Author Archives: Naresh Kumar

FDI Rules Relaxed to Push SME Sector: Nirmala Sitharaman

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Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a written reply in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday said separate data regarding investment made by foreign companies in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is not maintained but remittance-wise data is available in public domain at the website of Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion at www.dipp.nic.

Foreign Investments bring international best practices and latest technologies leading to economic growth in the country and providing much needed impetus to manufacturing sector and job creation in India, said the minister.

To boost the manufacturing sector and give impetus to the ‘Make in India’ initiative, the Government of India has permitted a manufacturer to sell its product through wholesale and or retail, including through e-commerce under automatic route, she noted.

For the benefit of SME sector, provisions have been provided for FDI in retail trading sector. For retail trading of single brand products, in respect of proposals involving foreign investment beyond 51%, sourcing within India of 30% of the value of goods purchased has been mandatory, preferably from MSMEs, village and cottage industries, artisans and craftsmen, in all sectors, she said.

With a view to benefit farmers and to push the food processing industry, 100% FDI under Government route for trading, including through e-commerce, has been permitted in respect of food products manufactured and or produced in India, she informed the House.

India Ropes in Czech, Russia for Heavy Industry Tech Transfer

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Indian Government is taking various measures for bringing investment from Central Eastern Europe such as opening up Foreign Direct Investment in many sectors, carrying out FDI related reforms and liberalization and improving ease of doing business in the Country, said minister of State in the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Mr. Babul Supriyo in reply to a written question in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, February

India has engaged Czech Republic in heavy engineering and has been interacting with Russian Federation in heavy engineering since its formation for technological cooperation, said the minister. Czech Republic and Russian Federation remain major partners of India in heavy engineering industry and several major achievements have been recorded due to continued support from these countries, he said.

Both the Ministry of Industry, Czech Republic have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 24th November 2015 for technology transfer in heavy engineering that includes modernization of Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC), which was set up with Russian collaboration.

Also, an MoU has been signed between HEC and CNIITMASH, a Russian Government Company, for transfer of latest technology to HEC and setting up a training infrastructure for highly specialized metallurgy like electro slag re-melting, welding, gearbox manufacturing and non-destructive testing, informed the minister.

BHEL has signed an MoU on 15th April 2015 with the Russian Joint Stock Company INTMA to set up a Gas-based Power Project in Kazakhstan. Andrew Yule & Co. Limited has signed an MoU with Togliatti Transformator of Russia on 10th January 2014 for technical knowhow and design in the field of manufacturing of transformer, noted the minister in his reply.

India Surrendered 2 Mozambique Coal Mining Licences: Minister

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Coal India Limited (CIL) has surrendered two licenses held by its subsidiary Coal India Africana Limited in Mozambique and with this has no foreign coal assets. However, CIL is looking for coking coal assets abroad since viable domestic coking coal reserves in the country are facing constraints, both commercial and technical, said Mr. Piyush Goyal, Minister of State for Coal & Mines.

The acquisitions by CIL have become necessary in view of the recent spurt in global coal prices especially for coking coal, said the minister, in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

CIL was allotted two exploratory blocks measuring 224 sq km at Tete province in Mozambique in August 2009 and it had floated a new subsidiary called Coal India Africana Limited in Mozambique but soon discovered that out of the 224 sq km of the total license area, 170 sq km had no ‘coaly’ horizon till a depth of 500 meter and this block was immediately surrendered and later the other one, 54 sq km of area, too was surrendered as it was not feasible to do mining.

CIL in its annual report said, “Based on the results of various exploration activities in the licenses area 3450L and 3451L, the geological report has been prepared… A mineability study has been undertaken based on the findings of the geological report. The study revealed that it is technically not feasible to do mining in the license area of CIAL. Accordingly, the CIL board accorded its approval for surrender of the blocks to the Mozambique government.”

Global mining company Rio Tinto had already conducted an extensive exploration in Mozambique.

India Seeks to Revise Tax Treaties with Foreign Nations: Minister

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Indian government is planning to revise the tax treaties with partner countries to enable the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) to use the data for prosecution of those who have stashed black money abroad, said a statement.

Treaty partner countries have been requested to modify the tax treaties to explicitly include provisions that will enable information exchanged for tax purposes, including criminal proceedings in non-tax matters.

