Sohini Das And Shrimi Choudhary

Stories by Sohini Das And Shrimi Choudhary

SIIto test Novavax's Omicron-specific vaccine

SIIto test Novavax's Omicron-specific vaccine

Rediff.com   6 Jun 2022

The Drugs Controller General of India has approved the manufacture of this Sars-CoV-2 spike protein recombinant nano-particle vaccine for 'examination, test, and analysis', reports Sohini Das.

Clarity likely on taxing NFT as virtual digital asset

Clarity likely on taxing NFT as virtual digital asset

Rediff.com   6 Jun 2022

Ahead of the first due date of advance tax payment on June 15, the government is likely to release guidelines on what will be covered within the ambit of virtual digital assets (VDA). To remove any ambiguity in the recently established tax framework for asset holders, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is currently preparing guidelines, said government officials in the know. The apex direct tax body will define non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and whether or not they fall within the purview of VDA.

Taking on Google, FB, Apple: CCI seeks more teeth to tackle Big Tech

Taking on Google, FB, Apple: CCI seeks more teeth to tackle Big Tech

Rediff.com   31 May 2022

Ashok Kumar Gupta, chairman of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), has never minced words while talking about the giant technology companies, referring to them on multiple occasions as "centres for entrenched and unchecked dominance". The anti-trust regulator has, in fact, been cracking down on big technology companies such as Google, Apple, Facebook, and others, after they were hauled up by regulators and lawmakers in Europe and Australia. However, in several instances, existing regulations have prevented the CCI from going all out against these companies for anti-competitive activities.

States seek legal views on SC ruling before GST Council meet

States seek legal views on SC ruling before GST Council meet

Rediff.com   31 May 2022

Some states are taking a legal view on the state GST rate and the compensation rules ahead of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting, which is likely to be held in mid-June, said people in the know. While the agenda is still being finalised, several states are likely to take up the matter related to GST compensation and may pitch for its continuation beyond the June 30 deadline. States would like to know how they would divide the compensation collected after June 2022 for payment of principal and interest of compensation shortfall borrowing and arrears to states, sources said.

16 'suspected entities' searched in Axis MF front-running case

16 'suspected entities' searched in Axis MF front-running case

Rediff.com   28 May 2022

According to sources, the two fund managers allegedly made illicit gains worth Rs 150 crore to Rs 200 crore through front-running.

Smaller towns witness strong growth in sales of medicines

Smaller towns witness strong growth in sales of medicines

Rediff.com   27 May 2022

Medicine sales grew at a fast clip in smaller cities like Madurai, Meerut, Agra, and Varanasi in the last 12 months. The domestic pharmaceutical market, overall, has grown 12.3 per cent in this period, according to data from IQVIA MAT for April. MAT refers to the moving annual turnover or the turnover of the last 12 months. The data further showed that the top 30 cities contributed around 32 per cent to sales.

20-30% new products may be open to USFDA inspection

20-30% new products may be open to USFDA inspection

Rediff.com   23 May 2022

With all major US export-oriented drug manufacturing plants in the country up for inspection in 2022, some estimates peg that at least 20-30 per cent of the new product launches lined up for the US will be subject to on-site inspection by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). The last two years saw limited physical inspections due to travel restrictions during the pandemic. "Pre-Covid, the frequency and number of inspections of manufacturing plants in India by USFDA had increased significantly," analysts from ICICI Securities Research noted. "With growing ANDA filings, especially for complex products. "We expect this trend to return with the environment normalising," analysts from ICICI Securities Research noted.

Sebi scanner on more front-running ops by fund managers

Sebi scanner on more front-running ops by fund managers

Rediff.com   17 May 2022

Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is examining allegations of front-running and other irregularities against a host of domestic fund managers across the asset management industry, said people in the know. Developments at Axis Mutual Fund have prompted the regulator to speed up probe to ensure that there is no drop in confidence in the Rs 39-trillion mutual fund (MF) industry. "We have received complaints against a few fund managers and are looking into possible violations, including those related to code of conduct," said a regulatory source, refusing to divulge names of fund houses as things are at a preliminary stage.

Why Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal have lower Covid mortality rates than India

Why Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal have lower Covid mortality rates than India

Rediff.com   16 May 2022

An analysis of WHO data shows that most of the countries with an older cohort of population and higher in the development index had a lower excess mortality rate than India.

Covid cases are being detected by accident

Covid cases are being detected by accident

Rediff.com   30 Apr 2022

'A patient visits for any other treatment, but a routine Covid test finds him to be positive.' 'Not only are they, but their whole family is also coming out to be positive.'

