DECISIONS TAKEN BY THE GST COUNCIL IN THE 34THMEETING HELD ON
19THMARCH, 2019 REGARDING GST RATE ON REAL ESTATE SECTOR
GST Council in the 34th
meeting held on 19th March, 2019 at New Delhi discussed the operational details
for implementation of the recommendations made by the council in its 33rd
meeting for lower effective GST rate of 1% in case of affordable houses and 5%
on construction of houses other than affordable house. The council decided the
modalities of the transition as follows.
Option in respect of ongoing
projects:
·
The promoters shall be
given a one -time option to continue to pay tax at the old rates (effective
rate of 8% or 12% with ITC) on ongoing projects (buildings where construction
and actual booking have both started before 01.04.2019) which have not been
completed by 31.03.2019.
·
The option shall be
exercised once within a prescribed time frame and where the option is not
exercised within the prescribed time limit new rates shall apply.
New tax rates
·
The new tax rates which
shall be applicable to new projects or ongoing projects which have exercised
the above option to pay tax in the new regime are as follows.
(i) New rate of 1% without
input tax credit (ITC) on construction of affordable houses shall be available
for,
(a) all houses which meet the
definition of affordable houses as decided by GSTC (area 60 sqm in metros / 90
sqm in non- metros and value upto RS. 45 lakhs), and
(b) affordable houses
being constructed in ongoing projects under the existing central and state
housing schemes presently eligible for concessional rate of 8% GST (after 1/3rd
land abatement).
(ii) New rate of 5%
without input tax credit shall be applicable on construction of,-
·
all houses other than
affordable houses in ongoing projects whether booked prior to or after 01.04.2019.
In case of houses booked prior to 01.04.2019, new rate shall be available on
instalments payable on or after 01.04.2019.
·
all houses other than
affordable houses in new projects.
·
commercial apartments such
as shops, offices etc. in a residential real estate project (RREP) in which the
carpet area of commercial apartments is not more than 15% of total carpet area
of all apartments.
Conditions for the new tax
rates
The new tax rates of 1%
(on construction of affordable) and 5% (on other than affordable houses) shall
be available subject to following conditions
·
Input tax credit shall not
be available,
·
80% of inputs and input
services (other than capital goods, TDR/ JDA, FSI, long term lease (premiums))
shall be purchased from registered persons. On shortfall of purchases from 80%,
tax shall be paid by the builder @ 18% on RCM basis. However, Tax on cement
purchased from unregistered person shall be paid @ 28% under RCM, and on
capital goods under RCM at applicable rates.
Transition for ongoing
projects opting for the new tax rate
·
Ongoing projects
(buildings where construction and booking both had started before 01.04.2019)
and have not been completed by 31.03.2019 opting for new tax rates shall
transition the ITC as per the prescribed method.
·
The transition formula
approved by the GST Council, for residential projects (refer to para 4(ii))
extrapolates ITC taken for percentage completion of construction as on
01.04.2019 to arrive at ITC for the entire project. Then based on percentage
booking of flats and percentage invoicing, ITC eligibility is determined. Thus,
transition would thus be on pro-rata basis based on a simple formula such that
credit in proportion to booking of the flat and invoicing done for the booked
flat is available subject to a few safeguards.
·
For a mixed project
transition shall also allow ITC on pro-rata basis in proportion to carpet area
of the commercial portion in the ongoing projects (on which tax will be payable
@ 12% with ITC even after 1.4.2019) to the total carpet area of the project.
Treatment of TDR/ FSI and
Long term lease for projects commencing after 01.04.2019
The following treatment
shall apply to TDR/ FSI and Long term lease for projects commencing after
01.04.2019.
·
Supply of TDR, FSI, long
term lease (premium) of land by a landowner to a developer shall be exempted
subject to the condition that the constructed flats are sold before issuance of
completion certificate and tax is paid on them. Exemption of TDR, FSI, long
term lease (premium) shall be withdrawn in case of flats sold after issue of
completion certificate, but such withdrawal shall be limited to 1% of value in
case of affordable houses and 5% of value in case of other than affordable
houses. This will achieve a fair degree of taxation parity between under construction
and ready to move property.
·
The liability to pay tax
on TDR, FSI, long term lease (premium) shall be shifted from land owner to
builder underthe reverse charge mechanism (RCM).
·
The date on which builder
shall be liable to pay tax on TDR, FSI, long term lease (premium) of land under
RCM in respect of flats sold after completion certificate is being shifted to
date of issue of completion certificate.
·
The liability of builder
to pay tax on construction of houses given to land owner in a JDA is also being
shifted to the date of completion. Decisions from para 7.1 to 7.4 are expected
to address the problem of cash flow in the sector.
Amendment to ITC rules
·
ITC rules shall be amended
to bring greater clarity on monthly and final determination of ITC and reversal
thereof in real estate projects. The change would clearly provide procedure for
availing input tax credit in relation to commercial units as such units would
continue to be eligible for input tax credit in a mixed project.
·
The decisions of the GST
Council have been presented in this note in simple language for easy
understanding. The same would be given effect to through Gazette notifications/
circulars which alone shall have force of law.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
MAKING PAYMENT OF GST LIABILITY FOR THE MONTH OF FEB 2019
As per newly inserted
Section 49A, ITC on account of CGST and SGST can be utilised towards payment of
CGST, SGST and IGST as the case may be only after ITC available on account of
IGST has been fully exhausted towards payment of such taxes. It means that IGST
has to be fully exhausted first and thereafter ITC of other taxes such as CGST
and SGST can be utilised for payment of taxes under respective head. The
Section 49A is applicable from 1 February 2019, however, presently the GSTN
portal is not permitting payment in the revised manner and payment is allowed
in terms of the provisions as applicable prior to 1 Feb 2019 (i.e. old manner
in terms of Section 49). This has created lot of confusion in the trade and
industry as relevant Notifications mentioned below as well do not refer to
Section 49A. However, a query raised with GST helpdesk in this regard received
following response:
RESOLUTION
This is in reference to
your concern regarding new offset functionality in GSTR-3B. We would like to
inform you that currently new offset functionality is not available on GST
Portal. So, we request you to wait for the same and keep yourself updated with www.gst.gov.in. To avoid any disputes with the
Department, it is suggested that query may be raised with GSTN help desk and
response received may be kept as evidence for any future response.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
127 STARTUPS APPLY FOR ANGEL TAX EXEMPTION, WAIT WITH BATED
BREATH FOR INCOME TAX DEPARTMENT DECISION
After February 19
notification from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on angel tax
exemption, 127 startups had applied (from February 27 onwards) for the same
through Form-2, out of which 92 startups have received an acknowledgment email
from the CBDT that their forms have been accepted by DPIIT, LocalCircles
Chairman Sachin Taparia told. However, startups are yet to get a formal
confirmation from the government that they stand exempted from taxation of
share premium in excess of their fair market value. The question now is whether
the Assessing Officer (AO) will validate this email as exemption for startups
from angel tax, Taparia told. They told us that as of now there is only this
acknowledgement email. While a month’s time might not be enough and the
government doesn’t have to tell us exactly how the exemption will be given but
there were expectations from startups of seeing response from CBDT, said
Taparia. LocalCicles had met CBDT officials last week suggesting to provide an
exemption proof detailing that startups had applied for it, the documents have
been verified by CBDT and the exemption is now granted Among other suggestions
made were that startups that have submitted Form-2, their names should be
shared with respective Principal Commissioners along with startups’ PAN for
granting exemption. So that when startups goes to AO they have some proof of
exemption instead of just an acknowledgment email, Taparia told. Moreover, CBDT
should mark all startups in its system as ‘startup’ instead of ‘company’ so
that, says Taparia when any startup has a share premium event, you (CBDT)
doesn’t generate a notice and AO doesn’t call them etc.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
NO INPUT TAX CREDIT FOR POST-SUPPLY DISCOUNTS: AAR
The authority for advance
ruling (AAR) in Tamil Nadu has ruled that a firm would have to reverse the
input tax credit (ITC) proportionate to the post-purchase discount extended by
a supplier even if the buyer has paid full GST on the transaction. This is contrary
to the prevalent industry practice, tax experts said. To extend discounts after
the supply has been made, various companies currently issue a commercial credit
note (a credit note without adjustment of GST) for price adjustments in
scenarios like post-supply discounts. The buyer pays GST on the full value of
supply and doesn’t usually claim a reduction of GST of the amount relating to
the reduction in value. However, AAR has ruled that even though GST is paid on
the full value proportionate credit (as much pertains to the GST applicable on
the value of commercial credit note) would not be available to the recipient of
supply. According to the application filed by Chennai-based MRF in AAR, the
firm is offered certain discount from its vendors in lieu of early payments.
This is a post-supply discount which does not have any impact on the tax
liability of the supplier, and MRF pays discounted price to vendors together
with full GST to be charged on original price.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
DELHI HIGH COURT UPHELD PARSVNATH’S ₹ 1,034 CR CLAIM IN RLDA
CASE
Realty firm Parsvnath Ltd
on Tuesday said the Delhi High Court has upheld its claim of ₹
1,034 crore in a dispute with Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) related to
a project in the national capital. In February 2016, Parsvnath Developers had
terminated its development agreement with RLDA due to a title dispute related
to a 38-acre land stretch that the company had bought for ₹
1,651 crore. Parsvnath Rail Land Project Pvt Ltd (PRLPPL), a special purpose
vehicle (SPV) created to develop this project, had gone into the arbitration
process to settle the issue. In a regulatory filing, Parsvnath on Tuesday
informed that the division bench of the Delhi High Court dismissed the plea of
RLDA, which had challenged a single judge order that upheld arbitral award of ₹
1,034 crore. We have perused all the submissions and findings of the court and
find no infirmity in the decision of the learned Single Judge. Accordingly, the
appeal stands dismissed, the division bench said in its recent judgement while
dismissing RLDA’s appeal.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
TRADE DEFICIT TOUCHES $165 BILLION, HIGHEST SINCE FY13
Rise in petroleum and
crude products imports during the first 11 months of 2018-2019 has led to
widening of country's trade deficit to $165.6 billion, highest since 2012-2013.
India’s trade deficit has risen to $165.6 billion in the first 11 months of
2018-19, an increase of about 11 per cent compared to same period of previous
financial year. A report by CARE Ratings shows that the gap between exports and
imports is the highest since 2012-13 when it peaked to $190 billion. Indian
exports for the period April-Feb, FY19 have reached close to $ 300 billion,
indicating a rising trend in the last four years. The exports had declined from
$ 286.2 billion in FY15 (during the 11 months) to $ 239.3 billion in FY16.
Imports on the other hand too have increased quite sharply in the last two
years after declining during the 11 months of FY16 and FY17. Growth in the
imports in the last two years has been 22.8 per cent and 9.8 per cent
respectively. The surge in imports has also been higher than that of exports in
these two years. The trade deficit had declined from $ 126.1 billion in FY15 (11
months) to less than $ 100 billion in FY17. The gap between exports and imports
has started increasing again quite sharply to reach $ 148.6 billion during the
11 months of FY18 and further to $ 165.6 billion in FY19. The trade deficit for
the entire year is likely to be the highest since 2012-13 when it peaked at $
190 billion. This is significant because the trade deficit has a bearing on the
current account deficit to begin with and ultimately the balance of payments
which gets reflected in the fundamentals that affect the exchange rate., the
report states.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
HOW INDIA’S TRADE BASKET CHANGED BETWEEN 2013-14 AND 2018-19
India’s merchandise
exports in the current financial year are expected to top the levels achieved
in 2013-14 for the first time in five years, thanks to a little help from the
elevated petroleum product prices. Estimates are that the value of India’s
exports will rise above $314 billion as it had already earned $298 billion
between April 2018 and February 2019. However, the composition of the basket of
goods that helped India earned over $300 million in 2013-14 is significantly
different now, with the share of petroleum products declining and that of
manufactured items rising. Yet, petroleum products continue to be the top earner
of foreign exchange, although total earnings are lower than five years ago, an
outcome of volatile global prices. Crude and product prices, although elevated,
are far lower than it was five years ago. Therefore, its share in the export
basket has declined to 14.8 per cent of the earnings in 2018-19, between April
and January, the period for which comparable disaggregated data is available
from 20.4 per cent in the corresponding period of 2013-14. In contrast, the
share of electric machinery and equipment as well as aluminium and aluminium
products in the export basket has doubled and tripled, respectively, since
2013-14. Electric machinery and equipment now account for 2.6 per cent of the
export basket, up from 1.2 per cent in 2013-14 and aluminium and its products
account for 1.8 per cent, up from 0.6 per cent. At the commodity group level,
contribution of chemicals and related products recorded a jump in export
earnings from 9.8 per cent in ten months of the 2013-14 to 13.2 per cent in the
current year, helped by a jump is export of agro and organic chemicals mostly.
