Nitin Sethi And Subhayan Chakraborty

Stories by Nitin Sethi And Subhayan Chakraborty

RCEP can be particularly beneficial for India, says report

RCEP can be particularly beneficial for India, says report

Rediff.com   31 Oct 2019

The report by the High Level Advisory Group said India stands to benefit even more when the US and China are locked in a global trade war.

Sops to exporters under MEIS may be extended till March 31

Sops to exporters under MEIS may be extended till March 31

Rediff.com   22 Oct 2019

Introduced in 2015 under the Foreign Trade Policy, the mega MEIS was created out of a merger of five existing reward schemes.

E-commerce policy may miss 2019 deadline

E-commerce policy may miss 2019 deadline

Rediff.com   10 Oct 2019

The proposed policy is increasingly becoming an item of negotiation, as the US pushes hard to change India's stance.

Who is benefitting from India's Free Trade Agreements?

Who is benefitting from India's Free Trade Agreements?

Rediff.com   30 Sep 2019

Among the current FTAs with significant trade deficits for India, five are with countries from the 10-nation Asean bloc. Exports to the 10 economies stood at $ 37.4 billion in 2018-19, up by 9% year on year. On the other hand, imports were higher at $ 59.31 billion, up by 25% from the previous year's $ 47.13 billion.

Govt refuses to budge on September 30 e-com deadline

Govt refuses to budge on September 30 e-com deadline

Rediff.com   27 Sep 2019

The e-commerce companies believe the government is using this exercise to take an unauthorised look into their financials, shareholding and operations.

Indo-US trade deal caught in ICT web

Indo-US trade deal caught in ICT web

Rediff.com   26 Sep 2019

ICT products make up a minuscule $ 407 million, out of the $ 35.54 billion of total inbound shipments from the US, as of now.

Digital frauds continue to plague Mastercard

Digital frauds continue to plague Mastercard

Rediff.com   8 Sep 2019

Mastercard recently launched an authentication product called Identity Check Express that enables customers to verify transactions on their own.

Nitin Gadkari's mega plan for small biz

Nitin Gadkari's mega plan for small biz

Rediff.com   3 Sep 2019

The plan includes step-wise expansion of a crucial credit guarantee net, establishment of an unprecedented number of functional clusters and increased government procurement from MSMEs.

CAG audit of GST reveals systemic flaws, not just glitches

CAG audit of GST reveals systemic flaws, not just glitches

Rediff.com   28 Aug 2019

The CAG audit and other data suggests it could be far from the efficient new alternative that was once conceptualised. A conclusive review remains elusive till the government begins to release more granular and comparable data on the complex backend of GST to a deeper scrutiny, by researchers, auditors and the public.

Flipkart 'beaten' by govt e-commerce platform

Flipkart 'beaten' by govt e-commerce platform

Rediff.com   5 Aug 2019

Three years and Rs 28,710 crore worth of transactions later, it has more than double the number of sellers than Flipkart.

Exports fall in June, 2nd time in one year

Exports fall in June, 2nd time in one year

Rediff.com   16 Jul 2019

According to data released by the commerce and industry ministry, exports stood at $25.01 billion in the month. The fall is only the second time exports contracted in the past year.

'Climate change could push up cereal prices by 29%'

'Climate change could push up cereal prices by 29%'

Rediff.com   16 Jul 2019

A report authored by UN's panel of scientists from across the world on climate change and sent to the governments of 197 countries has ominous news on the climate change front.

PAN cards not linked to Aadhaar will be cancelled from Sep 1

PAN cards not linked to Aadhaar will be cancelled from Sep 1

Rediff.com   11 Jul 2019

To validate and continue using the existing PAN cards, citizens will have to link them to Aadhaar. Or else, they will be permitted to use Aadhaar instead for filing returns and while making other high-value transactions, specified under the Income Tax Act.

Budget 2019 - Is the Rs 6.63 trillion GST target too ambitious?

Budget 2019 - Is the Rs 6.63 trillion GST target too ambitious?

Rediff.com   8 Jul 2019

A well-established tax system would have a predictable buoyancy - how fast the collections grow as a proportion to the growth of the economy. But that is not the case with GST. It is still undergoing substantial changes as the government responds to structural as well as administrative glitches.

UAE urges India to revise air services pact

UAE urges India to revise air services pact

Rediff.com   25 Jun 2019

Emirates and Etihad Airways have over the past year continued to lobby India to allow them more flight slots, which won't be possible until the 2007 pact is revised.

How Haryana govt helped Patanjali to buy lands illegally

How Haryana govt helped Patanjali to buy lands illegally

Rediff.com   24 Jun 2019

When agricultural holdings get fragmented over years, the state government has the power to step in and help farmers pool their land parcels for improving land productivity, after which the pooled land is divided up into larger plots. Instead of the fragments they hold, a farmer gets a single contiguous patch of an equal size. But, it is done only for agricultural holdings. In Kot village, however, the consolidation has been ordered for the entire village land, including the hilly forested commons, which are already pooled. This is not the first time that the Haryana government has attempted such a consolidation of Kot common lands.

Patanjali's maze of firms that do shady land dealing in Haryana

Patanjali's maze of firms that do shady land dealing in Haryana

Rediff.com   21 Jun 2019

Restricted by state government orders, the ownership of such land could not be formally registered, so the advances made continued to be reflected in the accounts as 'advances against land'.

How Patanjali 'broke' laws to acquire land in Aravalli hills

How Patanjali 'broke' laws to acquire land in Aravalli hills

Rediff.com   19 Jun 2019

The land acquisition, the consolidation process in Kot and a slew of other decisions by the Haryana government to open the hills to privatisation and commercial activity run contrary to court orders, environmentalists' demand, and at times the Union government's measures to protect the Aravalli hills, say Nitin Sethi & Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava.

From FDI to e-com, traders now want a bigger say in policy matters

From FDI to e-com, traders now want a bigger say in policy matters

Rediff.com   17 Jun 2019

However, in recent times, the clout that trader bodies such as CAIT and other organisations like Swadeshi Jagran Manch and Laghu Udyog Bharati has is steadily increasing. Earlier this year, trader bodies were able to convince the government not to extend the deadline for implementation of the new norms in FDI policy on e-commerce.

India hits back at Uncle Sam with tariff hikes

India hits back at Uncle Sam with tariff hikes

Rediff.com   15 Jun 2019

The commerce department has said that earnings through the new tax will equal the losses faced by Indian industry after the US tariffs on steel and aluminium.