AMRL SEZ set to become industrial growth engine in southern Tamil Nadu
The multi-product SEZ, financed by Srei and marketed by another Srei initiative Attivo, is ready to house diverse industries, including electronics, general engineering, aerospace, auto and components, solar, renewable energy, food processing, and many more. The SEZ has the potential to generate direct employment in excess of 50,000 over the next decade, the company’s media statement stated. Spread over 2,518 acres in Nanguneri, Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, AMRL SEZ has created a sustainable and comprehensive industrial zone. The SEZ has easy access to the Tuticorin port and airport, and is well-connected with road and railway networks, allowing industries to connect and communicate with both global and national markets with ease. This is complemented with assured water supply, telecommunication infrastructure and availability of skilled, employable and inexpensive human resources. Incidentally, Tamil Nadu government’s Global Investors Meet in 2015 showcased the attractive growth prospects of the state and demonstrated the state government’s commitment in maintaining its position as one of India’s most preferred investment destinations. While the SEZ has been operational for some time, current initiatives have given a further impetus to the on ground development. The first phase of the SEZ, spread over 1,250 acres, offers investors an opportunity to actively participate in the Tamil Nadu growth story. Commenting on the development, Attivo Economic Zones CEO Indranil Dasgupta said: “We expect the SEZ which can also offer an adjacent domestic tariff area (DTA) in the near future, to kick-start the industrialization of the region. Being located in the less developed part of the state, the government offers a slew of incentives to encourage industry to set up facilities in this part of the state.” Elaborating further, Dasgupta added, “Tamil Nadu is the second largest contributor to India’s GDP. Through AMRL SEZ , we will be able to participate in the growth story of the state and be the engine for Tamil Nadu’s economic growth and development in the southern region.” With the financial support received from Srei and the marketing efforts of Attivo Economic Zones, AMRL SEZ management expects to bring in domestic as well as global investments. Presently, the SEZ has nine companies on board across industry like LED lighting, pumps, solar components and warehousing. Charlie Blackmon Authentic Jersey
GST: Flipkart concerned over clause on tax collection at source
E-commerce major Flipkart today expressed concern over a clause relating to tax collection at source in the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Bill. “We believe that TDS process that has been recommended about holding some tax and paying that on behalf of the seller, that I think is something that will be very difficult for us to implement in practise,” Flipkart Executive Chairman Sachin Bansal told reporters here. Flipkart had earlier said that the said clause would prove detrimental to lakhs of small and medium sellers who do business on e-commerce platforms. This clause, which is not applicable to offline sellers, would hurt the working capital requirement for these sellers as they work on small margins to provide affordable rates to consumers, it had said. Bansal was speaking after meeting Industries Minister R V Deshpande here. Calling it a courtesy meeting Bansal said, “I wanted to tell him about the activities in the internet space, especially in Karnataka as Bengaluru is at the center of the Internet revolution that is happening in India.” “I have made some broad suggestions, broad thoughts were discussed and we have exchanged ideas,” he added. He also clarified that Flipkart’s tax issues with the state government were not discussed in the meeting today. To a question, Bansal said Flipkart would continue to invest in Karnataka. “Absolutely… we have about 5,000 people working here right now, our head count is growing and we will continue to grow over here. We have lot of presence here; we have warehouses in the state. So we will continue to invest.” On his lessons as a Chairman, Bansal said :”Definitely it has become more external focused, but I am very much involved in the day-today operations as well.” “I am also looking after mentoring of senior leaders in the company, as well as creating a positive ecosystem around Flipkart and some new partnership that you will hopefully see in the coming days.” He said the key partnerships would be in seller as well as investor front. To a question on the overall trend in e-commerce with pull back in investment and challenges lying ahead, Bansal said “overall these are financial cycles that happen.” “In the whole world I think the internet sector itself is going through a down cycle, but as the positive cycles do not last for ever, the down cycle also do not last for ever, so it will come back,” he said. Christopher Tanev Jersey
Retailers hail 24×7 operations as ‘new beginning’