About 40 treaties for avoidance of double taxation have been revised accordingly and India has also signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, which also similarly facilitates exchange of information.

India is gearing up drive on compiling information by non-tax agencies, subject to agreement by the Competent Authorities of the Requested Contracting State.

However, not all treaty partner countries have agreed to the proposal. Since a bilateral treaty cannot be modified unless both treaty partners agree, it is not possible to provide any time frame for this purpose, said Mr. Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha.

India Holds Basmati Rice Promotion Event in Iran as Ban May be Lifted

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A 20-member Indian trade delegation led by Chairman of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) visited Iran from January 28 to 30, 2017 to promote export of Basmati rice that was banned since five months.

In view negative publicity in Iran media about Indian rice, the promotional event was held at Hotel Espinas Palace in Iranian capital Teheran. About 250 people participated in it which witnessed preparation of Iranian dishes prepared by Iranian Chefs with use of Indian rice that was served for lunch.

Participants included about 30 media personnel, importers, inspection agencies and government officials from Food and Drug Organisation (FDO), said a statement. A film of about 3.5 minutes duration was also screened depicting different aspects of Basmati cultivation, processing, issue of health certificate and assurance of Indian rice being GMO free at the event.

The delegation also met several heads of government departments including Food and Drug Organisation, Governmental Trading Corporation and Trade Promotion Organisation, besides meeting members of Iran Chamber of Commerce and Rice Importers Association to dispel the negative publicity which appeared in some parts of Iran media causing doubts about the health and safety of rice from India.

The delegation said the Government of Iran may soon issue the notification about resumption of issuance of permits for import of Indian rice. To supplement domestic production of about 2 million MT, Iran imports about 1 million MT of rice every year out of which about 7 lakh MT is exported from India.

Reports said Iran has already lifted its ban on imports of basmati rice from India owing to increase in rice prices. A formal notification is awaited.

In 2015-16, basmati rice imports from India halved to $571 million from $1.1 billion in 2014-15. In 2016-17, basmati rice exports amounted to $356 million before ban was imposed after adverse reports in media casting doubts about the safety of Indian basmati rice.

Basmati rice is exported by India, Pakistan and Uruguay.

India Ropes in Italian Firm to Avoid Rail Accidents, Maintain Railway Safety

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Indian Ministry of Railways and Italian state-owned Ferrovie Dello Stato Italiane Group, managing the Italian railway sector, have signed on Thursday an MoU for cooperation in rail safety and train operations.

The MoU covers areas of safety audit of Indian Railways and measures for enhancing safety in train operation, Assessment and certification of advanced technology based safety products and systems to Safety Integrity Level (SIL4), Training and competency development with focus of safety, modern trends in maintenance and diagnostics.

The MoU comes in the backdrop of emphasis given by India on safety in railway operations, which have seen several derailments of late and sabotage bids, killing scores of passengers. The move was taken up by the Railway Board to collaborate with the international experts to identify the best practices in this field.

Ferrovie Dello Stato Italiane Group (FS Group) is a fully owned company of the Italian Government working in the Railway Sector under Ministry of Treasure, Itlay. The Group was widely recognized globally for its most advanced expertise in fields of design and realization of High Speed and Conventional Lines, Safety Systems, Certification, Training and Operation and Maintenance.

The FS group employs 69,000 staff and operates more than 7,000 trains per day, carrying over 600 million/year of passengers and 50 million tons of freight on a railway network of more than 16,700 km.

FS Italiane Group is also operating in five continents, in more than 60 countries, with branches in Abu Dhabi, Riad, Muscat, Doha, Istanbul, Alger, and Bucharest. It has controlled several companies in countries such as France, Germany and Serbia.

The MoU was signed on behalf of the Ministry of Railways by Mr. Vinod Kumar, Executive Director/Safety(coordination), Railway Board and by Mr. Renato Mazzoncini, CEO of FS Group, Italy.

India Signs Agreement on $201 Mln Loan From World Bank for Quality Tech Education

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India has signed an Agreement for IDA credit of US$201.50 million for the “Third Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme” (TEQIP III) on February 1, 2017 in New Delhi.

The loan agreement envisages an active funding participation in Indian Engineering Education Institutes and improve the efficiency of the Engineering Education System in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, 8 North Eastern States and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

The Project seeks to improve quality and equity in engineering institutes in these states and to undertake system-level initiatives to strengthen sector governance and performance.

