The government is expected to end the benefits under Section 10A and 10B of the Income Tax Act.
Small and medium information technology companies operating out of the Software Technology Park of India (STPI) and who have not relocated their business operations to the special economic zones (SEZs) could stand to lose a substantial part of their tax holidays after the forthcoming Budget.
This Budget, the finance ministry may consider a proposal for a seed fund that would provide financial support to states willing to sell items other than foodgrain, sugar and kerosene through the public distribution system (PDS). The move, experts believe, will help reigning in food inflation that remains in double digits, despite moderation.
To fund infrastructure projects in the public-private-partnership model, the forthcoming Budget could lay down some broad contours on the setting up of debt funds, which will provide investment for the core sector.
As a bonanza to southern states, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is expected to allocate funds worth Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion) for Chennai and Bangalore Metro rail systems in the forthcoming Budget.
Officials said the proposal and funding could be included in the coming budget and preliminary discussions have been held with finance ministry officials.
Main difference has been on including people above the poverty line in the Food Security Bill.
The Union Budget for 2011-12 is likely to be a low-key affair for social sector spending, as the government is unlikely to come up with any big-ticket announcement for the sector in the next financial year.
The government's bill for funding the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) has risen steeply, due to its decision to revise wage rates under these projects and to link these to the inflation rate.
A labour ministry note sent to the rural development ministry (MoRD) says the minimum wage notified in each state - often higher than the NREGA set one - has to be paid. But MoRD has written to the PMO that the NREGA enactment has clauses that exempt it from all other laws, including the Minimum Wages Act. Hence, MoRD is not legally obliged to pay at any other rate.
The killing on Saturday of Joginder Chaudhury, the assistant general manager of Allied Nippon, the auto parts maker, allegedly stoned to death by angry workers, was the culmination of a battle of nerves for the past two months in which, the workers say, they could take no more.
This is her second intervention, seeking that work done under NREGA be treated as scheduled employment under the Minimum Wages Act.
States may set it higher, not lower; planned link to cost of living.
The Minimum Wages Act will be amended to enact a new centrally set minimum, in the wake of the National Advisory Council's suggestion on asymmetries in this regard between states on payments for work done on schemes under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
When the Majdoor Kisan Sangharsh Samiti -- formed by NREGA workers under the guidance of NAC member Aruna Roy -- approached the registration office, they were told that NREGA workers don't qualify as 'workmen' as defined in the Industrial Disputes Act and the Trade Union Act of 1962, because they are not engaged in a trade or industry.
The Centre, last year, had also decided to freeze the minimum wage paid under NREGA at Rs 100. Subsequently, the wages paid in many states under NREGA are lower than the minimum wages in the state.
Jaipur Rugs Foundation and IRMA launch Artisans Forum for transforming craftsmen into entrepreneurs.
The Centre's plan for a unique biometric-enabled number to every Indian resident is facing opposition from social activists who say it will impact civil liberties - state-citizen relations and privacy.
Talks to sort out the 10-day workers' agitation at the Gurgaon apparel factory of Viva Global, a supplier to British retail outlet Marks & Spencer, got postponed.
Viva Global has about 400 workers, of which about 100 have been dismissed and another 200 are on an indefinite agitation outside the factory in Gurgaon, says the workers union.
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