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes. The reaction on the ground has, however, been mixed. While most people have lauded the move to check black money and corruption, many have said that the implementation, especially when it comes to availability of currency, should have been much better.
Struggling to deal with growing anger among the public over cash crunch, the Modi government is issuing new guidelines every few days. These are based on public feedback and are aimed at reducing the problems that common man is facing, following the massive demonetisation drive. The government has also warned that those who are using other people’s bank accounts to convert their black money will be severely punished. Not only that, those who allow their accounts to be misused for this purpose will also face prosecution.