The World Bank loan, to be implemented till March 2022, will be disbursed based on achievement of specific outcomes and goals by these institutions, said a World Bank statement.

Mr. Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs signed the agreement on behalf of the Government of India and Mr. Junaid Kamal Ahmad, Country Director for World Bank, on behalf of the World Bank.

“The focus on strengthening engineering education and research under TEQIP III will help prospective labor market entrants acquire the skills needed to produce a world-class technical workforce,” said Junaid Ahmad, World Bank Country Director in India.

TEQIP III will intensify its efforts in the focus states with the support from the IITs, IIMs and other high-performing institutes across the country. “As with previous phases of TEQIP, the country’s top institutes will mentor TEQIP colleges and help them develop their curriculum, faculty and students”, said R. Subrahmanyam, Additional Secretary, Department of Technical Education, Ministry of Human Resources Development, the implementing agency for the project.

India Provides NRs.24.9 Lakh to Nepal for Highway Projects

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Indian embassy in Nepal has handed over a cheque for NRs.24,97,10,698.17 towards 25 percent of the cost of the four contracted road stretches in Nepal, as part of the aid to support infrastructure development in the Himalayan neighbour.

The roads — Birendrabazaar-Mahinathpur, Janakpur-Yadukuwa road, Manmat-Kalaiya-Matiarwa (0-15 km road) and Manmat-Kalaiya-Matiarwa (15-26.660 km road) — are being built under Postal Highway Project in Nepal with Indian grant assistance of NRs.8,000 million.

On Monday, January 30, 2017, Ambassador of India Mr. Ranjit Rae handed over a Cheque for an amount to Nepal Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Mr. Ramesh Lekhak at Singha Durbar in Kathmandu.

Recently, the two completed roads — Dhangadhi-Bhajaniya-Satti road and Lamki-Tikapur-Khakraula road — constructed with India’s grant assistance worth NRs 1,020 million were inaugurated on 19 January 2017 at Dhangadhi jointly by the Indian Ambassador and Nepal Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport.

Since 1950, India has been supporting infrastructure development of Nepal and has provided financial assistance for construction of various Highways, Roads, Bridges, Airports, among others as part of the India-Nepal Economic Cooperation Programme.

Earlier, Indian Ambassador Ranjit Rae inaugurated on Friday, January 27, 2017, a campus building for Chautara Multiple Campus, Chautara in Sindhupalchok district that has been constructed with financial assistance of NRs. 27 million provided by the Government of India under its Small Development Projects Scheme as part of India–Nepal Economic Cooperation Programme.

Foreign Investment Promotion Board to be Demolished Next Year

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Presenting the General Budget 2017-18 in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) will be abolished in a phased manner by the end of fiscal year 2018-19.

Since the Government has already introduced substantive reforms in FDI policy with more than 90% of the total FDI inflows through the automatic route, Jaitley said that the FIPB has already completed the implementation of e-filing process for FDI. Hence, the FIPB has reached a stage where it can be phased out, he said.

On markets, the Finance Minister proposed that high net worth NBFCs can also now participate in IPOs just like the banks and insurance companies. He said a proposal to allow NBFCs regulated by RBI with a certain net worth, to be categorised as Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) by SEBI so as to make them eligible for IPO route. The minister was actually hinting at prospective MBFC-MFIs or microfinance institutions which have a good record, work under RBI guidelines and seek to enter the IPO route to raise funds.

On banking reforms, he said a common application form for registration, opening of bank and demat accounts, and issue of PAN will be introduced for Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) and said SEBI, RBI and CBDT will put in place the required plan and procedures, to enhance operational flexibility and ease of access to Indian capital markets. As for the commodities and securities derivative markets, he said they will be further integrated with the participants, brokers, and operational frameworks.

In an effort to improve the ease of doing business, the Indian Finance Minister said the process of registration of financial market intermediaries like mutual funds, brokers, portfolio managers, etc. will be made fully online by SEBI and steps will be taken for linking of individual demat accounts with Aadhar.

To check bank NPAs and enhance capital flows into the securitisation industry, Jaitley said that the listing and trading of Security Receipts issued by a securitisation company or a reconstruction company under the SARFAESI Act will be permitted in SEBI registered stock exchanges.