Retailers today welcomed the government’s decision to allow shops, malls and cinema halls to run round-the-clock, saying it will lead to a new level of retailing in the country. The move will also add ‘thousands’ of additional skilled jobs, besides providing flexibility and convenience to customers, they said. The Cabinet’s decision to clear the Model Shops and Establishment Bill will bring parity in laws across India, the retailers said, but added its success will depend on states adopting it. “This will definitely help in improving efficiency and a new level of retail can open up. I will call it the end of permission raj,” Shoppers Stop Managing Director and Customer Care Associate, Govind Shrikhande told PTI. He said the policy will bring clarity in regulations across India and will also take away hassles of seeking permissions. Expressing similar views, Walmart India president and CEO Krish Iyer said, “It is a welcome step and we hope all the states will adopt it.” With flexibility available to retailers to open their establishment 24×7, not only will it add thousands of skilled jobs but will also make the retail markets across the country more vibrant, giving customers flexibility and convenience to shop anytime, he added. Iyer further said 24×7 policy for retail stores in other developed economies has given significant boost to their growth in the past. A vibrant retail environment is critical to the economic growth. Retailers Association of India CEO, Kumar Rajagopalan said this step is a win-win for everyone, including businesses, consumers and government. “With government clearing Model Shops and Establishment Bill, a model has been created which will have to be adopted by states. Some states like Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh have already adopted retail policy. This will benefit not just businesses but also consumers and government in the form of taxes and higher employment. Retailers will experiment for sure,” he said. Agreeing with Rajagopalan, Lacoste India Managing Director and CEO Rajesh Jain said it is a good step from the Centre. “For us, we don’t keep all our stores open for 24 hours, but we look at strategic locations. Extended hours will definitely help. This move will be very good, particularly for food and beverage industry,” he said. When asked if Shoppers Stop would look at opening stores round-the-clock, Shrikhande said: “We would do cost benefit analysis to see whether it is feasible to keep stores open round-the-clock, one can look at opening stores at few catchment areas or extend working hours.” The Seventh Pay Commission hike will give a big boost to consumption in the retail sector, he added. Austin Czarnik Jersey
24×7 law may boost retail jobs by 50%
Job creation is set to get a boost with the approval of the Model Shops and Establishment (regulation of employment and condition of services) Bill, which allows shops to remain open 24×7. Hiring experts said the bill, if adopted by states, could lead to a 10% growth in jobs in the short term across retail, IT and services sector. It will also make it easier for employers to have women working in night shifts, giving a leg-up to gender diversity as well. “Retail and hospitality are the key sectors that will benefit from this kind of flexibility directly and immediately,” said Moorthy K Uppaluri, MD & CEO, Randstad India. Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India, said the total number of people employed by the retail industry could go up by 50 per cent to 6 crore by 2020. At present, the retail industry employs 4 crore people. The new model bill, if adopted along with a comprehensive retail policy, would also provide opportunities for women to partake in the growth story of retail, where 92 per cent of industry comprises traditional retail. The gender diversity of the Indian retail sector is currently at 20-23 per cent, which is way below the global average of 50%. Vikram Shroff, head-HR Law, Nishith Desai Associates, a legal and tax counselling firm, said: “Once implemented by the respective states, it will enable employers having offices in different states to maintain uniform HR and leave policies, rather than be subjected to different provisions. It will also bring some consistency in terms of labour law compliances although, at the same time, the fines for non-compliances have been significantly increased.” The move will also be a business enabler for the majority of IT companies who cater to international customers and have to operate in shifts running well beyond 8 pm or 9 pm or 24 hours. Sonal Arora, assistant VP, TeamLease Services, who expects a 10 per cent growth in jobs in the short term, said: “While currently also they can continue their operations beyond the regular 9 am to 8 pm/9 pm working hours, but it requires special approval and permission on annual basis, which is not a business enabling provision.” Shroff, however, was surprised to note that the employment termination provisions as contained in the existing Shops and Establishments Act have been excluded from the model law. Ondrej Pavelec Womens Jersey
Flipkart rallies e-tailers to counter offline retail biggies