Drugs formulations and biologicals, which are also categorised as chemicals,
continue to be a key export commodity. Significant changes are also seen in the
direction of trade, even though the US continues to be the top destination of
exports and China the top source of imports. The US is now a more important
destination for India than it was in 2013-14, with 16 per cent of the exports
headed there now compared to 12.5 per cent five years ago. Bangladesh and Nepal
are also among the top ten destinations for India’s export.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
RAHUL GANDHI PROMISES NEW TAX REGIME IF VOTED TO POWER IN LS
POLLS
Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday
reiterated his promise to introduce a new tax regime if his party is voted to
power in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls. If voted to power, we will introduce a
new tax regime. There won't be five tax slabs There will be one tax slab and
the system will be simple, he said, while accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi
of bringing in the Gabbar Singh Tax (GST). Rahul, said: Prime Minister Modi
brought in the Gabbar Singh Tax, instead of GST (Goods and Services Tax). They
have destroyed the business of small and medium enterprises by imposing GST on
them. If we come to power, we will give guaranteed minimum income to every poor
person. It will elevate the downtrodden. They will receive money directly into
their accounts. Rahul also ridiculed Prime Minister Modi for posing for a
documentary at Jim Corbett National Park on February 14, the day which saw a
deadly terror attack in south Kashmir's Pulwama district in which 40 CRPF
jawans were killed, and many others were injured. I cancelled all my programmes
as soon as I came to know about the deadly attack on our CRPF personnel, said
Rahul Gandhi. Taking a dig at Prime Minister Modi for prefixing 'Chowkidar' to
his name on Twitter, he said: Why is he making everyone to start his name with
'Chowkidar' on Twitter? He is the one who stole Rs 30,000 crore. He is doing so
to distract the public attention as he has been caught.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
'INDIA NEEDS TO EMERGE AS AN ELECTRONICS EXPORT HUB TO ATTRACT
INVESTMENTS'
India needs to emerge and
be seen as an electronics export hub to be able to tap into the new
opportunities and attract investments from global handset players, a panel of
top handset industry executives discussed. There is still a long way to go for
India to become a manufacturing hub. Even though the Indian component ecosystem
has grown fast, basic components like aluminium, copper need to grow and scale,
said Ajey Mehta. He expressed that the policy can solve problems of driving
manufacturing end to end The policy can help fund IPs and promotion of startups
can help in pushing end to end manufacturing in India. While discussing scope
of National Policy on Electronics 2019, he expressed that the policy can solve
problems of driving manufacturing end to end. The policy can help fund IPs and
promotion of startups can help in pushing end to end manufacturing in India. Vivo
India’s brand strategy director Nipun Marya told that all products that Vivo
sells in India are made in India. He emphasized that the design in India dream
can come true, however there needs to be an India-first approach to it. While
discussing the business case for setting up base in India, Carl Ngo, shared
that big players are confident about setting up units in India. He further said
that India government has built good momentum for promoting manufacturing in
India.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
COURT EXTENDS ROBERT VADRA'S ANTICIPATORY BAIL TILL MARCH 25,
ED SAYS HIS CUSTODIAL INTERROGATION REQUIRED
A Delhi court Tuesday
extended Robert Vadra's interim protection from arrest till March 25 in a money
laundering case and asked him to join the probe after the ED alleged that he
was not cooperating and sought his custodial interrogation.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
EC SERVES NOTICE TO BABUL SUPRIYO FOR ‘DEROGATORY’ SONG
AGAINST TMC
The Election Commission
has sent a notice to BJP MP Babul Supriyo for singing a song against which TMC
has submitted a complaint As per sources, the commission has received a
complaint on behalf of TMC from an advocate. The CD of the song too has been
submitted along with the complaint to the commission. The EC has sought an
explanation from Supriyo within 48 hours. Without any certification from
Commission, the song has been advertised on portal and internet which violated
the code of conduct a senior official of Election Commission told. As per
sources, an FIR has been lodged against Babul Supriyo in Asansol South police
station.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
BENAMI PROPERTY UNIT SEIZES PLOTS WORTH RS 15 CRORE IN JODHPUR
On Monday, Benami Property
Unit (BPU) of the state income tax department seized 149 benami plots worth Rs
15 crore in Jodhpur, spread over 10 acres. The investigation revealed that
between October 2012 and November 2013, Ramjiyavan, a resident of UP bought the
land. An investment of Rs 1,64,14,000 was allegedly made by him, out of which,
Rs 1,45,14,100 was in cash while the rest of it was made through cheques. For
the registry of the land, additional amount of Rs 13, 37, 170 was also paid in
cash. Till now, Rajasthan’s BPU has attached a total of 394 benami properties worth
Rs 1300 crore. Out of which, 69 have been confirmed benami by the adjudicating
authority of Delhi.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
TIME AND AGAIN AHMEDABAD TRADERS DITCH CAIT RALLIES
The Confederation of All
India Traders (CAIT) had planned a demonstration to boycott and conduct a
bonfire of Chinese goods at the Ratanpole area of old city. However, at the
time the protest was supposed to be held very few traders turned up. Those that
did, cancelled the bonfire and instead, chanted slogans and displayed placards,
saying that city police did not give them permission. On October 2 last year, a
'rath yatra' to protest against relaxation in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
in the retail sector in the country, was supposed to pass through the city.
That demonstration also turned out to be a no-show as hardly any traders from
the city came out to show their solidarity with the cause. This is not a
fiasco. What can I do if traders do not turn up? Also, the police refused to
give us permission to conduct a bonfire in the city, said Mahendra Shah,
national chairman of CAIT. He was supposed to lead a group of traders to
protest against import of Chinese goods as China has, once again, blocked
India's proposal in the United Nations (UN) to hand over Jaish-e-Mohammad chief
Masood Azhar to the UN for masterminding terrorist activities in India. Shah
said that while programmes in other states went ahead as per schedule, the one
in Ahmedabad did not. We got good responses from other states. Even in Gujarat,
there are protests in Surat, Vadodara and Jamnagar. Things did not shape up in
Ahmedabad, he said. Sources in the trading community blame a lack of network
and limitations of the leadership of CAIT in Gujarat. I was sent a message, but
saw it only today. I was not aware of what the programme was regarding, said a
leading trader in the old market of the city. Another trader said that CAIT is
relying on organizations such as Amdavad Vepari Mahajan, whose leader, Harshad
Giletwala, does not come from the trading community. Giletwala candidly admits
that he is a member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad but has been told to lead the
trading community. Most traders buy Chinese goods. So obviously they will not
participate and incur losses, said an office bearer of CAIT in the state.
Another trader said that one should oppose import of Chinese goods and not when
the goods are bought by our traders. Now these goods are no longer Chinese.
They belong to our traders. They earn from them. Why should one insist that
they should burn them? said another trader. A leader in the textile trade said
that earlier, CAIT's leadership made flip-flops on the issue of FDI in retail
sector. CAIT had opposed FDI in retail, but when FDI norms were relaxed, CAIT's
leadership was found to be wanting. Somehow, when it comes to opposing policies
of BJP-led governments, CAIT's stand softens at the last moment, said the
trader.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
RUPEE GOES FROM ASIA'S WORST TO BEST CURRENCY AS MARKET SEES
MODI RETURNING
Asia’s worst-performing
currency took five weeks to become its best The turnaround has been fueled by
the improved chances of Prime Minister Narendra Modi winning a second term amid
recent tensions between India and Pakistan. The optimism has led to local
shares and debt luring robust flows, which have turned the carry-trade returns
on the rupee to the highest in the world in the past month. The high-yielding
rupee will likely advance further if Modi wins a second term, said Gao Qi, who
expects the currency to rally to 67 per dollar by June-end. A dovish tilt by
major central banks in the face of a faltering global expansion could also
prompt foreigners to chase higher yields in emerging Asia, he said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
AHMEDABAD: DRI RECOVERS RS 52 CR FROM EXPORTERS
The Directorate of Revenue
Intelligence (DRI), Ahmedabad, recovered from Rs 52 crore from insecticide
exporters, who were wrongfully claiming incentives by mis-classifying their
products. DRI said in a release that its officers conducted searches at various
insecticide exporters based in Gujarat, Mumbai and Tamil Nadu in view of
specific intelligence that they were indulging in mis-classification of their
export product 'insecticides'. By doing so, they were wrongfully claiming
Merchandise Exporters from India Scheme (MEIS) benefit at 3% of FOV (free on
board value) of their export product against their actual entitlement of 2%,
DRI said in a release. The agency said that the exporters had voluntarily paid
Rs52 crore so far towards wrongful availment of excess benefit under MEIS by
resorting to mis-classification having value of more than Rs 5,500 crore. MEIS
is an export incentive scheme of the central government under which exporters
get 1% to 7% of FOB value of export product as incentive depending upon the
product and customs tariff heading under which it is classifiable.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
AHMEDABAD CIVIC BODY SEALS 1,147 PROPERTIES OVER TAX DUES
The Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation sealed another 1,147 properties on Monday for defaulting on
property tax. The corporation, meanwhile, received Rs 26 lakh from the
Sabarmati Central Jail authorities on Monday settling their property tax dues.
On Monday, 184 properties were sealed in North West Zone; 134 in South West
Zone; 260 in West Zone; 137 in East Zone; 177 in South Zone; 100 in North Zone;
and 155 in Central Zone. Notable properties that had civic dues outstanding
included Gallops Automobiles which had to pay a tax of Rs 53.56 lakh. Crown
Hotel had paid their dues of Rs 15 lakh, while Krupa Petrol had to pay Rs 37
lakh, said AMC officials.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
PMLA COURT ALLOWS BANKS TO LIQUIDATE VIJAY MALLYA'S EQUITY
HOLDINGS
A special court hearing
the Prevention and Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cases on Tuesday has permitted
the consortium of banks led by State Bank of India (SBI) to liquidate the
fugitive offender Vijay Mallya’s equity holdings attached by the Enforcement
Directorate (ED) with riders. The move comes after the banks moved the special
court in January seeking release of assets of Mallya and United Breweries (UB),
including the pledged and unpledged shares seized by the enforcement agency to
realise their best value. The SBI-led consortium expects to make over Rs 13,000
crore from the sale of the fugitive offender’s shares. After completion of
sale, the proceeds received from the same will be brought before the court as
and when it is directed to do so, the PMLA court directed the SBI-led
consortium. Sources said the ED had already given its consent to banks to
recover dues from the attached assets in February. Upon the court order, the
bank is now likely to initiate the share sale process and may soon hire a
liquidator to conduct the auctioning. So far, the ED has attached assets and
properties worth Rs 9,700 crore held by Mallya and his companies in connection
with an alleged IDBI Bank loan fraud case registered by the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI). Mallya held 7.91 per cent stake in UB Holdings in his
personal capacity as of December 2016, while total promoter holdings in the
company stood at 52 per cent.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ILLEGAL TELEPHONE EXCHANGE CASE: HC REJECTS MARAN BROTHERS
PLEA
Madras Hight Court on
Wednesday rejected the plea of Sun TV Promoter Kalanithi Maran and his brother
and former Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran to quash charges framed against them
by a trial court in the illegal telephone exchange case. The Court has directed
the CBI Special Court to complete the trial in four months. The CBI had alleged
a loss of Rs 17.8 million (Rs 1.78 crore) to the government due to the
installation of an illegal telephone exchange at Dayanidhi Maran's house, which
was used for Sun TV operations, when Dayanidhi Maran was the Union Minister for
Communication and information technology.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ED ATTACHES ₹2.76-CRORE WORTH ASSETS IN BARMER CRUDE OIL
THEFT CASE
The Enforcement
Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth ₹2.76 crore in the Barmer
crude oil theft case. According to the ED, an investigation conducted by it
under Prevention of Money Laundering Act revealed that the accused Bhoor Singh
Rajpurohit and Gautam Rajpurohit stole large quantity of crude oil from Cairn
India Limited. Both of them — in connivance with tanker owners, drivers,
helpers and several other persons posted at loading and unloading site of Cairn
India — stole the crude oil being transported through tankers. The stolen oil
was further being sold to different buyers by generating bills in the name of
firms Fly Infratech and Bhanwariya and Brothers, an ED press note said. The
accused had acquired assets worth over ₹2.76 crore to hide the
real source of income. The attached assets include agricultural land measuring
around 232 bigha valued at over ₹1.79 crore and residential
and commercial properties valued at over ₹97 lakhat Barmer and
Jodhpur. ED had initiated investigation on the basis four FIRs and Charge
Sheets filed by Rajasthan Police against Bhoor Singh and others under section
413, 420 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code 1860 in stolen property and
cheating case.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
DO PSUS ‘APPLY THEIR MIND’ WHILE DENYING RTI?
