News for 'Department of Commerce'

100 cities in six months: Govt's ambitious ONDC pilots on Friday

100 cities in six months: Govt's ambitious ONDC pilots on Friday

Rediff.com28 Apr 2022

This will be done across five cities - Delhi, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Bhopal, and Shillong. Thereafter, it will be scaled up and launched in 100 cities over a period of six months, said a senior government official.

NSA Ajit Doval leads A-team to US for crucial talks on emerging tech

NSA Ajit Doval leads A-team to US for crucial talks on emerging tech

Rediff.com30 Jan 2023

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval will hold crucial talks with the top US leadership, including his counterpart Jake Sullivan, on the first high-level dialogue on Initiative for Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET).

Govt reshuffles bureaucrats, Air India chairman is aviation secretary

Govt reshuffles bureaucrats, Air India chairman is aviation secretary

Rediff.com22 Sep 2021

Air India Chairman Rajiv Bansal has been appointed as the new aviation secretary as part of a major top-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre on Wednesday. K Rajaraman, additional secretary in the department of economic affairs, has been appointed as secretary, department of telecommunications, a personnel ministry order said.

Govt arms DIPP with more power

Govt arms DIPP with more power

Rediff.com31 Jan 2019

In its new avatar as the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), it will directly be responsible for 'the welfare of traders and their employees'.

Hizb chief's son, Bitta Karate's wife among 4 employees sacked by JK admin

Hizb chief's son, Bitta Karate's wife among 4 employees sacked by JK admin

Rediff.com13 Aug 2022

Syed Abdul Mueed is the third son of the Hizb chief to have been sacked from the government job.

Modi's 5-year vision: What's it all about

Modi's 5-year vision: What's it all about

Rediff.com13 Jan 2020

Spurring the economy, currently in the throes of a slowdown, remains the prime focus for most ministries, but the government is also looking to make women's welfare and environmental protection key to policymaking in this term.

Ecommerce issues being followed up, improvement every day: Secretary

Ecommerce issues being followed up, improvement every day: Secretary

Rediff.com3 Apr 2020

The government has held several meetings with e-commerce players to resolve issues arising due to the lockdown, and now witnessing improvement on them daily, a top government official said on Friday. Secretary in the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) Guruprasad Mohapatra said that with lot of follow-ups on their issues, relaxations were given to them by the home ministry.

Modi Trapped In World Of Complex Relationships

Modi Trapped In World Of Complex Relationships

Rediff.com22 Mar 2023

The Modi government finds itself in a contradiction of its own making. It has encouraged pro-Russian, Westophobic public sentiment while setting strategic policy that's exactly the opposite, points out Shekhar Gupta.

TN extends Covid lockdown by another week

TN extends Covid lockdown by another week

Rediff.com22 May 2021

Calling for public cooperation to the government's efforts to stem the spread of the virus, Stalin urged people to follow due protocol like social distancing and wearing of masks.

E-com firms want govt to 'tweak' existing export policies

E-com firms want govt to 'tweak' existing export policies

Rediff.com9 Mar 2021

E-commerce firms and sellers including Amazon and eBay have made recommendations to the government for a differentiated policy framework for e-commerce in the revised Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) which is expected to come into effect from April 1, 2021. This is because the existing policies on exports have catered largely to traditional, offline and business-to-business exports. Suggestions have been made to the government that through the FTP, it is important to create a conducive policy framework for e-commerce exports that lowers the entry barrier for small businesses to start exporting, according to the industry sources.

Show-cause notice to Amazon India over Rs 175 cr tax demand

Show-cause notice to Amazon India over Rs 175 cr tax demand

Rediff.com13 Jan 2021

Probe has allegedly found calculation errors by Amazon. The company paid higher GST but instead of claiming refund took wrong input tax credit.

US report flags 'downward trend of democratic values' in India

US report flags 'downward trend of democratic values' in India

Rediff.com10 Feb 2023

As the United States focuses on the Indo-Pacific, in particular the Quad, the Biden administration needs to address India's ties with Russia and its 'downward trend of democratic values and institutions', said a report by the Democratic Party of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.

11 crypto bourses evaded Rs 81.54-crore GST

11 crypto bourses evaded Rs 81.54-crore GST

Rediff.com29 Mar 2022

The Centre has recovered around Rs 95.86 crore from at least 11 crypto exchanges for evading goods and services tax (GST), according to data released by Parliament on Monday. The amount includes interest and penalty. The GST investigation department has detected a total tax evasion of Rs 81.54 crore by crypto exchanges that include WazirX, Coin DCX, CoinSwitch Kuber, Buy Ucoin, UnoCoin and Flitpay, among other exchanges. In a written reply to Lok Sabha, minister of state (MoS) for finance Pankaj Chaudhary said 11 cases of GST evasion by cryptocurrency exchanges have been detected by central GST formations.