Flipkart chairman Sachin Bansal is trying to bring together e-commerce companies to create a lobby group that can counter brick-and-mortar retailers like Aditya Birla Group and the Future Group, who are seen to be influencing government policies through organizations like the Retailers Association of India (RAI). Multiple sources told TOI that Bansal, along with the heads of several other e-commerce & internet-based companies, recently met minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha to discuss the concerns of the online sector. Bansal took the initiative to send personal invites to his counterparts in other commerce platforms for the meeting with Sinha. “All key players are realizing the effect an association like RAI creates on the whole ecosystem. Most of us have our own different paths and strategies, but some issues are common to all and these could be addressed better as a group,” a senior executive who was present at the meeting said, requesting his name not be disclosed. When contacted, a Flipkart spokesperson declined to comment on the matter. Sources said Amazon was not invited. Snapdeal co-founder Kunal Bahl was invited but could not participate because of another engagement. Bahl, sources said, communicated to Bansal that he supported the initiative. In March, the government dealt a blow to some of the leading e-commerce players when it mandated that foreign funded ventures can operate only as a marketplace (they cannot themselves deal in goods, and can only allow third-party sellers to be on their platform), that the platforms cannot use their funds to offer discounts (only the sellers on the platform can), and that total sales originating from one seller cannot exceed 25 per cent of total sales on the platform. This was seen by many as a move to protect the interests of the traditional brick-and-mortar companies. E-commerce players, many of who have been funded by foreign parent companies or foreign venture capital, had been using their funds to discount products and some had helped create large third-party vendors who could more efficiently deal with products. Sean Kuraly Authentic Jersey
Model Act clearance:Retail firms give thumbs up to Cabinet’s decision, raise sales targets
With more than 1 crore central government employees and retirees set for pay and pension hikes, India’s consumer economy is about to get a giant boost well ahead of the year-end festival season. The extra payout approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday amounts to Rs 1lakh crore annually, abonanza that should encourage beneficiaries to open up their wallets. The Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also approved the model shop and establishment Act aimed at allowing stores to remain open as long as they want. While it will be up to states to adopt the rule if they wish to, Govind Shrikhande, managing director of India’s largest department chain operator Shoppers Stop, was enthused enough to describe it as “Prexit” or “permission Raj exit”. “Most of the salary hike will go into consumption and not necessarily savings,” said Kishore Biyani, CEO of Future Group, India’s biggest listed retail firm. “Government officials could also buy discretionary products in anticipation of the actual payment rather than waiting till the festive season. Hence, we see a boost in demand for most categories across apparel, durables and groceries,” he said. Biyani said the pay increases are likely to lead to a surge in same-store sales. Investors agreed stocks of retail and consumer companies rose on Wednesday soon after Cabinet approved the pay hike. Expectations of a bountiful monsoon also helped. Shoppers Stop, Future Enterprises and Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail surged more than 5% each on the Bombay Stock Exchange even as the benchmark Sensex closed with a gain of less than 1%. Westlife Development, which operates McDonald’s restaurants in south and west India, rose nearly 7% while Jubilant FoodWorks (Domino’s Pizza, Dunkin’ Donuts) and Speciality Restaurants (Mainland China and other outlets) saw shares rise about 4% and 5%, respectively. The Cabinet approved a spending of Rs 1 lakh crore annually in giving a hefty hike in salaries and pensions, with increases expected to take effect next month. Once the Model Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of services) Act, 2015, is adopted by the respective states, mall owners in Delhi and Mumbai say they can immediately extend shopping hours well past midnight. “You see ecommerce is 24/7 as you can shop anytime. Now, even brickand-mortar will get that level-playing field,” said Yogeshwar Sharma, executive director of Select Citywalk Mall in Delhi, which currently shuts at 11 pm, barring some restaurants that are open until 12:30 am. “Retailers are paying rental for 24 hours so it is in their interest that they have longer hours of trading. Even if 50% shops agree, I think we could extend it to 12:30 a.m. or even 2 o’clock in the first stage.” Rajendra Kalkar, president, west, at Phoenix Mills Ltd that operates malls in Mumbai, Chennai and Lucknow, agreed. “We will definitely give it a shot. If there are customers and if it makes commercial sense, we will keep it open well past midnight why not?” Retailers Association of India (RAI), a group representing hundreds of India’s brick-and-mortar retailers, estimates the model Act will add about 6% to India’s $600 billion annual retailing market if all states adopt the rule. Retailers and consumer electronics makers said the seventh pay commission award will boost consumption, improving sales that have been on a rollercoaster since Diwali last year. Shrikhande of Shoppers Stop said nearly half of the pay hike will convert into cash flow that will boost consumption with some of this having already