To ensure the Cyber security for safeguarding the integrity and stability of the financial sector, a Computer Emergency Response Team for our Financial Sector (CERT-Fin) will be established in coordination with all Financial Sector Regulators and other stakeholders, he added.

Addressing the issue of dubious or ponzi deposit schemes, Jaitley said that a Bill will soon be tabled in Parliament to protect the poor and gullible investors from dubious deposit schemes, operated by unscrupulous entities.

He said a draft bill has been placed in the public domain and will be introduced in parliament shortly seeking to amend the Act in consultation with various stakeholders, as part of our ‘Clean India’ agenda, he added.

Indian Budget 2017 Aims at New Thrust on ‘Ease of Doing Business’

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The Indian government has announced in its Budget 2017-18 severral measures to make India a favourable destination for foreign investments by providing an environment of “Ease of Doing Business”.

The Finance Minister Mr Jaitley raised the threshold limit for audit of business entities that opt for presumptive income scheme from Rs. 1 crore to Rs. 2 crore. Similarly, the threshold for the maintenance of books for individuals and HUF is proposed to be increased from turnover of Rs. 10 lakhs to Rs. 25 lakhs or income from Rs. 1.2 lakhs to Rs. 2.5 lakhs.

The Finance Minister said that the Foreign Portfolio Investor (FPI) Category I & II will be exempt from indirect transfer provision under the IT Act. Besides, indirect transfer provision shall not apply in case of redemption of shares or interests outside India as a result of or arising out of redemption or sale of investment in India which is chargeable to tax in India, thus removing apprehensions over taxation on funds located abroad but investing in India-based companies.

Bringing relief to individual insurance agents, the Budget 2017 sought to exempt them from the TDS provision of 5% being deducted from commission payable after filing a self-declaration that their income is below taxable limit. Professionals with receipt upto Rs. 50 lakhs p.a. can pay advance tax towards presumptive taxation in one installment instead of four, under this budget proposal.

In order to allow the people to claim the refund expeditiously, the Finance Minister said that the time period for revising a tax return is being reduced to 12 months from completion of financial year, at par with the time period for filing of return.

Also the time for completion of scrutiny assessments is being compressed further from 21 months to 18 months for Assessment Year 2018-19 and further to 12 months for Assessment Year 2019-20 and thereafter, he added.

The Finance Minister proposed to restrict the scope of domestic transfer pricing only if one of the entities involved in related party transaction enjoys specified profit-linked deduction. He said this will reduce the compliance burden for domestic companies since the number of entities being covered under domestic pricing had gone up substantially resulting in longer scrutiny.

Trump Ban on Immigration Unnerves Indian IT Workers in US

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India, first among the countries playing to the gallery when congratulating US President-elect Donald Trump, is slowly biting its fingers for the knee-jerk reaction as the first week of his presidency has clearly spelled Doomsday on H1B visas, while the ban on Muslims from 7 countries, though partially, was rolled out in haste.

Though a New York federal judge issued an emergency stay on the order on Saturday, the shocking weekend Visa ban from the Trump Administration was not entirely unexpected and the music to many ears is that there are still four more drafts in his war chest to be fired off in the next weekend, affecting all IT companies, hitting hard the business returns of Indian companies in particular.

Ironic but our budget will be out on February 1, increasing the Service tax and an array of other corporate taxes choking the business environment in India further from within and outside. Trump cannot be faulted as India is equally harping on “Make in India” slogan for foreign companies, which is in the same spirit as “Buy American and America First” policy of Modi’s counterpart.

Trump’s Friday order was on illegal immigration, which Trump has put at 30 million while national research institutes like the Pew Research Center reported in March 2015 that the number of illegal immigrants could be 11.2 million as of 2012. On the issue of legal immigration, especially of Indians under the H1B visa, his next order is reportedly drafted already impacting them with a variety of limits on their legal immigration and guest-worker visas, including a “temporary ban” on granting green cards.

Wary about the weekend developments, several US tech companies have asked their employees on H1B to return to the US immeidately, but the over-reactive immigration at the airports has already created chaos augmenting the fears of Indians, who are the major beneficiaries of the H-1B visa program.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai in an internal note to employees said that more than 100 Google staff are affected by the order. “It’s painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues. We’ve always made our view on immigration issues known publicly and will continue to do so.”

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg criticised Trump’s decision to limit immigrants and refugees from Muslim nations as against the spirit of America which is essentially an immigrants’ nation.