Several parliamentary standing committees reconstituted

Several parliamentary standing committees reconstituted

Rediff.com9 Oct 2021

Shashi Tharoor has also been retained as the chairman of the panel on Information Technology.

Govt extends Foreign Trade Policy by 6 months

Govt extends Foreign Trade Policy by 6 months

Rediff.com26 Sep 2022

The government has decided to postpone the release of the new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) and extend the existing one by six months on account of global uncertainties and currency fluctuations. The government was scheduled to announce the new FTP by the end of September. The current policy was to end on September 30.

Govt sets up control room to ensure essential supplies

Govt sets up control room to ensure essential supplies

Rediff.com26 Mar 2020

The department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) has set up a control room to monitor in real-time the status of transportation and delivery of essential commodities amid the coronavirus lockdown in the country. It will also monitor the difficulties being faced by various stakeholders during the lockdown period from March 25 to April 14.

Govt sends notice to Amazon, Flipkart for not showing country of origin

Govt sends notice to Amazon, Flipkart for not showing country of origin

Rediff.com17 Oct 2020

Not displaying the mandatory information, including country of origin, on products sold on their platforms in India, draws government's attention.

India gets USDA nod to export mangoes to America

India gets USDA nod to export mangoes to America

Rediff.com11 Jan 2022

India has secured approval of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the export of domestic mangoes to America in the new season, the commerce ministry said on Tuesday. The export of Indian mangoes has been restricted by the US since 2020 as the USDA inspectors were unable to visit India for inspection of irradiation facilities due to restrictions imposed on international travel because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On November 23, 2021, the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the USDA signed a framework agreement for implementing the "2 Vs 2" agri-market access issues.

Govt refuses to budge on September 30 e-com deadline

Govt refuses to budge on September 30 e-com deadline

Rediff.com27 Sep 2019

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

15 more firms selected under PLI scheme for white goods

15 more firms selected under PLI scheme for white goods

Rediff.com28 Jun 2022

As many as 15 companies, including Adani Copper Tubes, LG Electronics and Wipro Enterprises, with committed investment of Rs 1,368 crore, have been selected as beneficiaries under the PLI scheme for the white goods sector, the government said on Tuesday. In March, the commerce and industry ministry had reopened the application window for its Rs 6,238-crore PLI scheme for white goods -- air-conditioners (ACs) and LED lights-- with an aim to accommodate more players as several firms had expressed interest in the initiative. Last year, as many as 46 firms, including Daikin, Panasonic, Syska and Havells, with committed investment of Rs 5,264 crore were selected in the first round the scheme.

Amazon faces ED probe for violation of forex rules

Amazon faces ED probe for violation of forex rules

Rediff.com28 Jan 2021

The probe is being conducted under various sections of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) after the central probe agency recently received a communication from the commerce ministry seeking "necessary action" against e-commerce players like Amazon and Flipkart pertaining to certain multi-brand retail businesses and an observation made by the Delhi High Court in relation to Amazon.

India's deep discounts on Russian crude will stay

India's deep discounts on Russian crude will stay

Rediff.com6 Dec 2022

Even as the Group of Seven (G7) price cap on Russian crude oil enters into force as of December 5, India has been assured it will continue to receive the existing deep discounts on Russian oil, for the time being, informed officials. "We have been assured by our Russian partners of uninterrupted crude supplies at the existing rates for the time being. "There were a lot of reports of changes in (India's) buying patterns after the global price cap took hold.

National e-com policy to be announced within 12 months: Govt

National e-com policy to be announced within 12 months: Govt

Rediff.com26 Jun 2019

The government, in February, had released the draft national e-commerce policy proposing setting up a legal and technological framework for restrictions on cross-border data flow and also laid out conditions for businesses regarding collection or processing of sensitive data locally and storing it abroad.

After US ban Israel distances itself from Pegasus-maker NSO

After US ban Israel distances itself from Pegasus-maker NSO

Rediff.com8 Nov 2021

"NSO is a private company, it is not a governmental project and therefore even if it is designated, it has nothing to do with the policies of the Israeli government," Israel's Foreign Minister, Yair Lapid, said at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman at the Prime Minister's Office on Saturday evening.

Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee appears before CBI for 2nd time

Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee appears before CBI for 2nd time

Rediff.com25 May 2022

The members of the advisory panel, which was constituted by the West Bengal School Education Department in November, 2019 for monitoring pending recruitments of teaching and non-teaching staff in the schools, were questioned by CBI sleuths earlier.

