The move to extend the income tax benefits enjoyed by units covered by the Software Technology Parks of India Act and those set up in export oriented units by another year -- up to March 31, 2011 will benefit around 6,000 STPI units and 2,486 EoUs. In its budget-related wish list, the commerce ministry had recommended a three-year extension of the scheme, while the industry has been asking for five.
Currently, the entire burden is with the employers. This results in a situation where workers are not able to get their social benefits when employers are incurring losses because of unfavourable market conditions.
Renegotiated tax treaty to relax banking secrecy laws.
This comes in the backdrop of declining demand from traditional export markets like the US and Europe due to the ongoing global economic crisis. The increase in allocation to MDA and MAI would be mainly towards developing nations like Brazil and South Africa.
Government officials said the Asean FTA, as well as a similar pact with South Korea involving free trade of goods, services and investment, could be signed on the sidelines of the summit of Asean nations, scheduled in October this year. The India-South Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is also ready for signing, sources added.
As part of its fiscal tightening measures, the finance ministry has asked all government departments not to seek any increase in their allocations for 2009-10 over and above what has already been provided for in the Interim Budget presented on February 16.
Developers will now be able to get their land classified as an SEZ at the initial stage of approval by submitting legal documents that prove land ownership. With exports falling sharply in the last six months, faster development of SEZs is seen as one way of increasing overseas sales of Indian goods and services, an official said.
Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister Suresh D Tendulkar, as well as other member of the apex panel submitted their resignation on Tuesday.
This meant targets set for primary school admissions, assured income for every family and roads, water, housing and electricity. And yearly spending of over Rs 1,20,000 crore (Rs 1,200 billion), up from Rs 36,000 crore (Rs 360 billion) in the last year of the National Democratic Alliance government.
The Planning Commission's term runs concurrently with that of the government. The commission, whose inputs are vital on important policy related matters, is likely to have new faces when the new team is announced, said a top government functionary who had earlier worked in the apex planning body.
India's exports have declined for the seventh consecutive month in April.
India Inc's initiative to adopt Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across the country is facing problems because of low level of cooperation on the field as well as red-tapism, industry lobby groups have claimed.
Ficci: Rationalise tax structure; CII: Space for fiscal incentives is limited.
National Sample Survey Organisation, a division within the ministry of statistics, has been roped in to collect price data for the new series and a dry run is on the anvil in the next couple of months. The new series will have 2004-05 as the base year, as against 1993-94 in the present mode and will reflect a consumption basket that is relevant in today's scenario, thereby making inflation data more reliable. The new series will have 2004-05 as the base year.
The new foreign direct investment guidelines may be revised with respect to the banking sector to avoid an adverse fallout for Indian banks with majority foreign equity.
Even as India reacted strongly against the proposed changes in the US visa regime, trade experts said the country could do little in multilateral forums like the World Trade Organization to appeal against implementation of such measures.
The country's economy is expected to grow by around 6 per cent in the current fiscal, even in the worst-case scenario of global recession prevailing till March 2010, according to Arvind Virmani, chief economic adviser in the Ministry of Finance.
Demand for special economic zones (SEZs) appears to be reviving even as realty developers are shying away from developing these tax-free enclaves due to liquidity crunch, according to experts who are tracking SEZs.
Overall exports in 2008-09 grow at slowest pace in 7 yrs.
India has bilateral tax agreements with more than 70 nations.