Besides these announcements, reports said other drafts on “improved monitoring of foreign students”, “making site visits” of workplaces that employ L1 visa holders by US Department of Homeland Security officials, scrapping of visa permit to students with STEM degrees to stay in the US for as much as three years after graduating from college among others.

Indian tech lobby NASSCOM chief R Chandrashekhar said the industry is in a “wait-and-watch” mode over the rising protectionist sentiments in its largest free market.

The current ban of Syrians and travellers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, including those with dual nationality that includes one of those countries, will have to bear the brunt of ban for the next 90 days while the courts and executive will strive to wriggle out a solution.

Budget Panel Submits Report on Expenditure Management

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The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Committee headed by Mr. N.K. Singh presented its Report on Monday to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Mr. N.K. Singh, former Revenue and Expenditure Secretary and former Member of Parliament presented the Report to Mr Jaitley in his office in North Block in New Delhi.

The panel was constituted in May 2016 to review the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act under Mr. N.K. Singh and it consisted of Dr. Urjit R. Patel, Governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Mr Sumit Bose, former Finance Secretary, Dr. Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser and Dr. Rathin Roy, Director, National Institute of Public Finance & Policy (NIPFP) as members.

The Committee had wide ranging Terms of Reference (ToR) to comprehensively review the existing FRBM Act in the light of contemporary changes, past outcomes, global economic developments, best international practices and to recommend the future fiscal framework and roadmap for the country.

Subsequently, the Terms of Reference were enlarged to seek the Committee’s views on certain recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission and the Expenditure Management Commission, related to strengthening the institutional framework on fiscal matters as well as certain issues connected with new capital expenditures in the budget.

The Committee held extensive consultations with a wide range of stakeholders. It also received inputs from eminent national and international organisations and domain experts. The Committee also held interactions with various Ministries of Government of India as well as with the State Governments.

The Government will examine the Report and take appropriate action, which may form part of the budget this year or the next.

IORA Special Fund for Indian Ocean Rim Countries Set up

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Indian ministry for MSME finalised MoU on MSME Cooperation with Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) member countries that will be effective once signed by 5 countries. The MoU finalized would be signed soon at an appropriate forum, said a statement.

The focus areas of the Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) include finalising linkages and alliances amongst MSMEs organizations, associations and various institutions engaged in MSME development in their countries, exchange best practices, policies and programs for MSME development, exchange greater involvement of MSMEs in the global supply chain, increase their market access, promote youth and women’s economic empowerment and encourage synergies with the IORA forum.

IORA Secretariat at Mauritius will be the coordinating agency for the implementation of the MoU and the IORA special fund created for the member countries will be used for it.

A Workshop on MSME Cooperation amongst IORA member countries was organized by India in the Economic Business Conference – II (EBC- II) held in Dubai in April, 2016, where 29 representatives from 14 member countries — Mozambique, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Comoros, Kenya, Seychelles, Malaysia, Mauritius, Singapore, Australia, UAE and Yemen participated.

The MoU for MSME Cooperation amongst Indian Ocean Rim Association member countries will provide an appropriate platform to IORA MSMEs to explore trade and investment opportunities, enhance market access, promote access to finance, promote innovation as a key competitive advantage for MSME, build capacity in management and entrepreneurship.

MSMEs constitute more than 90% of all business enterprises in the world and provide nearly 70% of global employment. The overwhelming majority of MSMEs in the developing world are micro-enterprises with fewer than 10 employees. India has more than 48 million MSMEs, which contribute more than 45% of India’s industrial output, 40% of the country’s total exports and create 1.3 million jobs every year.

India has already signed Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with 18 countries for cooperation in MSME sector. The National Small Industries Corporation of India, Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of MSME has 34 MoUs with its counterpart organizations of foreign countries for cooperation in MSME sector.

Finance Ministry Denies Links With Tainted UK Note Printing Company

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Following reports in sections of media stating that the Union Government has compromised the national interest by collaborating with a tainted UK based Note Printing Company, a statement from the Ministry of Finance denied that the company is in any way involved in printing new currency notes.

A report in November by Sabrangindia.com alleged that the blacklisted company, De La Rue (now renamed KBA Giori) for its reported involvement in the Panama papers scam, was still supplying paper for new notes. It was blacklisted following an investigation by the CBI in 2011 for its alleged role in dealings of counterfeit currency.