E-com cos told to display 'country of origin' on all products

E-com cos told to display 'country of origin' on all products

Rediff.com9 Jul 2020

The development comes amid a growing clamour for the boycott of Chinese products in India, combined with the government's push for Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

Droupadi Murmu to take oath as India's 15th President today

Droupadi Murmu to take oath as India's 15th President today

Rediff.com25 Jul 2022

On July 21, the former Jharkhand governor Murmu registered a historic win over her rival Yashwant Sinha in the Presidential election, becoming the first woman tribal candidate and the second woman in the country to occupy the highest office in the country.

Russia offers oil at even cheaper rates to India

Russia offers oil at even cheaper rates to India

Rediff.com12 Sep 2022

"In principle, the ask in return is that India should not support the G7 (Group of Seven) proposal. "A decision on this issue will be taken later following talks with all the partners," an official with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.These "substantial discounts" will be steeper than those offered by Iraq in the past two months, officials said.

Nandan Nilekani to join govt panel on curbing digital monopolies

Nandan Nilekani to join govt panel on curbing digital monopolies

Rediff.com6 Jul 2021

Infosys chairman and Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani will join a panel set up by the central government, along with eight other members, to advise the government on designing and accelerating adoption of Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), aimed at curbing digital monopolies. The larger idea is to give 'free and fair' choice to consumers to buy products on an online platform, a senior government official said.

CVC awaits sanction to prosecute 100 govt officials

CVC awaits sanction to prosecute 100 govt officials

Rediff.com11 Nov 2019

As per norms, sanction for prosecution of government employees accused of corruption has to be given within four months' stipulated time.

Imports from Russia jump 33% to $1.1 bn in March

Imports from Russia jump 33% to $1.1 bn in March

Rediff.com9 May 2022

Shipments from Russia rose nearly 33 per cent to $1.1 billion in March from $831.17 million in the previous month, which was when the country mounted aggression on Ukraine and faced sanctions from Western nations, the data accessed by Business Standard shows. Growth in imports was largely on account of oil, people aware of the matter said. The Department of Commerce is learnt to have written to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), seeking details of imports, including the payment mechanism, which India has not made public.

'Hindutva is the language you speak today'

'Hindutva is the language you speak today'

Rediff.com1 Jun 2023

'Education played the most significant role in entrenchment of Hindutva ideology in coastal Karnataka.' 'Teachers of most of the schools, junior colleges, degree colleges and universities are active agents of Hindutva propaganda.'

Mandatory rules that e-retailers will have to follow from this week

Mandatory rules that e-retailers will have to follow from this week

Rediff.com20 Jul 2020

Among other things, the e-commerce players will have to display the total 'price' of goods and services offered for sale, mention the 'expiry date' of goods and the 'country of origin' of goods and services.

Worried About Losing Your Job?

Worried About Losing Your Job?

Rediff.com20 Dec 2022

The first step to keeping your job safe, experts tell Rediff.com's Divya Nair, is understanding why layoffs happen.

Will Partha's arrest in SSC scam impact Mamata?

Will Partha's arrest in SSC scam impact Mamata?

Rediff.com10 Aug 2022

After the Trinamool's overwhelming majority in the West Bengal assembly elections last year, the SSC scam has given fresh ammunition to the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communist Party of India-Marxist. Ishita Ayan Dutt reports.

'Google tax' may be deferred till September

'Google tax' may be deferred till September

Rediff.com14 May 2020

E-commerce giants such as Amazon, Netflix and Flipkart, whose headquarters are not in India, potentially have to pay the additional levy of 2 per cent from April 1.

Sitharaman on Adani fallout: Regulators will look into it

Sitharaman on Adani fallout: Regulators will look into it

Rediff.com4 Feb 2023

India's economic image is not affected due to Adani Group's recent decision to pull out Rs 20,000 crore FPO (follow-on public offers) amid allegations of financial wrongdoings, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday.

Gita Gopinath to quit as IMF chief economist, return to Harvard

Gita Gopinath to quit as IMF chief economist, return to Harvard

Rediff.com20 Oct 2021

IMF's Chief Economist Gita Gopinath will leave her job in January next year and return to the prestigious Harvard University, according to the global financial institution.

'BJP believes it will rule for 25-30 years'

'BJP believes it will rule for 25-30 years'

Rediff.com1 Sep 2022

'BJP and Modi are confident they will win the 2024 election.'

Traders' body seeks to ban Amazon's e-com biz in India

Traders' body seeks to ban Amazon's e-com biz in India

Rediff.com18 Feb 2021

Traders' body CAIT on Thursday urged the government to impose a ban on Amazon's e-commerce portal and its operations in India, accusing the global e-tailing giant of indulging in predatory pricing, deep discounting and inventory control. Addressing a press conference, CAIT secretary-general Praveen Khandelwal demanded an "immediate ban on Amazon's portal and its operations in India" and an investigation against the company in a time-bound manner. He also urged the government to probe the business practices of Amazon and Flipkart. However, responding to the allegations, both Amazon and Flipkart said they remain compliant with Indian laws.