A veil of secrecy
surrounds industrial accidents in two public sector units as the managements
concerned are loathe to share information. However, in both cases, the
information was denied under Section 8.1 of the RTI Act. Section 8.1 of the RTI
Act primarily deals with denial of information if it compromises trade secrets,
security, sovereignty and integrity of the country. Last month, the newspaper
had sought a copy of a detailed investigation report under RTI about a
devastating accident in which nine people were at SAIL’s flagship plant in
Bhilai on October 9, 2018, during a scheduled maintenance. The RTI application
was filed on February 10, keeping in mind the customary 90-day investigation
period in such serious matters. The RTI sought copies of Detail Investigation
Report, Action Taken Report and report submitted to the Steel Ministry about
the accident. It had also sought the number of SAIL employees, and their
designations, who were found guilty of negligence and if any SAIL employee, who
had died in the accident was held guilty by the management. Information about
the role of contractor employees was also sought under RTI. The only information
shared by SAIL was the new safety initiatives, which have been summed up in
three lines by RTI compliance officer in the reply. But the information was
denied by the management under Section 8.1(g), which prohibits disclosure of
information which could endanger the life or physical safety of a person, and
8.1(h) for prevention of sharing information which would impede the process of
investigation and prosecution of offenders. Similarly, in 2018, NTPC had used
section 8.1(d) of the RTI Act, for protection of trade secrets and intellectual
property, to deny investigation reports about an accident in which over 30
people were killed at its Uttar Pradesh power plant.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
AIMIM PREZ ASADUDDIN OWAISI DECLARES ASSETS WORTH RS 13 CRORE
AIMIM (All India
Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen) president Asaduddin Owaisi, who has filed his
nomination for Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency, has declared assets worth more
than Rs 13 crore His immovable assets are worth over Rs 12 crore and movable
assets are over Rs 1.67 crore, according to the affidavit submitted by him
while filing the nomination on Monday. He owns no motor vehicle but has one NP
bore .22 pistol worth Rs 1 lakh and one NP bore 30-60 rifle worth Rs 1 lakh.
The grand total of his liabilities is Rs 9.30 crore. He has Rs 2 lakh cash in
hand. His income during 2017-18 was Rs 10,01,080. It was Rs 13,33,250 during
2016-17. There are five criminal cases pending against him. He was not
convicted for any criminal offense.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
NEW GST REAL ESTATE RATE TO BE APPLICABLE FROM APRIL, SOURCE
80% MATERIALS FROM REGISTERED DEALER
The GST Council Tuesday
approved a transition plan for the implementation of new tax structure for the
real estate sector with applicable rules for housing units being applicable
from April 1, 2019. The Council also decided that under construction projects
will have an option to shift to new rate The GST Council in its 33rd meeting on
February 24, 2019 had come up with new rates for housing units. GST will be
levied at effective rate of 5% without ITC on residential properties outside
affordable segment, while GST shall be levied at effective GST of 1% without
ITC on affordable housing properties. A residential house/flat of carpet area
of up to 90 sqm in non-metropolitan cities/towns and 60 sqm in metropolitan
cities having value up to Rs. 45 lakh (both for metropolitan and
non-metropolitan cities) has been categorized as affordable housing.
Metropolitan cities are Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi NCR (limited to Delhi, Noida,
Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Faridabad), Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai
(whole of MMR). The Council in it meeting today also held that 80% procurement
of materials should be from registered dealer It also announced that up to 15%
of commercial space to be treated as residential property for GST purpose.
However, the exact contour of this point mooted by the Council is not very
clear. The Council also decided that reversal of input tax credit to be done on
propotionate basis and the time limit for transition to new rates will be
discussed with the states.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
HOUSING GST RULE MUST BE CHANGED, SAYS WEST BENGAL FM AMIT
MITRA
Ahead of the GST Council
meeting on Tuesday, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra has proposed that
the new goods and services tax (GST) rate for ongoing residential housing
projects be made optional The GST Council meeting slated for Tuesday will take
up the issue of finalising the rules and procedures to implement the decisions
of the last Council on real estate. In his latest letter to Union Finance
Minister, Arun Jaitley, Mitra has said that while the basic decision of
bringing the effective rates of affordable housing and non-housing to 1 per
cent and 5 per cent without input tax credit (ITC) was something everyone
agreed upon, the mechanism being proposed was highly cumbersome and mind
boggling. Mitra said if the developer had purchased material and taken the ITC,
he would be permitted to use only the percentage he had invoiced and had to
reverse the rest. This needs to be done project wise though earlier accounts were
not maintained project wise, he said. The net result would be that the cost of
the project would increase immediately and the consumer would end up actually
paying more rather than less, he added. Also, according to him, the formulae
specified would leave a lot of discretion with the tax authorities and might
encourage rent seeking. Mitra had argued in a letter ahead of the last meeting
that the rates of the affordable housing should be reduced from 3 per cent
proposed by GoM to 1 per cent as the effective rate of tax factoring in the ITC
comes to around 1 per cent. Mitra, in his latest letter, has suggested that the
scheme be made mandatory only for new projects that come on or after April 1,
2019. Further, the minister has proposed that the long-term lease and transfer
of development rights be completely exempt for residential real estate projects
as the Council had done for industrial plots. Tax exemption on such rights and
lease has been allowed to residential apartments, till the time the completion
certificate has not been obtained. The decision to charge GST on long-term
lease and transfer of development rights on land for residential apartments
sold after issuance of completion certificate would increase the cost to buyer
and required redressal, Mitra said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
NET DIRECT TAX COLLECTION CROSSES RS 10 LAKH CRORE MARK
The net direct tax
collection figure has crossed the Rs 10 lakh crore mark as on March 16, helped
by the fourth and final installment of tax payment, sources said. The entire
advance tax data from across the country has not come yet, the sources said.
However, the preliminary assessment indicates that the net direct tax
collection has crossed Rs 10 lakh crore, they said. The net direct tax
collection during April-January of this fiscal stood at Rs 7.89 lakh crore as
against Rs 12 lakh crore targeted for the entire fiscal of 2018-19. The
government had earlier estimated the mop up from direct tax collection at Rs
11.5 lakh crore, which was revised upwards by Rs 50,000 crore in the interim
Budget for 2019-20.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
NO RESPITE FROM ANGEL TAX DESPITE DPIIT NOTIFICATION
A month after the
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) notified norms
for startups to seek exemption from Section 56(2)(viib) of the I-T Act,
startups complain that little work has been done on the ground to bring them
relief from the so-called ‘Angel Tax’ demon. On Friday, 92 startups received
emails from the Central Board of Direct Taxation (CBDT) that acknowledged that
the self-declaration that they had submitted to the DPIIT had been received.
Receipt of Form 2 in CBDT is acknowledged, read the email. Around 127 companies
had submitted Form 2 on February 27, and were expecting a certificate or
document of some kind which they could show the I-T Department’s Assessing
Officers in order to seek exemptions from Section 56 of the I-T Act. It is
understood that some startups would have to resend their documents due to
mistakes in their submission. This doesn’t give us any proof to go defend
ourselves in an appeal It’s just an acknowledgement that they have received the
documents we uploaded. We don’t know why it should take so much time, but it
certainly isn’t the help we had asked for, said Sreejith Moolayil. A person
close to the developments who wanted to remain anonymous said that it could
take another month for the CBDT to issue something akin to an exemption
certificate Even if they do, it isn’t clear if all the startups that received
acknowledgements from the CBDT will get the exemption certificate, he added.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
RAHUL GANDHI PROMISES TO ABOLISH ANGEL TAX IF VOTED TO POWER
AICC president Rahul
Gandhi on Monday said his party, if voted to power, will get rid of the angel
tax Angel tax goes counter to the philosophy of startups. We are going to get
rid of this tax when we come to power, he told. Gandhi also added that the
party, on coming to power, will tweak the ecommerce policy to see that it is
fair to all stakeholders. A balance has to be created between large and small
players, he told aHis assurance came in response to a question from an
entrepreneur who said the new policy seeks to impose a host of restrictions on
ecommerce platforms and merchants doing business. I have not gone into the
details, but i have been given a briefing on it, the Congress president said.
His party, if voted to power, will go into the policy and make changes that are
fair to all stakeholders.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
HC SPIKES PIL FOR PROBE INTO ALLEGED FDI VIOLATIONS BY
FLIPKART AND AMAZON
The Delhi High Court on
Monday disposed a public interest litigation (PIL) which sought a probe into
violations of India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) norms by ecommerce giants
Flipkart and Amazon. A bench headed by Chief Justice Rajendra Menon passed the
order after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) told the court that an
investigation under provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA)
against the two companies is already pending with it. The petition, filed by
NGO Telecom Watchdog, had also asked for initiation of legal proceedings
against Flipkart and Amazon under FEMA for allegedly violating the FDI norms
prescribed in a March 2016 press note. The plea, filed through advocate Pranav
Sachdeva, claimed that Amazon and Flipkart have created multiple entities to
circumvent the FDI norms and route the hot-selling stock at cheaper rates. It
also had claimed that by creating name lending companies, Amazon and Flipkart
had bought branded goods in bulk at discounted rates from manufacturers which
was rendering small sellers on its platforms uncompetitive. As a consequence of
this FDI norms violation, smaller sellers are unable to participate in the fast
growing ecommerce sector, the plea has contended, adding that due to subsidised
prices on such platforms, small sellers are unable to sell in the
brick-n-mortar world too.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
MRF CAN AVAIL INPUT TAX CREDIT ONLY FOR INVOICE VALUE: TAMIL
NADU AUTHORITY
The Tamil Nadu Advance
Ruling Authority (ARA) has said tyre major MRF may avail of input tax credit
only to the extent of the value of the invoice in question, not on the
discounts offered by vendors on interface software. In the MRF case, the
company intended subscribing to an online platform, C2FO, which would connect
the buyer with vendors. Those of the latter that are registered with the
e-platform place a discount offer, either annual percentage rate or a flat
discount, to receive early payment. Invoices for discount are picked up by the
software algorithm, based on which the discount offers can be varied. MRF
approached the ARA to check if it legally could avail of the input tax credit
on the entire GST charged on the supply of invoice. Or if a proportionate
reversal of the tax was required if the vendor gave a post-purchase discount,
based on their early payment. The ARA said the company can avail of the input
tax credit only to the extent of the invoice value raised by the suppliers,
less the discounts as given by the C2FO software. If input tax credit was taken
on the full amount, it should reverse the difference, the order from Manasa
Gangotri Kata and S Vijayakumar said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
GST: APPELLATE AUTHORITY CANNOT CONDONE DELAY BEYOND 30 DAYS,
SAYS ALLAHABAD HC
In a significant ruling
under GST, the Allahabad High Court has held that the appellate authority is
not empowered to condone delay beyond 30 days The first appeal filed by the
petitioner against the order dated 03.12.2018 was beyond the period for which
delay may have been condoned, by about nine days. Under section 107 of the U.P.
Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, the period of limitation to file a first
appeal is three months and the period for which the delay may be condoned is
thirty days from the expiry of normal period of limitation. The appellate
authority dismissed the appeal as the same was time barred. Clearly, no
application for condonation of delay may have been entertained by the appellate
authority beyond a period of thirty days from the date of expiry of normal
period of limitation (three months), the Court said. The delay condonation
application filed beyond the period of thirty days could not be condoned and it
was clearly not maintainable by the appellate authority. Consequently, there is
no error in the order of the appellate authority dismissing the appeal as time
barred. The counsel for the petitioner conteded that if the remedy of appeal is
held to be non-existant, still jurisdiction of the writ Court against the
original order dated 03.12.2018 may not be ousted. The department has accepted
the notices on behalf of the respondents and sought for four weeks time to file
counter affidavit. After granting time to the department, the Court granted stay
to the petitioner with a condition to deposit 50% of the disputed amount of tax
and furnishing security for the balance amount of disputed tax in the shape of
other than cash and bank guarantee within a period of one month.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
GST COUNCIL TO CONSIDER IMPLEMENTATION OF LOWER TAX RATES FOR
REALTY SECTOR
The all powerful GST
Council in its 34th meeting to be held Tuesday is expected to take up various
issues including the implementation of lower GST rates for the real estate sector.
