Commerce Minister Kamal Nath is pushing for a major policy change, one that would result in foreign travellers to India being refunded the value-added tax they pay on purchases made here.
Budget 2007 is expected to introduce major changes in non-resident taxation, partly aimed at making it easier for foreign companies to do business in India and encouraging greater investment inflows.
The Re 1 cut in diesel prices could lead Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav to announce a reduction in passenger fares in the forthcoming Railway Budget.
Free rides on toll roads for the country's VIPs might soon be over. The government is coming up with a new toll policy which might prune the long exemption list of VIPs who do not have to pay toll on national highways.
Rlys plan 50 garib raths, 450 AC trains; SPVs planned for wagon manufacture for freight corridors.
The finance ministry is likely to raise the exemption limit for service tax from Rs 400,000 to Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million) in the forthcoming Budget.
3-tier spectrum allocation policy to curb inefficient use.
National highways in remote areas, intermediate and single roads are all set to be two laned, with the government having identified 5,000-km of such roads for upgradation.
Even as Left parties have demanded a review of the tax concessions provided to SEZs, the DoT has sought extension of excise duty exemptions to industrial units set up in telecom-specific SEZs.
A railway ministry official told Business Standard that the major part of this would go into expanding ticketing facilities, with the aim of taking it to the passenger's doorstep.
The power ministry has submitted a draft Cabinet note proposing to modify the 1995 mega power policy to allow a more flexible system of private participation in distribution through a franchisee model.
The Department of Telecom has asked the Group of Ministers on telecom spectrum to direct the Ministry of Defence to immediately release 20 Mhz spectrum in the 1,800 Mhz band for mobile phone operators.
The move is line with the railway ministry's efforts to compete with low-cost airlines.
Reliance Communications has sought government approval for sponsoring a secondary Global Depository Receipts offering of up to $1.2 billion, representing 6.53 per cent of the total paid-up equity shares of the company.
The Telecom Commission is considering imposing fines of Rs 400 crore (Rs 4 billion) on seven telecom service providers for delay in commissioning of services. A note for this purpose was put up for consideration last month.
The government is mulling a policy for developing hydro-power capacity, under which projects, possibly of 2,000-3,000 Mw each, would be drawn up and offered to private and public sector developers.
The Ruias are contemplating approaching the Ministry of Company Affairs for its views on the Right of First Refusal (RoFR) clause in their shareholders' agreement with Hutchison Telecom International Ltd (HTIL).
At present, the service tax rate stands at 12 per cent. Added to this is a 2 per cent education cess, bringing the incidence to 12.24 per cent.
In what could be a shot in the arm for the National Highway Development Programme, the National Highway Authority of India is all set to receive a windfall of Rs 471 crore
The next fiscal may see ticket checkers in trains armed with a hand-held device, which would provide information about the exact occupancy status of a particular train in advance to all forthcoming stations on its route.
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