64 years after the Panshet Dam burst claimed 1,000 lives, the tragedy stands as both a haunting memory and a vital lesson in engineering caution.
He also said that his country would continue to talk about the Kashmir issue "through channels that are acceptable" and prayed that "the issue is amicably resolved".
After a $110 billion rout in market value, embattled Adani group got some reprieve on Tuesday after shares of most of its listed firms rebounded on bourses and international rating agencies said there was no credit risk for lenders with exposure to the group. The group, which is in the midst of a political storm after US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research's adverse report dated January 24 triggered a meltdown in group stocks wiping out billions of dollars in market value, also had a mixed day with the quarterly results of four of its entities, particularly Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone reporting a 12.94 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,336.51 crore for the December quarter 2022. Shares of flagship firm Adani Enterprises settled nearly 15 per cent higher at Rs 1,802.50 apiece while shares of Adani Wilmar jumped 5 per cent to end at Rs 399.40 on BSE.
SEZ in Mundra, Gujarat denotified for three violations.
But half the land lies unused due to legal hurdles, lack of investor interest.
After lagging behind benchmarks and broader indices over the past five years, real estate investment trusts (Reits) have outperformed them since the start of 2024. The four listed Reits have posted an average return of 16 per cent year-to-date, compared to 9.9 per cent for the S&P BSE Sensex and 11 per cent for the National Stock Exchange Nifty.
The Adani Group is planning to invest Rs 20,000 crore more to complete the remaining three phases of the Vizhinjam International Seaport, the first transshipment port in the country, managing director of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) Karan Adani said in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. Talking to PTI after the official reception ceremony for 'San Fernando', the first mothership to dock at Vizhinjam, Adani said the port will be a game changer for Indian manufacturers as it reduces logistics cost by 30 to 40 per cent.
TCS is also seeking more time for setting up a unit in Mihan special economic zone at Nagpur in Maharashtra.
The government has broadened the ambit of services exempted from service tax for Special Economic Zones as services provided to these zones even from outside would not be taxable.
In one of its many arguments, North Block has maintained that direct tax exemptions may be viewed as a subsidy by importer countries, which may then impose countervailing duties on exports from Indian special economic zones. The issue is pending with the empowered group of ministers on special economic zones headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
According to the revised DTC draft, which will replace the Income Tax Act of 1961, tax exemptions for SEZs will be confined to the existing units.
During April-September 2010-11, exports from the tax free enclaves had clocked Rs 1.39 lakh crore (Rs 1.39 trillion).
Development commissioners have been asked to forward proposals regarding SEZs along with their comments at the earliest so that they could be deliberated over at the meeting, it said.
This is required after Maharashtra de-notified 16,000 acres of land earmarked for the Maha Mumbai Special Economic Zone in Raigad district.
Shares of most of the Adani group firms ended lower on Monday, with the group companies' combined mcap witnessing a sharp fall of Rs 9.5 lakh crore after US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research's adverse report.
Moody's Investors Service on Friday warned that the rout in Adani Group shares could hurt the conglomerate's ability to raise capital, while its peer Fitch saw no immediate impact on its ratings. Adani Group's listed companies have lost over USD 100 billion in value in just over a week after short-seller Hindenburg Research's scathing report flagged concerns about the ports-to-energy conglomerate's debt levels and alleged stock manipulation, accounting fraud and the use of tax havens.
The government would consider fresh applications for SEZs on December 15.
Ratings agency Moody's said on Tuesday that it has cut the outlook on the ratings of seven Adani entities to 'negative' from 'stable', citing the US indictment of chairman Gautam Adani and others on alleged bribery charges, while Fitch Ratings put some bonds of the conglomerate on negative watch. Moody's affirmed the ratings on all seven entities -- Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, two limited restricted groups of Adani Green Energy Ltd, Adani Transmission Step-One Ltd, Adani Transportation Restricted group 1 (AESL RG1), Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd and Adani International Container Terminal Pvt Ltd.
The developers, including Raheja Ltd, Ascendas, L&T and GMR, among others, are in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry's Export Promotion Council for export oriented units and special economic zones.