The meeting is likely to deliberate only the transition provision and related
issues for the implementation of lower GST rates for the real estate sector,
sources said, adding, no issues related to rate is in the agenda as the model
code of conduct is in force. In the previous meeting (February 24), the
high-powered GST Council slashed tax rates for under-construction flats to 5
per cent and affordable homes to 1 per cent, effective April 1. The council is
expected to give its nod on new rules on how far builders can make use of
credit for taxes paid on raw materials and services in settling their final tax
liability as the real estate sector moves to a new tax regime from April 1,
sources said. Currently, the goods and services tax (GST) is levied at 12 per
cent with input tax credit (ITC) on payments made for under-construction
property or ready-to-move-in flats where completion certificate is not issued
at the time of sale. For affordable housing units, the existing tax rate is 8
per cent. The new rules are expected to specify under what circumstances sale
transactions initiated in the current tax regime but concluded after April 1,
will be eligible for Input Tax Credit on taxes paid on raw materials and
services.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
GST COUNCIL TO ISSUE NEW TAX NORMS FOR REAL ESTATE
Federal indirect tax body
the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council will on Tuesday announce new rules on
how far builders can make use of credit for taxes paid on raw materials and
services in settling their final tax liability as the sector moves to a new tax
regime from 1 April. The Council has designed a formula to allow builders to
take advantage of the tax credits on their books as best as GST principles will
allow. Policymakers want to give relief to builders to the extent possible as
unused credit will either push up the cost of property or impact the bottom
line of builders, explained a government official, who asked not to be named.
The GST Council had decided on 24 February to lower the tax rate on
under-construction residential properties from an effective 12% to 5% and on
under-construction affordable houses from an effective 8% to 1%. The new tax
structure does not allow builders to use credits for taxes paid on raw
materials to be used for settling part of their final tax liability. The new
rules to be announced on Tuesday will specify under what circumstances sale
transactions initiated in the current tax regime but concluded after 1 April
will be eligible for credits on taxes paid on raw materials and services. It
will clarify on the tax rates applicable and the availability of tax credits in
a host of scenarios including where the builder has paid taxes on raw materials
but has either not started construction or has only half-completed the construction.
These rules were necessitated as home buying is often a lengthy affair while
the new tax rate kicks in from a specific date. The move is significant
considering that many builders are grappling with project delays which are
likely to continue beyond 1 April. We had extensive discussions on the impact
of the new tax regime on the real estate industry. The new formula for
utilization of credit during the transition period takes into account the fact
that unlike other industries, real estate projects have a long gestation time,
the official quoted above said on condition of anonymity. For builders, the
change in the tax regime is a challenging situation. Currently, unutilized tax
credit is an asset on the builder’s books. The moment that becomes unusable, it
becomes an expense and has to be shown accordingly, explained Ved Jain.
Disallowed tax credits could thus affect builders’ bottom line and even
valuation. Also, under property sale deals, customers are liable to pay the
property price plus GST at the applicable rate In the case where houses were
booked earlier but sale is to be completed after 1 April, buyers will insist on
paying only 5% GST, while developers may prefer to utilize the input tax credit
available to them and charge the higher tax rate prevailing now.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ED PROBING IF AMAZON, FLIPKART VIOLATED FOREIGN EXCHANGE LAW,
HC SAYS
Investigation has been
initiated against e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart for alleged violation
of foreign exchange law, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Monday informed the
Delhi High Court. A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice A J
Bhambhani noted the submissions of the ED that a case has been registered under
provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) against the two
companies and disposed of a PIL which has alleged that the e-commerce giants
were violating foreign direct investment (FDI) norms The court had earlier
sought response of the central government, Amazon and Flipkart to the plea
which has sought a probe into the alleged FDI violations. The ED, in its reply
filed through central government standing counsel Amit Mahajan, has said the
department has already registered and initiated investigation under the
provisions of FEMA against the two companies to ascertain whether they have
been contravening any provisions of FEMA or contravening any rule, regulations,
notification, direction or order issued in exercise of the powers under FEMA.
The agency also sought dismissal of the petition. The petition by an NGO,
Telecom Watchdog, also asked for initiation of legal proceedings against the
two e-commerce companies under the FEMA for alleged violation and circumvention
of FDI norms. The plea, filed through advocate Pranav Sachdeva, has claimed
that Amazon and Flipkart have created multiple entities to circumvent the FDI
norms and route the hot-selling stock at cheaper rates.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
INDIA, AFRICA SHOULD EXAMINE IF THEY CAN FORGE FREE TRADE
PACT: PRABHU
India and Africa should examine
if they can enter into a free trade agreement or preferential trade agreement
Suresh Prabhu has said. The minister said India’s exports of services and
merchandise together would touch a record $540 billion in the current financial
year ending March 31, reflecting its robust economic fundamentals. Please think
about a free trade agreement between Africa and India. We can think about a
preferential trade agreement and the fundamental principle would be how Africa
will benefit first and India later, he said, adding this could be another way
of increasing Africa’s share in the global marketplace. The India-Africa trade
stands at $62 billion. India mainly exports pharmaceuticals, engineering and
electronic products to Africa and imports natural resources and diamonds.
Africa would be the preferred destination for Indian investments, Prabhu said.
Keeping in view Africa’s central location on the global map, India could help
establish strong logistics linkages in the region, Prabhu said. He also
highlighted the opportunities for deeper India-Africa bilateral cooperation and
partnerships in agriculture and food processing, power projects, new and
renewal energy development, skills development, among others. He added that
Indian industry will extend all support to African nations to process natural
resources in Africa itself.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
I-T DEPARTMENT CHALLENGES RELIEF GIVEN TO SHAH RUKH KHAN OVER
ALLEGED BENAMI PROPERTY
Shah Rukh Khan has once
again landed in fresh legal troubles after the Income Tax department challenged
an order that gave relief to the actor regarding the alleged benami property
issue. The I-T department has challenged the order by the Adjudicating
Authority which dismissed the case and slammed the department for labelling a
property acquired by SRK's firm as benami. SRK's case is one of the most
prominent ones since strict amendments were made in the Benami Property act
back in 2016. The amendments were made to put a check on the tax evasion
through Benami property. SRK's farmhouse came under IT radar after District
Collector Vijay Suryavanshi asked for legal advice about Coastal Regulations
violations of 87 farmhouses across the coast of Alibaug. The actor had
constructed a farmhouse on the land purchased for agricultural purposes. The IT
department had assessed the transaction between Deja Vu Farms, the benamidaar,
and Shah Rukh Khan. The report of the designated authority to the IT department
had declared the actor the ultimate beneficiary of the transaction. However,
there is no confirmed statement on the new challenged posed by the IT
department as of now. As per the amendments of the act, if proven guilty one
can face a prison sentence of up to seven years and will have to pay a fine of
25% of the fair market value the alleged benami property.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
UK COURT ARREST WARRANT AGAINST NIRAV MODI PAVES WAY FOR
EXTRADITION
A London court has issued
an arrest warrant against fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, the main accused in
the $2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, in response to a request
by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for his extradition in a money laundering
case, officials said on Monday. They said the investigative agency has been
recently informed about the issuance of the warrant by the Westminster
Magistrate Court against Modi and he is expected to be put under formal arrest
by the London Metropolitan police soon. The warrant was issued a few days back
and the ED was subsequently informed, they said. Modi, 48, will be subsequently
brought before the court to secure bail and the legal proceedings for his
extradition will begin thereafter, they said. Westminster Magistrates’ Court in
London has issued an extradition warrant against Modi, making his arrest
imminent, according to sources in London involved with the case. While the UK
court and Scotland Yard said they cannot confirm or deny the warrant until an
arrest has been executed and an accused has been formally charged, officials
aware of the developments confirmed that a warrant was issued last week with
authorities in India being made aware on Monday. The reason we do not comment
on an arrest until it takes place is because the individual must be charged
before anything can be established, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
PRAMOD SAWANT SWORN IN AS GOA CHIEF MINISTER
Pramod Sawant (45), former
Speaker of Goa legislative Assembly and MLA from Sankhelim in North Goa was on
early Tuesday sworn-in as 11th Chief Minister of Goa succeeding Manohar
Parrikar, who died on Sunday after a prolonged battle with advanced pancreatic
cancer. He was given the oath of office and secrecy at Raj Bhavan near here by
Goa Governor Mridula Sinha. Along with the Chief Minister, Sudin alias
Ramkrishna Dhavlikar of Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and Vijai Sardesai
of Goa Forward Party were sworn in as Deputy Chief Ministers.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ONE CRPF JAWAN KILLED, 5 INJURED IN NAXAL ATTACK IN CHHATTISGARH
One CRPF jawan was killed
and five others were injured in an attack by naxals in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada
district on Monday, officials said. The naxals first set off an improvised
explosive device (IED) and then opened fire on CRPF troopers from the 231st
battalion, who along with a state police unit, were on road security duty in
the district's Aranpur area, they said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
'ENOUGH IS ENOUGH': NO ALLIANCE WITH CONGRESS IN DELHI, SAYS
AAP
A day after declaring its
candidate for the seventh Lok Sabha seat, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday
made it clear that there would be neither any alliance with the Congress nor a
rollback of any of its candidates in Delhi. Asserting that enough is enough,
senior AAP leader Gopal Rai said these are the final seven candidates of the
party and there is no question of any roll back. The ruling AAP had earlier on
March 2, announced the names of its candidates for the six Lok Sabha seats.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
MAYAWATI SENDS STERN WARNING TO CONGRESS: DON'T SPREAD
CONFUSION
Mayawati Monday asked it
not to spread confusion on leaving seven seats for the SP-BSP-RLD alliance in
Uttar Pradesh. At the same time, she dared the grand old party to go ahead and
field candidates in all the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Hours later, the
BSP's poll ally Samajwadi Party (SP) also asked the Congress not to spread any
kind of confusion and maintained that the BSP-SP-RLD alliance was capable of
defeating the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. Mayawati's remarks came a day after the
Congress announced that it was leaving seven Lok Sabha seats in the state for
the SP, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD)
alliance. The BSP chief in a series of tweets made it clear that the BSP will
not enter into any alliance with the Congress. The Congress is free to field
its candidates on all the 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh alone. In other words, our
alliance (of SP-BSP-RLD) is capable enough of defeating the BJP. The Congress
should refrain from spreading confusion about leaving seven seats for the
(SP-BSP-RLD) alliance, Mayawati said in a tweet. Mayawati also said, The BSP
would like to make it clear once again that there is no alliance or
understanding with the Congress in Uttar Pradesh and anywhere in the country.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
'THERE CAN'T BE CONDITIONAL BANS': GAUTAM GAMBHIR CALLS ON
BCCI TO GO FOR ALL OR NOTHING WITH PAKISTAN
Former India opener Gautam
Gambhir on Monday said the BCCI should either snap all cricketing ties with
Pakistan including multi-lateral events, or engage with the arch-rivals at
every level as there can't be conditional bans Gambhir, said the Indian Board
has to decide and be prepared for the consequences. The responsibility of the
Pulwama attack was taken by Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed.
There can't be conditional bans. Either you ban everything with Pakistan or
open everything with Pakistan. What has happened in Pulwama is absolutely not
acceptable, Gambhir, who was recently conferred the Padma Shri, said. I am sure
it's going to be difficult for India to boycott them in ICC tournaments but
stop playing Pakistan in the Asia Cup, said the left-hander. The BCCI had
appealed to the ICC to snap ties with countries from where terror-emanates in a
veiled reference to Pakistan. But the request was turned down at the ICC Board
meeting in Dubai. Certain section of society says that don't mix sports with
politics but Jawans are far more important than a game of cricket.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
DOLLAR-RUPEE SWAP: RBI CHIEF BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE
ndia’s currency,
sovereign-debt and credit markets were all caught off-guard by the announcement
of a three-year, dollar-rupee swap. The RBI will buy $5 billion from banks for
its reserves by giving them rupees, and reverse the trade in 2022. This
preemptive move would prevent the currency's appreciation, according to one
theory. The central bank may want to scoop up incoming dollars from
ArcelorMittal’s long-awaited $5.8 billion cheque for Essar Steel India, lest
the rupee strengthens from an oversupply of greenbacks. That payment should be
coming in, now that the Ruia family, former owners of the bankrupt asset, is
almost out of legal options to prevent the sale. Another hypothesis ties the
swap to elevated funding costs for non-bank financiers. The real economy, which
is already slowing, could be in trouble if shadow lenders are forced to turn
off the tap for builders amid a glut of unsold apartments. In this line of
thinking, the RBI’s move aims to ease financial conditions That’s not
far-fetched, with the biggest arranger of Indian corporate debt warning of a
crisis in credit markets. However, there’s a third view, which sees the swap
spurring demand for lacklustre government bonds. Long-term yields continue to
be stubbornly high. Banks could use the rupees they get by selling dollars to
buy sovereign notes. To the extent their purchases push yields lower, they get
to book mark-to-market gains — or cut losses — on their asset portfolios by
March 31, the end of their financial year. However, it doesn’t matter whether
the RBI had currency, credit or interest rates in mind. What’s more relevant is
how the new liquidity management tool will shape expectations of what comes
next. Now that the central bank is buying dollars to create domestic liquidity
will it continue to snap up as many Indian government bonds? The purchases in
the current financial year have topped $42 billion. Traders expect these to be
dialled down, starting April 1. If the reduction is large enough to offset the
$5 billion infusion, bond investors get nothing in the net. They may remain
cautious about buying 10-year government bonds, given the risk of fiscal
slippage next year is high. Much of the massaging of the headline fiscal
deficit — for instance, by pushing a chunk of the government’s borrowing
off-budget — will be reversed once the poll results are in. The bond market
hasn’t failed to notice that a state-owned telecom company has delayed salaries;
hard-to-privatise national carrier Air India is on perpetual life support; and
that state-run banks’ balance-sheet repair job is proving longer and more
expensive than the government expected when Prime Minister Narendra Modi took
office in 2014. Put another way, the benchmark 10-year bond yield may remain
sticky even if inflation doesn’t accelerate. To that extent, the dollar swap
may be ineffective in the government-bond market though it could help ease the
private sector’s worsening credit crunch. Where the swap could do damage is the
currency market. A steeper yield curve might attract foreigners to tactically
buy into high long-term yields. Now that Das is acquiring dollars in bulk via
long-term swaps, the market may expect him to purchase less in the spot market.