Clarifying on such reports, the ministry said, the UK firm had been supplying bank note paper till 2010 and as per the decision taken in 2013, the company was permitted to supply a security feature for bank notes till December 2015.

No fresh contract has been given to this company by the Government during the last three years, it said. The Security Clearance for this company has been withheld by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India and hence no fresh orders have been placed with the said company since 2014.

However, the company has applied for setting-up a factory in India and no action has been taken on their application, it added.

Despite Demonetisation, December Foreign Tourists Growth Stands at 13.6%

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Indian tourism sector has seen 13.6% growth in Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in December 2016 over the same period in 2015 and US accounts for highest share of tourist arrivals followed by Bangladesh and UK in December 2016, said the Ministry of Tourism in a statement.

The tourism sector earned Rs.16,805 crore in Foreign Exchange in December 2016, which shows that the sector recorded growth despite the claims that demonetisation had affected the overall foreign tourist arrivals.

Ministry of Tourism compiles monthly estimates of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) on the basis of Nationality-wise, Port-wise data received from Bureau of Immigration (BOI) and Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from tourism on the basis of data available from Reserve Bank of India. The following are the important highlights regarding FTAs and FEEs from tourism during the month of December, 2016.

Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in December, 2016 were 10.37 lakh as compared to 9.13 lakh during the month of December, 2015 and 8.85 lakh in December, 2014. There has been a growth of 13.6% in December, 2016 over December, 2015.

Overall, foreign tourist arrivals for the calendar year 2016 were 88.90 lakh with a growth of 10.7% as compared to 80.27 lakh with a growth of 4.5% in January- December, 2015 over January- December, 2014.

The Percentage share of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during December, 2016 among the top 15 source countries was highest from USA (18.33%) followed by , Bangladesh (13.02%), UK (11.71%), Australia (5.43%), Russian Fed (4.18%),Canada (4.13%), Malaysia (3.38%), Germany (2.80%), China (2.53%), Sri Lanka (2.25%), Singapore (2.12%), France (2.01%), Japan (1.79%), Afghanistan (1.38%) and Nepal (1.34%).

The Percentage share of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during December 2016 among the top 15 ports was highest at Delhi Airport (27.77%) followed by Mumbai Airport (19.80%), Haridaspur Land check post (7.16%), Chennai Airport (7.13%), Goa Airport (5.64%), Bengaluru Airport (5.43%), Kolkata Airport (4.31%), Cochin Airport (4.17%), Hyderabad Airport (3.42%), Ahmadabad Airport (3.11%), Trivandrum Airport (1.81%), Gede Rail (1.59%), Trichy Airport (1.59%), Amritsar Airport (1.06%), and Gaya Airport (0.84%).

Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from Tourism during the month of December, 2016 were Rs.16,805 crore as compared to Rs. 14,152 crore in December, 2015 and Rs.12,988 crore in December, 2014. The growth rate in FEEs in rupee terms during December, 2016 over December, 2015 was 18.7% as compared to the growth of 9.0% in December, 2015 over December, 2014.

In the entire year 2016, foreign exchange earnings from tourism in rupee terms were Rs. 1,55,650 crore with a growth of 15.1% as compared to Rs. 1,35,193 crore with a growth of 9.6% during January- December, 2015 over January- December, 2014.

The figures in US$ terms during the month of December, 2016 were US$ 2.475 billion as compared to FEEs of US$ 2.126 billion during the month of December, 2015 and US$ 2.069 billion in December, 2014. and the growth rate in December, 2016 over December, 2015 was 16.4% compared to the growth of 2.8% in December, 2015 over December, 2014.

The earnings from tourism in US$ terms during January- December, 2016 were US$ 23.146 billion with a growth of 9.8% as compared to the US$ 21.071 billion with a growth 4.1% during January- December, 2015 over January- December, 2014, said the ministry in a statement.

After World Bank, IMF Too Downgrades India Growth Story Post-Demonetization

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after the traumatic brakes on India growth story due to demonetisation, India will see a GDP loss of 1% in the current fiscal year and 0.4% next year, said IMF within days after the World Bank downgraded India growth estimate.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates India’s growth rate for the current fiscal year to 6.6% from its previous estimate of 7.6% due to what it termed a “temporary negative consumption shock” from demonetization.