Indian pharma cos get a shot in the arm in $12-bn Australian drug market

Indian pharma cos get a shot in the arm in $12-bn Australian drug market

Rediff.com   29 Apr 2022

Indian drug firms get a shot in the arm in the $12 bn Australian drug market as the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Australia agrees to accelerate the drug approval process in that country for Indian players who already have an approved plant and product from one of the stringent regulatory authorities like US, EU or Canada. From current sales of $340 mn, the Indian firms can see a significant upside in sales; felt Dinesh Dua, former chairman of the Pharmaceutical Exports Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil), and the MD of Nectar Lifesciences. He highlighted that only 12 percent of the Australian drug market is generic, as against 80-90 per cent in the US or EU. Of this $1.5 bn generic drug market in India, Indian companies have a small share.

New tax regime: Big unexplained expenditure may lead to I-T review

New tax regime: Big unexplained expenditure may lead to I-T review

Rediff.com   25 Apr 2022

Tax consultants and chartered accountants have started receiving a flurry of calls from their clients - both corporate and individuals - seeking clarity over changes in the reassessment regime made during the recently concluded Budget Session of Parliament. Tax experts apprehend the amendments may lead to the income-tax (I-T) department sending out more notices. The new provisions, effective from April 1, have extended the scope for tax sleuths to reopen the past assessments.

Filing of tax returns made compulsory for TDS/TCS over Rs 25,000

Filing of tax returns made compulsory for TDS/TCS over Rs 25,000

Rediff.com   23 Apr 2022

The new amendment, which came into force on April 21, has been introduced to detect discrepancies between the expenses and incomes of people who do not have to file tax returns.

Infosys urged to work on ways to access taxpayers' data accurately

Infosys urged to work on ways to access taxpayers' data accurately

Rediff.com   19 Apr 2022

The finance ministry (FinMin) has asked Infosys to work on ways to extract and access taxpayers' real-time data faster and accurately as it is crucial for taking decisions on policy changes. While reviewing progress of the income tax portal 2.0, which had faced glitches, the officials also told the Infosys team to increase the scope of pre-filled data in the ITR forms. Senior officials in the ministry held a review meeting last month with the Infosys team and officials of the Central Processing Centre (CPC).

Income in US on I-T radar in FY23, non-disclosure to invite action

Income in US on I-T radar in FY23, non-disclosure to invite action

Rediff.com   11 Apr 2022

Indians having undisclosed income in the United States (US) may face proceedings under Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, this financial year. Also, those named in global leaks may be searched, show-caused, and prosecuted, according to the FY23 internal action plan of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). The CBDT has rolled out an aggressive target and timeline to investigate tax evasion matters, especially those involving undisclosed foreign assets.

Commission revises long form for M&As, changes effective from May 1

Commission revises long form for M&As, changes effective from May 1

Rediff.com   5 Apr 2022

Companies planning merger and acquisition (M&A) will have to disclose the extent of "complementary linkages" among them and their impact on the market. This comes under the revised reporting requirements of the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The changes will take effect on May 1. Entities may also have to provide market-facing data of the past five years with respect to their market size, the market share of the parties, and also that of the competitors, along with customers and suppliers.

Why WHO suspended supply of Covaxin through UN agencies

Why WHO suspended supply of Covaxin through UN agencies

Rediff.com   4 Apr 2022

Sources close to the development said the company had no further supply commitments to the WHO, and therefore, there was no suspension of any upcoming orders, reports Sohini Das.

Serum, Bharat Biotech halt Covid vaccine production as demand slips

Serum, Bharat Biotech halt Covid vaccine production as demand slips

Rediff.com   4 Apr 2022

Sources indicated that there were no fresh orders from the Government of India, and their supply commitments have ended as of March 31, reports Sohini Das.

Hospital chain plans to put expectant parents on cloud nine

Hospital chain plans to put expectant parents on cloud nine

Rediff.com   1 Apr 2022

No expecting mother ever needs to travel for more than 30 minutes to reach one of their hospitals, believes the Cloudnine group.

Govt may seek crypto log on transactions from banks, exchanges

Govt may seek crypto log on transactions from banks, exchanges

Rediff.com   31 Mar 2022

The tax authorities may tell banks and crypto exchanges to report transactions of virtual digital assets (VDAs) as the government begins taxing gains from cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens from April 1. So far, the tax department has relied on voluntary disclosures on transactions of VDAs. Once implemented, the sale and purchase of digital assets will reflect in the Annual Information Statement (AIS). The AIS contains details of at least 46 of the financial transactions done by a taxpayer in a financial year.