A one-off swap to stanch rupee appreciation could thus end up being foreign
investors’ invitation to push the rupee uncomfortably higher on a daily basis.
But what is the alternative to the Das put? If the RBI keeps buying government
bonds, it surrenders its power to teach the government a lesson in fiscal
arithmetic. Regardless of who wins on May 23, the next administration is
expected to take a hard left turn. More unfunded programmes will be unveiled.
On the other hand, if the RBI stops resisting day-to-day rupee appreciation,
and steps in only periodically with bulk dollar buying via swaps, an overvalued
rupee will usher in a short-lived asset-price boom, followed by a bust. After
all, fiscal and monetary policies can be coordinated locally, and politicians
longing to reclaim their power to freely print money can be ignored. But how
does Das ask Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to guarantee that the
dollar won’t resume its upward march? A $5 billion swap is harmless enough Any
more and Das would become as villainous, in the eyes of the politically
dominant Indian nationalist thinking, as his two immediate predecessors for
turning India into a stooge of America. The RBI’s new boss is stuck between a
rock and a hard place.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
INDIA MAY NOT LAG CHINA ON 5G: REPORT
With Reliance Jio Infocomm
(RJio) expected to rollout 5G services in the second-half of calendar year 2020
(H2CY20), albeit selectively, India may not lag China in launching the
services. On 4G, India was behind China in rolling out the services by 2-3
years, according to a note by SBICap Securities. To maintain market leadership,
we see RJio moving soon to 5G (H2CY20), it said. Jio’s early 5G move is likely
to be driven by the recent capital rise by incumbent telecos (both Bharti
Airtel and Vodafone Idea). The incumbents are seen raising as much as $10
billion through various initiatives (amount raised likely to be $16 billion if
tower sales go through) and most of the funds are likely to go into boosting 4G
capacity, the note said. If the entire $16 billion raised is deployed in 4G
networks, Vodafone-Idea and Bharti may add a combined incremental capacity of
about 425 million 4G subscribers over the next 24 months. In the interim, Jio
may continue to gain market share as incumbents, particularly Vodafone Idea,
are faced with complex network integration and spectrum re-farming. We see Jio
gaining share and achieving revenue market share of about 39 per cent by
financial year 2021 (from current about 30 per cent), Vodafone Idea’s RMS
declining to 25 per cent (from 30 per cent) and Bharti holding ground. However,
post network integration and 4G capacity boost, incumbent telcos are seen
narrowing the 4G gap versus RJio, it said. The note also said RJio would hike
tariffs by at least 15-20 per cent driven by increased investments in 5G
upgrade. The company’s tower monetisation may be an additional and early
catalyst for price hike of about 6 per cent over the next 6—9 months.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
BSNL, MTNL MAY LEVERAGE ASSETS IN THEIR TURNAROUND PLAN
Ten years ago, when the
country was embracing 3G, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar
Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) led the technological push. Now, as 3G slowly turns
obsolete clouds have also formed over the two public sector entities. For the
first time, BSNL has delayed its February salaries. The department of
telecommunications (DoT) had to give MTNL ₹171 crore last week to pay
salaries. Both have been making losses continuously since 2009-10 and have been
declared incipient sick. Amid fierce competition and rock-bottom tariffs,
salaries have become a heavy burden for the two companies. In the December
quarter, MTNL’s salary cost at ₹577.2 crore exceeded its revenue of ₹514.5
crore. NITI Aayog, the federal think tank, has suggested shutting down the
company. Yet, there is hope for both, but only if DoT gets its act together.
The two companies have assets that are hugely lucrative for private operators.
BSNL, as of March 2018, owns land worth ₹70,000 crore and buildings
worth ₹3,760 crore. BSNL and MTNL have built an envious portfolio of
assets such as fibre, towers, real estate etc. They also enjoy easier right of
way compared to private operators. This gives them a huge advantage which they
could use to revamp the companies with a different business model. They could
look at becoming an ‘operator of operators’ instead of being a consumer-facing
company, said Mahesh Uppal. BSNL wants spectrum by equity infusion of ₹6,767.5
crore. Similarly, MTNL wants spectrum by preferential share capital infusion of
₹6,925 crore. They plan to instal 100,000 and 9,750 base
transceiver stations, respectively, to roll out 4G services. DoT, however, is
yet to take a decision. It is also studying a revival plan for MTNL. IIM
Ahmedabad is preparing a revival plan for BSNL.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
IT SERVICES SECTOR MAY REGISTER GROWTH UPTO 9% IN FY20: ICRA
REPORT
The information technology
services sector is estimated to clock a flat growth of upto 9 percent in the
fiscal year 2019-20, a report said Monday. The growth will be at par with the
9.1 percent growth achieved by the sector in FY19, according to industry lobby
Nasscom. The grouping has discontinued a 25-year-old practice of coming out with
growth estimates citing the changes in the landscape which makes the job
harder. Domestic rating agency Icra said the sector will clock a 7-9 percent
growth in USD in FY20 mainly on demand for digital solutions. Firming oil
prices will lead to some discretionary spends by energy firms on digital spends
and give the IT firms some good news, while retail is also showing improvement
in the first nine months of FY19. From a profitability perspective, the rating
agency said margins were flattish in the third quarter of FY19 on pricing
pressure, increased regulatory costs, wage inflation and higher onshore hiring
and sub-contracting cost necessitated by visa curbs. However, the overall
margins are estimated to decline to 20.8 percent in FY20 for its 19 sample companies
from 22.5 percent in FY18. Indian companies have started to ramp-up on-shore
hiring in its largest market of US on visa issuance norms being tightened by
restricting the entry-level programmers coupled with increasing compliance and
evidence requirements adding to cost pressures, it said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
DR. MONTEK AHLUWALIA PLUMPS FOR ‘FISCAL STABILITY COUNCIL’
Noted economist and former
Deputy Chairman of the (erstwhile) Planning Commission, Dr. Montek Singh
Ahluwalia, has called for the setting up of a ‘fiscal stability council’ – a
measure, he says, has been suggested by many experts before, including the N K
Singh Committee on Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management. Ahluwalia said
that the ‘fiscal stability council’ should consist of eminent people who are
not permanent government employee. After every budget, the council would give a
report to the Parliament saying this is how we see the fiscal situation coming
out. Noting that all governments in the recent past have hidden deficits, Dr.
Ahluwalia said that people ought to be made aware of the correct situation. For
fiscal discipline to set in fully, there is a need for an institutional set up
and an independent ‘fiscal stability council’ could be such an institutional set
up. He stressed that the council by itself would not set everything right— for
after all, a finance minister could well say that he would bust the fiscal
deficit in order to fund schemes for the poor and get cheered for it—but the
council, by being a sort of an independent evaluator, would help. Dr. Ahluwalia
highlighted the two big issues defining the Indian economy today are jobs and
agrarian crisis. He noted that these two can be solved only by achieving high
growth. The agrarian crisis, he said, was not because the farmers could not
produce enough, but because the prices have collapsed and that was because the
economy could not absorb the higher agricultural output. Such absorption can
happen only with higher growth. Further, higher growth will enable agricultural
labour to move out of agriculture into more paying jobs, and there would be
fewer in agriculture to share the pie. On jobs, Dr. Ahluwalia pointed to a
ticklish situation, where, to achieve high growth India has to climb the
technology curve, otherwise it would be edged out of the fast-automating global
supply chain But climbing higher on technology means creating fewer jobs, such
being the nature of technology today, with the advent of artificial
intelligence. To solve this problem some structural change is inevitable, which
means that some people could lose jobs even as others get better paying jobs.
India’s politicians have to get this message across to the people somehow in a
manner that it is felt as good. Dr. Ahluwalia observed that achieving high
growth had four aspects – inherent strength of the Indian economy, global
economic situation, macro-economic stability and reforms. The inherent strength
of the Indian economy, in terms of features such as entrepreneurship, skills,
savings, infrastructure and quality of institutions, he said, was not in doubt.
If well managed, the economy can deliver growth of more than 8 per cent. Global
economic situation, the economist said, was not encouraging, with the US and
China slowing down and Europe in a mess. Furthermore, unlike in the past, every
country has begun to look at exports to power their growth, so India would face
competition in the shrinking world market. Added to this is the volatility in
oil prices, making things look very difficult. The current account deficit,
while not yet alarming, would need to be carefully managed, he said. He said
that he did not have a high opinion on the revision of GDP figures of the past
years. But even while ignoring the merits or demerits of the revision, the lowering
of the figures would only send across a message that India never grew at over 8
per cent, and would set a lower benchmark for confidence to achieve higher
growth. Ahluwalia stressed on the need to keep fiscal deficit under check.
Fiscal deficit (the excess of government’s expenditure over own income), which
is funded by either government borrowing from the market or printing new
currency, means a lot to the economy because a high deficit means higher
government borrowing and consequently a smaller pool for the private sector to
borrow. Because government brings in a big demand for funds, it thus raises the
cost of borrowing for others. Further, he observed, a major source of funds for
investments is the savings of households. This sector’s saving in India works
out to about 7 per cent of GDP, which is exactly the same percentage of GDP as
the deficits of the central and state governments put together. This implies
that household savings are being absorbed by the governments. This would not be
bad if the governments used this for investments, but currently the savings are
being used to run the governments. Even this would not be bad if it were a
one-year situation, but judging by the commitments made by the governments in
an election year, clearly household savings would not go to boost investments,
Dr. Ahluwalia said. Ahluwalia noted that the high deficit to GDP ratio is also
reflected in the higher cost of government’s long term borrowing, which is
about 7.6 per cent, ironically, in a situation when the inflation is only 2.5
per cent.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
NETHERLANDS: SEVERAL HURT IN TRAM SHOOTING, 'TERRORIST MOTIVE'
POSSIBLE
Dutch police said several
people had been shot in a tram in the central city of Utrecht on Monday and
that there may have been a terrorist motive Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he
was deeply concerned and that crisis talks were to be held in response to the
incident. Dutch radio said security had been increased at the seat of the
government in The Hague. Several shots were fired in a tram and several people
were injured. Helicopters are at the scene and no arrests have been made, said
police spokesman Joost Lanshage.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
TRUMP SAYS HE ASKED GM CEO TO SELL OHIO PLANT OR ‘DO
SOMETHING’
General Motors Co. keep
open a plant in Lordstown, Ohio, that it’s idling, Donald Trump said he asked
Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra to sell leader the plant and tried to shift
blame to the Democratic of the local union. I am not happy that it is closed
when everything else in our Country is BOOMING, Donald Trump said in a tweet
Sunday after he said he had just spoken to Barra about the plant. I asked her
to sell it or do something quickly. The automaker did attempt to clarify its position
that keeping open any of the plants that are slated to close are subject to
labor negotiations with the UAW for a new contract this year. The current deal
expires in September. To be clear, under the terms of the UAW-GM National
Agreement, the ultimate future of the unallocated plants will be resolved
between GM and the UAW, GM said in a statement. We remain open to talking with
all affected stakeholders, but our main focus remains on our employees and
offering them jobs in our plants where we have growth opportunities. The
carmaker said it has placed more than 1,000 employees from so-called
unallocated plants to other GM factories, adding that it has opportunities
available for virtually all impacted employees. Trump’s attack on Green was a
change in focus from Saturday, when the president tweeted that because the
economy is so good, General Motors must get their Lordstown, Ohio, plant open,
maybe in a different form or with a new owner, FAST! To Trump’s point, that’s
still a relatively strong car market, with sales hitting a record in 2016 at
17.6 million. For GM, its main problem was that even in a strong market, the
company doesn’t need all the factories it has been running. Sales of the
Chevrolet Cruze compact built in Lordstown fell 23 percent to just under
143,000 vehicles, according to GM’s reported sales. The president cited Toyota
Motor Corp.’s plans to add to its US investments, announced Thursday, bringing
the amount to almost $13 billion over five years ending in 2021.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
TRAGEDIES DOG THE YEDUGURI SANDINTI FAMILY
In three decades, tragedy
has struck virtually with precision, every 10th year in the powerful Yeduguri
Sandinti (YS) family of Kadapa district, Rayalseema in Andhra Pradesh. In 1998,
the patriarch of the YS family, YS Raja Reddy (73) was killed in a bomb attack
by a rival faction, just before the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. N
Chandrababu Naidu was Chief Minister and the Telugu Desam Party was in power.