There are 344 notified SEZs spread across 40,000 hectare in the country that have so far attracted Rs 1 lakh crore (Rs 1 trillion).
The revamped Special Economic Zone (SEZ) law is unlikely to see the light of the day before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, two people aware of the matter said. The commerce department had sought the Union Cabinet's nod to bring amendments to the existing SEZ Act, 2005 late last year. The plan, thereafter, was to introduce the Bill in the winter session of Parliament. Cabinet's approval remains pending.
India has attracted investment worth $1.6 billion for projects in the fields of power, steel, construction and engineering special economic zones from Japanese companies.
From the Sensex pack, Adani Ports & Special Economic Zones, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC, State Bank of India, UltraTech Cement and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the major gainers. In contrast, Tata Steel, Titan, Bajaj Finserv, JSW Steel, Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Tata Motors and Tata Consultancy Services were among the laggards.
Ahmedabad-based Symphony Ltd, a global player in air coolers, is planning to set up a manufacturing unit at the special economic zone (SEZ) at Sachin near Surat to cater to its export market.
The commerce ministry on Wednesday reiterated that the three notified special economic zones in Goa could not be scrapped by the Centre. It added that the issue had to be sorted between the state government and developers of the zones. Even as the Goa government has raised the issue of scrapping three notified special economic zones with the Centre, the state administration has till date not sent any formal communication to the SEZs in this regard.
While no reason has been given for postponement of the BoA meeting, commerce secretary Rahul Khullar is indisposed, an official said.
The government on Monday proposed to levy Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) of 18.5 per cent on the book profits of Special Economic Zone developers and units, which was termed as a 'setback' by the players.
During April-December 2009-10, exports from special economic zones stood at Rs 1,51,785 crore (Rs 1,517.85 billion).
Earlier, this relaxation was given to only 'de-capacitated' employees or those who are travelling.
Reeling under a cash crunch, the country's largest real estate player, DLF, has approached the government on surrendering its (DLF's) five of the nine IT-ITeS notified special economic zones (SEZ).
Replying to supplementaries to a host of questions on SEZs in Rajya Sabha, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said special economic zones have become important engines of economic growth. The minister's reply triggered angry reactions from Left, BJP and some Congress members, who claimed that SEZs have become real estate business as norms are being violated and sought a special discussion on the matter.
The government has proposed that all Special Economic Zones should meet at least 25 per cent of their lighting needs through solar energy, a move that will go a long way in making SEZs green, even as consensus eludes climate change talks in Copenhagen.
'This is not China. There is freedom of movement in Kashmir, even in Sikkim. I can go anywhere. But in the SEZs created in my own hinterland I can only enter if I have a pass issued by a civil servant who is appointed as the caretaker of that SEZ,' says Magsaysay Award winner Aruna Roy.
Ron Malka, former envoy of Israel to India, has said that he has assumed charge as the executive chairman of the Haifa Port Company (HPC) owned by a consortium led by the ports-to-energy conglomerate Adani Group. A consortium of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) and Israel's Gadot Group won the tender in July last year to privatise the strategic Port of Haifa in Israel for $1.18 billion. "I'm honoured and privileged to take office today as executive chairman of the Haifa Port Company, on behalf of @AdaniOnline.
The draft direct tax code that will lead to overhaul of the Income Tax Act, has created uncertainty among the developers and units in the special economic zones over continuation of the tax sops.
Exports from special economic zones (SEZs) are likely to touch Rs 2 lakh crore in 2009-10, a 100 per cent jump from the year-ago period, with Reliance Industries' Jamnagar special economic zone expected to contribute the most to the kitty.
DLF has sought the denotification of four of its IT/ITeS SEZs that were to come up in Haryana, Gujarat, Orissa and Kolkata, due to slowdown in the economy and liquidity crunch in the overall industry. The decision on the denotification would be taken on the June 2 meeting of the Board of Approval in the commerce ministry.
In what may be a sign of the changing political environment ahead of general elections, the Centre has turned down the Maharashtra government's proposal to provide labour law flexibility in special economic zones.
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