happened in anticipation of the Cabinet approval. “We had seen high sales especially in Delhi and few state capitals where there are lots of government employees,” he said. “The feel-good factor is potent in driving demand and such a hike is a great impetus.” Smartphone, television and white-goods makers like Sony, LG and Panasonic are raising sales targets as they expect the good monsoon that has been predicted to act as an additional booster. Sony India sales head Satish Padmanabhan said the television market had been expected to expand at 15-17%, but the pay commission approval will provide an additional growth trigger. “Large screens will drive sales as consumers will now have additional disposable cash in their hand,” he said. Panasonic India’s head of sales and service Ajay Seth said the consumer electronics market is already growing at 13-15% and the industry expects that with the pay award, this will almost double across product categories. Consumers will upgrade consumer durables following the increase in disposable income in both urban and rural markets, said Niladri Datta, head of corporate marketing at LG Electronics India, the country’s largest white goods company. The white goods market is already growing at 25%, he said. The restaurant industry, which has been struggling with single-digit same-store sales growth for the past six quarters, is hopeful that longer opening hours and pay hikes will bring momentum to the sluggish sector. “It’s a consumption-oriented move. It will also help in increasing employment. IT and BPO sectors, for example, work late hours and they are a captive audience,” said Westlife Development vice-chairman Amit Jatia. “Consumer demand had bottomed out four-five quarters back. While sentiments have not changed dramatically, consumption has been trending up.” Westlife posted same-store sales growth of 8.4% in the January-March quarter. KFC India Managing Director Rahul Shinde said: “This will boost the industry. We will evaluate its implications, basis various factors such as trade area and our business policies. In addition, the seventh pay commission will also give an impetus to consumer sentiment and retail spending.” Yum Restaurants-promoted KFC operates over 300 stores in the country. The move will benefit service providers as well as users, said Ajay Kaul, Jubilant FoodWorks chief executive. “It has the potential to generate additional employment opportunities,” he said. “For us, the new Act opens up greater avenues for reinventing our service offering for customers and catalyse growth.” Jubilant runs more than 1,000 Domino’s outlets. Tyrod Taylor Jersey
Indigo’s UK training facility deficient: DGCA
Indigo airlines has been asked to cease sending their pilots for training to a simulator facility in the United Kingdom which has been found deficient during inspection by aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Such action has been taken for the first time by DGCA after technical glitches were found in May in the Coventry simulator facility. Besides Indigo, other carriers, including SpiceJet, GoAir, Vistara and Air Asia, send their pilots to training facilities abroad. Airline sources confirmed that 50 pilots have been trained at the Coventry unit in the last one year DGCA officials said that airlines use the simulator facilities abroad to train pilots in non-normal training, like engine failure and low visibility training, since the same cannot be carried out on a real airplane. “Simulator facilities offer safer flight training, fuel conservation, reduction in adverse environmental effects and reduced cost of training to the operators,” DGCA M Sathiyavathy said. According to rules, DGCA permits usage of aircraft flight simulators for various training purposes of flight crew, such as initial, refresher, recurrent, transition, up-grade and others, which may be given credit towards the flight training requirements for issue and renewal of flight crew licenses, endorsements and ratings. They also prove useful in the training of check pilots, instructors and examiners. “It is, therefore, necessary that performance of the simulators be evaluated prior to the approval for use,” a DGCA official said. Cameron Johnston Womens Jersey
AAI sets up panel to study hiving off air navigation services
Reviving a long-pending proposal, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has set up a two-member expert panel to explore ways to hive off air navigation services into a separate entity Even though the idea to make Air Navigation Services (ANS) a separate and independent unit was mooted in 1970s, there has not been much movement forward despite some detailed studies being done in this regard. The two-member expert panel comprises former Civil Aviation Secretary Ashok Chawla and former DGCA Chief Satinder Singh, a senior official said. The two-member expert panel comprises former Civil Aviation Secretary Ashok Chawla and former DGCA Chief Satinder Singh, a senior official said. According to the official, the committee, which would look at ways of making ANS a separate unit from AAI, is expected to submit its report within three months. The setting up of the panel assumes significance against the backdrop of rising domestic air traffic which is expected to go up further following the implementation of the new civil aviation policy.
