Maharashtra to allow online sale of liquor, Amazon eyes stake in Spencer's, and more top news

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The Maharashtra government has decided to allow online sale and home delivery of alcohol. The move – prompted by rising instances of drunken driving – will also shore up revenues, which have come under strain following the closure of liquor shops located near highways and a reduction in the prices of petrol and diesel earlier this month. To ensure the services are not misused, sellers will ask for buyers’ details including their Aadhaar numbers and the liquor bottles would be geo-tagged. Earlier, reports said the state government backtracked on the move in wake of stiff opposition from social activists.

Amazon has offered $400 million for a 30% stake in retail chain Spencer’s, Business Standard reports, citing people in the know. The deal is held up over valuation: the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group firm feels it deserves a higher multiple than Aditya Birla Group’s retail chain More (which Amazon and Samara Capital recently bought for $580 million) since it’s profitable. But Amazon believes that More’s 490 supermarkets and 20 hypermarkets give it a scale that Spencer’s, with just 138 stores, fails to offer. Earlier, reports said China’s Alibaba was also in the fray to acquire 10-15% in Spencer's Retail.

Data from the demonetisation drive is yielding results. The taxman has issued about 10,000 preliminary notices under the benami law, asking people to declare their sources of income, Economic Times reports. Besides, the revenue department is scrutinising credit card and PAN details, tax returns and even data available on social media platforms to detect tax evaders. Earlier, CBDT chairman Sushil Chandra said individual IT return filings jumped 23.5% after the demonetisation exercise.

The government will set up a panel of legal experts to probe #MeToo allegations, women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi said. She added that women can use online portal She Box to register sexual harassment complaints, or email the ministry directly. Earlier, Gandhi urged the law ministry to lift the current three-month cap for such complaints. India’s #MeToo movement, sparked by actor Tanushree Dutta’s harassment allegations against Nana Patekar, has taken down several powerful men in its wake, including junior foreign minister MJ Akbar, filmmaker Sajid Khan, actor Alok Nath and director Subhash Ghai.

India’s farms continue to get smaller, the latest Agriculture Census reveals, as rural population grows and land holdings fragment. The average farm size has more than halved from 2.28 hectares in 1970-71 to 1.08 hectares in 2015-16, while the number has more than doubled to 145 million. Of these farms, over 86% were small and marginal holdings, which means 14% of Indian farmers hold 53% of its agricultural land. And although small farms have been found to be more productive, returns from agriculture remain poor and volatile, sparking farmer angst in recent times. 

Idea of the Day: When you’re pursuing a long-term, challenging project — like starting a business from scratch — it’s common for impatience and discouragement to set in. That’s why, Adobe’s Scott Belsky writes, it’s crucial to focus on the little victories, every step of the way.

“It is hard to summon a sense of hope and self-worth when you’re on your own. So you squeeze out any semblance of progress you can find, and then you celebrate it. One of the greatest motivators is a sign of progress.”

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