After a decade, on September 2, 2009, his son YS Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR), the
then CM of united Andhra Pradesh died as the Bell 430 helicopter in which he
was flying vanished mysteriously over the Nallamalla forests of Kurnool. Its
wreckage was found a day later and all the five occupants including YSR were
dead and their bodies charred out of recognition. Exactly 10 years later on
March 15, 2019, YS Vivekanand Reddy, younger brother of YSR, was found dead in
his own house in Pulivendula, Kadapa district. First reports suggested it was a
case of cardiac arrest. But, after post mortem, police concluded that it was a
homicide. As mystery surrounds the reasons for the murder of 68-year-old Reddy,
two time MP, twice MLA and Minister in the Cabinet of Kiran Kumar Reddy during
2011-14, a bitter political war has broken out between the YSR Congress and the
ruling Telugu Desam. Raja Reddy initially struggled as a contractor and his
break came after getting into Barytes mining. His eldest of five sons, an
engineer joined him, while YSR was pursuing medicine in Karnataka. The family
grew in wealth, political influence in the district with YSR joining his father
in both the spheres in late 1970s. Not only did they start prospering through
mining, taking over AP Carbides and executing contracts but expanded their
political clout. The murder of Raja Reddy in 1988 (he was killed in a bomb
attack while returning home in Pulivendula) was a major setback for the YS
family. With Naidu’s TDP winning the elections in the same year made matters
worse. However, fate cut short his rise in 2009, after winning a closely fought
battle against the Mahakutami of TDP and TRS and Telangana sentiment, he died
in a helicopter accident. At this point, his brother YS Vivekanand Reddy
entered politics by becoming an MP from Kadapa. Initially, YSR kept his son YS
Jaganmohan Reddy in check in politics and the latter got into business.
However, in 2009, Jaganmohan managed to break into politics with a handsome
victory in Kadapa. The sudden death of YSR catapulted him into full fledged
politics within months.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
NAVY REDEPLOYS COMBAT UNITS IN NORTH ARABIAN SEA AMID
INDIA-PAK TENSIONS
India had deployed major
combat units of the Indian Navy including aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya to
send a clear message to Pakistan that New Delhi was ready to thwart any
possible surprise attack in the wake of spiraling tensions after 14 February
Pulwama attack, a government statement said Sunday. The signalling by the
Indian Navy ensured the Pakistan Navy to remain deployed close to the Makran
coast and not venture beyond its territorial waters, the statement said.
According to a press statement by the Indian Navy on Sunday, TROPEX had started
on 7 January with some 60 assets of the Indian Navy, 12 from the coast guard
and 60 aircraft and was supposed to end on 10 March. The ships, submarines and
aircraft swiftly transited from exercise to operational deployment mode as
tensions between India and Pakistan escalated. A clear and resolute message
regarding the operational posture of the Indian Navy to prevent, deter and
defeat any misadventure by Pakistan in the maritime domain was also issued,
during a tri-service press conference on 28 February, the statement said. The
availability of such a large number of combat ready assets in the theatre of
operations for TROPEX 19 allowed the Indian Navy to expeditiously respond to
the developing situation in synergy with the three services, the statement
said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
WILL REMAIN SENSITIVE TOWARDS INDIA'S SECURITY, STRATEGIC
CONCERNS: MALDIVES
The Maldives on Monday
reaffirmed its India-First Policy, saying it looks forward to working closely
with India on all issues and will remain sensitive towards its security and
strategic concerns as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj held talks with
the country's top leadership. The Maldivian leaders also expressed commitment
to support India's efforts to combat terrorism, particularly cross-border
terrorism, and crimes such as piracy, organised crime, narcotic drugs and human
trafficking. The External Affairs Minister and Solih took stock of the progress
made in bilateral relations since his visit to India in December 2018. Swaraj
and her Maldivian counterpart Shahid during their meeting on Sunday discussed
the entire gamut of bilateral relations and also noted the number of high level
exchanges, between the two countries over the past three months.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
HUGE FIREPOWER BOOST FOR INDIAN ARMY
In a major boost to the
Indian Army, the trial of the Man-Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM)
was successfully conducted by the Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO) recently. DRDO stated that the trial was concluded in a positive manner.
The missiles managed to hit targets with precision and all the desired mission
objectives were met successfully, DRDO said. Man-portable anti-tank guided
missile has been developed for Indian Army’s infantry troops. The MP-ATGM
missile would provide a boost to the Indian Army in decimating and tackling
tank regiments of the enemy. The MPATGM is indigenously developed, with lesser
weight – fire and forget weapon. The missiles are equipped with advanced
features such as state-of-the-art Imaging Infrared Radar (IIR) Seeker with
integrated avionics. The first test was conducted on March 13, 2019 and the
second on March 14, 2019. In both the missions, the designated targets were hit
by the missiles at different ranges. All the mission objectives have been met,
said DRDO. The missiles have a varied range but these could hit targets within
a maximum distance of two-three kilometres. The missiles with all the ranges
have been tested. The trial of these missiles is absolutely crucial given the
fact that Indian Army required over 50,000 anti-tank missiles. The Defence
Ministry had recently given its nod for purchasing 5,000 2T ATGMs for the
Indian Army, according to an report.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
HIRANANDANI FAMILY FEUD ENDS AFTER 10 YEARS, DAUGHTER GETS RS
360 CRORE
A bitter chapter in the
ties between real estate tycoon Niranjan Hiranandani and his London-based
daughter, Priya Vandrevala, ended on Monday, with a court removing hurdles for
Priya to transfer out of India a huge payout that she was awarded in a business
dispute. Darshan, had signed a business deal with Priya in 2006 to develop
realty projects. Priya later alleged that the two violated the terms by
pursuing projects outside their understanding with her. In 2016, the London
Court of International Arbitration ruled in her favour and directed the father
and son to cough up over Rs 510 crore - i.e. Rs 360 crore for Priya and Rs 149
crore towards taxes resulting from Priya's stay in London. The father and son
opposed the tax part of the decision in the Bombay High Court, preventing Priya
from taking the awarded funds out of India. The feud ended when both sides
urged the high court to pass an order without specifying the reasons for its
decision. Justice SC Gupte asked Niranjan Hiranandani and Darshan to furnish a
bank guarantee of Rs 149 crore towards the anticipated tax liability related to
Priya's payout. The two had deposited Rs 360 crore with the high court in
November 2017 itself, after a judge made it a condition for hearing the matter.
In Monday's order, Justice Gupte said the process of handing Priya her money
should be completed within 180 days. He asked Priya to cooperate with the
Hiranandanis for tax proceedings, if any. In case of a tax refund, the money
will go to Priya. Niranjan Hiranandani and Darshan had signed a Business
Associate Agreement, or BAA, with Priya in May 2006 to jointly develop
properties in the country. About three years later, Priya accused the two of
breaching the deal in at least 19 projects, and approached the London Court of
International Arbitration. In 2013, this forum ruled that the BAA had been
violated in five projects and in 2016, it asked the two men to compensate
Priya. Out of the over Rs 500 crore ordered by the forum, Niranjan Hiranandani
and Darshan objected to the tax mechanism involving Rs 150 crore and filed an
appeal in the Bombay High Court the same year. The court, however, asked them
to deposit the payout portion first.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
LIKE IT OR NOT, YOU CAN'T AVOID OUR PRODUCTS: CHINESE MEDIA TO
INDIA
India's manufacturing
industry is still underdeveloped and it cannot produce the products by itself.
Hence its attempts to boycott Chinese products for so many years have failed so
far, Global Times has opined. Some Indian analysts have been appealing for a
boycott of Made-in-China products. Especially after India's latest bid to list
Masood Azhar as a global terrorist in the UN was suspended by China, the
hashtag #BoycottChineseProducts became popular on Twitter. But why has the
boycott failed for so many years? This is because India cannot produce the
products by itself a blog published in Global Times yesterday read. Like it or
not, they still have to use Chinese-made products because India still lacks the
ability to produce on a large scale, it added. New Delhi should understand
this: Diverting Indian people's attention to China will only make its internal
problems more serious, said Global Times.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
CHINA SAYS PLAYED 'CONSTRUCTIVE ROLE' IN REDUCING PAKISTAN,
INDIA TENSION
China played a
constructive role in reducing tension between Pakistan and India, the foreign
ministry said, after the nuclear-armed rivals almost came to blows last month
following an attack on an Indian paramilitary convoy in disputed Kashmir. The
sparring threatened to spiral out of control and only interventions by U.S.