“In India, the growth forecast for the current (2016-17) and next fiscal year were trimmed by one percentage point and 0.4 percentage point, respectively, primarily due to the temporary negative consumption shock induced by cash shortages and payment disruptions associated with the recent currency note withdrawal and exchange initiative,” the IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO).

But China with 6.7% will be the fastest growing economy surpassing India now with 0.1 percentage point more. The revised estimate for China to 6.5%, 0.3 percentage point above the October forecast was attributed to continued policy support.

In 2018, China’s growth rate is projected to be 6% against India’s 7.7%. The global growth for 2016 is now estimated at 3.1% as per the October 2016 forecast.

Economic activity in both advanced economies and emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) will accelerate in 2017-18, with global growth projected to be 3.4% and 3.6%, respectively, said IMF keeping its October forecast in tact.

Earlier, even the World Bank decelerated India’s GDP growth for 2016-17 fiscal to 7% from its previous estimate of 7.6% citing the impact of demonetization. But it said India would regain momentum in the following years with a growth of 7.6% and 7.8% due to a reform initiatives.

Maurice Obstfeld, Economic Counsellor and IMF Research Department Director, at a news conference was upbeat on China growth story.

“Our China growth upgrade for 2017 is a key factor underpinning the coming year’s expected faster global recovery. This change reflects an expectation of continuing policy support; but a sharp or disruptive slowdown in the future remains a risk given continuing rapid credit expansion, impaired corporate debts, and persistent government support for inefficient state-owned firms,” he said.

In light of the US economy’s expected momentum coming from new President-elect Donald Trump’s policies may likely shift the next two-year projections for US growth, IMF said.

World Bank Provides $48 Million for Nagaland Health Project

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A financing agreement for IDA credit of US$48 million for the ‘Nagaland Health Project’ was signed with the World Bank in New Delhi on Monday.

The Financing Agreement was signed by Mr. Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs on behalf of Government of India and Mrs. Genevieve Connors, Acting Country Director, World Bank (India) on behalf of the World Bank.

A Project Agreement was also signed by Dr. L. Watikala, Principal Director, Directorate of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Nagaland and Ms. Genevieve Connors, Acting Country Director, World Bank.

The project envisages to improve health services and increase their utilization by communities in targeted locations in the state of Nagaland. Communities in targeted locations will benefit from project activities at the community and health facility levels while the state as a whole will benefit from improvements in higher-level of system-wide investments, said a statement.

The project will directly benefit about 600,000 people and support and complement existing systems and mechanisms involving communities under the National Health Mission. The project will be completed by 31st March, 2023.

The project has two components — community action for health and nutrition, where it is designed to empower communities to oversee, manage, and improve HNP services and their utilization. An incentive strategy will be used whereby funding will be nutrition-related services and practices.

In turn, communities will use the incentives for activities and investments that are important to them and have potential impacts on health and nutrition. The component will have a major focus on knowledge and skill building of Village Health Committees and other stakeholders at the community level, including women’s groups and Village Councils, said World Bank in a statement.

The second component is the health system development. This component will support improvements in the management and delivery of health services, including both facility-specific and system-wide investments.

In November, World Bank provided the Government of India, $470 million for the six north eastern states of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura to augment their power transmission and distribution (T&D) networks.

Oxfam Asks India to Introduce Inheritance Tax

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The top 62 billionaries of the world own 50% of world wealth while in India, the top 57 billionaires own what 70% of the population owns, said an Oxfam study that was released on Monday, showcasing rising income inequality, which portends more conflicts and rise in crime worldwide. The London-based non-profit asked India to introduce inheritance tax to end the alarming inequality.

The report titled ‘An economy for the 99 per cent’ said the total global wealth has been calculated at $255.7 trillion, of which about $6.5 trillion was held by billionaires such as Bill Gates ($75 billion), Amancio Ortega ($67 billion) and Warren Buffett ($60.8 billion) among others. In India, it said 84 billionaires own wealth of $248 billion out of the total wealth of $3.1 trillion, led by Mukesh Ambani ($9.3 billion), Dilip Shanghvi ($16.7 billion) and Azim Premji ($15 billion). The total Indian wealth in the country stood at $3.1 trillion.

“Over the next 20 years, 500 people will hand over $2.1 trillion to their heirs, a sum larger than the GDP of India, a country of 1.3 billion people,” Oxfam said, magnifying the fact that the poorest half of the world has less wealth than had been previously thought.