HC refuses to stay DGCA order on lower excess baggage fee
The Delhi High Court today refused to stay aviation regulator DGCA’s decision to lower the fee structure for excess checked-in baggage carried by fliers, with the government fixing a rate of Rs 100 per additional kilogramme. As per the new regulation to be implemented from July 1, the airlines would now charge Rs 100 per extra kg till 20 kg instead of the current rate of Rs 300. At present, all domestic airlines allow free checked-in baggage up to 15 kgs. Beyond that limit, the charge is Rs 300 per extra kg. Only Air India allows free baggage up to 23 kg. A vacation bench of Justice V Kameswar Rao turned down the request made by Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), which has Jet Airways, SpiceJet, IndiGo and GoAir as its members, saying the issue before it required consideration and the authorities have to be heard on merit. The court issued notice to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) asking them to file their reply by July 2. It, however, fixed the matter for July 8 while declining FIA’s request to at least defer the date of implementation of the circular till next date of hearing on the grounds that it may create chaos among passengers putting them in difficulty. The court said the charge will be restored, if the FIA succeeded. FIA questioned the power of the DGCA, saying it did not have jurisdiction to issue such a circular and the amount of Rs 100 per kg fixed, should be according to the destination. The Ministry’s counsel opposed the FIA’s contention saying the circular is only applicable to domestic airlines. The counsel said the rates were being regulated keeping in mind the harassment suffered by the passengers at the hands of the airlines. Kyle Rudolph Womens Jersey
Air India turn-around a “tough task”: Lohani
Air India’s turnaround is appearing to be a “tough task”, chairman Ashwani Lohani said on Wednesday even as the government is trying to help national carrier come out of the woods. In April, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma informed Parliament that Air India may trim losses by more than half to Rs 2,636 crore in FY16 as compared to a net loss of Rs 5,859.91 crore in FY15. The debt-laden carrier’s profits are eroded by hefty interest cost and airport charges while increasing competition from budget carriers is slowing cash flows. Exchange rate variation due to weakening of Indian rupee are reasons for the carrier’s estimated net loss of Rs 2,636 crore during 2015-16. The national carrier was given a Rs 30,231-crore lifeline by the Finance Ministry in 2012 under a turnaround plan stretching over a period of nine years to keep it afloat. This equity infusion also includes the financial support towards repayment of principal as well as interest on government-guaranteed loans taken for aircraft acquisition by the airline. As per the 2012 Turn Around Plan (TAP), the government will infuse Rs 18,929 crore for repayment of government- guaranteed loans/interest till FY 2010-21, Sharma said. Till March, the government has already infused Rs 22,280 crore into the carrier as part of the bailout package. The government has already approved Rs 1,713 crore equity infusion into the carrier for the current fiscal in line with TAP. Despite all these efforts, Lohani said turning-around Air India is a tough task. Dominic Moore Jersey