officials, including National Security Adviser John Bolton, headed off a bigger
conflict, five sources familiar with the events have told Reuters. At one
stage, India threatened to fire at least six missiles at Pakistan, and
Islamabad said it would respond with its own missile strikes three times over,
said Western diplomats and government sources in New Delhi, Islamabad and
Washington. A Pakistani minister said China and the United Arab Emirates also
intervened to lessen tension between the south Asian neighbours. In a faxed
statement to Reuters late on Monday, responding to a question on China's role
in reining in the crisis, its foreign ministry said peaceful coexistence
between Pakistan and India was in everyone's interest. As a friendly neighbour
of both India and Pakistan, China pro-actively promoted peace talks and played
a constructive role in easing the tense situation, it said. Some other
countries also made positive efforts in this regard, the ministry added.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
PAKISTAN GOVERNMENT BELIEVES USD 11 BILLION STASHED ABROAD BY
PAKISTANIS: REPORT
Pakistani nationals having
more than 152,500 offshore bank accounts could have stashed away a hefty sum of
USD 11 billion abroad, a mind-boggling amount half of which is undeclared, a
top minister was quoted as saying in a media report Tuesday. Minister of State
for Revenue Hammad Azhar told businessmen at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (LCCI) that the number of offshore accounts was mind-boggling. So is
the amount involved and the names of account holders, Azhar was quoted as
saying by the Dawn newspaper. All of these offshore account holders are
resident Pakistanis and more than half of the hard currency stashed away by
them is undeclared, he said. The minister said many of these offshore account
holders did not have legitimate, documented business. That should be enough to
underscore the scale of tax evasion (in the country). We wouldn't have to beg
if we could bring this money back home, he said. Azhar said the offshore
account holders were under the watch of
the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). The information about the offshore bank
accounts of Pakistani nationals was shared with the government by the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Azhar said the
government had deployed technology using database of the National Database and
Registration Authority, Federal Investigation Agency, State Bank of Pakistan
and the FBR to profile potential taxpayers in Pakistan. Almost half the work is
already done and by the end of April the profiling of such tax evaders will be
completed, he said. Around 400 account holders are believed to have cash of USD
1 million or above in their accounts and the FBR has so far been able to
recover USD 1.2 million from one individual as tax since the OECD shared the
information with the country's top tax agency.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _
INDUSTRY NOT SATISFIED WITH KERALA'S SPECIAL LOAN PACKAGE FOR
CASHEW UNITS
The Kerala government has
announced a special package to restructure loans and take over the interest
payment for fixed period for the Cashew processing units in the state. The
industry, which is largely small-scale, has been facing massive shutdowns due
to heavy losses and debt and pressure from the banks. Around 111 units will get
additional loans through the package The Kerala Cashew Industry Joint Protest
Council has alleged that the banks are still going ahead with attachment of
properties and auction, despite the State government’s consistent efforts. Over
700 of the 865-odd factories in the State were shut down and around 250,000 of
the total 300,000 workers went jobless as higher wages and increasing NPAs
affected the operations of these units, which were producing almost 85 per cent
of the country's cashew kernels ten years back. The State government had said
that around 111 units will be benefited by the package initially, but only
around 30 units are availing it. Most of them are stressed, but are still
running, so it does not address the actual issue we are facing, said Rajesh K. The
overall bank debt of cashew units in the state would be between Rs 500-800
crore. The industry wants the lenders to grant them additional loans on the
security it has already provided to them. At present banks offer only 40-50 per
cent of the value of the security as loan. The units are demanding at least 90
per cent of the value for additional working capital to restart operations.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
CBI MAKING ALL EFFORTS TO GET NIRAV MODI EXTRADITED FROM UK
All expeditious efforts
are being made to get jeweller Nirav Modi extradited from the UK, CBI sources
said Tuesday. They said the central probe agency is monitoring the developments
taking place in London and all legal assistance is being extended to take the
extradition request forward in that country. The legal procedure of extradition
of an accused takes its own time and Indian investigators, both from the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), are
tracking the case, the sources said. ED officials had Monday said that a London
court has issued an arrest warrant against jewellery designer Modi, the main
accused in the USD 2 billion PNB scam case, in response to the probe agency's
request for his extradition in a money laundering case. The financial
investigation agency was recently informed about the issuance of the warrant by
the Westminster Magistrate Court and Modi is expected to be put under formal
arrest by the local police soon. The CBI and the ED are investigating Modi, his
uncle Mehul Choksi and others for alleged money laundering and corruption to
perpetrate the alleged scam in the Brady House branch of the PNB in Mumbai that
was unearthed last year.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
TERROR FINANCING CASE: ED ATTACH PROPERTIES BELONGING TO
HIZB-UL-MUJAHIDEEN
The Enforcement
Directorate (ED) has attached 13 properties of Mohammad Shafi Shah and six
other terrorists of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen worth ₹1.22 crores under
Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). The properties are located in
Jammu and Kashmir. This move is part of an ongoing investigation against Mohd
Syed Salahuddin (Commander of Hizb-ul-Mujhahideen) and others. The ED initiated
investigation under PMLA based on charge sheet filed by NIA against Mohammad
Shafi Shah who goes by multiple aliases and six others. Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, the
most active terror outfit in Kashmir, has been responsible for funding
terrorist and secessionist activities in Jammu and Kashmir. During the
investigation, it was revealed that the terror funds are sent to India
illegally through Hawala channel, barter trade and human carriers. The funds
are illegally distributed to the next of kin of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, terrorists
active and dead, through Hawala, human carriers and banking channels.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ADB TO INVEST USD 50 MN IN SOLAR PROJECT DEVELOPER AVAADA
Asian Development Bank
(ADB) Tuesday said it has inked an agreement to invest USD 50 million in solar
energy project developer Avaada Energy Pvt Ltd to help the company scale up
rapidly. The investment will come equally from ADB's Ordinary Capital Resources
and Leading Asia's Private Infrastructure Fund (LEAP). LEAP is a funding
arrangement provided by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) which is
administered by ADB. The agreement was signed Tuesday by Chair of AEPL Vineet
Mittal and ADB Principal Investment Specialist Mayank Choudhary, ADB said in a
release. Supporting renewable energy capacity enhancement by way of debt and
equity is a key focus area of ADB's private sector strategy, said Choudhary. He
said the investment in Avaada will enable the company to expand its renewable
energy capacity and send positive signals to global investors to continue
supporting the growth of renewable energy in India. The project will contribute
to the strategy of the government to increase the share of renewable energy
generation capacity from about 20 per cent in 2018 to 40 per cent by 2030. It
will also help to reduce India's emission intensity of its gross domestic
product by 33-35 per cent by 2030.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
KARTARPUR CORRIDOR: INDO-PAK TECHNICAL TEAMS MEET TO SORT OUT
DETAILS
A technical meet of Indian
and Pakistani officials took place at the proposed zero points of Kartarpur
corridor on Tuesday and it was decided that experts will be doing the survey of
the site and discuss the alignment of the corridor. Along with that, both sides
decided to meet in the future to discuss the coordinates and engineering
aspects of the proposed crossing points. Zero point is the point at which the
Indian side of the corridor and the Pakistani side of the corridor will be
meeting. India had shared the coordinates with Pakistan earlier this year but
the Pakistani side gave alternate points. The outcome of Tuesday's site visit
would be further discussed at the meeting on 2nd April when the 2nd round of
talks between Indian and Pakistani officials will take place in Wagah, Pakistan.
The 1st round was done on 14th March on the Indian side of the Attari-Wagah
border.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
INDIA NOT FIRST TIER COUNTRY FOR POST-BREXIT FTA, SAYS UK
MINISTER
India is not the first
tier country for post-Brexit free trade agreement (FTA) and a lot more work
would be required before Britain can start negotiating such a deal with New
Delhi, the UK government admitted on Tuesday. In his submission to the ongoing
Global Britain and India' inquiry being conducted on post-Brexit India-UK ties
by the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC), UK Foreign Office
Minister Mark Field flagged some high-value trade disputes involving British
companies in India as a warning sign on the road ahead. It isn't that India
isn't important, it's just that India isn't in that first tier, said Field, as
he addressed questions from cross-party MPs on the influential parliamentary
committee. It is fair to say not all British companies have found it entirely
easy to operate in India. There have been a number of high-value trade disputes
that have required international arbitration. And, that has been a slight sense
of a warning sign, he said, when asked to elaborate on the stumbling blocks to
an FTA. Field, who is in charge of Asia in the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth
Office (FCO), said that difficulties remain despite the positive step of
India's 53-rank rise in the Ease of Doing Business rankings. There is in no a
de-prioritisation of the Indian issue, there are other FTAs which will probably
be easier and smoother to manage, not least because they have reached the end
of an EU FTA, or other countries like Australia and New Zealand, which are very
much on the front foot to doing FTAs quickly, he noted. In reference to the
importance attached by India to the issue of visas and immigration in relation
to any post-Brexit trade agreement, the minister claimed that the UK had a good
story to tell on visas with some of the largest number of skilled professionals
coming from India. I think there is a better news story than sometimes meets
the eye. There is often a bit of a lag between the perception and reality of
what is going on. But if it [visas] is being ranked overwhelmingly at No. 1 [as
a trade hurdle] by our counterparts, then we do have to take it seriously, he
said. The UK is due to leave the EU on March 29. Nearly three years after
Britain voted to leave the EU, its departure is uncertain. The UK government
can ask the EU to delay Brexit but all 27 EU leaders would need to give their
permission. Prime Minister Theresa May's plan to bring her Brexit deal back to
parliament for a third meaningful vote was thrown into chaos on Monday, when
the House of Commons Speaker, John Bercow, said parliamentary convention meant
it would be unacceptable for another vote to be held on an unchanged deal.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
TO TAX OR NOT? GOVT MAKES LAST DITCH ATTEMPT TO SAVE INDIA-US
TRADE PACKAGE
Less than a month before
the country goes to polls, the government is pushing forward on the proposed
India-US trade package to clear pending bilateral issues and leave behind the
bad blood caused by America cancelling India's Generalized System of
Preferences (GSP) benefits. Keen to salvage its engagement with Washington DC
that has gone southbound ever since the Trump administration came in, India has
called for a final set of meetings with US trade officials, soon. The Prime
Ministers office has directed that there be constant communication and a joint
solution should be reached with the US, a senior government official said. The
package has been in the works for the past one year and trade officials have
met as many as five times to hammer out a deal that provides an amicable
solution to grouses from both sides. The package has been under negotiation for
the last 8 months and includes mutual trade concessions across IT goods,
aviation and oil purchases. Talks came apart after the US last month cut off
India’s duty-free access to the American market under its largest preferential
trade scheme, the GSP. Now, the US has hinted that India needs to hold off on
its plans to raise tariffs on key imports from the country. Senior Commerce
Department officials are divided over whether to delay the announced tariffs.
India has already deferred the imposition of higher duties on 29 key imports
from the US, for an unprecedented six times. Originally set to go live from
June 28, 2018, the tariffs have been repeatedly postponed by the government and
are now expected to take hold from April 1 as opposed to March 2. Despite them
being notified by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, the tariffs
have been postponed repeatedly. In response to an unilateral increase in steel
and aluminium duties from India and other countries by the Trump
administration, New Delhi had announced higher tax by up to 50 per cent on
import of mostly agri goods like apples, almonds, walnuts and some industrial
products. The new taxes are proposed to rake in an estimated $240 million worth
of additional taxes. Spread across sectors from which imports stood at $1.5
billion in 2017-18, New Delhi claimed the amount was equal to the estimated
loss faced by India after the Trump Administration imposed a 25 percent extra
levy on steel and 10 percent on aluminium products from many countries, including
India in May, 2018.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
INDIA HINTS WON'T ATTEND APRIL'S BELT AND ROAD FORUM
India cannot be a part of
China's Belt and Road Initiative as it ignores its core concerns on sovereignty
and territorial integrity, Indian envoy to Beijing has said. Beijing is set to
hold the second Belt and Road forum in April and the tone of Vikram Misri,
India's envoy to China, in an interview to state media suggests that New Delhi
will skip the event for the second time, marking its protest. China's Belt and
Road aims to connect Europe, Asia, and Africa through a wide network of roads,
highways, sea lanes and ports. Its jewel project, China-Pakistan Economic
Corridor (CPEC), cuts through Jammu and Kashmir. New Delhi did not attend the launch
of the Belt and Road forum in 2017, saying CPEC violates its territorial
sovereignty. India shares the global aspiration to strengthen connectivity and
it is an integral part of our economic and diplomatic initiatives, Misri said. We
are ourselves working with many countries and international institutions in our
region and beyond on a range of connectivity initiatives. However, it is also
our belief that connectivity initiatives must be based on universally
recognised international norms, good governance and rule of law. India has been
working with the Chinese side for export of a greater number of Indian goods
and services to China. There has been some progress in this regard and market
access has been granted to some Indian agricultural products, even though we
still need to translate this market access into actual exports so as to expand
India's export basket to China and bring down the deficit. In addition, we also
need to address the barriers for greater access to Indian pharmaceuticals and
IT products and services in the Chinese market, Misri added.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
INDIA’S FUEL DEMAND RISES 3.8% IN FEB
India’s fuel demand rose
3.8 per cent in February as free cooking gas connections spurred LPG
consumption while petrol and diesel use continued to rise. Fuel consumption in
February totalled 17.41 million tonnes as compared to 16.77 million tonnes in
the same month last year, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell
(PPAC) of the Oil Ministry showed. Consumption rose for the third month in a
row as ensuing general elections are likely to spike demand further. With
retail prices moderating, petrol consumption soared 8 per cent to 2.25 million
tonnes while the government push to give every household a cooking gas connection
led to LPG demand spiking by 14.2 per cent to 2.2 million tonnes. Diesel, the
most consumed fuel in the country, saw consumption rise by 2.7 per cent to 6.7
million tonnes. During February, aviation turbine fuel (ATF) sales were up 10.5
per cent to 6,80,000 tonnes. With the government pushing for use of cleaner
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as cooking fuel by giving free connections to
poor women, kerosene usage dropped 12 per cent to 272,000 tonnes in February
when compared to the year-ago period. Naphtha sales were up by a steep 25.2 per
cent at 1.28 million tonnes as power demand soared, while consumption of
petroleum coke dropped 15.3 per cent to 1.58 million tonnes.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
INDIAN NAVY - FIRST RESPONDER TO CYCLONE 'IDAI' IN MOZAMBIQUE
19 MAR 19
The ships of First
Training Squadron of Indian Navy (Sujata, Sarathi and Shardul) operating in the
Southern Indian Ocean were diverted to Port Beira, Mozambique based on request
received from the Government of Mozambique to provide Humanitarian Assistance
and Disaster Relief (HADR) to the local population post the devastation caused
by cyclone 'IDAI' which struck the coast of Mozambique on 15 Mar 19. INS Sujata
along with ICGS Sarathi arrived at Port Beira morning of 18 Mar 19 whilst INS
Shardul arrived on 19 Mar 19 and are providing necessary support to the local
administration. Upon arrival at the port, the IN ships shifted from anchorage
and berthed alongside taking advantage of the tide and commenced liaison work
with local authorities immediately. Cyclone 'IDAI' made landfall at Beira,
Mozambique in early hours of 15 Mar 19 causing widespread damage and loss of
human life in the Central and Northern provinces of the country. Preliminary
inputs indicate that city of Beira faced the maximum devastation with large
scale damage to infrastructure. There are also reports of about 5000 personnel
marooned at Buzi near Port Beira requiring immediate evacuation. The safe
evacuation of the affected personnel by IN ships is being coordinated in consultation
with local authorities. The disembarkation of HADR stores including food,
medicines and clothing to the Mozambique Defence authorities has been
completed. Arrangements are in progress to disembark potable water. The Hon'ble
Defence Minister of Mozambique visited IN ships to oversee the relief efforts.
The Senior Officer of First Training Squadron, Capt Varun Singh, NM embarked
onboard IN Ship Sujata has indicated to the Mozambique Navy that no effort
would be spared by the IN ships in providing HADR/ SAR effort. The helicopter
from IN Ship Shardul is operating from the local airport for reccee and SAR.
