Reworks proposal submitted to Foreign Investment Promotion Board.
Chidambaram to meet ministries' financial advisors, PM's economic council.
The finance ministry is expected to announce the abolition of tax deducted at source (TDS) on corporate bonds in Budget 2008-09, official sources told Business Standard.
The International Monetary Fund says India will clock growth of 8.4 per cent in the coming year.
The Reserve Bank of India's observation that developmental expenditure in better-off states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa is declining as a percentage of gross state domestic product (GSDP), whereas such expenditure is rising in underdeveloped states like Bihar and Jharkhand, has invited criticism from analysts.
India-born steel magnate LN Mittal met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on December 8 to discuss his plans in the oil and gas sector in India. The meeting has led to reports that Mittal is interested in taking over Cairn India's assets, which includes prospective oil discovery in Rajasthan.
Compliance levels in India have improved significantly over the past few years with 85 per cent of the country's 31.9 million tax payers filing income tax returns in 2006-07. But this is still below the near-100 per cent compliance levels in developed countries.
Government funds spent on productive asset creation through programmes and schemes are termed "Plan" expenditure, while "non-Plan" is a generic term that refers to all expenditure (including establishment and maintenance activities) of the government not included in the Plan.
With an eye on channelising domestic savings into the power sector, the finance ministry is considering granting income-tax exemptions for individual investments up to Rs 50,000 in power infrastructure bonds.
A relatively slow performance by the industrial sector and a high base effect may slow down gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the second quarter (July-September) of fiscal 2007-08 to below 9 per cent, feel analysts.
The suggestion is to introduce a "capital transaction tax" based on the "circle rate" of the state in which the deal is registered.
Rising compliance, buoyant collections may prompt this move
This will be a measure to provide start-up entrepreneurs and professionals the much-needed flexibility in setting up a business in India.
If implemented, the central government's proposal to hike the age of retirement of its employees from 60 to 62 will defer by two years its pension liabilities of around Rs 14,749 crore (Rs 147.49 billion), according to the Invest India Economic Foundation (IIEF).
In a move that will benefit over 10 million central and state government employees, besides those in the defence services, the ministry of personnel is finalising a proposal to raise the retirement age of central government officials from 60 to 62 years. If approved by the Cabinet, this will be the second time in nine years that the retirement age will be raised.
The communications ministry is of the view that telecom tariffs in India can fall further to almost half their current levels - with local intra-circle calls for 25 paise and nationwide long distance calls for 50 paise - provided new operators are allowed to start services.
Experts say this is a landmark deal that tackles a long-pending issue and will boost Russian investment in India's energy, minerals and defence sectors. The debt, accumulated over several years till April 15, 2007, is parked with the Reserve Bank of India. Explaining the agreement, Indian officials said a Russian company planning to invest in India would deposit rouble funds equivalent to their proposed investment with the Russian central bank.
In order to provide greater leeway to central government departments and ministries to finalise centrally-funded projects, the Department of Expenditure under the finance ministry has increased the financial limits of projects requiring approval from various cost-approving bodies.
Bharti Airtel and United Breweries have expressed interest in acquiring, respectively, the Delhi and Bangalore or Mumbai teams in the impending Indian Premier League for Twenty20 cricket matches.
Faced with huge cost overruns due to a delay in building the rural roads under Bharat Nirman, the Planning Commission is now looking at alternative ways to fund the ambitious rural development project of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.The rural road project, christened the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), has seen tardy performance on the target of constructing 146,185 km of rural roads by 2009.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances