Author Archives: Naresh Kumar

France 24’s Event Encore In India to Focus on Empowering Women

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As part of its special programming for International Women’s Day on the 8th of March, France 24’s culture team heads to India to explore the world’s largest democracy and see how women, and women’s rights, are making their mark on the country’s vibrant arts scene. Olivia Salazar-Winspear presents two special editions of the daily culture showEncore!

Wednesday 8th March

Paromhita Vohra and Ram Devineni present the comic-book project that is looking to change mentalities when it comes to women’s place in society. “Priya’s Shakti” and “Priya’s Mirror” take real-life stories as their inspiration.

The culture teams also catches up with filmmaker Leena Yadav, whose film “Parched” explores gender politics in the patriarchal setting of an isolated village, and discuss the challenges of pushing a feminist message in mainstream cinema.

Thursday 9th March

For the second part of this special edition, Encore! goes to Mumbai to meet with stand-up comedian Radhika Vaz. She highlights the cultural shift that’s redressing the gender balance slowly but surely in India, and how being “Unladylike” is a form of political resistance.

Encore! also meets with the “Why Loiter” group, who stage cultural interventions in public spaces which can feel hostile for women. One of “Why Loiter’s” members, Priyanka, demonstrates how a simple “Antakshari” -or singing game- in the Mumbai metro brings men and women together in a friendly sing-off.

Indian Minister to Participate in Nairobi Conference on Devolution

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The Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Mr. Arjun Ram Meghwal will represent the India in the 4th Annual Devolution Conference to be held from 6th to 9th March, 2017 at Nakuru County of Kenya.

He is expected to share the experience of devolution system and its progress in India and specifically highlight the 73rd-74th Constitutional Amendments and provisions their under for strengthening the local governance in India.

During his visit to Kenya, Mr. Meghwal will address the Devolution Conference and will brief the Conference on the revenue sharing between the Centre and the States as well as showcase the smooth devolution on the recommendations of 14th Finance Commission from the earlier 32% share in 13thFinance Commission to 42% of Union’s net tax receipts, to the States, said a statement.

To share the successful experience of the Urban and Rural Local Bodies, Mr. Meghwal will inaugurate the Conference with the objective of sharing of good experience of devolution system and through the platform of Devolution Conference and how it can be used to increase Good Governance and Public Accountability for the Social and Economic Development internationally.

About 10,000 delegates are expected to participate from different regions including African Nations and China in the conference, including Members of Parliament, Leaders of Opposition from several States, professionals, representatives of various civil societies, religious and social organizations from Kenya among others.

ADB Gives $375 Mln Loan for Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor

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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed in New Delhi $375 million in loans and grants to develop 800-kilometer Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor, which is the First Phase of a planned 2,500–kilometer long East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC).

The Corridor is expected to spur development on India’s eastern coast in line with the Government of India’s Make in India policy to stimulate manufacturing, and Act East policy to integrate the Indian economy with Asia’s dynamic global production networks.

ADB approved $631 million in loans and grants in September 2016 to develop the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor and approved loans comprise a $500 million multi-tranche facility to build key infrastructure in the four main centers along the corridor – Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Amaravati, and Yerpedu-Srikalahasti in the State of Andhra Pradesh.

The First Tranche of $245 million was signed on Tuesday, February 28, 2017 that will finance sub-projects to develop high-quality internal infrastructure in 2 of the 4 nodes of the corridor–Visakhapatnam and Yerpedu-Srikalahasti.

Another component of the approved ADB funds signed on 23.02.2017 was a $125 million policy-based loan that will be used for capacity development of institutions engaged in corridor management, provide support to enhance ease of doing business and for supporting industrial and sector policies to stimulate industrial development.

“ADB is supporting an industrial corridor development approach that involves creation of efficient transport, and reliable water and power supplies in the industrial clusters along with a skilled workforce, to be backed by industry-friendly policies that improve ease of doing business for integration of local economy with global production networks,” said L. B. Sondjaja, Deputy Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission.