The boats, Landing Craft Assault and Gemini rubberised craft with divers would
be used to render assistance for evacuation of marooned personnel.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
SUGAR EXPORTING COUNTRIES EAGER TO JOIN WTO TALKS AGAINST
INDIA’S SUGAR SUBSIDIES
Dispute action against
India’s sugar subsidies initiated by Australia and Brazil at the World Trade
Organization (WTO) has evoked huge interest amongst sugar exporting members
including Guatemala, Costa Rica, the EU and Thailand who have requested that
they be allowed to participate in the official consultations India’s subsidies
to its sugar producers, both for production and exports, have been targeted by
Australia and Brazil in two separate requests for consultations filed at the
WTO where they have contended that the sops were disrupting world production
and prices of the commodity. In case the consultations fail, the two can opt
for a dispute settlement panel to decide on the validity of the subsidies.
Thailand has a substantial trade interest in these consultations. In 2018,
Thailand was the world's second largest exporter of sugar with export value of
$2.59 billion, according to the country’s submission to the dispute settlement
body. The EU, in its submission to the WTO, pointed out that after the end of
the sugar quotas, it had become a net exporter of sugar in the 2017-18
marketing year with exports increasing by 70 per cent to more than 3 million
tonnes per year. With exports to India of sugar increasing more than ten times
in a single year in the 2017-18 marketing year compared to the average of the
two preceding marketing years, the EU has the potential to become a major
supplier to India, its representation said. In discussions on the matter held
in the agriculture committee prior to the initiation of disputes by Australia
and Brazil, India had defended its position by saying that most of its
subsidies to sugar producers was in the form of production subsidies that was
permissible under the WTO. The subsidies to exporters given for exports was for
transportation and marketing purposes which, too, was permitted by the WTO, it
had further explained. India has almost doubled the Fair and Remunerative Price
for sugarcane from ₹1391.2 per tonne in 2010-11 to ₹2,750 per tonne in
2018-19. The total amount that the mills are mandated to export has increased
from 2 million tonnes in 2017-18 to 5 million tonnes in 2018-19, leading to
substantial pricing pressures on world market prices, as per Brazil’s
submission to the Dispute Settlement Body.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
FED MAY STAY ‘PATIENT’ AND PROJECT FEWER RATE HIKES
The Federal Reserve is
expected to end its latest policy meeting Wednesday by refining its new
overarching message that it plans to be patient about any further interest rate
hikes. The Fed is all but sure to keep its key short-term rate in a range of
2.25 percent to 2.5 percent, still low by historical standards. And most analysts
think the policymakers will scale back their projection of rate hikes this year
from two to one or perhaps even none. The central bank’s new theme of patience
and flexibility reflects its calming response since the start of the year to
slow economic growth at home and abroad, a nervous stock market and
persistently mild inflation. The Fed executed an abrupt pivot when it met in
January by signaling that it no longer expected to raise rates anytime soon.
The shift toward a more hands-off Fed and away from a policy of steadily
tightening credit has pleased investors and encouraged the view that the
central bank is done raising rates for now and might even act this year to
support rather than restrain the economy. Besides issuing a new policy
statement Wednesday, the Fed will provide an updated economic outlook and
Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a news conference. Powell is expected to note
that while the U.S. economy is on firm footing, it faces risks from slowing
growth and trade conflicts. Against that backdrop, the thinking goes, it would
be unwise to keep raising rates. There is also anticipation that the Fed will
specify when this year it expects to stop shrinking its huge portfolio of
bonds, part of its balance sheet. Doing so would help keep a lid on loan rates.
All of which suggests that the Fed may recognize that it went too far after it
met in December. At that meeting, the Fed approved a fourth rate hike for 2018
and projected two additional rate increases in 2019. Powell also said he
thought the balance sheet reduction would be on automatic pilot. That message
spooked investors, who worried about the prospect of steadily higher borrowing
rates for consumers and businesses and perhaps a further economic slowdown. The
stock market had begun falling in early October and then accelerated after the
Fed’s December meeting. Economists expect the Fed’s updated forecasts to
downgrade its estimate of growth in light of a slowdown in manufacturing and
retail, sluggish housing and construction activity and global pressures,
including an ongoing trade war.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
DISNEY CLOSES $71 BN DEAL FOR FOX ENTERTAINMENT ASSETS
Disney has closed its USD
71 billion acquisition of Fox's entertainment business, putting Cinderella, The
Simpsons, Star Wars and Dr. Strange under one corporate roof. The deal is
likely to shake up the media landscape. Among other things, it paves the way
for Disney to launch its streaming service, Disney Plus, due out later this
year. It will also likely lead to layoffs in the thousands thanks to
duplication in Fox and Disney film-production staff. By buying the studios
behind The Simpsons and X-Men, Disney aims to better compete with technology
companies such as Amazon and Netflix for viewers' attention - and dollars.
Disney needs compelling TV shows and movies to persuade viewers to sign up and
pay for yet another streaming service. It already has classic Disney cartoons,
Star Wars, Pixar, the Muppets and some of the Marvel characters. With Fox,
Disney could add Marvel's X-Men and Deadpool, along with programs shown on such
Fox channels as FX Networks and National Geographic. Fox's productions also
include The Americans, This Is Us and Modern Family. The deal helps Disney
further control TV shows and movies from start to finish - from creating the
programs to distributing them though television channels, movie theaters,
streaming services and other ways people watch entertainment.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
CYCLONE THAT HIT SOUTH EASTERN AFRICA AFFECTED 2.6 MILLION
PEOPLE: UN
Cyclone winds and floods
that swept across southeastern Africa affected more than 2.6 million people and
could rank as one of the worst weather-related disasters recorded in the
southern hemisphere, UN officials said on Tuesday. Rescue crews are still
struggling to reach victims five days after Cyclone Idai raced in at speeds of
up to 170 kmph from the Indian Ocean into Mozambique, then its inland
neighbours Zimbabwe and Malawi. Aid groups said many survivors were trapped,
surrounded by wrecked roads, flattened buildings and submerged villages, while
the Red Cross said at least 400,000 people had been made homeless in central
Mozambique alone. This is the worst humanitarian crisis in Mozambique’s
history, said Jamie LeSueur, who is leading rescue efforts in Beira for the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The official
death count in Mozambique stands at 84 - but its President Filipe Nyusi said on
Monday he had flown over some of the worst-hit zones, seen bodies floating in
rivers and now estimated more than 1,000 people may have died. The cyclone hit
land near Beira on Thursday and moved inland, leaving heavy rains in its trail.
Studies of satellite images suggested 1.7 million people were in the path of
the cyclone in Mozambique and another 920,000 affected in Malawi.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
BILL GATES JOINS JEFF BEZOS AS THE ONLY TWO MEMBERS OF THE
$100 BILLION CLUB
Bloomberg tracks the
fortunes of some 2,800 billionaires. Of those, 145 are worth at least $10
billion making them decabillionaires. Now, the world contains two
centibillionaires simultaneously. Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates, once
the world’s richest person, has again eclipsed the $100 billion threshold,
joining Amazon.com Inc.’s Jeff Bezos in the exclusive club, according to the
Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Gates’s fortune, now $100 billion on the nose,
hasn’t reached such heights since the dot-com boom, when Bezos was only
beginning his march up the world’s wealth rankings. The Amazon founder is now
worth $145.6 billion, having added $20.7 billion this year alone, while Gates
has gained $9.5 billion. These two fortunes underscore a widening wealth gap in
the U.S., where those with the most capital are accumulating riches the
fastest. It’s also a worldwide trend. France’s Bernard Arnault has an $86.2
billion fortune, equal to about 3 percent of his country’s economy. The net
worth of Spain’s Amancio Ortega represents 5 percent of that nation’s gross
domestic product. And then there’s Bidzina Ivanishvili, whose worth about a
third of Georgia’s GDP. The Gates and Bezos mega-fortunes may not last long.
Gates has donated more than $35 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation and said he intends to give away at least half of his wealth. Bezos,
meanwhile, may be about to cede some of his fortune for a different reason: he
and his wife Mackenzie are divorcing.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
INDIA HAS SOME OF THE WORLD’S CHEAPEST CITIES TO LIVE IN: EIU
Some of India’s biggest
cities are among the cheapest in the world to live in, according to findings of
the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
Cities of Bengaluru —India’s technology capital, the southern city of Chennai,
and the country’s capital city New Delhi ranked among the world’s ten cheapest
cities in a ranking released by the Economist Intelligence Unit in its
bi-annual survey on March 19. EIU ranked 133 cities in 93 countries surveying
50,000 individuals. These three cities joined the ranks of Venezuela’s Caracas,
Buenos Aires in Argentina, Lagos in Nigeria, and Pakistani city of Karachi
among others that remain highly affordable when compared to other cities
globally. Mumbai too ranked at 122, making it among the cheapest in the list of
133 cities surveyed by the EIU. Bangalore is Asia’s cheapest city, being more
than twice cheaper than the three most expensive cities, according to the
rankings. Within Asia, the best value for money has traditionally been offered
by South Asian cities, particularly those in India and Pakistan. In fact, all
South Asian cities feature among the cheapest 30 in the world, and continue to
offer the best value for money in the region, the EIU said in its release. In
India, a wide disparity in incomes has created various layers of affordability.
India is tipped for rapid economic expansion but, in per head terms, wage and
spending growth will remain low. Income inequality means that low wages are the
norm, limiting household spending and creating many tiers of pricing as well as
strong competition from a range of retail sources, EIU said in a release dated
March 19. This, combined with a cheap and plentiful supply of goods into cities
from rural producers with short supply chains as well as government subsidies
on some products, has kept prices down, especially by Western standards, it
added. Amongst the most expensive cities in the world, Singapore and Hong Kong
topped the rankings, along with Paris, followed by Zurich and Geneva. Singapore
has continued to hold on to the ranking for five years now.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
INDIA AT RISK: AS US EMERGES MAJOR EXPORT PARTNER, POLICY
SHOCKS MAY HIT GROWTH
India’s exports to the US
have grown, and so have policy risks. The US has of late emerged as India’s
major export partner, with its share in India’s exports far surpassing that of
China and UAE, exposing India to growth risk from any policy disruptions, a
report said. The total share of indian exports to USA stands at 16 per cent
followed by UAE and China for which it stands at 9.2 per cent and 5.1 per cent
respectively, said a CARE Ratings report on the foreign trade profile of India
during first 11 months of FY19. US President Donald Trump recently announced
his intention for withdrawal of Generalised Special Preferences (GSP) status
benefit on exports from India due to lack of reciprocity, putting at risk the
duty-free import of thousands of goods from India into the US. Commerce
Secretary Anup Wadhawan said that the move will not impact the Indian exports
significantly. However, the data showing increasing exports to US from India
since 2014 reflects that any policy affecting the trade between the two nations
will have an impact on growth, said CARE report. Moreover, the total trade
deficit, which fell since the year 2014, has begun to rise again. India’s total
trade deficit fell from $126 billion in FY15 (11 months) to less than $100
billion in FY17; but then it grew sharply to $148.6 billion in FY18 and further
to $165.6 billion in FY19 (11 months), noted CARE Ratings. The trade deficit
for the current entire year is likely to be the highest since 2012-13 when it
surged to $190 billion, said the report. This will have a significant bearing
on the country’s current account deficit and in turn balance of payments which
will then get reflected in the fundamentals that affect the exchange rate, the
report added. Although there has been an increase in exports too, along with
increase in imports, the overall trade deficit deficit shows an upward
tendency. The government had been engaged in discussions to arrive at a
solution on the issues raised by the US, including those on sectors such as
medical devices, dairy products and the IT sector, India had said earlier.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
AUSTRALIA TO CUT ANNUAL PERMANENT MIGRANT INTAKE FROM 190,000
TO 160,000
The Australian government
will slash the nation's permanent migrant intake from 190,000 to 160,000 in the
lead-up to May's general election, authorities said on Tuesday. Fairfax Media
and News Corp Australia said the government will place an official cap on the
figure at that level, reports Xinhua news agency. The announcement will be made
as part of the Federal Budget, which will be released by Prime Minister Scott
Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on April 2, and comes months after
Morrison first signalled the move in November 2018. The budget is widely
considered the government's major opportunity to make up ground on the
opposition Australian Labor Party. Australia allowed 162,417 permanent migrants
in financial year 2017-18. The government will also announce measures to
encourage new migrants to Australia to work in regional areas to ease the
burden of rapid population growth on Sydney and Melbourne. As many as 87 per
cent of the 112,000 skilled migrants who arrived in Australia in 2017-18
settled in either Sydney or Melbourne.
#For Source of Information copy and paste the heading in google.
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful post. Keep posting valuable content. Nowadays GST registration is made easier. To know how, visit here: GST Registration
ReplyDelete