Newsmakers: Govt moots early Budget session for GST bill and more

Govt moots early Budget session for GST bill: The government said it agreed to accept demands set by the Congress party to back a landmark tax reform, raising hopes a political standoff that blocked the measure throughout last year might be resolved. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu also said the government was willing to bring forward the next parliament session to pass the proposed goods and services tax bill if Congress supports the measure.

Sensex closes 554 points lower: The S&P BSE Sensex shed 554 points to end below its crucial psychological level of 25,000 in trade, while broader CNX Nifty fell below its key support level of 7,600. The headline indices plunged to four-month lows after China opted to keep guiding the yuan sharply lower, deepening concerns about the economy and the potential for competitive devaluations by other countries.

India to grow at 7.8% in 2016, says World Bank: India is projected to grow by a robust 7.8 per cent this year and 7.9 per cent in the next two years, the World Bank forecast said citing strong investor sentiment and the positive effect on real incomes of the recent fall in oil prices. In its latest Global Economic Prospect report which is released every six months - the World Bank marginally reduced India's growth rate 0.2 per cent in 2015 and 0.1 per cent in both 2016 and 2017. However, India continues to be the bright spot of the global economy, as Chinese growth is projected to slow further.

Bank employees to hold nationwide strike tomorrow: Nearly 340,000 bank employees across the country will strike work tomorrow to protest the implementation of the new Career Progression Scheme (CPS), a leader of the All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) said in Chennai. He said the strike will be in protest against the violation of the bilateral settlement by five associate banks of the State Bank of India (SBI), namely State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur and State Bank of Travancore.

Netflix launches in India: The popular video on demand service, Netflix, has been officially launched in India. During the keynote at CES Las Vegas, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings (in the picture) announced the availability of this service in more than 130 countries including India. Starting with a one month free trial, the subscription starts for Rs 500 per month.