“We estimate that by 2025, annual industrial output along the corridor will increase fourfold to $64 billion from about $16 billion in 2015 if investment opportunities are maximized over the next few years,” he added.

The project is an important milestone in the process of developing the corridor and realizing the objectives of Make in India. We sincerely hope that the project will complement the ongoing efforts of the Government of Andhra Pradesh to enhance industrial growth and create high-quality jobs,” said Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary (Multilateral Institutions), in the Ministry of Finance, who signed the loan agreement for Government of India.

The project agreement was also signed by Hema Munivenkatappa, Special Secretary to Government (Finance) on behalf of the Government of Andhra Pradesh.

Along with the ADB loans, agreement was also signed for a $5 million grant from the multi-donor Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund that is managed by ADB to build climate change resilient infrastructure. The Government of India will provide extra funding of $215 million to the $846 million project.

Among the outputs envisaged under the $245 million tranche 1 loan include strengthening and widening of a 29.6-kilometer section of state highway to four lanes to improve connectivity from Kakinada Port to National Highway 16, investments in smart water management in Visakhapatnam to reduce nonrevenue water and provide continuous water supply, upgrading 7 power substations to supply high-quality and reliable power supply to Visakhapatnam, Naidupeta, and Yerpedu-Srikalahasti industrial clusters, and effluent treatment facility in Atchutapuram and Naidupeta clusters.

The tranche 1 loan will have a 25-year term, including a grace period of 5 years, a 20-year straight line repayment method at an annual interest rate determined in accordance with ADB’s LIBOR-based lending facility.

World Bank Provides $63 Mln for Tejaswini Program for Girls in Jharkhand

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A Financing Agreement for IDA credit of US$ 63 million for the “Tejaswini” Socio-Economic Empowerment of Adolescent Girls and Young Women Project” was signed in New Delhi last week with the World Bank.

The Financing Agreement was signed by Mr. Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance on behalf of the Government of India and Mr. Junaid Kamal Ahmad, Country Director, World Bank (India) on behalf of the World Bank.

A Project Agreement was also signed by Mr. Mukhmeet Singh Bhatia, Principal Secretary, Department of Women, Child Development, Government of Jharkhand and Mr. Junaid Kamal Ahmad, Country Director, World Bank.

The project seeks to empower the adolescent girls with basic life skills and thereafter provide further opportunities to acquire market driven skill training or completion of secondary education, depending on the inclination of the beneficiary.

The project will be delivered in 17 Districts of Jharkhand. The project has three main components, (i) Expanding social, educational and economic opportunities (ii) Intensive service delivery (iii) State capacity-building and implementation support. About 680,000 adolescent girls and young women in the project Districts are expected to benefit from the program. The closing date for the project is 30th June, 2021.

64 Indian Food Exporters to Participate in Gulf Food 2017 in Dubai

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With 64 Indian exporters of Agriculture and Processed Food products are participating under APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) will particiapte in the Gulf Food 2017 in Dubai to be held from 26th February to 2nd March, 2017.

APEDA pavilion will be inaugurated by Ms. Rita Teaotia, Commerce Secretary. APEDA is an apex organization under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry created for Promotion and Development of agricultural and food exports.

APEDA’s exports include fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, pickles, chutneys, guar gum, poultry, meat and dairy products, confectionery, cut flowers, food grains, aromatic plants, Basmati Rice and Indian Long Grain Rice and other Indian delicacies. India exports agricultural products to more than 80 countries world over, amounting to US$16,195.61 million in 2015-16.

UAE is a potential market for Indian food products such as Basmati Rice, Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, Non-Basmati Rice, Buffalo Meat, alcoholic Beverages, Sheep and Goat Meat, Processed Fruits and Juices, Cereal Preparation, Misc Processed items, Dairy Products, Milled Products, Wheat, Cocoa Products, Pulses, Other Cereals, Groundnut, Processed Vegetables, Floriculture, Guargum, etc. The export of APEDA scheduled products to UAE market for the year 2015-16 was US $ 1,371 Million.