It was critical that the richest 10% of the population in China, Indonesia, Laos, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have seen their share of income increase by more than 15% in the last two decades, while the poor have lost 15% of their income during the same period.

A top IT firm CEO in India earns 416 times higher the salary of a typical employee in his company and in terms of dividend too, the distribution of profits is hovering around 50% in India compared to more than 70% elsewhere, Oxfam said. It advised the Indian government to end wealth inequality, end poverty and introduce inheritance tax, increase the rate of wealth tax among others.

“Indian government must eliminate tax exemptions and not further reduce corporate tax rates. Governments must support companies that benefit their workers and society rather than just their shareholders,” Oxfam said in its report.

Demonetization a Gamechanger, Says Law Minister

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Demonetization has resulted in sharp decline in terror funding, hawala trade, supari killings and human trafficking of young girls as sex slaves, mainly from Nepal and the North East, said Union Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday speaking at a seminar.

Addressing the seminar, jointly organized by the Press Club of India, Indian Women Press Corps and the Supreme Court Lawyers’ Conference, he said that a new India, much stronger will emerge, transcending the barriers of caste, creed and religion with the November 8 decision of scrapping old Rs.500 and Rs.1000 notes.

Indicating that the government would not hesitate to take steps to widen the tax base, he said that development was not possible without enlarging the tax kitty as there was “only about Rs.5 lakh crore in the kitty of Finance Minister for development” before the demonetisation move, which he said would grow rapidly now.

“Every government comes and goes. Our government is transformative government and tools of technology are actively aiding the good governance. There are 110 crore Aadhar cards and 104 crore mobile connections today. Digital governance means faster delivery and even poor and illiterate people in rural areas are showing a new confidence in embracing the digital technology which has given a new vision of hope,” the Law and IT Minister said.

The Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology and Law & Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad addressing the seminar jointly, organised by the PCI, IWPC and the Supreme Court Lawyers Conference, in New Delhi on January 12, 2017. (PIB Photo)

He also cited examples of Imran Khan, a mathematics teacher from a school in Alwar, Rajasthan whose mobile apps had benefitted 40 lakh children and a woman Satama Devi, a beedi worker from Telangana who had learnt how to use Skype to talk to her grandson in Dubai. “People like these are change agents. They believe in this new fast emerging India,” he noted.

The minister said that Aadhar enabled bank payments through smart phone would prove to be a “game changer” and a tool of empowerment. He said that out of 125 crore people only 3.7 crore pay taxes and 99 lakh file Income Tax returns but have no taxable income, two crore people show annual income of Rs. 6 lakh and only 24 lakh have an annual income of Rs. 10 lakh and above. The Law and IT Minister said that a panel, led by Justice Sri Krishna, had been set up to give a report within three months on making India a hub of arbitration.

Former Chief Justice of India M. N. Venkatachaliah who presided over the seminar on “Fundamental Duties and Economic and Judicial Reforms” stressed upon social evolution and education of young minds who can build a better India.

Indian Rupee to Touch 70 Per US$ in 2017: Reuters Poll

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After demonetisation, all calculations and projections have been turning red and even on forex front, the Indian rupee is seen dwindling further in value to about 70 per US dollar in 2017, said a poll-based survey by Reuters.

“The rupee is expected to fall further against the US dollar this year to a record low, hit by rising global bond yields and an economic blow from New Delhi’s dramatic currency crackdown launched two months ago,” said the Reuters poll.

“It is expected to fall further to 69.50 by year-end. That 12-month consensus is the weakest for several years and would mark a record low,” it said. Quoting a poll conducted three months ago, Reuters Polling team said three months back the view in a Reuters poll was for the rupee to trade at 67.73 in 2017.

In the year 2016, the rupee remained stronger with variance at below 2 percent, which was better than most of the regional peers making the India’s economy the fastest-growing in Asia. But the election of Donald Trump in the US presidential election and the effect of demonetisation by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have reversed the expections, said the report.

“We see a less rosy scenario in the capital account and current account front in the coming two years, with global bond yields and money flowing back to the US,” said Bhupesh Bameta, head of FX research at Edelweiss Financial Services in Mumbai, participating in the poll.

Since demonetization has roughed up many savings avenues, the attraction for gold may come back again, he added.