The proposed India-Iran Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, which the two countries included in their joint New Delhi declaration in 2003, has run into a hurdle.
Defence officials contend that the services do not use spectrum for 'commercial purposes' and therefore do not need to pay for it.
The Planning Commission is considering a hike in public sector investment in the farm sector to 4 per cent of agricultural gross domestic product towards the end of the 11th Plan (2007-12).
The government is considering a proposal to examine foreign direct investment applications on a sector-wise, rather than country-wise, basis to assess their threat to national security.
Move could delay FDI liberalisation in the sector.
Contrary to the income tax department's hopes, many taxpayers continue to attach annexures (documents like tax deducted at source certificates etc) with the so-called annexure-less tax return forms introduced from this year.
The railway ministry has decided to sell a 20 per cent stake in RITES Ltd, an undertaking of the ministry which, among other activities, operates railway networks in some African countries, in an initial public offer.
Insurance companies will have more infrastructure firms in their equity investment portfolio soon.
This year's projected increase in per capita (in dollar terms) is nearly double the average 13 per cent growth between 2003-04 and 2006-07.
Tops the group in mobile voice usage volumes.
The whole order had included both 2G, the currently used technology, and third generation lines (used for high-speed mobile Internet access).
New Communications Minister A Raja is likely to opt for a global auction of third generation technology licences, a move that will allow virtually any global operator to bid for offering this service in India.
New winds are blowing in the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology offices at Sanchar Bhavan.
The deadline for compliance expired in December, 2005. Though new accounts are KYC-compliant, getting the old ones up to date is expected to take two or three years.
The Reserve Bank of India has opposed Finance Minister P Chidambaram's budget proposal to use part of the foreign exchange reserves of over $200 billion to provide "credit wrap," or credit guarantee insurance, for financing infrastructure projects.
In a major bonanza, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd is planning to offer its 36 million customers an accident insurance scheme free of cost.
Finance ministry officials are of the view that current restrictions that prohibit FDI in multi-brand retail cannot be extended to franchise agreements between an Indian company and an overseas partner.
FIPB rejected the proposal on the grounds that it did not comply with the 26 per cent cap on foreign direct investment in insurance ventures, government sources said.
A ministerial group is mulling a proposal to increase the troubled Dabhol power plant's capacity to 5,000 Mw from the present 2,184 Mw to ensure its long-term viability.
Social sectors like health and education will get a leg up in the Eleventh Plan (2007-12), even as some other sectors may see a reduction in fund allocation.