3 EU Delegations on Whirwind Tour of India

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A delegation of the Committee for Internal Market and Consumer Protection, European Union led by Ms. Vicky Ford met the Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, in New Delhi on February 23, 2017.

The European Parliament Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection is on a visit to Mumbai and New Delhi from 21-23 February 2017 to meet ministries, parliamentarians, standardisations authorities and consumer organisations. The Delegation comprises of Ms. Vicky Ford (IMCO Chair), Mr. Andreas Schwab, Ms. Evelyne Gebhardt, Ms. Olga Sehnalova, Ms. Marlene Mizzi and Mr. Ivan Stefanec.

The Delegation intends to push for a revived EU-India strategic partnership and also cover regulatory issues in areas such as services, standardisation, customs and consumer protection.

MEPs are keen on knowing the Indian customs priorities, including the management of port controls and relevant customs IT systems. They will visit start-up incubators and Info-tech park which offer key opportunities for unlocking the potential of the digital market and of services.

The delegation will try to assess how India ensures safe products, combats counterfeiting, safeguards consumer rights, keeps consumers informed about products/services, cracks down on anti-competitive behaviour and reduces administrative burdens, while sharing experiences about the standardisation process in India and EU.

Two other EU delegations are also visiting India to strengthen the EU-India Strategic Partnership. The AFET Committee under the leadership of its new chair, MEP David McAllister, would be meeting various leaders and representatives of the Indian Government, industry, as well as think tanks.

The AFET delegation comprises of Mr. David McAllister (Chair), Mr. Cristian Dan Preda, Ms.. Željana Zovko, Ms. Neena Gill, Mr. Jo Leinen, Mr. Amjad Bashir, Mr. Urmas Paet.

The AFET delegation will focus on EU-India relations, including an enhanced foreign policy dialogue on issues of global and regional importance and of mutual interest or concern, such as peace, security, and multilateral cooperation.

The third, European Parliament’s Delegation comprising Mr Geoffrey Van Orden, (Chair), Ms. Neena Gill (1st Vice-Chair), Ms Cora Van Nieuwenhuizen (2nd Vice-Chair), Mr Alojz Peterle, Mr Jakob Von Weiszacker, and Mr Flavio Zanonato will be visiting Delhi and Bangalore from 20th – 23rd February, 2017.

In Bangalore the group will meet Karnataka Minister for Industry and representatives of leading Indian and European businesses. Software and aeronautics.

Telecom Exports from India to be the focus of ASEAN-India Digital Partnership

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To commemorate the 25th year of the ASEAN India relations, India’s Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council is holding an inter-ministerial meeting between telecom ministers of ASEAN countries and India in New Delhi today, on 20th February, 2017 to explore the posibility of strategic and commercial tie ups.

Telecom Minister of State Manoj Sinha led the discussions from Indian side with telecom ministers, senior government officials and industry leaders from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos PDR, Indonesia and Bhutan.

India expressed its keen interest to partner with ASEAN countries in enabling Digital Connectivity between India and ASEAN region and also for enabling broadband within ASEAN countries.

“These digital connectivity projects are of strategic importance and can have a transformative impact on the economy and cooperation between ASEAN and India. India has committed to provide financial as well as technological support for projects that could include-high-speed fiber optic networks, digital villages, rural broadband, national knowledge network, secured communication networks and telecom training and skill development,” said a statement by the ministry.

TEPC is organizing its flagship event “India Telecom 2017: An Exclusive International Business Expo” on 21-22 February 2017 at New Delhi at Shangri-La’s Hotel Eros in New Delhi, with an estimated 100 foreign high profile ICT industry delegates from 30 countries.

 

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.